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The Clan is sure that if they asked Qui-gon Jinn he would have told them that there was no other way, there was no other choice. The Clan knew that was bantha fodder.
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If you look at the long list of deadly missions and tragic adventures of Obi-Wan Kenobi, maybe you would have expected him to die during one of the more famous ones. The tragically ironic thing is that, Obi-wan Kenobi didn’t die on Bandomeer, with a bomb collar strapped to his neck, or on Melidaan, as shrapnel rained down from the sky, or even on Mandalore, when he was actively being hunted along with the Duchess. No, Obi-wan Kenobi died on a backwater Outer Rim planet with a name he couldn’t pronounce. He died because Jinn lost his temper.
It was supposed to be a routine and relatively low stakes mission. Two clans who had been feuding for decades requested help from the Senate to mediate a peace treaty. The Clan never got the full story out of Qui-gon Jinn, the Master was always too prideful to plainly admit his mistakes. The closest they ever got was when, in a drunken stupor, Master Jinn started sobbing, mumbling something about how if only he had been more patient, the real Obi-wan would not have died.
The mission report on file did not offer many more insights. All The Clan knew came from Qui-gon Jinn’s falsified report that said failed negotiations lead to a fire fight that left Padawan Kenobi injured. That much was true as far as The Clan could tell. What Qui-gon failed to mention was the death of his padawan.
At the age of 16, Obi-wan Kenobi died from stray shrapnel on a broken ship with his Master sleeping in the other room.
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Obi-wan Kenobi died at 16 but as far as the records go that never happened. At the same second his padawan took his last breath, Qui-gon had a vision of an impossible future. He saw Obi-wan Kenobi leading an army of soldiers, killing the first Sith in a century, fighting battle after battle. He saw the Force twisting and turning, the balance between Light and Dark ever shifting. And, at the center of it all, Qui-gon Jinn saw Obi-wan Kenobi, a bright star in the Force.
One hour after Obi-wan Kenobi died, Qui-gon Jinn woke up believing that Obi-wan was the Chosen One. He found his padawan dead one minute later.
Three days after Obi-wan Kenobi died, Qui-gon Jinn found someone to make a replacement.
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Master Jinn knew that it would be suspicious if his padawan suddenly disappeared, especially after Melida/Daan. To hide the lapse of time between when Obi-wan died and when the first batch were ready, Master Jinn hid his whereabouts and made it seem like both he and Obi-wan were kidnapped. This would serve as reason for why “Obi-wan” would look and feel different in the force. Trauma changes people after all.
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Jango Fett’s clones were not the first that the Kaninoans made but hopefully they would be the last. Obi-wan’s clones were not the first clones the Kaninoans made, but they were the first mass produced batches. The Kaminoans warned Master Jinn that clones would often not be a perfect copy; he still believed his vision was true. Someone who at least looked like Obi-wan would be the Chosen One. That someone had to be perfect, the best of the best. He couldn’t leave anything to chance. So desperate and grieving, Qui-gon Jinn offered the Kaminoans all his savings and asked how many they could make.
In the end, three batches of clones were decanted, 300 total. The first batch was the largest and at the same time, the smallest with 150 created and only 40 actually decanted. 110 were Force-Null and immediately deemed useless and were decommissioned before they could be decanted. When the first batch was decanted 1 year after they were ordered, they all looked 17 years standard. 15 died due to complications between two weeks and two months after decanting. 10 were decommissioned after Master Jinn inspected them because they didn’t look enough like the Obi-wan he saw in his vision. Every single clone was equipped with a behavioral modification chip that the Kaminoans assured Qui-gon would allow him to control how they acted and what they could say.
The second batch was created one year later and was made to replace the first batch. Only 25 of the 100 created were Force-null and decommissioned before decanting. This batch was decanted when they appeared 5 standard and were made to age at roughly two times the speed of average humans. They were taught to act perfectly like Obi-wan and were trained to lead the battles that Master Jinn foresaw. All training was overseen and decided by Qui-gon Jinn. They were taught diplomacy, battle strategy, hand to hand combat and lightsaber katas. He wanted the second batch to replace the first batch after they looked the same age as Obi-wan would have.
The third batch was made as a backup in case the second batch died or was a failure. They were all force sensitive and in perfect health. Unfortunately, they were all deemed failures. All of the clones looked human, or near human but they didn’t look like Obi-wan Kenobi. Unlike with Fett, Qui-gon Jinn didn’t have a living sample, which caused complications. The genetic material had degraded too far after three years, despite being in cryostasis. With the template dead and the genetic material degrading, the Kaminoans were forced to alter or replace the damaged and missing DNA to create viable zygotes. They looked related to Obi-wan Kenobi but none were close enough to his likeness to be of use. They were all decommissioned as soon as Qui-gon Jinn saw them two months after their decanting.
There is only so much science can do against the unstoppable march of decay and Qui-gon Jinn only had so much money. So in 39 BBY, production of Obi-wan Kenobi clones stopped. The Kaminoans told Master Jinn that he would have to make due with the clones he had left.
In 39 BBY, there were only 90 out of 300 members of The Clan left.
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The Clan grew up being twisted and molded into the shape of a long dead teenager turned Chosen One. It was all they knew. They were all beautifully unique in the force as all beings are but that didn’t matter to Master Jinn. All that mattered was that they looked and acted like Obi-wan Kenobi and could fight in the war he foresaw.
Ben K2-004 had always secretly thought that the first batch had it the worst. The second batch was rigorously trained with harsh and exacting standards. Trained to be commanders and soldiers of an unknown army, in an unknown war. The third batch died before any of them reached one year standard. But at least the actions of the two younger batches were their own. At least they had free will, for however long they were alive.
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If you asked each member of the Clan why they called themselves that, you would get a different answer every time. Some would say that it was because of the Mandolorians they learned about in their diplomacy modules. Others would say The Clan named themselves after learning that Jedi were raised in clans before they left the creche. A handful would say that it was a butchered name stolen from the Stewjon word for “family”. The first batch always claimed that it was simply the name that won the vote from a long list of options. K2-004 Ben and the rest of the second batch thought that was too boring. In truth, every single answer would be a lie, a story told to outsiders because the real answer was a fragile thing, shared only in low whispers and hidden signs.
Where the clone troopers called their template Prime, The Clan called their template Brother. There was no hostility toward their Brother, he was a pawn just as they were. They knew the history of Obi-wan Kenobi through mission reports and holovideos. The Clan was raised to mirror a dead teenager so the Kaminoans and Master Jinn gave them all the information they needed to become perfect copies and more. The Clan grew up echoing someone they never met and in their own way, they loved him.
In Stewjoni Obi-wan Kenobi meant No name, No Clan . The second batch learned this at three years standard and they brought it to their siblings in the first batch. If our Brother had no name and no clan, what does that make us?
If their Brother was No name, No Clan then Obi-wan would be their shared name and Kenobi would be their clan.
Our name is no name, our clan is no clan.
If the first and second batch agree on one thing, it is that their Brother would understand their choice. If they have no name, then they will make their own. If they have no clan then they will be their own clan. In memory of Obi-wan Kenobi, they give each other secret names and they call themselves The Clan of No Name and No One, or simply The Clan. It was a small act of rebellion, but in secret hand signs and low whispers they wove the small unimportant bits of their Brother into themselves so that, in a way, he would live on in more than just their image.
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For 9 years, The Clan lived and learned and trained together. Quietly plotting small rebellions, silently planning a future. They were all the best of the best, bright souls ready to fight when called upon. They thought they had time. They thought that even if they weren’t chosen as their Brother’s replacement, they would still be allowed to fight in the battle against the Sith. Even if they could not be part of the Jedi, perhaps they could still be of use.
When they were two years old, one of the first batch asked Master Jinn what would happen to the clones who did not become Obi-wan Kenobi.
“Do not worry 021, I have a plan for all of you. You still be of use and serve the galaxy in your own way” he said. The Clan believed him, for there was no reason for him to lie. If only one of them would survive, they would have been more competitive. They would have put more effort into their training. The fear of death is an excellent motivator.
In 33 BBY, all 85 of his remaining siblings Kamino died, while K2-004 Ben Obi-wan Kenobi was on a mission with Qui-gon Jinn.