#look okay i’m holding out hope because cody was supposed to be in the kenobi show

[lovebugcody]

i am clawing at the bars of my enclosure PLEASE TBB WRITERS GIVE ME CODY BEFORE THE SHOW ENDSS

and god if cody dies?! i WILL be a mess. i haven’t cried in months but that might do it

[greaterawarness]

Cody and Rex get stuck in a tree

(Okay here it is! Thanks for the request! This one honestly had me stumped at first. I hope you enjoy it. Cody and Rex get stuck in a tree.)

Everything was blurry for a moment with sounds so distant Cody couldn’t make them out. Hands shove him further into the blurry oblivion until he hits something hard that knocks him back into the present. Cody shakes his head finally taking in their situation. The ship is going down. Rex leaps over a pile of rubble before grabbing Cody’s arm to pull him along. Cody reaches up to open the ramp door. The ship is spinning making it impossible to see where they were going to land but they needed to get out of the ship. Cody and Rex exchange a look before holding their breath and leaping into the unknown.

Cody must have been out for hours because when he opens his eyes the sun is starting to rise. He blinks a few times taking in the green and brown of tree branches stretched overhead. He wiggles his toes and fingers making sure he can move them before forcing himself to sit up. While doing so he nearly loses balance from the large branch he is sprawled on and nearly plummets to his death. He pauses while staring down the large, tall tree and then even further then that down into the canyon the tree has grown above.

“Have a nice nap?”

Cody pulls his eyes from the nauseating heights to his friend who sits nonchalantly on a different branch. He rests his helmet in his lap looking like he had just woken up on the Resolutelike any other day.

“Rex…”

“Yeah buddy?”

“Why are we in a tree?” Cody carefully sits up and pulls his helmet off. Rex shifts in his spot while turning his head towards a black burnt spot on the canyon floor.

“It seems our leap of fate landed us up a tree. Just in time too.” Rex rubs the top of his head with a slight chuckle, but Cody didn’t find this situation very funny.

“Well let’s start scaling down it so we can get a ride out of here.” Cody begins to stand when Rex shakes his head.

“With what gear? We lost everything when we jumped. Even our blasters. So, unless you want to try and shimmy your way down the trunk of the tree and risk falling to your death… this is it.”

Rex leans back against the giant trunk and closes his eyes.

“So, we’re stuck?” Cody says a little to loudly causing his voice to echo through the canyon. A flock of birds take flight in the distant because of it.

“Seems like it.” Rex shrugs.

Cody immediately lifts his communicator to his chin trying to reach out to his men. “This is Commander Cody… come in…. can anyone read me?”

“The clankers are jamming our signal. I’ve already tried that.” Rex still has his eyes closed looking unbothered by it all.

“How are you so nonchalant about all this?” Cody lowers his wrist finally accepting the situation for what it is. Rex peeks an eye open before turning to face him.

“Cody, this is my Tuesday.” He says plainly. Cody gives a slight shrug and nod. He has a point there.

“Alright, so what do you usually do in these situations?”

“Well General Skywalker is the cause of most of them and he’s usually quick to make it right. But in this situation… I’m thinking its best to just wait it out. Knowing General Skywalker and General Kenobi it won’t be long before they have the whole Republic Army looking for us.”

Rex leans back against the trunk while Cody shifts trying to get comfortable. “To be honest I don’t know what would be worse. Falling to my death while trying to get down from here or having to have my men rescue me from getting stuck in a tree?”

They both look at each other before laughing.

“Eh, it’ll give the boys something to talk about at least.” Rex chuckles.

“I suppose it will.”

Cody and Rex spend the next hour trying to relax. Cody couldn’t keep himself from checking his communicator from time to time just in case. He wasn’t used to just sitting around waiting to get rescued. Rex on the other hand was enjoying his time, taking in the sun, getting a nap in, completely unbothered. Part of Cody was jealous. Another part of him wanted to shove him off his branch.

After an hour goes by Cody notices the birds flying out of the trees around them. Rex even sits up at the disturbance. They stare at the leaves on the branches watching them shake every other second as if being shaken. Rex and Cody meet each other’s eyes.

“Clankers.”

They get to their feet and slip their helmets on. Cody tries to make out where the disturbance is coming from but sees nothing. Rex hops onto Cody’s branch pointing in the distance. Grievous sits on one of his tanks while blowing through the trees.

“What now Rex?” Cody balls his hands into fists feeling naked without his blaster.

“I’m working on it!” Rex has to use the trunk of the tree to steady himself when the clankers knock down a tree almost the size of the one they’re in. Cody grabs his arm to keep from going over the side. Rex and Cody begin searching the reachable branches for anything that might help them. Rex appears beside Cody holding two large pinecones.

“We could use these!” Rex says enthusiastically. Cody stares at the pinecones for a moment.

“Are you serious?” Cody punches his arm before turning to continue searching already knowing it was hopeless. When the droids begin firing up at them Cody drops down to hug the branch, they’re on. A flash of light ignites above them. Their blaster bolts have set their tree on fire. This is bad. Cody lunges onto a different branch dodging flaming debris. Rex helps him steady himself before reaching up for something.

“Flaming pinecones!” He yells chunking two flaming pinecones at the approaching droids below. They hit two droids but with them being only pinecones nothing happens. Cody shakes his head with a sigh.

“What did you think would happen?” Cody asks while their tree shakes when the separatist tank rams into it.

“At least I’m trying something!” Rex yells over the machines and blasters below.

“Hurry! I want those clones!” Grievous yells below before having a coughing fit. Cody grinds his teeth trying to come up with a plan. He looks across the canyon at the trees growing on the other side. He sits up suddenly.

“I’ve got a plan. You see those trees over there? When the tree starts to fall, we can jump into trees over there! It should be long enough to reach, and they’re close enough to each other that we could possibly keep running before Grievous can find a way over there.” Cody points across the canyon.

“Lets just hope the tree falls that way.” Rex says as they get into position. They steady each other waiting as the final blow from the tank knocks their tree down. It falls towards the canyon abyss. Cody and Rex have a split second to jump from their tree to ones across the canyon. Rex lands hard but Cody is a little short. Panic builds in his chest before he feels Rex’s hand grab his. He only dangles for a moment before his brother pulls him up. They both pant trying to catch their breath. Cody notices Rex hugging his side.

“You okay?” Cody asks.

“I’m fine.” Rex brushes it off, but Cody already knows he’s broken a few ribs. They flinch when Grievous fires his tank at them.

Cody grabs Rex’s arm pulling him to his feet. “We have to move. Now!”

They start leaping from branch to branch trying to put some distance between them and Grievous’ army. Cody pauses when he hears a grunt behind him. He turns to find Rex doubled over. Cody rushes to his side pulling his helmet off. Sweat drips down Rex’s face.

“I said I’m fine. Keep … going…” Rex grits through his teeth. That’s when Cody sees it. The red liquid spilling down his best friend’s side.

“You were hit!” Cody moves Rex so he can see the wound.

“It’s nothing…” Rex chuckles dryly. Cody shakes his head. There was no way he could dress the wound and Rex couldn’t go on like this. From the sound of crashing trees Grievous has found a way across the canyon and is on his way. Cody holds his brother close trying to think of what to do.

“He… llo…?” the broken word comes through his communicator sparking hope.

“This is Commander Cody, come in! Can anyone read me?” Cody shouts into his com.

“Hello? Yes, this is Captain Hondo…”

Cody pauses, covering the communicator.

“Who is it?” Rex grunts by his side.

“Uh… it’s Hondo…”

Rex stares at Cody for a moment before groaning.

“Great…” Rex grumbles. Cody uncovers the communicator.

“Hello? Did you say a Commander Cody? Like the one that follows a Master Kenobi? You know Kenobi and I are good frie—” Cody covers the communicator again.

“So, we can either get killed or captured by General Grievous or we can get saved by Hondo… this should be a harder decision.” Cody and Rex think it over with the sound of the droid army growing closer and the muffled voice of Hondo still talking. Cody lifts his hand from the communicator.

“—and then I said…”

“Hondo!” Cody cuts him off. “This is Commander Cody and Captain Rex. I’m sending you our location. We need an immediate pick up. We have a man down!”

“Why didn’t you say so? Anything for a friend of Kenobi’s!”

Cody rolls his eyes under his helmet but prays that he gets here in time. He helps Rex make it to another branch when the droids almost reach them. Rex sucks in air through his teeth when they stumble and fall against a tree trunk. The blaster fire is all around them now. They were out of time. Cody can do nothing but keep pressure against Rex’s wound and pray.

When Hondo’s ship appears above them Cody didn’t know if he should sigh of relief or regret. A ramp lowers down for them as the blaster fire aims for his ship. Cody helps Rex jump onto the ramp. The pain from the jump takes over Rex. Cody practically drags him up into the ship nearly getting shot himself. When they’re safely inside the ship they fall back on the cool ship floor breathing heavily. Cody pulls his helmet off to take in the fresh air. When he opens his eyes, he flinches at the sight of Hondo staring down at him with a wide grin.

“Welcome Commander! What an honor it is to finally meet you! You know, I knew your donor. Jango Fett. What a man. He—”

Cody drowns his voice out while turning to see how Rex is holding up. More blood gushes from his side.

“Oh, that is a nasty wound. My men will patch him up.” Hondo says motioning for some of his men to come forward. Cody reluctantly lets Rex go so he can be treated. He cautiously gets to his feet and clears his throat.

“Thank you. For coming to our aid.” Cody says with his hands resting behind his back.

“Like I said. A friend of Kenobi’s is a friend of mine.” They start walking behind Rex while he gets taken to a room to be treated. “Not to mention I’m sure the Republic would be so glad that I saved two high ranking clones that they would provide me with a most handsome reward!”

“Yeah, that sounds more like it.” Cody grumbles but says nothing more.

Cody convinces Hondo to drop them off a ways from their basecamp promising a “handsome reward” later on. After some meds and some bandages, Rex is doing much better. Cody still has to help him walk but he’ll be fine. When they get close to the outer walls of their camp one of his men point in their direction before General Kenobi and General Skywalker rush out to meet them.

“Somebody get Kix! Rex is injured!” General Skywalker shouts back at the troopers.

“I’m alright sir. Really.” Rex assures him but the General isn’t fooled.

“I’m just glad you’re both alive. You had us worried sick.” General Kenobi says as they make their way into the safety of the camp. Cody stands up straight while popping his sore back when General Skywalker takes Rex. He pulls his helmet off revealing his exhaustion. General Kenobi gives him a smile and a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

“So, what happened?” General Skywalker asks. Rex and Cody exchange a look.

“We… ran into Grievous’ army. They shot our ship down.” Rex starts.

“We barely made it out with our lives.” Cody goes on but they leave it at that. General Kenobi and General Skywalker exchange a look of their own.

“And you were able to outrun Grievous on your own?” General Kenobi arches a brow.

“Of course, sir. We’re the best there is.” Cody lies through his teeth. Rex can’t make eye contact with General Skywalker. The Generals smile while leading them around a corner.

“That’s odd. Because that’s not what Hondo told us.” General Kenobi says as they walk around to find Hondo sitting in the middle of a group of 501st and 212th troops.

“…. And then I looked the Commander in the eye and said no one is going to die today. Not on my watch!” Hondo says with all the men grinning and laughing. Cody slips his helmet back on when he feels his face turn red. Rex hangs his head. “Ah! Commander! I was just telling your men of how I saved your life!”

“Hondo… I thought we made a deal?” Cody growls through his teeth. Hondo leans back in his chair with a grin.

“Well forgive me but I wanted to make sure Kenobi knew of my heroics!” He says narrowing his eyes slightly.

“And what heroics it was.” General Kenobi chuckles at his side. General Skywalker laughs into his hand when Rex’s ears turn red.

“Sir, were you really stuck in a tree?” Boil asks with Waxer laughing at his side.

“We’re never going to hear the end of this… are we?” Cody mumbles to General Kenobi. General Kenobi smiles.

“No, my friend. I’m afraid not.”

[the-last-kenobi]

Hi! I love your writing and was excited to see you're taking requests! Could you do 10 with majorly hurt Obi-Wan and the 212th like trying not to completely freak out?

Aww, thank you! <3 Happy to oblige darling. And ooooh, the underrated 212th! I’m so happy to write them. I hope this does them justice.

From this various prompts list.

_

“Cody! No! Pull the men back!”

“What?”

“There!”

A burst of flame that lit the world up in blinding heat. A strange echoing noise.

A scream.

Cody thought that he would see that moment burned behind his eyelids for the rest of his life.

It was still swimming before his eyes even as he frantically tried to deal with the aftermath, as he tried to force his brain to engage with the present moment.

Right now, right here, Obi-Wan was gasping for air, his whole body twitching and writhing beneath Cody’s hands, blood staining his face, his chest, everything. Everything was painted with hot, metallic red and Cody for the first time wanted to vomit at the sight of blood.

“Hold him still!” the medic beside him barked. Cody didn’t even know his name. He always knew their names, but right now nothing was lodging in his brain except General Kenobi and his ragged screams.

“I’m trying,” he snapped back. “Help him!”

The medic gave him a strained look and then returned his focus to the man bleeding out on their watch.

“Does he need bacta?” Cody asked desperately. This time the medic didn’t glance up at him at all absorbed in pressing down forcefully on one of the darkest red stains pooling across the pale tunics, his other hand searching far more gently along the other side of the torso.

The General groaned, his feet kicking involuntarily, scraping the dust.

“No,” the medic said brusquely. “Bacta is for repairing clean injuries and accelerating healing. The General has internal injuries that need to be patched before we dunk him in bacta.”

Dunk him in bacta? Cody had never heard of such a thing. Bacta came on swabs and patches and ointment jars, not tubs to throw a whole person in.

He pinned the Jedi’s shoulders more firmly in an effort to keep him — both of them — as calm and still as possible.

Leading his men up the gorge, with its dry soil and faded patches of grass, hoping to make it over the crest and down into the ravine before dawn.

Cody walked a little ahead of the others, taking point.

He heard the clankers first.

The Commander gestured back to his men, silently ordering them to take whatever cover they could while he crept onwards, keeping low. The enemy sounded few in number, maybe twenty, outnumbering them by only 2 to 1. That was easy. His men could take two droids each without breaking a sweat. The real issue would be keeping the fight as quiet as possible. Their approach still needed to go unnoticed.

Cody hesitated a moment, then shot forwards and flung himself behind an enormous old tree with withered leaves, pressing himself against the trunk.

Nobody had seen him.

Taking a deep breath, he peered around the edge and took in the oncoming droids. He had been right. There were only fifteen, in reality, even better than he had hoped.

Their behavior was odd, though.

They all walked close together, not in their typical line formation, but centered around one droid in the middle of the pack that he couldn’t make out clearly. It was a different model from the others, but not one he was familiar with.

Cody zeroed in on it. Whatever this was, that droid needed to be dealt with.

He retreated back to the other vode, who were awaiting his word. “Fifteen clankers,” he hissed. “One of them is different from the others. Leave that one to me.”

They all murmured assent, a few of them tossing a salute in his direction, and at his signals began placing themselves strategically along the path, concealed behind bushes and stones.

All fell silent except for the sound of the oncoming droids.

A dry breeze rattled in the sun-dried branches like a tired sigh.

“Cody! No!” the sudden shout shattered the silence, shattered the oncoming ambush, ruined Cody’s plans — but he looked around sharply, searching for the owner of that familiar voice.

“General?”

“Pull the men back!” Kenobi roared out over the comm line, and still he was nowhere to be seen. “It’s a trap!”

“Where the fuck is that evac?” the medic muttered. Then he turned his head and screamed, “Where the fuck is that evac?!”

“Five minutes out!” a brother replied.

Cody looked to his medic companion for a reaction, waiting to see. Was five minutes good? Bad? Salvation? ...A death sentence?

The medic closed his eyes briefly.

“Keep him steady,” he said, “and either give him something to bite on or gag him. I need to remove some of this shrapnel before it penetrates too deeply.” He reached behind him for his bag. “And I may need to cauterize the wound to his thigh.”

Cody looked down at his Jedi, watching the blue eyes flutter open and closed, shockingly bright in the midst of all the red. Blood, and dirt, and burns.

Obi-Wan didn’t seem to be coherent enough to understand what was being said, but he was trying to speak, still writhing on the ground as much as his Commander tried to hold him still.

“It’s okay, sir, we’ve got you,” Cody said. He bent down lower to bring himself closer to the General, hoping to make himself understood. “We’ve got you, General, it’s going to be okay.”

“No,” Kenobi protested weakly, the words coming up with a cough and a hoarse sob. “No — it’s — have you — what —”

He dissolved into a fit of coughing. Tears sprang up in those blue eyes that had only ever smiled for them, and leaked down over the grime on his face, glistening in the blood, clinging to his eyelashes.

“Shhhh,” Cody hissed out in desperation. He didn’t know what to do. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be.

General Kenobi was a magnet for trouble, but he always survived, always managed to keep a level head, to smile for his men. And they, in turn, protected him as best they could so that he could do all those things.

He was untouchable because he was a Jedi.

He was untouchable because he was their Jedi.

...He was bleeding out in their arms.

“Cody,” his General choked out, eyes fixing on his face, a look of relief dawning in them that Cody didn’t understand. “Cody?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” his Commander said earnestly. “I’m here. We’ve got you.”

“But — I...” the General’s face pinched with pain, but his eyes remained wide and desperate and so, so blue as he stared up at Cody, fighting to speak. “The others? I... trap...my men?”

“They’re all right, you — you saved them,” Cody told him, his voice breaking.

His General’s face looked confused, uncertain. Uncomprehending. “...I... where... the plan. The men. The... we...” More blood seeped between his teeth, and Cody wondered slightly hysterically if his reassuring smile would ever be the same after this. “My men,” whispered the General. “The plan. I have to, I have to—!”

“No!” Cody cried, and he saw his Jedi flinch. “No,” he repeated, a little softer, leaning forward to make sure those blue eyes were looking into his own. “Don’t worry about that right now, just hold on. Hold on.”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to speak again, and then the coherency in his eyes was ripped away at the same time as his back arched off the ground; his shoulders strained against Cody’s restraining hands.

“Hold him!” the medic barked.

Cody tried desperately to comply, but the General was shaking so hard it felt as if he were about break.

And then Obi-Wan screamed — a ragged, uncontrolled wail of agony.

The Commander searched the area for his General, but there was no sign of him except the voice yelling in his ears.

“Stay back, Cody! They have a new weapon!”

“What?” Cody asked.

Obi-Wan’s voice was strained. “There! It’s— go! Get back, all of you, get back!”

Cody scanned the droids through the trees but saw nothing. His General wasn’t making much sense.

But Cody was trained to obey his Jedi, and more than that, much more, he knew he wanted to. He trusted Kenobi, more than almost anyone.

Or maybe it was just that he trusted his General more than anyone else, full stop, because he didn’t protest when the Jedi came hurtling out of nowhere, dropping from a nearby ridge, and put himself directly between his men and the droids.

And he didn’t protest as he kept shepherding his men back down the way, while Obi-Wan ignited his saber just as the droids created the slope.

And he didn’t protest as Kenobi let go of his lightsaber, his weapon, and used the Force to guide it through the air, cutting down fourteen droids in a matter of seconds.

Cody trusted his General implicitly right up until the point where he flung out his arms, standing still, like a human shield between himself and his troops, as the last droid, the strange droid with the odd markings, erupted in a surge of flame that swallowed the world.

Even as Cody was thrown backwards, he saw, as if burned into his vision, a glimpse of Obi-Wan standing with his arms outstretched like a sacrifice, holding the hellfire at bay as if by some unseen wall, his expression serene.

And then, as Cody hit the ground and struggled to regain his feet, that invisible wall broke, and Obi-Wan took the impact of the bomb.

His General’s scream went on and on for what felt like an eternity but which could only have been seconds, and there was blood on his lips and his side was torn open and there was shrapnel everywhere, and—

More hands joined Cody’s, gently but firmly taking hold of the General’s wrists and elbows, clutching his ankles, cradling his head and keeping it still.

Cody looked up.

There was Waxer, and Boil, Barlex, and Longshot.

He could see others framed in the background, shielding the General from view and from the dust and debris stirred up by the relief team. Wooley had crouched next to the medic and was handing him items from his bag as soon as they were requested.

Waxer had tossed his bucket aside and was looking Cody dead in the eyes.

“We’ve got him,” he said reassuringly. “We’ve got him.”

Cody chose to believe him.

To trust his brothers and his Jedi.

Obi-Wan’s gaze was unfocused, but he looked at each of his men in turn, studying their faces, searching for something. Bloodied lips formed their names, faint beneath his unsteady breathing and periodic coughs, the moans of pain triggered by the medic’s steady hands.

Each trooper murmured a response, something soothing, something far, far calmer than the worry in their eyes allowed for.

Lastly, General Kenobi looked at Cody.

“Evac is here!” a trooper nearby shouted. “Sticker, prepare him for a lift! Med team is prepped for emergency surgery during the flight!”

The medic — Sticker, Cody registered, relieved that his panicked unrecognition earlier was gone — breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his eye. With his wrist, because the fingers were stained deep red.

“You’ll be all right now, sir,” said Longshot.

“Oh, I know,” the General breathed, a smile peeking through the blood. “I have all of you, don’t I?”

_

[o-wise-corvid]

Okay so I had a small idea hit me this morning. So we all are about 95% sure that we’re getting Cody in the Kenobi series and most of us are pretty sure he’s gonna be in an antagonistic role. Which I’m good with. But what if between RotS and Kenobi, he somehow overcomes his chip. Wolffe and Gregor did it. Why couldn’t Cody?? But he stays in the Empire because how the heck else is he supposed to try to help his brothers and maybe strike a covert blow for good every once in a while. A man on the inside.

So a few years pass and the Empire is rounding up Force sensitive kids to either kill them if they’re too potentially powerful or turn them into assassins, Inquisitors, etc. Cody is placed in control of five of these kids for combat training. Becuase naturally. And he trains the ever loving heck out of these kids.

And he loves them. He softens the terror of the Dark Side that their other instructors instill in them and tells them about his old General. Every sting of Dark Side corruption that is leveled at the kids, he manages to soothe away and soften. It kills him a little inside when his five little ones come to him for training with burn scars from electric prods and bruises where they’ve been slapped or punched for mouthing off. He never fails to reassure them that it’s not their fault but that they must guard their tongues and thoughts. Always keep vigilant, always protect yourself. You’re better than this and you will be free one day. One day. Cody never mentions that that day will probably the last time they’ll be together.

They’re able to use the Dark Side but do not surrender to it, enough to the point that they’re more like Mace Windu, channeling the power but refusing the consuming plunge. They learn to shield their emotions like Palpatine did, disguising themselves in the Dark Side just enough to never trigger Vader’s feelers. Cody has to be careful that doesn’t let his affection be too visible but the kids know it and they all call him “Dad” when it’s just them.

Much like his brothers, Cody encouraged the kids to name themselves and lets them explore their own individuality as much as they safely can. The kids grow and are known as one of many teams to send in when there’s a serious target to be taken down. Most of the time, they’re utilized to take down old, entrenched Sep forces and they do such a stellar job that everyone begins idolizing them. They spend loads of time training, meditating and keeping fit when they’re not in the field, which isn’t terribly often. Which is how Cody likes it because they’re his babies. They all get matching tattoos like Cody’s scar. They all wear gold accented armor and carry yellow lightsabers in Cody’s honor as well. They call themselves “Sunshine Squad” in private.

The bond between them in the Force is almost symbiotic, to the point that they can marshal their abilities together to overpower an enemy that might otherwise kill any one of them alone. They echo the Clones heavily in that alone they can be easily overwhelmed but together, they can be a wall.

So one day Cody comes to them with a mission from himself, a defensive mission rather than an offensive one. Another team is being sent to Tatooine on the possible trail of a Jedi. Cody thinks he knows who it is and he can’t just sit by and watch this happen. So he sends his babies and makes sure they know that Kenobi will probably either be horribly difficult to find or he’ll attack them outright with everything he’s got. (See Uutapau?!) The kids leave; they’re grown but that’s how Cody thinks of them collectively. He silently prays that the General won’t overreact and kill one of them.

Kenobi does indeed rush them in “hello there” style and the kids are just trying not to die while also trying to convince him to chill his paranoid butt all the way down and listen. The eldest, a young woman who actually resembles Cody, finally pulls everybody together and collectively, they Force lift and restrain Kenobi long enough to keep him from killing any of them. He’d dropped his lightsaber in the fight and she scoops it up. She marches right up to him and just smacks him in the chest with it. “Now,” she pants, “are you dead?”

Kenobi just sort of stares at her.

“What?”

“Did I just kill you?” she demands solidly, eyes boring into Kenobi’s.

“No...” he answers cautiously. “If I could’ve just now, wonder why I didn’t.” She continues in a slow, methodical conversation to get Kenobi to arrive at the conclusion on his own rather than hand it to him. Cody encouraged her to do this should a confrontation arise.

“Uh... you don’t want to?” he finally guesses.

The woman patiently nods. “That’s right. Now take this blasted thing before you lose it again.” And everyone slowly lowers Kenobi to his feet. He begins sensing something familiar and not unwelcome. He can’t place a finger on what he’s feeling, like it’s a smell from childhood that evokes a pleasant but unclear memory. And then he sees it. His old friend, the Clone Commander in gold, is literally stamped on each of these people, in the way they talk because they’ve all picked up Cody’s accent, the way they stand and especially the way they fought. One of them tackled him in the one-sided fight; it was like being hit by a gundark. Another had performed a truly beautiful kick to defend herself from his lightsaber, knocking it out of his hand. And the same person had returned it.

“You’re not Sith,” he ventures, still holding his lightsaber in a ready defense pose.

“Search your feelings,” one of the younger ones responds. “We didn’t even raise our sabers to you. If we were Sith, aggression would be our leading edge, don’t you think?”

“Who are you?” Kenobi asks, almost daring not to hope.

The whole group smiles at each other and replies in perfect unison: “Sunshine Squad. Captain Cody sends his regards.”

The woman introduces herself as Gaia, then there’s the twins: Soren and Rex (he chose his name when he asked Cody who his favorite brother was). The other girl is Kali and the youngest is Shriek.

The leader clears her throat. “General, you’re in danger and we need to get somewhere secure before the real strike team lands. We have an hour at the most, sir.” And Obi-Wan hears Cody that time. It might as well have been the man standing right there.

So, he takes them to his little hut. And they all just stop dead about 100 yards away and a chorus of “This is not secure” shaded comments.

“Well, I’ve always managed to defend it when I needed to,” Obi-Wan says, a little offended. He receives five polite but firm looks that are all basically this. 👇🏻

If y’all want more, I have more in my head. But this post is big enough.

Here’s more

Aaaand some more

And here’s a link to the first part of my fic

[a-sour-nectarine]

Summary:

The memories froze him. He didn't realize that Obi-Wan was calling his name, increasingly urgent, or that the water had reached his hips. It was cold, not as cold as it had been back on Kamino, but still just above freezing. He could almost imagine the crimson light of the clock, the sneering face of the trainer. The trainer hadn't been inherently cruel, but years of torturing little boys did something to the psyche.

So Cody suspected, at least.

Finally, a cry of "Cody!" woke him from his reverie. Obi-Wan was sobbing on the other side of the chamber, in a way Cody have never seen him cry, hand gripping his hair tightly enough to stretch the skin above his ear.

The water was up to his chest now, and rising fast, and the panic was still tight in his chest, but he made himself look Obi-Wan in the eyes. Before he did though, he caught his own gaze. His face was smooth in the crystal, no scar marring his temple. He absently wondered how anyone would be able to tell who he was, stuck in a child's body with no scar.

Notes:

Everyone shut up, I was supposed to post this last night, but I fell asleep. I am aware that it's Monday. Don't want to hear it.

This is my fourth and final submission for Codywan Week 2021! I really tried to do all seven days, but for my first ever event like this, I don't think I did too bad.

Prompt is an alt, Sith/Jedi Artifact Shenanigans.

"Um, commander?"

"What, Waxer?" Cody said irritably, blinking sleep out of his eyes. Day three in the remains of this stupid temple, and Cody, General Kenobi, Waxer, Boil, and six shinies, all yet to be named, had been grating on each other's nerves nonstop.

"You might want to... um... check in a mirror."

"Lieutenant, unless you have a mirror with you, that's not gonna happen."

"I just, um. Hold on. I'll take a picture, send it to your HUD."

Seconds later, said picture showed up in front of Cody's eyes. "Oh, Force."

A sleepy voice from the back of the room piped up. "Force what?"

Cody removed his helmet and shared a look with Waxer. That was not a brother, but it didn't quite sound like the General either, meaning....

"Hey, General, you might wanna come over here." Waxer shrugged at Cody as he called out. Sure enough, the figure making it's way over to them was not the General, or, at least, not the General they were used to. He looked like a cadet.

Well, so did Cody, so who was he to judge?

"Oh, Cody!" Obi-Wan exclaimed once he noticed the commander's state. He didn't seem to be able to stop the smile pulling at his mouth.

"Ah-ah, speak for yourself, General."

Obi-wan squinted down at his robes, which were the same as the ones he went to sleep in. He was drowning in them, looking only slightly less ridiculous than Cody did in his oversized armor. "Well, this is unfortunate."

Boil snorted. "Maybe one of you is small enough to fit through that hole now.

The General lit up. "Brilliant, Boil. Someone boost me up."

Boil snorted again, but followed him to the far wall. It had been pretty destroyed in the explosion, though still pretty effective in keeping the ten of them trapped. But maybe, now that Cody and Obi-Wan were smaller...

"Wait, wait, we aren't going to address the fact that we are– small? What caused it?"

Obi-Wan's lips quirked up in a smile, and Cody noticed how much more expressive he was when clean-shaven. "Well, I suspect it was caused by the artifact that also triggered the explosion that trapped us here. So, personally, I'd rather worry about it later." He held up the small slate of rock, carved with languages none of them could read.

Cody gaped for a second. That was pretty good thing to say if Obi-Wan wanted all the men to immediately lose faith in either himself or Cody. They had never disagreed in front of the troops, no matter how minor the issue. Equally unusual, he felt the urge to snap back. It was like he was four all over again— Oh. He was, wasn't he?

"Alright, but if you make it through, expect me to follow."

"I was hoping you'd say that." Obi-Wan chirped, grinning like he had just won some huge award.

Turned out that they both did fit, though Cody had to get shoved through and his shoulders got a little scraped up. But it was worth it for the first breath of fresh air outside.

Obi-Wan turned to him, eyes wide, and laughed. "I was honestly not positive that would work."

Cody couldn't help but join him in his laughter, breathless and a little manic, before a voice called out from inside the rubble.

"Will you two grow up and go find a damn signal?"

That was definitely Boil, no one else would speak like that to their COs, even if their COs were children. Cody couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah, yeah, old man. We're going." Cody really was just content with losing all respect, wasn't he. Eh, he was four, he was allowed to be petulant. Besides, he doubted that the eight people still trapped under the debris would be telling anyone else. Not because he trusts them, hells no, but because the situation was almost as embarrassing for them as it was for him and Obi-Wan. After all, they were the ones whose shebs would be saved by children.

Obi-Wan held out his hand, and Cody took it without a second thought, not that he had time to. The Jedi took off the second he had a hold on Cody's fingers. They ran up to the closest hill they could find and surveyed the landscape. Nothing but red grass and blue flowers and crumbling old ruins as far as the eye could see. It was almost beautiful.

Until it started raining.

A couple of light drops of water was all the warning they got before the sky opened, absolutely soaking them immediately. Cody groaned and took off again–-still attached to Obi-Wan–-towards the nearest gray, stone building that looked like it still had a ceiling. As soon as they made it inside, they heaved out twin sighs of relief. The building wasn't completely waterproof, but it was good enough. They made their way into the middle of the floor, where there was the least amount of leakage, and Cody shook himself savagely. The rain outside was not slowing, in fact, it seemed to only get heavier as time went on. Lightning flashed every few seconds. The thunder was constant, but could barely be heard over the sound of the rain.

And then the walls came down.

Not "came down," as in they fell. "Came down," as in a separate set of walls dropped in from the soggy ceiling, completely (and separately) entombing Cody and the General. The walls were some kind of clear glass or crystal, faceted and almost completely transparent. The wall between them had gaps in it, sort of decoratively symmetrical.

"Uhh, Commander?"

"Yeah, sir, I noticed." Cody pounded on the wall, and it didn't even crack. Not glass, then. His enhanced strength would have taken care of glass that thick, child body or no.

In spite of the situation, Obi-Wan giggled, his voice echoing oddly from the other side of the crystal. "Cody, please don't call me "sir," it feels strange. I'm eleven."

"How can you possibly know how old you are?"

"No scar on my thumb. I rub it when I'm nervous, but right now there's nothing to rub."

"How do you know you aren't– I dunno, nine?"

"Just a guess, I suppose. I feel too tall to be nine. You, on the other hand, look younger than that."

Cody quickly crunched the numbers in his head. "S'pose that would make sense, if it's relative. I'm developmentally about 10 years younger than you. Twenty-four to thirty-five, eight to eleven."

"You're ignoring the fact that we are trapped."

"Yes, I am."

"That doesn't change the situation."

"I'm aware. But, as previously stated, I am eight years old. Four, actually. I'm trying not to panic. How are you calm?"

"Oh, I'm not. I'm actually fighting off a panic attack, if I am to be frank. This is almost exactly how Qui-Gon died, with me trapped on the other side of a ray shield. I just keep talking because it seems to distract me."

Cody cursed himself. He knew that, and it should have occurred to him that this was probably Obi-Wan's worst nightmare. He kicked his feet along the bottom of the wall, and noticed a particularly concerning fact. The crystal was growing. Not just randomly growing, it seemed to be specifically growing to cover the holes in the wall, creeping up and up. And, as if that wasn't worrisome enough, Cody's feet were wet. Not from the rain, but from the water seeping up from the floor. It was rapidly climbing higher, just a little below the level of growing crystal. The sound was rather pleasant, Cody noted, but he also noted that Obi-Wan's side of the little prison was completely dry.

The irony was not lost on him. And the irony was pretty kriffed up.

And it got worse once Obi-Wan noticed. The Jedi just let out a hysterical little laugh, and started pacing. "Wow, how wonderful."

"Hey, Ge–Obi-Wan, it's okay. It's okay. It's really slow."

Obi-Wan stopped pacing and stretched his hand through a hole at shoulder height, yet to be covered. Cody didn't even think before he grabbed the boy's (man's?) hand.

"It'll be okay," He repeated. "I'm fine."

The water was about knee high now, and the row of crystals at shoulder height were starting to close off. Cody pushed Obi-Wan's hand back just before the crystal could trap it there, and Obi-Wan let out a pained sound, pressing up against the wall. It hurt Cody. Hurt him more that being trapped, than the memories he had at this age, the memories that this water chamber was starting to dredge up.

Watching his brothers take their turns in the tank, none coming out conscious. "It's for your training," the longnecks had said. It felt like torture to Cody. Though, he supposed, maybe that was the point. It's hard for torture to frighten you if you have already experienced worse.

His turn now, he pulled on the breathing mask and stepped into the tank. It started filling up from the tubes in the sides, and the cold water shocked him a little. He watched the blinking, red light outside on the wall, until it counted up to three minutes. As soon as it hit three, he took a deep breath and shoved the mask off his face, and the clock started counting down again. Could he make it?

No. He woke up later in the medbay.

Like he always did.

The memories froze him. He didn't realize that Obi-Wan was calling his name, increasingly urgent, or that the water had reached his hips. It was cold, not as cold as it had been back on Kamino, but still just above freezing. He could almost imagine the crimson light of the clock, the sneering face of the trainer. The trainer hadn't been inherently cruel, but years of torturing little boys did something to the psyche.

So Cody suspected, at least.

Finally, a cry of "Cody!" woke him from his reverie. Obi-Wan was sobbing on the other side of the chamber, in a way Cody have never seen him cry, hand gripping his hair tightly enough to stretch the skin above his ear.

The water was up to his chest now, and rising fast, and the panic was still tight in his chest, but he made himself look Obi-Wan in the eyes. Before he did though, he caught his own gaze. His face was smooth in the crystal, no scar marring his temple. He absently wondered how anyone would be able to tell who he was, stuck in a child's body with no scar.

"It's alright," he said as the water carried him up, up, toward the top of the chamber. It wasn't nearly far enough away.

"I'll be fine," he called as he felt his head press against the ceiling. Too soon.

"I'm okay," he lied, then took a deep breath, right before the water covered his mouth and nose.

The clock ticked down, 2.59, 2.58, 2.57...

He sank back down, keeping his eyes open and on the crying boy leaning on the wall. Cody smiled and pressed his hand against the crystal.

1.46, 1.45, 1.44, 1.43...

Obi-Wan frantically pushed his own hand against Cody's through the wall. His other fist pounded at the crystal, to no avail. Cody's lungs were starting to burn.

1.03, 1.02, 1.01...

Cody's vision got darker, but he kept his gaze on Obi-Wan. Through the water, he looked distorted, but his eyes were unmistakable. Blue, bright with tears, creased with grief. Cody thought that it had been a while since he had seen those eyes smile. He hoped they would again, maybe after the Wars. Long after Cody was gone. He hoped this wouldn't break Obi-Wan beyond repair. His gaze really did go black now, and the clock in his memory blinked just twice more.

0.01, 0.00.

He felt a satisfied smile pull on his lips. He made it.

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan saw Cody's eyes close, and he cried out. "Cody! Stay with me!"

He couldn't ask that of him. It was selfish and impossible. But Obi-Wan felt so small, so helpless. It was just like when Qui-Gon had died, and he could do nothing. Nothing.

"Not nothing," a voice chided. "You can change it, this time."

A different voice swirled around him. "He must learn."

The first voice pressed in. "This will only break him. You are strong, child. Use it."

The soft voice was right. If he lost Cody right now, he would shatter. There would be no Obi-Wan Kenobi to put together, not like there had been last time. He would never come back. Maybe that was what the Code aimed to prevent when it forbade attachments. He had never been good at staying away from those he loved.

But there was no way to get to Cody.

"The power. It is yours to use, young one. Focus it."

"What power?!" He yelled, sounding like a child, even to his own ears. He was a child, actually. No response. Obi-Wan took a deep breath and placed his hands on the crystal wall, tears slipping down his cheeks as he closed his eyes. And he focused. It was like meditating, but more. He felt it. Power. Flowing through his very being. That was what the voice meant. It felt like an ocean, pushing and pulling at him, flowing through him. He waited, waited....

And pushed.

The crystal around him shattered. Shattered like Obi-Wan, because he surged forward and Cody was in his arms and he was him again, filling out his armor, scar across his temple but he was still and cold. Obi-Wan lowered Cody to the ground, brushing the shards of crystal away with his mind, and cried again. "Cody, Cody please. Wake up." He gulped in a breath of air. "Commander, wake up! That's and order!" And he used the power and he pushed the water out of Cody's lungs, but he still didn't stir. He heart had all but stopped, and he wasn't breathing. Obi-Wan used the power again and gathered the Force around Cody's lungs, breathing for him, in--out--in--out--in--

That's when Obi-Wan noticed the crystal in his hand. He would have dismissed it, thrown it with the rest of the shards of crystal littering the floor around him, if not for the glow.

"It is for him. This was as much his trial as it was yours."

The sense of desperation flooded him again, and he fought back tears. What use would Cody have for the crystal if he was dead? But he pressed it to the commander's chest anyway.

"Cody, don't leave. Please wake up. You have to wake up."

And then it was like Cody had heard him, because he coughed and shivered. Obi-Wan released his grip on the Force, because he didn't need it anymore, because Cody was breathing on his own. He squeezed his eyes shut and the scar on his temple stretched. Obi-Wan sobbed in relief and pressed a kiss to Cody's forehead, because he was alive, and they had passed whatever test they had been given, and they were alive.

And that would do for now. That would be enough until they had to go find help, until they had to get the squad out, until they found someone who could help.

Because Obi-Wan was not going to lose anyone today.

[cinna-wanroll]

Obi and Ahsoka being an iconic duo for however long it takes you to read this

Long hyperspace journeys could stretch on for days, with nothing but the white noise and the whir of the ship’s engines to keep the occupants any company.

But eventually, there reached a point where the giddy anticipation was lost into a stagnant period of waiting. 

And so there sat Obi-Wan Kenobi four days into hyperspace, waiting. 

He was usually a very patient man, years of training a young, rambunctious Anakin Skywalker had required that much of him. And he was still patient. Yet something inside him was stirring, the nagging doubts not leaving him alone. So while The Negotiator tore through warped space, his window of time to figure things out was closing. 

And here it was, his great doubt; how much longer he would be able to save those he was assigned to protect. His ship was hurdling at a speed faster than even light could travel towards a world in turmoil, and he- a mere man- was expected to fix it. The hopes, dreams, and futures dreams of an entire civilization depended on him.

He shivered and wondered how the lives of innocent people could constantly pour across his hands and slip away if he wasn’t careful. The knowledge that he was responsible for them was sometimes too much of a weight to bear alone- another reason why he valued his battalion so much. Their support was always constant, their determination and reassurances making him stronger. 

But that still left the question; why was he responsible? His chest tightened as he knew he shouldn’t be, but it wasn’t his place to decide, and he would never leave any being to suffer. 

A deep breath calmed his mind as he sat upon his bunk with crossed legs, letting the cool airflow help guide him into a deep state of meditation. He rested his palms against his knees, instantly falling into the stance he’d practiced since he was a boy. 

In place of his worry and fear came a tide of clarity that the Force provided- a place where all things had an equal purpose. He smiled softly and sank into that familiar peace, deepening his connection to the Force with every moment.

About five minutes into his practice, the door to his room zipped open without warning, quick footsteps following after. He didn’t get up, but he did open his eyes slowly, consciousness slowly returning to the Jedi master. 

He’d expected to see Anakin, perhaps even Cody on a busy day where he forgot to knock, but not Ahsoka. He blinked in surprise as she entered his quarters with a friendly smile. 

“Hey master,” she greeted, joining him in his bunk. 

He raised an eyebrow, “Padawan Tano,” he nodded as she sat down, “I don’t suppose you’ve forgotten how to knock?” 

She blushed slightly, dipping her head in embarrassment, “Apologies master, I didn’t mean any disrespect. It’s just Master Skywalker-”

Obi-Wan’s mouth twitched into a slight grin as he finished, “Hardly ever follows any basic courtesies, I know.” 

She returned his smile shyly, nodding.

“So, what can I do for you, padawan?” He turned to give her his full attention, uncrossing his legs and putting himself into a more relaxed position. 

She sighed, laying back on the low bed, “Master Skywalker’s been having me review these stupid holos for hours now-” she brought her hands to the side of her head in exasperation, “and if I see one more blasted star chart I think I might just defect to the CIS.”

Obi-Wan chuckled, “I can’t say I blame you- Master Qui-Gon used to make me study every map of every planet of every system until it felt like I knew the layout of the entire galaxy.”

Ahsoka giggled, sitting up and resting her head on her knees, expecting him to continue the story. 

“What’s more- I used to have to write every single report on every mission because the council wouldn’t stop complaining about Qui-Gon’s versions.”

Her eyes widened in disbelief, “What? Why?”

He tipped his head slightly, giving her a conspiratorial look, “Something about them being too full of,” he adjusted his tone until it was just slightly more regal sounding, “personal ideals and passionate phrases not appropriate to include in professional documents.”

‘Well,” she shrugged, “that does sound like the council.” 

He ignored the slight offense and continued, “Yes, but I gave them all a run for their money. My reports were all no shorter than fifty pages each, detailing every breeze that blew while we traveled,” a mischievous spark lit his eyes as he finished.

“Ah, so that's why it takes you forever during mission debriefs,” Ahsoka grinned, “you developed some bad habits.”

“Hey,” he chided while she laughed, “at least I don’t exaggerate, hmm?”

“What's the fun of an adventure without stories to tell, Master?” She countered, crossing her arms in mock-defense. 

“Certainly stories are plenty exciting without all the extra flare you add?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Eh, I like to give them my personal touch.”

They both smiled, Ahsoka laying back down and Obi-Wan resting his back against his bedpost. 

They fell into a comfortable silence before Obi-Wan confessed, “I’ve been quite bored as well, trapped in here without anyone to talk to. Everyone’s just so-” he searched for the right word.

“Preoccupied? Distant? Distracted? Absent?” Ahsoka filled in for him.

He nodded, surprised, “Precisely. I suppose I shouldn’t be complaining about everyone finally doing what they’re supposed to. But it makes me wonder- should I be taking this more seriously? Do I have a right to stay in my room, waiting aimlessly to arrive? Or should I be doing something?” 

She paused before responding, “Well, what can you do?”

He opened his mouth as if he already knew the exact answer to that question before he realized that he didn’t at all. 

“I- I’m not quite sure.”

She nodded and sat up, resting a hand on his shoulder. 

“I think sometimes in war, you have to accept the fact that there isn’t anything you can do at the moment. You can worry and stress, but in the end, it only serves to hurt yourself and those around you than save anyone else.” 

He looked over at her, studying Anakin’s young apprentice as though he hadn’t seen her in a while. It made him feel- weird, to see how much she was growing. But a thread of warmth came with it, a sense of pride he hadn’t expected.

“That’s a very wise observation, Ahsoka,” he said finally, nodding to her.

His praise made her perk up a bit and smile, as eager to please as ever, “thank you, Master Kenobi.”

He nodded and returned her look, deciding he wanted to get away from his shadowed room for a bit, “Do you feel like playing a friendly game of sabacc, padawan? I’m sure we've got a deck of cards around here somewhere.” 

She got to her feet swiftly, stretching as he followed suit, “Sure! Although, Master- I don’t think there’s such a thing as a,” she held up her hands in air quotes, “friendly game of sabacc. People always have ulterior motives.”

He chuckled as they walked towards the entryway into the corridors beyond his room, “A common-found truth, yes,” he began as they stepped out of the room, “your master has taught you well.” 

She shrugged, “There are also some things that have to be learned on one’s own.”

“Oh?”  He asked, “And how would you have learned such a thing?”

She grinned and shrugged, “But Master, I thought you said my stories had too much flare.”

“Oh no, now I’m far too intrigued to care. Please elaborate.”

“Maybe I’ll tell you- but only if you beat me.”

He grinned, “You’re on, padawan.” 

When they entered the main quarters, they were greeted with an almost eerie silence and empty space, all furniture and objects long since neglected.  

“Wow,” Ahsoka mused, “I never thought this room could be so- quiet.”

“Me neither,” Obi-Wan agreed, looking around for a drawer or any sign of a compartment for a deck of cards. 

“I know we have a deck,” she added as Kenobi walked over to the small shelf of datapads they kept from previous missions, “I just saw Crys, Wooley, and Kano playing last night.”

“Hmm,” he said, fingers tracing along the backs of each pad carefully, checking to see if anyone had decided to place the deck in between some of the holos like they usually did.

“They might’ve put them in one of the holo chess compartments,” she suggested after he stood back and shook his head.

He sighed, knowing she was probably right, “But I’ve asked them not to put the deck back in there at least five times now.”

Ahsoka shrugged, unbothered, “Maybe they forgot.”

He looked back at her disbelievingly, “Five times?”

She threw her hands up, “I don’t know. Have you met Wooley? I don’t think he ever fully recovered from that concussion.”

He laughed and pressed the holo chess compartment gently, frowning as sure enough, the deck of cards appeared. 

“It appears you’re right,” Obi-Wan said, sitting down on one end of the table and unboxing the cards, “sixth time’s the charm.”

She took her place at the opposite end, grinning, “I’m sure they’ll get it this time.”

“Do you know how to shuffle?” He asked, looking up at her.

“Do we have to?” She asked, surprised.

“Yes. It appears they were playing Mahaa’i Shuur- all of the mistresses are next to each other, I haven't looked at the rest of the deck yet.”

“Okay,” she said, reaching her hand out for the deck.

He sat back while she focused on shuffling, watching the cards shift around almost hypnotically. 

“Master, you don’t know how to shuffle?”

The question caught him off guard, and he was forced to admit he’d never really thought about it before. 

“I suppose not- everyone usually did the shuffling for me,” he ticked each person off on his fingers, “Master Yoda, Qui-Gon, Master Tahl, Bant, Quinlan, Satine, Anakin, the Clones-”

“Hold on,” Ahsoka interrupted, suddenly looking very amused, “you’re telling me you’ve played cards with Master Yoda?”

He nodded while she dealt out two cards for each of them, and the game began. 

“Yes, many times. He always used to come to visit me in the crèche quite often, and we’d play cards or watch a holo while the other younglings went out to wrestle or play senators.”

He drew a commander card. 

“You two always seemed close,” Ahsoka commented as she took her turn and drew, a slight frown forming on her face, “do you have any idea why?”

“Why what?” He asked distractedly as he drew the queen of the darkness.

“Why he would come to visit you.”

Obi-Wan tipped his head, trying to think, “Actually, now that you mention it, no. He used to come to visit me when I was a small infant, I still have memories of him from the age of three.”

Ahsoka wrinkled her nose and teased, “does that mean Master Yoda used to change your diapers?”

Obi-Wan returned her disgusted expression, “I don’t know, and I have no intention of finding out.”

She laughed, moving part of her hand to one side. 

She organizes her cards by value, he realized, narrowing his gaze. 

The door to the room opened, letting in two familiar faces as they both continued to draw. 

“And that’s why I was-” Anakin stopped mid-sentence as he saw Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, concentrating on their game. Out of the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Rex salute. 

“General. Commander.”

“Hi,” Ahsoka looked up at him briefly, “we were just talking about how Master Yoda used to change Obi-Wan’s diapers when he was a youngling.”

Obi-Wan’s face reddened, and he stared at his cards, not brave enough to look up. 

“We were not.”

Ahsoka shrugged, moving another card to the left of her hand, “I don’t know, sounded that way to me.”

Anakin crossed his arms at Ahsoka, “Yeah, well it sounded to me like I told you to study those holos earlier.”

“I did,” she protested, “but you gave me so many that my head started to swim!” 

“Those holos are important,” Anakin persisted, “and that doesn’t excuse why you’re out here playing cards with Obi-Wan instead of doing your meditations.”

Ahsoka sighed, laying down her hand, “Yes, Master.” 

“Come now, Anakin,” Obi-Wan chided without looking up from his hand, fourteen away from winning, “surely after all those times you used to whine at me about even basic form, you can allow your padawan a break.”

Ahsoka looked up at her master hopefully, who had turned his glower on his old master. 

“Fine,” he determined finally, “but as soon as you’re done, you go straight back to those holos, understand?”

Ahsoka smiled gratefully, “Yes, Master.”

Anakin walked up behind her chair, gazing at her hand. Obi-Wan looked up to scrutinize over what Anakin’s expression was like, but to his disappointment his former apprentice’s face belied nothing. He frowned, wondering when Anakin learned to become such a formidable card player.

A voice in the back of his mind reminded him that Senator Amidala was an esteemed and practiced Sabacc player, but he quickly banished the inkling, drawing another card. 

The Star, blast. 

Rex did the same as Anakin, coming up and watching over Obi-Wan’s shoulder. 

After a few more rounds, Obi-Wan had almost forgotten he was there. So when he drew a card that let him win within -17 points, the Jedi almost jumped when Rex said, “I’ll bet one of my pistols Kenobi wins.”

He repressed an eye roll, only shaking his head and drawing the idiot, zero points. 

“Which one?” Asked Anakin, looking up at Rex. 

“Eh, the good one.”

“Hmm- how about, whoever loses the bet gets shiny training duty for a month, and your pistol?”

“Deal.”

Obi-Wan held up the idiot card as though he were comparing it to Anakin, and Rex chuckled softly.

“What?”

“Nothing sir.”

The game continued, with Obi-Wan just -2 points away from winning when Ahsoka slammed her cards down enthusiastically, calling “Idiot's Array!” 

Obi-Wan looked over her cards and smiled, setting his hand down, “Well done.”

“Thanks,” she said, high-fiving her master. 

“Gah,” Rex exclaimed, clapping Obi-Wan on the shoulder, “you let me down, general!”

Obi-Wan put up his hands defensively, “Hey, I’m not the one who told you to bet, Captain.” 

Anakin walked up to them, grinning like a fool, “Yeah, but now someone has to train all the new shinies for a whole month! Ha, that’s for making me walk around the temple in my bathing suit last weekend.”

Obi-Wan’s eyebrows shot up, “Wh-”

He was cut off by the beeping of his comm. He gave Anakin a death glare before opening the transmission with a tap, mouthing the words this conversation is not over.

“Yes, Commander?”

“We’ve arrived, sir.”

“Very good Cody. We’ll be right down.”

He cut the transmission and started towards the door, the others following closely behind to the bridge.

Ahsoka did a merry little skip, coming up to walk beside Obi-Wan and Anakin, smirking. 

“Looks like I won’t have to do those map studies after all,” she boasted.

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to groan- you shouldn’t have said anything, Ahsoka. 

His old apprentice smirked right back at the young Togruta, “Don’t worry padawan, I’m sure we’ll have plenty of time on the surface for you to do some analyzing.”

She groaned and turned towards the hallway that led to her room, “I’m going to pick up my shoto.”

“Okay,” Obi-Wan said, cutting off Anakin before he could start to argue, “but be prompt- I expect we’ll be departing within the next ten minutes.”

She met his gaze and nodded happily, before running off to grab her lightsaber.

“Now,” Obi-Wan began, rounding on Anakin, “what is this I hear of you strutting around in your bathing suit around temple grounds last weekend?” 

[parkkrys]

Rebels Rex and Cody reunion, Cody had the cute for rapid aging years ago so he's younger than Rex. He's scared of Rex not wanting to be with him again because of it so Rex has to convince him he does

This one was fun and it kinda ran away from me heh, hope you like it!

-------------------------------

Rex frowned as he walked around the home that he shared with Wolffe and Gregor. He couldn’t find them and the panic was starting to grow, they have been running from the empire for years and the idea that they were caught, or even worse killed then he didn’t know what he was going to do.

But he knew that if Wolffe was here he would be screaming at him for getting himself worked up. Rex just sighed as he moved slowly through the house, opening his room to collapse in his office chair. On the wall, there were hastily written notes and photos all pinned up and Rex just stared at the information, his mind quiet.

Ever since the fall of the Republic and the Jedi, ever since Rex found out that Cody was actually alive he had been determined to get him back. It had been years and he felt something in his chest ache as he stared at the recent photo of Cody. His cyare, his entire world was still being brainwashed even after they found the cure of the clones rapid deaging and refused to share it with anyone else.

Rex knew that they were using him to bring General Kenobi out in the open but the man was dead so he wasn’t sure why they were wasting their time. It was maddening, they had gotten so close to him a few times only for Cody to slip out of their fingertips and they had to restart their process all over again.

He wasn’t even sure if he could take it anymore. The constant mouse and cat game was making his body ache, his mind grew dark. At first it would bring the bad thoughts during the hours of darkness but now it was constant, the feeling of hopelessness was slowly killing him on the inside. He tried his best to hide it from the others but he wasn’t even sure he was successful on that part.

He was growing tired of being okay all the time.

He did have his constant fears of what would happen if they did save Cody and got the chip out of him. Would Cody even look at him the same way? He was, well he would call himself old, his back hurt all the time and he sometimes had a hard time getting up. Would Cody even still love him? He couldn’t even say for sure if he would.

He sighed again as he leaned back against his chair, a yawn escaping from him as he let his eyes fall closed. He never expected this to happen when he was younger, he always had the foolish fantasy of starting a life together after the war was over, that they would be recognized as actual people. A foolish dream was all it was.

“Rex, wake up.”

Rex groaned as he lifted his neck, his muscles burning and his body aching. He was going to regret falling asleep in the damn chair, his body made sure of that.

“Rex, you good?”

Rex groaned again as he looked up at Wolffe, “Wolffe?” He grunted and the man only smiled at him, a quick glance behind told him that Gregor was standing in the doorway.

“We got something for you,” Wolffe said softly and Rex was immediately suspicious. Wolffe wasn’t known for speaking softly as if he was an infant, he only did so when he did something he wasn’t sure Rex would like.

“What did you do?”

“Nothing bad, just mostly depends on how you react Rex,” Gregor piped up and Rex turned his glare onto him.

Now that made him even more suspicious but after a minute of glaring at the both of them he had decided to accept his fate with a huff. He saw the way Wolffe and Gregor lit up as Rex stood from the chair, his back aching and his knees, he knew he was going to regret sleeping in that chair and now he had to pay for it.

What was interesting was where both men led Rex, his curiosity growing as they left the house and they entered a cave.

“What the hell have you two done?”

“Shh, we are almost there, come on,” Gregor hushed him and Rex just glared. At least these two were having fun Rex supposed.

He stopped when he saw other people of the resistance standing around, the cave had been structured in a way for them to stay down here and he was more than impressed.

��Alright, you ready?” Wolffe asked him and Rex nodded slowly. He wasn’t sure what to expect at this point and he could see that his men knew it as they faltered lightly before they smiled.

“Come on, in this room.”

Rex followed slowly and he froze when he entered the room, his eyes landed on a figure that was sitting on a bed and he felt his heart stop as he lost his breath.

Cody. His beautiful Cody was there, alive, breathing and he could tell it was actually him when his eyes met his and they way they lit up with confusion and a bit of recognition.

“Rex?”

Some form of noise escaped him as he took a step forward before he stopped. The sound of his cyare’s voice was like music to his ears and he could feel tears well up in his eyes as he opened his mouth to say something, anything but another whine escaped him instead. Was this actually real? Was he dreaming all of this and he was about to wake up from this cruel bittersweet dream?

He suddenly fell to his knees, his legs giving out from beneath him and suddenly Cody was there, holding him as he stared at him with his amber eyes and Rex only sobbed as he held Cody close. He was terrified to let go, scared to wake up from this nightmare but after feeling Cody’s tears on his shoulder he knew this was real.

“Cody,” Rex finally whined out and Cody pulled back to take his face in his hands, smiling at him as he cried.

“Rex, kark Rex you’re here. I don’t really remember what happened but Wolffe told me a bit when I woke up.”

They had so much to talk about but Rex couldn’t do that now, he needed to know if Cody could even love him the way he is now. The Rex Cody knew was gone and he wasn’t going to get him back, he had gone through too much to try and bring his old self back.

“Yeah,” Rex hiccuped, “A lot happened Kote.”

Cody only smiled as he nodded and Rex took a deep breath, his body calming down the way it always had with Cody around.

“I changed a lot too Cody.”

“I can see that,” Cody chuckled wetly and Rex only shrugged.

“I’m now as young as I used to be,” He breathed and Cody only held him tighter.

“Rex, do you still love me even if I am… this?” Cody asked, his voice breaking near the end and Rex only stared. Cody was terrified he wouldn’t love him even if he was still young, that he had a cure and Rex didn’t?

“Oh Kote, of course I do,” Rex blurted out as he watched his cyare’s face closely, “I don’t care if you are younger than me. I love you Cody no matter what.”

“And I love you no matter what Rex,” Cody retorted and Rex couldn't help but to smile.

They had a lot to work through, so much to deal with but Rex knew that Cody was here for him, that he still loved him and for now, that was enough.

[morganas-pendragons]

Epiphany | Commander Cody

another clone fic before i take my leave of tcw writing at least temporarily because my idea bank is dead (update: kidding i have another now, it’s coming this week) / this will probably not be happy because this song is not happy and most of you know better from me of all people lol 

this is actually more hurt/comfort but i hope ya’ll like it! :D 

based off of epiphany from taylor swift’s album folklore 

ft. phantom because i haven’t written enough for her 

@cherieboba​ // @libradusk​ / @obiorbenkenobi​ / @captainrexstan​ / @kamino-mermaid​ / @shitpost-kaley​ / @kryptonian-sith​ / @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​ / @lady-tano​ / @colorfulloverbatturkey​ / @djarinsdni​ / @sithmando​ /  @skyguysaga​ / @starflyer-104​ / @painkiller80​ / @ct7567329​ / @spaghetti-666​ / @kaikai1324​ / @cxptain-rex​ / @jellyfishpoptart​ 

*** 

keep your helmet, keep your life son.. just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle 

There’s a certain numbness that comes with being exposed to trauma so many times. Phantom knows in her heart of hearts that this - being on the front lines of a battlefield since the beginning of her padawanship to Obi-Wan Kenobi - was not what The Force meant for her. Jedi were not soldiers. They were peacekeepers. 

And now it seems she is among the best of them. 

Standing on the shorelines of Felucia, the eldest padawan of her class peers upward at the massive Separatist droid foundry they’ve been sent to eliminate. She knows the familiar signatures for the members of Ghost Company who have come to stand at attention around her as they await the General to begin their debriefing. 

Needless to say, the debriefing doesn’t go well. 

  “You want to do what?” Cody is skeptical, to say the least, but her Master seems rather okay with the idea. It’s probably because of how he’s grown used to Anakin’s antics and this is so very something that Anakin would do.

  “I want you to send me into the heart of the base, by myself.” 

  “Absolutely not. Not unless you have vode covering your exit.” 

A side note to consider: Until this point, Phantom had been going by her given name both by the clones and their Jedi. This was the mission that earned her the nickname Phantom. She slipped away unseen, returned unseen.. but it didn’t mean that Cody didn’t worry any less even after she agreed to take a small squad of his best men. 

That is now where he stands - in the eye of a hurricane that is his mind - on the beaches of Felucia that are crawling with clankers and vod. He’s barely able to hear the call of his Jedi through the comms or see the brothers who beg for his aid as he steps over their bodies and continues on in his task. 

Crawling up the beaches now

Sir, I think he’s bleeding out

A bloodied hand print settles against his boot. It’s a deep scarlet that bleeds past the plastoid and into the skin as he recognizes his inability to save yet another brother who died for a war that just didn't end. 

  “I’m sorry.” 

But in spite of his aching heart and the deaths he will have to catalog later, Commander Cody presses on. He has no other choice. He will go back to The Negotiator. He will come back to it with you - because Cody refuses to acknowledge a world where you are not present with him in it - and once Cody is safely ensconced within your embrace, he will weep for those he was unable to save. For those he failed. 

Such is life. 

*** 

With you, I serve

With you I fall down 

You’ve made it this far without being seen by the magna-guards that Dooku strategically placed to protect the droid foundry, or the B1 legion that remains on the first floor to keep the 212th from entering the front door. They are the distraction, and you are the executor. 

The bombs in your satchel tink as they bounce against your side. 

Viper, Killshot, and Abel are all covering your escape. The three clones, two of which were only just recently promoted to ARC Troopers, are three of Cody’s best men and people he would trust with his own life. Now he’s trusted them with yours and you with theirs. 

Your heart crawls into your throat when Abel starts screaming through the comms. He’s been overrun. 

Watch you breathe in 

Watch you breathing out, out 

“You have to keep going, Padawan!” Abel yells, and the ferocity of his voice makes you wince as you stop in the duct you’ve been crawling through for the last mile. You’re almost to the heart of the facility. “For The 212th!” 

For the 212th. 

You make a mental note to add Abel to the mural of fallen that had begun construction in the gardens of the Jedi Temple several months before. You will remember his sacrifice. You will remember him when the war is over, and the clones are freed. 

You and Cody will remember him together when the world won't. 

Something’s you just can’t speak about 

The vent drops down ten feet into a small but open control room. Once you plant the bombs, you have ten minutes to follow the marked path back to the ground floor of the foundry before you’re supposed to meet Obi-Wan and Cody on the beach. 

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Your hand slams against your wrist.

Detonation Initiated

TIME: 9:59

  “Killshot! Viper!” You yell, saber ignited as you sprint down the hall and to the adjacent staircase that will lead you to the floor beneath you. The B1 droids on duty yelp at the sudden presence of a Jedi and snap to attention in a futile attempt to stop you with their blasters, but to no avail. “Meet me at the rendezvous!” 

  “Yes Commander!” 

only twenty minutes to sleep, but you dream of some epiphany

You can hear screaming over your comm. Viper and Killshot are ARC Troopers, two of the best in the 212th.. there’s nothing to take them down. That’s what you’d also told yourself in regards to Abel. 

  “Shavit.” 

just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you’ve seen

This floor is alot less crowded then the others. Viper and Killshot are at the point where they agreed to meet you at the debriefing, rifle and blasters out and firing rapidly to eliminate the threat of any droids that dare come near you. 

They had made a promise to their Marshal Commander to get his girl home to him. Cody might not like bearing his heart, but his vode see it every time he looks at you.. and they’re not about to deprive him a bit of happiness when the war has given them so little of it. 

  “Boys, on me!” 

  “Yes Commander!” They shout. 

with you i serve, with you i fall down 

A bolt grazes your shoulder. You yelp at the searing pain across your shoulder blade and whip around to give the hardest Force shove you can muster as you descend to the final floor. 

Your breath catches in your throat. There’s quite a bit of droids left. 

TIME: 5:10

  “There she is!” 

There had been no human guards in this foundry. You’d gotten in, attached the explosives, and had somehow gotten to the main floor without any kind of resistance from those within. Dooku hadn’t even left his best droids here to guard their foundry. 

  “BEHIND YOU!” 

The dread that’s settled in your stomach blossoms when you realize that you are overrun. 

  “PHANTOM!” 

watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out 

Tears burn your eyes as your arms move on their own accord. You are desperately trying to keep your men safe. You are tired and grieving the loss of all the vode who lay outside on that beach, and the natural climate of the planet does nothing when you’re wearing plastoid armor that feels like a second skin. 

with you i serve, with you i fall down 

  “Commander-” Viper starts, and before he can continue, a fatal shot is delivered to his chest that knocks him off his feet. Despite your exhaustion and the fact that your eyes are beginning to blur, you gently place the ARC trooper on the floor outside the door as Killshot continues to take out the activated commando droids. “Phantom-” 

  “You-” You grit your teeth and use The Force to lift him, oblivious to the trickle of blood that trails down your nose and drips into the sand. “Are not dying on me today, soldier! STAY ALIVE!” 

Time: 1:51

  “Look out!” Crys yells. Five or so of the remaining vode snap to attention - including Cody, who has been anxiously following the count down of the timer as he awaits your arrival with his men back on the beach - but he’s now distracted by the body that collapses just in front of the medics. “We need a medic over here! Viper has been hit!” 

The air smells of blood and smoke. 

59.. 58... 

  “Phantom!” That’s Boil - and Cody has no idea where the name came from, but he doesn’t exactly hate it either - yelling into his commlink from beside his Commander as Obi-Wan paces the sand. “The bombs are going to go off in 50 seconds!” 

  “Don’t you think I know that?!” 

  “GET OUT HERE! Kenobi is waiting for you!” 

Mustering all the energy you have left, you raise your hands in the air and throw hundreds of droids backward into the far wall at the other end of the ground floor before you and Killshot are sprinting out into the open and down the sandbar to where Obi-Wan and Cody are waiting for you. 

It hits you square in the face when you see how terrified he looks. You are still too far away for comfort, too close to the blast area, too close to danger... and seeing how many fallen vode are on that beach must make Cody believe he’s about to lose you too. 

Not today. 

  “Are you ready, General?” Cody asks. Obi-Wan nods and braces himself against the sand, digging his toes into his boots as he relaxes his body and concentrates the best that he is able. 

just one single glimpse of relief

to make some sense of what you’ve seen

10..9...8...7....

Cody holds his breath and screws his eyes shut. Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay. 

You hold your breath and allow yourself to fall limp in the Force grip that your Master uses to haul you and Viper down the beach. 

  “Cody.” 

Soot covered hands collide with hard white and gold plastoid. You are far enough away from the foundry not to get caught in the blast, and the minute you are safely ensconced in the arms of the Marshal Commander, Obi-Wan slams his hand against his wrist and detonates the bombs. 

The world explodes in a flurry of amber against a sapphire sky. The sun is descending. 

Time to go home. 

*** 

He finds you in the quiet of his quarters. After being released from medical to ensure nothing had happened to you and checking in on Viper, you’d immediately retreated to the sanctity of Cody’s quarters that he very rarely used on The Negotiator. 

The minute the door hisses shut, the weight falls on his shoulders and he shudders. It’s almost as if the world wanted to keep him feeling as light as possible before the weight of reality came back onto his shoulders.

You’d mentioned this before in a novel you’d read. Atlas. 

Yeah. Marshal Commander Cody is Atlas. 

  “Kote,” Your voice echoes through the quarters as you stand in the thresh hold between the kitchen and the bedroom, eyes softening at his state of exhaustion as you beckon him forward. “My love, are you alright?” 

He releases a shuddering breath and falls into the crook of your neck. “No,” Cody rasps, desperation creeping into his voice as he fists the material of your tunic with shaking fingers as he pulls you deeper into the curve of your body. “No. I almost lost you today.” 

Capable fingers swiftly work at removing his armor. Cody doesn’t know it yet, but you have the bath running, and you intend on taking care of him. Someone has to do it. 

Might as well be the person who’s in love with him. 

  “We destroyed the foundry.” 

  “Yeah? But at what cost?” He asks, and you don’t answer. You’d seen the defeat on the clones face as you and Obi-Wan had built them a pyre - a common occurrence after difficult campaigns to give the clones closure - and bid the fallen vode farewell. “We lost so many.” 

  “You didn’t lose me, Cody.” You whisper. “You never will.” 

He shakes his head. Once, twice, three times, he doesn’t believe you-

  “Phantom-” 

Standing in nothing but his blacks, you use the Force to place the pieces of his armor on the sofa before you turn back to him and grip his face in your hands. Your eyes are piercing, certain in your words, your fingers gentle as you cradle him in your grasps. 

  “Never.” You repeat. “You will never lose me.” 

It’s a declaration. One that Cody feels in the depths of his heart as he allows you to lead him into the ‘fresher. “Phantom,” His breath feels hollow in his throat as you turn to peer at him over your shoulder. “I-” The words are poised on the tip of his tongue and he has no problem saying it to the rest of his brothers.. but to you? It feels like he’s teetering on the edge of a boundary he dare not approach. 

  “Cody.” You breathe, taking him into your arms and guiding his hands to rest against your hips. “Look at me.” Dark eyes flutter open to meet your own as you lean in and just barely ghost his mouth with your own. Your fingers flex around the nape of his neck as you stand on the tips of your toes and open your mouth to him, sighing in relief as he blooms like the petals of a flower and opens beneath your touch. 

He hears the thought ring clearly in his mind. 

I love you. 

And the confession makes him want to weep. You’ve known, something tells him you’ve always known, but the fact that he doesn’t have to say it yet makes relief burst in his chest. Oh... there’s just something about the certainty in knowing the person you love also loves you just as fiercely. 

Cody looks at you, and he sees everything he has ever wanted since being brought into the cold sterile home of Kamino. 

You. He sees you. 

  “Just for one night, Cody.” You ask, gently guiding him into the bathtub and reaching for the shampoo on the side of the tub. Cody subconsciously leans into your touch as you begin to lather shampoo into his hair and quietly hum as you do so. “For once.. let someone take care of you. Can you do that?” 

He grips the side of the tub with lax fingers.

  “Of course I can,” He hums. “I’m home.” 

*** 

The Jedi Gardens are the most peaceful part of The Temple outside of the Room of a Thousand Fountains. You have spent much of your time there since before you were taken on as the padawan to High General Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even then, your previous Master had spent much of their time in here. It was the only place in the Temple you could find peace. 

Today, you’re spending your time engrossed in the mural of The Fallen that the Council had given you permission to paint. While you spent the majority of your time nowadays on the front lines with Obi-Wan and the 212th, your hobby during R&R was painting. This mural, this memory, was to test your ability. 

This was month six of working on it. 

Cody is wearing his civilian clothes - a gift from you nearly a year beforehand - and has his hands tucked into his pockets upon entering the temple Gardens. The two of you had agreed to meet for dinner ala picnic style in the Temple later that day despite his reluctance to meet you there for fear of.. people. There were only two jetti he trusted.

One of them he was looking at. 

Splattered in paint, hair messily tied on top of your head, he watches in awe as you finish Abel’s helmet and the blend of gold and white paint across the top before stepping back to admire the work. There’s nearly two dozen helmets painted across the rock face near the little waterfall on this side of the Temple Gardens, and Cody takes that into consideration because it’s truly a beautiful place for an eventual proposal. 

Not that he’s thought about it. 

  “Phantom, love-” He calls out softly, lips quirking upward in the ghost of a smile as you whip around at his presence and beam. He loves that smile. “That’s coming along really well. How long have you been here?” 

  “Just a couple hours.” Your eyes widen in embarrassment as you realize why he’s here. “Oh no, oh no-”

He runs a palm across your hip and pulls you against his body. “You forgot,” Cody muses. “It’s okay. You usually do whenever we come home from the front, but I’m not worried about it.” He bends his head down to ghost his lips over your pulse point, nuzzling your shoulder with his neck and peppering the bare skin there with kisses. Cody’s not sure there’s a sound more beautiful then your laughter. “Not when I’ve got everything I need right here.” 

He wouldn’t dare do this with his General or the vode around. This is a side of Cody only you get to see. 

And little Gods.. do you adore him. 

  “You’re a sap.” 

  “One of us has to be.” 

You link your fingers with his own and lead him to the beginning of the mural. “I wanted to show you this,” You murmur, taking his hand and reaching upward to graze the first word written in white calligraphy across the top of the collected helmets. “For you, my love.” 

Across the top of the rock face reads, 

With you I serve, with you I fall down

A memorial to our fallen vode 

We will remember you 

Even when the world won’t 

[xwingsandlaserswords]

38. Whispering "I love you" before a chaste, delicate kiss. (I know you like angst, so you can turn this one in something angsty. Maybe the kiss is after one of them, either Cody or Obi-wan, wakes up after being really injured)

You are absolutely right, I do enjoy angst...  

Here you go, Blue, I hope you enjoy!!! 

Dawn’s Quiet

Cross posted on AO3

He doesn't need a clock to know it's early morning. The hallways are empty, save for a couple of droids and the occasional sleep evader. The only sounds heard are the steady beeps and hums of various medical equipment. 

He knew his settings well enough to know it was early morning. Ben had spent almost a week in the same room. At this point, he knew every crack in the wall. He knew when certain people would come and go. He wasn’t supposed to be here, not at this hour, but he didn’t think anyone would mind. He sat in the uncomfortable chair and read his holo, lightly holding his beloved’s warm hand. 

Cody would be awake any moment, he told himself. Surely a week was enough time for the other to heal. 

Ben wasn’t there when it all happened. He found out from Rex, who barged in during Leia’s lesson and ordered him to the medical bay. Ben was told he and Cody were attacked by Imperials. No one would say what caused Cody’s injuries- all Ben knew was that Rex took the blame. 

Ben didn’t startle when the door whoosed open. Only one person would enter the medical bay at this hour. 

Upon seeing him, Fret clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Thought I told you to get lost, Kenobi." She didn't spare him another glance as she moved to check on Cody. 

"You had," he agreed, placing the holo under his seat, "and I did." 

She looked up from the diagnostic scanner and studied him for a moment, ensuring that the dark circles under his eyes and the hollowness in his cheeks had faded. Ben stood still, knowing the other would force him out if he was at any less than his best. "Good," she declared, clearly pleased to see him in full health. She turned back to the scanner and continued reading. "You no longer look like death. Thought I would have to sedate you." 

"I was fine-" 

"You hadn't slept in three days. You may be able to fool the untrained, Kenobi, but you can't fool me." Fret held out her hand, eyes still skirting over the scanner. Ben offered Cody’s limp arm, holding his hand lightly as Fret checked his pulse. 

"He’s recovering as expected,” Fret said. “He should be back to normal in about two weeks, provided the bone stabilizer does its job and he isn’t put under any more stress.”  

Ben nodded, absentmindedly rubbing circles into Cody’s wrist. He knew the other would hate Fret’s analysis. Cody has never done well while on bed rest, but age has made him more resilient. “He won’t like that.”

Fret shrugged. “Too bad. Either he works with me or I’ll send him to a 2-1B unit. They’re much less nice.” 

A small smile graced his lips for a moment before frowning again. Fret sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting across from the elder man. “I don't understand you two,” she murmured. “You know he’ll be okay; Cody's had worse injuries." 

Ben hasn't forgotten. In the days of the war, Cody spent as much time as he did in the medical bay. This time, however… they don't have a full medical supply. Bacta is only used in dire situations. Old clothes are ripped up and sterilized: they make do as reusable bandages. They have one trained medic. 

"Don't put your health on the line just because he's a little scratched." Fret finished. 

"I could say the same about you," Ben responded, meeting her gaze. "You have been in here as much as I. When was the last time you slept?" 

Her lack of response was enough of an answer. 

"Fret, I can take care of him. Why don't you go, I'll let you know if anything happens." There is no argument that Fret is the best, but she is human. She can't do the work of twenty men alone. 

She clenched her jaw, biting back the protest surely at the tip of her tongue. Ben understood: how many times had he denied the same request? They were one in the same, always putting the ones they care about first. 

"I can take care of him," he reaffirmed. "I promise. Please, go rest." 

Fret clicked her tongue again. A few moments later, she pressed a light kiss to Cody’s forehead and stood.She walked over to Ben’s side and put a hand on his shoulder. "You're a good man, Kenobi," she murmured. "But hurt my brother and I'll kill you." Nothing more was said as she went through the door. 

Ben smiled once more, turning back to Cody and shaking his head. “Your sister is stubborn.” A light laugh echoed through the room, causing Ben to frown. “How long have you been awake?” 

Cody squeezed his hand. “Long enough to hear her threat.” He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting slowly to the soft light. “How long-” 

“A week.” Ben stated, turning away and blinking rapidly.   

Cody frowned and put a hand on his cheek. “Please don’t cry, cyar'ika,” he said, wiping the stray tears from his cheek. “I’m alright.”

“I thought I lost you.”

Cody wasn’t surprised by his confession. Life has taken more from the former Jedi than it has given. Cody wished he could take away that pain, could reaffirm him that Cody isn't going anywhere. He's a little damaged, and a little scarred, but he's resilient and stubborn. He'd crawl from the depths of Mustafar to ensure his beloved is never alone again. 

“I’m alright,” He repeated, squeezing their joined hands once more and wiping more tears off his cheek. “I promise you, I’m okay.” 

“I love you.” Long ago, those three whispered words would have meant trouble. They would have had irrevocable consequences. Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi may have been expelled from the Jedi Order. Commander Cody, CC-2224, may have been decommissioned from the GAR and lost everything he’s made for himself. Long ago, there were murmurs of ‘maybe’ and ‘after the war’. 

Now, Cody pulled his riduur close and gave him a chaste kiss. Now, Cody rested his forehead against Ben’s and exhaled slowly. Now, Cody will let himself have a moment of peace, unabashedly holding the man he loves and basking in the quiet of the dawn. 

“I love you too,” Cody whispered back, earning another sweet kiss from his riduur. 

He would be back to full health soon. For now, he will let himself be with his cyare. 

In times like these, that's all he can really ask for. 

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 13

Prompt: hiding injury 

Read on AO3

Note: I connected the next three Febuwhump days within the same plot, so day 14 and 15 will be parts 2 and 3. 

The Further I Fall 

With a parka zipped all the way up to his chin, hood up, two layers of snow pants, and his arms crossed against his chest loosely (since his many layers of clothing have decreased his range of motion), General Skywalker has never looked more like a pouting child. Rex watches in utter amusement as he quarrels with a very tired looking General Kenobi.

"Hoth? You realize when people describe cold icy hells, they are actually talking about Hoth, right?"

"We're not taking a vacation, Anakin, this is a mission and you are welcome to stay on the ship if you are afraid of a little chill," the Jedi Master replies without even looking up from his datapad. It is an absolute wonder to Rex that Kenobi has put up with Skywalker for over a decade now. He's known the guy for like a year and even that has been draining, albeit, amusing in most cases.

His pouting only increases at that suggestion. "I'm not afraid. And I can't let you go alone, either."

"Cody and Rex will be with me," he says, glancing up as Cody walks into the room in his own cold-weather gear. "Really, Anakin, it's just a recon mission. Checking on a crashed Separatist ship and then we're done." he finally looks at his former padawan. "So are we going to complain, or get this over with?"

The younger Jedi grumbles something that Rex can't hear and stomps away. Sometimes he forgets that Skywalker is still very young. Practically a teenager-- why they gave a teenager another teenager of his own is beyond him, but the Jedi seem to operate a little differently than logic would suggest. He supposes he can't really argue since his brothers are all technically pre-teens in standard time, but at least they have adult development and the ability to grow facial hair.

Rex leans over to Cody and elbows him in the ribs. "How long do you think your Jedi lasts until he blows up on Skywalker?"

Cody raises an eyebrow. "Are you bettering on our generals getting into a fight?"

"Uh, yeah. Have you met them?"

A pause. "Okay, are we talking a verbal or physical fight..."

By the time they reach the surface of Hoth, Rex is shocked by the cold that immediately cuts straight to his bones. No matter how many layers he thought was sufficient, he was wrong. Luckily his armor hides the shake of his body and his helmet modulates out the chattering of his teeth.

"We shall make this quick," General Kenobi yells over the wind as they walk from the ship. It takes a moment for Rex to see it through the raging storm, but he soon can make out the outline of a Separatist cruiser half-buried in the snow. Their intelligence indicated it crashed only a week ago by Hoth standards, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the ice-covered ship. Already it seems to be feeling the effects of the cold, some parts looking to be concaved in either from the crash or the weight of the snow. The ship is quickly becoming a permanent part of the landscape.

They find an entrance and slip into the ship, which is thankfully resting on its belly. Thankfully, these ships are made for deep space and have the insulation to keep the cold out at least a little bit. Rex can see the general's breaths forming clouds, but it's better than the bitter windchill from outside.

"What a dump," Skywalker mutters as they traverse the ruined halls.

"Agreed," Rex whispers back. They aren't exactly sure what they'll find-- hopefully an operational computer they can download data from, but taking out a few cold clankers would also be a plus. So far all the droids seem to have had a bad time in the crash. Their parts are scattered around at random, a head here, half an arm there. Rex and Cody kick a ball socket from the hinge of their elbows back and forth to one another as they walk.

"So let me get this straight," Skywalker starts, an edge in his voice that Rex knows well. "They sent two Generals, and two high ranking troopers to walk through an abandoned ship at the edge of hell?"

"You must be forgetting the part of the council meeting where they assigned only you to the mission, and you managed to rope me into accompanying you."

Skywalker grimaces, and Rex smirks under his mask. "But what about Rex and Cody?"

"They volunteered."

"Someone's got to watch your back, sir," Rex grins.

Maybe the universe decided to make Rex put his credits where his mouth is because the ship lets out a low groan and suddenly their horizontal trek down the hall becomes vertical. Rex hardly has time to react before falling onto his back and slipping down the hallway like some sort of demented slide.

"Hold on!" he hears General Kenobi yell out, and suddenly Rex is being thrown in a direction that is not in line with gravity. He and Skywalker collapse into a heap on the wall beside a blast door, Rex's armor crashing into the electrical panel and shattering the display. The door slams closed with an echoing boom.

"Obi-Wan!" Skywalker groans, looking wide-eyed around the wall they now sit on. "Self-sacrificing, bastard," he curses, realizing that he and Rex are alone on one side of the blast door, and assumedly Kenobi and Cody are on the other. He reaches for his commlink to contact Cody, but to his dismay, that too was crunched in the fall.

"Alright, the ship's structural integrity is probably compromised so we ought to--"

Skywalker doesn't wait for whatever Rex has to say before thrusting his lightsaber into the wall. I don't know why I even try.

If there is an argument he knows he can't win, it's anything that involves getting between the Jedi. Rex learned very quickly it is better to just let them do whatever it is they think is the next step. Skywalker cuts out a circle in the wall and moments later it drops into the hallway below. Rex internally counts how long it takes to hit-- 1...2...3...4...5...6

The piece of durasteel slams into something that is definitely not the wall of a ship. It makes a transperisteel-like shattering noise that resonates back up through the vertical corridor, but that is not what concerns Rex primarily. The time it took to fall makes him nervous. He glances up at the Jedi, wondering if he too is concerned they heard no noise from below. No yell of surprise at a falling piece of durasteel or even talking amongst the General and Cody.

"I got you, Rex," Skywalker says, standing at the edge of the hole. Rex, again, knows what's coming. The Jedi doesn't think twice before jumping down through the hole, and Rex-- having done this song and dance a few times with the Jedi follows close behind. He's plummeting through complete darkness, the updraft nearly sending his helmet flying off his head. Rex squeezes his eyes shut, knowing nothing he does now can save him-- it's up to Skywalker.

Sure enough, he gets the strange sensation of the air around him thickening, slowing his velocity until he is practically floating right above the floor. His general releases him from his Force powers, and Rex's boots land with a solid thud on the ground. From the light of Skywalkers' saber, he can see why the durasteel circle didn't make the noise he expected-- it appears in this portion of the ship was torn apart, giving way to the interior of an icy glacier.

So where are Kenobi and Cody?

"Rex," General Skywalker says, having walked up ahead a little further. He can now see the large tunnel that goes deeper into the icy mountain. There is a clammer, and then to the clone captain's surprise, the tunnel illuminates. Skywalker stands at a control panel, staring pensively down the lit-up passage.

"Sir, I don't think this ship crash was an accident," Rex says. He scans the entrance using a thermal scan in his helmet. Most of it is a bright white or blue, but thankfully there are faint yellow footprints leading down the tunnel. Two pairs of them. Rex walks up next to Skywalker, turning off the display. "Looks like General Kenobi and Cody decided to check it out."

Skywalker seems to have relaxed by this news, shaking his head. "And they didn't even think to wait for us."

__________

As much as Obi-Wan was hoping he would have the time to use the Force to cushion his own fall, he supposes slamming into a wall of ice and snow works as well. The sudden change of medium surprises him, as he was expecting to reach out for a durasteel wall.

The impact knocks the wind out of him completely, and for a few long moments, he's worried he'll blackout. Pins and needles run up his arms and legs, but he isn't sure if it's due to the cold or the fall.

Thankfully, the shift of the ship must have caused a blanket of fresh powder to gather in the exact spot he landed, giving him just enough cushioning to keep him conscious. While Anakin might argue this is a moment for him to believe in luck, Obi-Wan would argue that the shard of ice that has embedded itself in his back would beg to differ.

He lies there for a moment, a little afraid to move just yet. Obi-Wan takes a quick assessment of his condition. The shard isn't horribly long-- maybe the length of his thumb, and it seems to have missed his vital organs.

The concern will be for his ribs. He can definitely feel at least one broken-- if not completely shattered-- which could be bad news if he has to move too much.

In summary, he will live. He will be fine once they get off this Force-forsaken wasteland, and an upside to the cold is it will make him numb to the pain for a little while. Nature's anesthetic.

Obi-Wan hears rustling around nearby. He wonders who landed with him-- he's fairly sure he managed to get two to safety on the other side of the blast doors and aid the fall of a third down to the lower levels with him. A moment later, the visor of Commander Cody appears over him.

"General! Are you alright?"

Okay, so Cody is here, meaning Rex and Anakin are above. Sure enough, when he reaches out with the Force, he senses two strong presences nearby. They appear to be uninjured, which is a relief. Obi-Wan lifts his hand, ignoring the sharp pain that comes from his side as he does so. "Quite alright, Cody." The commander helps him to his feet, and Obi-Wan finally gets a better look at their location.

"It seems the ship was resting on a hinge point, and our weight caused it to topple, sir."

"Fantastic," he says dryly. "And conveniently it has deposited us at the mouth of some sort of tunnel or cave."

"Appears so."

"My old master used to tell me there was no such thing as coincidences," he says shaking his head. Of course, a simple recon mission would turn into finding a secret hideaway. The question is, who's hideaway? "Shall we?"

They begin down the hall, Obi-Wan allowing Cody to lead while he covertly tears off pieces of his tunic and stuffs them into the puncture wound to keep pressure. When he's finally satisfied that the makeshift bandage will hold for a little while he catches up with the commander. As they get deeper into the passage, the icy tunnel turns more and more manufactured. Durasteel beams offer supports, and Obi-Wan spots some lighting periodically. Perhaps it is a good thing the lights aren't on... hopefully means nobody is home.

"Who in their right mind would set up shop on Hoth?" Cody says, his teeth obviously chattering under his helmet.

"Probably not someone in their right mind," Obi-Wan smiles. "I suppose it's a desolate location. The chances of being found are very slim."

"Unless a Seppie ship crashes into you. From the looks of the construction, this place has been around for far longer than the ship."

Obi-Wan has a bad feeling about this. Maybe it's skewed by his steadily bleeding wound, but it just seems strange to him that a ship would crash right on top of some sort of secret tunnel. All of Hoth and it reveals this?

Suddenly the lights flicker to life, revealing the tunnel opens up ahead of them into a larger area. He and Cody look up and behind them in surprise.

"What are the odds that was Rex and General Skywalker?" Cody asks, tightening his grip on his blaster.

"I'm optimistic, though, I don't suggest waiting around to find out." Obi-Wan is curious where all of this is leading. They approach the large area, which turns out to be a massive rotunda made entirely of carefully sculpted ice. It's rather grandiose in appearance, but not in practice as his eyes are diverted from the gorgeous ceiling to the remainder of the room. He would expect to see a grand ballroom of sorts, perhaps a dual-staircase traversing delicately down the sides of the slick walls, but no such hidden beauty lies before them.

It's a lab. Operational as of recently from the looks of it. Various tables cluttered with beakers and chemicals make a large U shape in the center of the room, surrounding what seems to be a primitive prototype of a bacta tank.

Most disturbing of all, a tilt-table is bolted to the ground off to the side, its durasteel restraints unlocked, but around the base lies the dark crimson of dried blood. Lots of blood.

"Oh good," Obi-Wan says, sighing deeply. The lab of a mad scientist is not at all what he expected to find (they must be crazy to set up on Hoth of all places). He is unwillingly reminded of a particularly sensitive portion of his padawan years where Qui-Gon was abducted by Jenna Zan Arbor to try and figure out the scientific basis of Jedi powers. He was tortured, his blood drained so he was kept on the very brink of death in hopes for her to study Force healing.

She also took Anakin once. Escaped yet again. Every time they come close to finding her, she manages to slip away. Though it has been years since she was committed to the cause of figuring out how the Force works, he is still uneasy by what he sees. He can't deny the similarities in the set-ups.

Cody walks further into the cavern carefully, but Obi-Wan suddenly feeling a bit weak decides to stay back and watch the tunnel entrance. He watches as the clone commander takes a holovid of the scene, careful to step over the puddles of blood.

"Hard to tell with the cold," Cody says as he finishes his assessment. "But I'd say it's been abandoned about a week."

"Ship crash probably scared them off... Whoever it is."

Cody bends down to take a sample of the blood, but in Obi-Wan's vision there seem to be two of him. He is quite sure they didn't bring a second 212th member though.

Footsteps echo through the tunnel, and his instincts kick in. He grabs his lightsaber, igniting it and whirling around to meet whoever runs after them. The Force is murky now, only confusing him more. Two figures appear from the dim lighting, one in armor and the other with floppy brown hair. Obi-Wan blinks, taking a staggering step forward.

"Master?" he mutters, his lightsaber dropping to his side and rolling away from him.

"Obi-Wan?" the man yells, his name echoing multiple times through the chamber.

"Master watch out! It's Arbor!"

"Obi-Wan!"

He's on his knees, vision tunneling. A hand rests on his back, carefully yet frantically tugging at him to look up but his head is heavy.

"I'm fine," he says as his world is turned upside down and now he's staring at the beautiful ceiling, which is very quickly fading away. "I'm okay."

[burningsoprettily]

NO MORE - Star Wars Fic (2/2)

[Read the entire work on AO3]

[Part One on tumblr]

*

"We, as Jedi, have lost our way. We were once truly neutral, serving the people. And look at us now."

"Master Kenobi, we still serve the people to the best of our capabilities."

"No. We serve the people in power, rather than the people who truly need our help."

*

Of all Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the infamous Masters. He is known for his compassion and grace, implacable serenity in face of adversity. From the Initiates to his fellow Masters, most aspire to be like him.

So, when the Jedi in the Temple were faced with a Jedi Master, known for his unshakeable calm, striding through the corridors, simmering with fury, they knew something significant had happened.

All the Jedi could think was, 'Someone's going to get their ass kicked.' They know that Jedi aren't supposed to feel gleeful or hunger for drama, but when Obi-Wan karking Kenobi has thrown away his vaunted serenity for pure murderous fury, they think they can be excused.

The Force was swirling with whispers of change.

In the Council chamber, Master Yoda's ears flicked and he hummed. Yes, change there is. Change, there will be.

Elsewhere, Darth Sidious was filled with a strange sense of foreboding. Something was happening. Something he did not foresee. And he did not like it.

*

"Know better, you do, than the Council?"

"Considering the recent history of the Order's actions, that's not really setting the bar high, Master Yoda."

*

Tales of how Obi-Wan Kenobi stood up against the Council ('Stood up?' some would snicker on hearing about it. 'More like he gave them all a tongue-lashing so bad, we can still see Master Windu wincing at times.') was spoken in awed whispers, and passed on to the Jedi in all the corners of the Galaxy. Obi-Wan didn't know it then, but he had just set the precedence for the future Jedi, and that would save the Order from being decimated many times in the future.

Within few weeks, news slowly spread from planet to planet that something monumental was happening in Coruscant, in the Jedi Order and that it was all centered around General Kenobi. The troopers of 212th and 501st exchanged wary glances, knowing that General Skywalker would be right in the middle of the mess, side by side General Kenobi. Commander Cody steeled himself and started making contingency plans, and if worst comes to worst, evacuation plans too.

Some whispered that the Jedi were requisitioning clones of Kenobi. Others muttered derogatory comments, while hiding their curiosity. And there were some, tired and weary, who looked at the whispers and rumours with hope dawning in their eyes.

*

"What would you propose that we do, Master Kenobi?"

"Simply put, we need to declare ourselves as a neutral organisation again, instead of being beholden to the whims of the Senate. And we need to stop being people who condone slavery- no, do not deny it. Slavery is what the clones are being subjected to. And if you do not realise that, you are being willfully blind."

*

Anakin went back to the battlefront, after extensive discussion with Obi-Wan. He knew that his Master had a plan. So, while Obi-Wan will be tackling the Senate and the Republic as a whole, Anakin will be holding the fort, so to speak, along with Ahsoka.

*

"What do you mean when you say we have lost our way?"

"Look at what we have done, Masters, in the name of peace. Do you think this is what the Force intended for us? To become warmongers?"

*

After talking with Cody and Rex, it was unanimously decided that the 212th will be grounded at Coruscant, at the Temple to be precise. The public were told that the troopers needed a break. The true reason was that their General needed round-the-clock guarding of his person. (When asked if the clones don't trust their General to take care of himself, Cody gave them a look that it made the person, who put forth the query, feel like their entire lineage and their mental capacity had been called to question.)

*

"You say that you follow the Will of the Force. Tell me, Masters, can you really sense the Force's Will when there is nothing but Darkness on Coruscant? The Force is choked with so much despair and confusion on Coruscant, that it is a miracle we have not all Fallen already."

*

Ahsoka had always heard of how proper her Grandmaster was. From Anakin, the description was a bit more explicit, both fondness and exasperation coloring his tone. And from the remaining Jedi, she only ever witnessed utmost respect, admiration, sometimes envy, with regards to Master Obi-Wan. But for the first time, Ahsoka was seeing the side of Obi-Wan Kenobi that was the most true to him, the part that would stand for no injustice, the part that was truly Jedi. She understood then, as she watched her Grandmaster take apart and rebuild the Republic with just his words, that this was what inspired the loyalty and the bone-deep devotion that she had witnessed in the people who had been fortunate enough to have come under Obi-Wan's brand of protection.

*

"We were trained in the arts of diplomacy and negotiations. Let us be what we were trained for. Let us be Jedi of the Galaxy, rather than Generals in this pointless war. Let us negotiate for peace between the systems. The people deserve peace, not more bloodshed."

*

In another world, Anakin refused to believe Fives when the clone brought the chips to his notice. In this world, though he was filled with skepticism and disbelief, there was a part of him that Sidious hadn't managed to poison against his Master. And so, with the unwavering faith that his Master will be able to clear the confusion in his head, Anakin confided in Obi-Wan.

That changed everything.

Sidious did not know it then, but his plans had already crumbled to dust. As the Sith Lord, he had wanted to spread more pain and suffering in the Galaxy. He had seen the opportunity in Idien II, and had taken it.

And that? That had cinched his fate.

*

Afterwards, no one could be sure as to which declaration produced the most opposition; when Master Windu stated that the Jedi will stop participating in the War or when he stated that the Clones will be inducted as members of the Order, and hence out of reach of the Republic. (When the Senate appealed to the Kaminoans, their succint reply was, "The Clones were made for the Jedi, and hence they belong with the Jedi.")

Leaving the Senate building in an uproar, Windu recalled the Chancellor's face when he had made his declarations on behalf of all Jedi. The man had looked like he had been slapped in the face with a fish. Windu had taken great pleasure in that reaction as he had never liked Palpatine.

*

The withdrawal of Jedi from the war had one unexpected outcome. The Separatist Army, instead of continuing to take over planets, had come to a standstill. Though General Grievous was quite outspoken regarding the untrustworthy nature of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi in particular, the other members of the Confederacy remembered the times when the Jedi had come to their aid without any reservations.

When voted among themselves, the majority was overwhelmingly towards biding their time. They would wait, and if the Jedi (not the Republic) were to extend their help in negotiations for peace, then they would decide accordingly.

General Grievous' howls of outrage were rather unpleasant to hear for the others.

*

Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker were lauded for their defeat of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. The revelation that it was Chancellor Palpatine who was the Sith and the puppeteer who had controlled both sides of the war, produced shock and horror throughout the Galaxy.

*

Anakin had been reluctant to believe the worst of his friend. He had confided in the Chancellor, unloaded his deepest fears and darkest secrets. He had almost trusted him more than Obi-Wan ('almost' because the reason he never confided in Obi-Wan is not because he didn't trust him but because Anakin could never bear to see the look of disappointment on his Master's face).

When the Chancellor had pleaded and cajoled with Anakin, he had hesitated. But then Ahsoka had burst in, worried and determined to help them (Force, she was so much like him. He wondered if his child would have the same impulsive tendencies), and Sidious reflexively caught her with the Force, tightening his grip on her windpipe.

Seeing his Padawan in the air, hands grasping uselessly at her throat, unable to breathe, Anakin was struck dumb. He breathed in, focusing on Obi-Wan's singular faith in him, and surged into the fray, like a mother gundark attacking the enemy who dared to threaten her children.

The battle was over in minutes.

In the next second, Anakin was holding Ahsoka tightly and Obi-Wan joined in. Mace Windu looked at them and smiled, a little uptick in his lips, his Force presence surging with satisfaction and serene contentment.

*

It took two years for peace to be established again, between the Republic and the Independent Systems. Obi-Wan was the most sought after Jedi for negotiations, and him being who he was, he never refused a request. Hence, by extension, Anakin ("Like kark I'm letting you go without me, Master!"), Ahsoka ("I am your Grandpadawan, and Anakin's Padawan. Where you go, I go.") and Cody ("With all due respect, General, but you're not going anywhere without me.") were run ragged too.

There was an inner peace to Obi-Wan that Anakin had never observed in him till now. Knowing how much of a toll the War had taken on all of them, he was not surprised. Rather, he was glad that his Master could be who he was always meant to be.

The Galaxy will always be in chaos. There will be unrest, yes. But now the Jedi can focus on doing their Force-given duty.

Seeing Obi-Wan guiding a batch of clones in meditation, Anakin smiled softly.

Things were looking up, finally.

*

"Master Kenobi, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, youngling. And call me Obi-Wan, dear one."

"Okay, Master Ken- sorry, Master Obi-Wan. What made you want to take decisive steps to stop the Clone Wars?"

"There will come a time for every Jedi, where our faith, in everything we hold true to, will be tested. You will have a choice then. You can choose either to keep going, taking what is being thrown at you and continue enduring. Or, you can stop, and say no. Is whatever is happening the Will of the Force? Remember, we are Jedi and we are part of the Order. But being a Jedi means more than just following orders and living by the Code. It means following the Force. And sometimes, rarely when the Council says yes, and the Force says no, you'll have to choose what kind of a Jedi you are. The one who follows the Council or the one who follows the Force."

"Is that what you did, Master? You said 'no'?"

"The Force was screaming 'no', little one. It had been screaming for a long time. So, I chose to say 'no more'."

[greaterawarness]

Request: platonic or pre-relationship Codywan in some sort of hurt/comfort or intense trust/friendship situation?

(Okay sorry this is a few days late! I ended up surprisingly busy... anyway here it is! I've never written Codywan before and hope you like it!)

“Blast!” General Kenobi curses after failing to move the collapsed cave ceiling. They had fallen into one of Grievous’s traps resulting them to be nearly crushed in a cave in. Now, separated from the rest of his men, Cody is alone with the General.

“We should keep moving, Sir. I don’t think we’ll be getting out that way.” Cody says with his blaster in his hand. The General steps back staring at the wall of ice and rock before giving a reluctant sigh.

“You are right. Only thing to do now is to keep going.” He says walking past Cody. They walk in silence listening for anything that could be an enemy lurking in the tunnel. Cody tries to hide his shivering from the General. He guessed there were worse places to be trapped. He knew there were better ones. He wears his thermal gear suited to handle cold weather, but the chill still seemed to reach him. He glances at the General. He wears even less then Cody but shows no sign of being cold. He notched it up to being a Jedi thing.

“We must find a way to regroup with the 212th before sundown. Or else we’re in for a long cold night.” The General says breaking their silence. Cody doesn’t say anything. This is the first time he and the General have been alone together since the Clone Wars began. So far, it’s been constant boots on ground and endless battles. If it didn’t have anything to do with the battle at hand, they didn’t communicate with each other. Cody was fine with that. He was happy among his brothers. He didn’t feel the need to be friends with the Jedi unlike Rex. Cody shakes his head as he steps over a slippery boulder. Rex always finds a way to make a new friend everywhere he goes. Cody would have lost himself in his thoughts if it weren’t for the General slipping on the icy cave floor. Cody reaches out to steady him.

“You alright?” He asks. The General chuckles to himself while finding his footing.

“Just some ice. Nothing to worry about,” he says with a hand lifting to push some of his hair out of his face. “But why don’t we rest for a moment. We haven’t stopped moving since we arrived to this planet.”

Cody nods before walking over to sit on a stone. He has to force himself to hide a shiver when he feels the cold from the stone through his pants. He glances at the General once more. He looks tired and worn. They have been going a long time. Grievous hasn’t given them much time to rest and even when they did, Cody and the General were always on their feet making sure everything was running smoothly. He’s never seen a Jedi tired before. On Kamino, the bounty hunters would talk about Jedi like they were gods. Now Cody knows that they are only mortal. Just like everyone else.

“Something on your mind, Commander?” The General’s eyes lock onto his even through his helmet. He tried to remember if seeing through objects was also a Jedi trick.

“No, Sir.” He says plainly. He lifts his weapon to start inspecting it if only to take his eyes away from the General. But the General doesn’t turn his gaze.

“I can sense unrest in you, Commander. It’s only the two of us. You can speak freely.” He says not letting the silence settle. Cody lets out a tired sigh.

“I’m just inspecting my blaster, Sir.” Cody says lifting his blaster slightly before going back over it.

“If there’s something bothering you, I’d like for you to tell me.” He insists.

“Is that an order?” Cody says a little to harshly. The General pauses before pulling his eyes away.

“No, I just… it’s nothing.” He says. Cody frowns under his helmet. He hadn’t meant for it to come out that way. He rests back against the frozen cave wall placing his blaster at his side.

“I never fought at the first battle of Geonosis.” Cody says at last. The General cautiously looks back to Cody. “But the casualty report of that battle was… horrifying. We Clones spent our entire lives training for this war. We spent our entire lives hearing of how powerful and wise the Jedi are but after that battle? It’s hard to but my trust back in the Jedi when I know how flawed you are now. It’s put a sour taste in a lot of clones mouths.”

“I can imagine how disappointing we must be.” The General says slowly. Cody wasn’t expecting that answer. He had fully prepared himself to be chewed out or worse. He was sure Skywalker would have given him a few death threats. Cody rests a little deeper against the cave wall.

“And what about you?” He asks. When the General arches a brow he continues. “What is your opinion of us clones?”

The General’s eyebrows rise before furrowing in deep thought. He leans against the cave with a hand lifted to his chin. A common pose he takes when thinking.

“Well, for one thing, you all share the face of the man that tried to kill me on my first visit to Kamino.” He says at last. Cody chuckles. The General rubs his arms seeming more human than Jedi.

“Are you cold?” Cody asks. The General lowers his hands back to his lap.

“I’ll be fine. We should get moving though.” The General says getting to his feet suddenly. Cody wondered if he wasn’t supposed to point out Jedi flaws. Though, he supposed he already did that. He starts wondering if he’ll have to kiss being a commander goodbye when they regroup with the 212th. Still, he said what he thought should have been said.

They walk deeper into the cave feeling the temperature drop lower and lower. The General ignites his lightsaber for light while Cody uses his headlamps. They come to an impasse with the tunnel breaking off into two different ways.

“We should go this way.” They both say while pointing to a different tunnel. They stare at each other.

“My scanners are picking up wind. There might be a way out this way.” Cody says while gesturing towards the right path.

“I am a Jedi. I can sense these things.” The General says. Cody would argue more if it weren’t for a noise echoing out of the tunnel the General is wanting to go down. It’s coughing. Grievous.

“Oh yeah? Well did you sense that?” Cody asks. The General frowns before running down the right path. They struggle to run while trying not to bust their asses on the ice. They were both certain that Grievous was down the left tunnel, but his coughing is only getting louder. Neither Cody nor the General dared say a word. Their footsteps were already making to much sound. Cody slips barely in time to miss the green lightsaber cutting through the icy cave wall. He slides down the tunnel before Grievous bursts through to their side.

“General Kenobi!” Grievous coughs.

“Grievous, how lovely for you to join us.” The General says with his lightsaber drawn. Cody gets to his feet with his blaster ready. He fires at the battle droids marching slowly behind Grievous. The General engages Grievous in the small tunnel. Between all the blaster fire and swinging lightsabers Cody was sure the tunnel was bound to collapse. He needed to get the General out of here. While he thinks of all their options, he notices the General lose his footing before hitting the ground hard. Grievous lets out a chilling laugh while lifting a lightsaber in the air. Cody reacted without thought. His body dove to push the General out of the way but not before Grievous can slice the left side of his helmet. Pain explodes across his face and back of the head. He knows he’s on the ground, but he can comprehend little else. He lifts a trembling hand to his face. It’s wet with warm liquid. He can’t open his eyes to see. He feels hands grabbing him before he’s sliding across the floor.

“Hold on Cody!” the General’s voice yells. Cody tries to regain some control over his body. He forces his right eye open. He and the General are sliding across the cave floor. The General must be using the Force to keep them going. Grievous isn’t far behind them. He takes his blaster and shakily aims it at the cave ceiling. He fires wincing at the ringing in his ears but grinning when the ceiling starts to collapse on the saber swinging asshole. Cody looks forward to see an immediate drop in the cave floor. The General tries to stop them but he’s to tired and they’re going to fast to stop. They cling to each other before falling into the dark whole.

“…ake up! Cody, wake up!” The General’s voice starts out distant before turning into shouting. Cody slowly opens his right eye feeling his body ache and scream from pain.

“What happened?” He croaks. His voice cracks and feels sore. The General sits back on his knees with a relieved sigh. Cody notices a large purple bruise on his forehead and his busted lip.

“Well, I guess you can say we’ve hit rock bottom.” He says making Cody crack a small smile.

“I’d call this ice bottom.” Cody chuckles and then winces at the pain.

“Nice to see you’ve developed a sense of humor.” The General chuckles. Cody looks around trying to take in their situation the most he can without moving. They’re completely surrounded by ice with only the light of his headlamp to see. Seems the ceiling collapsed on top of them as they fell. The General gives a full body shiver.

“Come here,” Cody says with his arm stretching out slowly. The General arches a brow. “Lay with me.”

“Commander, you haven’t even bought me a drink yet.” The General smirks. Cody rolls his eyes.

“It’s to share body heat you ass.” He says. The General slowly slides forward before curling into Cody’s side.

“I’m impressed.” The General says through chattering teeth. “You ah—actually called me an ah—ass.”

“Oh, I’ve called you an ass multiple times. Just not out loud.” Cody admits making the General laugh. The General shifts so he can sit up.

“Let me see your wound.” He says managing to keep the teeth chattering to a minimum. He reaches for Cody’s helmet. Cody didn’t stop him. Mostly because he couldn’t even if he wanted to. He winces as the helmet lifts off his head. He flinches at the intensity of the cold and of the pain across the left side of his face. The General stares down at him with eyes filled with worry. Cody hears a tearing sound before cloth is being pressed to his face. He sucks air through his teeth at the pressure. “I’m sorry.”

“What was that?” Cody asks with his whole body tensing up.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He says softly. Cody can feel his trembling hands holding the cloth to Cody’s wound. Cody’s eyes stare into General Kenobi’s though this time it was General Kenobi’s turn to avoid eye contact. Cody could remind the General that his life was worth more than Cody’s, but he didn’t.

“I don’t hate you.” Cody says at last. This time General Kenobi’s eyes meet his. Cody lifts a hand to place on top of the General’s. “Despite how I feel about the Jedi and this war… I don’t hate you.”

Cody almost thought he could see some color return to the General’s face. The General slowly lowers himself back down to rest against Cody’s side. Cody puts an arm around the General keeping him close.

“Have you tried the coms?” Cody asks after a pause of silence.

“Yes, they’re jamming our signal.” The General says with his head on Cody’s shoulder. Cody turns his head to look down at the General’s face. His eyes are getting heavier as he fights off sleep. The light from his headlamp starts to flicker. It’s going to go out soon.

“Get some sleep, General,” Cody says softly. “I’ll take the first watch.”

The light from the headlamp goes out just as he feels the General slip off into sleep. He stays awake for as long as possible but eventually even his exhaustion wins the day.

Bright lights. Everything is bright and warm. At first Cody thinks he’s dead. Then thoughts of Kamino resurface before he realizes he’s on a republic cruiser. He sits up suddenly before wincing at the pain in his face. He pushes the blankets off him before walking over to a mirror. He stares at his reflection. He’s glad he can still see out of his left eye, but he wasn’t sure how to feel about the scars along the left side of his forehead that curved down to his cheekbone. When the doors open Rex gives a big grin.

“Glad to see you made it.” He says giving Cody a pat on the shoulder. Cody winces still feeling sore from his time in the tunnels. He turns, putting his hands on Rex’s shoulders.

“Rex, where’s the General?”

Rex helps Cody get dressed before leading him down the hallway. He was uncomfortably aware of his missing helmet. Probably couldn’t be saved. He’ll have to get a new one. He feels his heart pounding against his chest. Rex hadn’t said what condition the General was in. Cody starts cursing himself for letting the General fall asleep. They should have fought to stay awake. He goes over every possible thing that could have gone wrong before the ship door’s part to reveal the General standing with his back to Cody. Cody is frozen at first before coming to his senses and clearing his throat.

“Ah, Commander Cody,” General Kenobi says while turning around. Cody pauses when he see’s the clone trooper helmet in his hands. It’s almost identical to Cody’s old one except for a new visor attached. The General walks forward. “I thought I’d add a little extra eye protection if that’s alright?”

“Thank you, Sir.” Cody says slowly. He reaches out to takes the helmet. His hands partly cover the General’s. Even through his gloves he could feel his heat. General Kenobi lowers his head slightly.

“I’m sorry about your scar.” He says softly.

“Just makes me look tougher.” Cody snorts with a smirk. The General lets go of the helmet so Cody can hold it under his arm. They smile at each other for a moment longer before the ship doors part as General Skywalker enters.

“Hate to break up this happy reunion but we’re needed on Christophsis.” Skywalker says. Cody frowns at the sound of his voice.

“The work is never done.” General Kenobi sighs. Cody walks at his side as they make their way to the bridge.

“Never is, Sir. Never is.”

[swhurtcomfort]

“M’okay,” Anakin tried to shout, but it came out weaker than he’d intended. He drew in a ragged breath and tried again.

From the bottom of the crevasse, Anakin could not see the sky. The curvature of the ice he’d slipped down blocked his view of the ledge where he could hear the troopers calling his name.

He knew that Rex and the squad had not heard him. He needed to be louder, if only his lungs would fill up all the way. If only his vision wasn’t blurring in and out.

He tried to roll his shoulders forward, only to be pulled back down by his pack which was trapped under him. He huffed, feeling somewhat like an awkward turtle. It was grey and dark, and he could barely see his own gloved hands in front of him.

The gloves were too stiff and padded to undo the straps of his pack. He used his teeth to pull the glove off of his flesh hand and extricated himself.

By the time Anakin had wriggled his arms free of the straps, the rush of adrenaline was wearing off, and he was becoming cognizant of a horrendous pain blossoming in his hip. There was a dull ache deep in his chest with each breath, and he knew from experience that that meant a cracked rib or two. But that was nothing compared to the agony in his leg. When he pushed into a sitting position, the whole world seemed to pitch forward.

He laid a hand over the injury, pressing experimentally. He had broken something. Possibly multiple somethings. His heart was thumping erratically in his ears.

Something was moving against the chasm wall – a cable. Anakin grit his teeth and scooted towards it. Fresh pain erupted all through his torso with every millimeter. He reached the cable and gave it a quick tug, earning him a smattering of enthusiastic cheers from above.

Anakin knew what they wanted him to do. Perhaps he could make the climb by bracing his good leg against the ice. The spikes on his boots held fast and helped him keep his balance. He wrapped the cable around his hands a few times and yanked upwards, bracing his good leg beneath him. For a moment, he believed they would actually pull this off.

When Anakin was nearly standing upright, he twisted his pelvis at a particular angle and sent a terrible jolt up his spine. He yelped and instinctively put his foot down for balance. That was an even worse mistake. The leg buckled beneath him and he howled. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

The team heard Skywalker’s cry of pain and Rex felt the cable go slack.

“General, are you hurt?” Rex demanded. There was no reply.

“Captain, let me lower myself down to him,” Kix volunteered. “He could be severely injured.”

“No,” said Rex immediately. If Skywalker could get himself stuck down there, Force-blessed as he was, his vods had even less chance of getting out again.

Rex felt the whole team looking at him. Looking to him. If he appeared panicked now, they would all start to panic.

“Fives,” Rex ordered. “Take the rest of the men up to the checkpoint. Tell General Kenobi where we are, he’ll know what to do. Kix,” Rex sighed. “You stay, in case we need your expertise. He’s not going to be able to climb it but we’ll do what we can while he waits.”

There were disconcerted murmurs from the group, and Fives looked absolutely torn, so Rex forced a smile. “It’s Skywalker,” he pointed out. “He’ll be fine. Go quickly, brother.”

Fives shepherded the rest of the Torrent company back to the path. Rex watched them leave. They still had a few miles to climb, and they were already exhausted. Everyone was bundled up in all the layers they owned, simultaneously freezing and soaked with sweat.

It was fatigue and low morale that had gotten them into this scrape – it had been growing dark and it was hard to judge the footing in the freshly fallen snow. Without discussing it, Rex and Fives had both fallen to the back of the group to keep a careful watch. Tup had lost his balance twice, and might have plummeted to his death if Fives hadn’t grabbed him by the elbow to steady him. Rex had been keeping an eye on Hardcase, who was also showing signs of exhaustion.

The only one they hadn’t been watching was Skywalker.

It happened so quickly. Skywalker had made a sound like a strangled animal as he fell. It had echoed off the mountain in Rex’s ears. Fives and Tup had both cried out and lunged for the General’s hand, nearly slipping down into the crevasse after him.

And of course their communications were completely useless at this altitude. That was typical, right?

Skywalker finally gave a muffled response to Kix’s entreaties. They weren’t sure what he had said, but it was something.

“We’ll get you out of there,” Rex assured him. “Try not to move if you’re hurt.”

“How long do you think they’ll take?” Kix asked.

Rex took a deep breath. “We don’t have anything that can fly under these conditions, but I’m sure Kenobi does. There must be rescue equipment and working comms at the checkpoint…maybe an hour? Two?”

Kix shook his head. “We better hope it’s closer to one,” he said grimly.

Rex clapped him on the shoulder. “It’s Skywalker,” he repeated. “Just because he likes the warm doesn’t mean he can’t handle this.”

Kix allowed himself an unsteady chuckle. Their general had been born on a desert planet, and had a tendency to whine and complain about any assignment that took them to below temperate climes.

“I’ll feel better as long as we can keep him talking, Captain.”

So they continued to call down to Skywalker and received another inaudible reply. As long as he was alive and awake down there.

Anakin was forced to admit that the cold was getting to him. The pain was a faraway, numb feeling that only really came to the front of his mind when he moved, so he lied as still as he could. He would obviously need some bone knitters when he got out of here, but he couldn’t see any blood, so he figured he wasn’t too badly off. The only blood was on his tongue, which his chattering teeth had bitten and torn. What an annoying physical reaction.

For the first hour or so, he had shivered and shook in misery and prayed for rescue, but now he lay still. And he felt pretty okay, all things considered.

On some level, Anakin knew that that was a serious problem, but all he felt was an overwhelming lack of concern. Rex and Kix periodically shouted indecipherable words at him, and sometimes he would try to answer but it was so much effort.

Whenever he didn’t answer for too long, the voices got louder and more anxious. That was mildly irritating. He was fine, obviously. And shouting back was hell on his sore ribcage. So much effort.

Come to think of it, holding his eyes open was growing tedious as well. It felt nice to close them for a while.

Once he’d tried that, he didn’t really want to open them again. He was sleepy, and unconsciousness felt like a welcome change from the debilitating cold. He heard Rex and Kix straining their vocal cords above, but he couldn’t remember why he was supposed to care.

Slipping into sleep was like stepping into a warm bath. And for a moment, there was nothing else Anakin cared about in the world.

Helix watched the Torrent Company flit about like an agitated herd of bantha and shook his head. They had all been pushed to near exhaustion, and yet half of them were outraged that they hadn’t been dispatched on the rescue mission. Cody had headed up the team, and taken only two of his own soldiers with him. They were well-rested and ready to perform; the 501st were not. It was only logical. Regardless, Fives had very nearly caused a scene.

They had evidently left their own medic behind to help General Skywalker, so it fell to Helix to wrap and ice Hardcase’s twisted knee, reassure a panicky Tup, and order them both to bed. Yet for some reason, he spotted both parties sitting around the great fireplace at the center of the checkpoint with the rest of the lot. Helix sighed again.

Fives had settled uncomfortably to the head of the group. He was speaking quietly to the others, who huddled together sharing lukewarm caf and troubled looks. They had hoped to hear from Cody by now. They knew that with every passing minute, the sun sank lower and the outside temperature dropped.

Helix knew his exasperation was hypocritical. To them, Skywalker was not like the other Jedi. He was theirs, a brother, one of their own. Helix could not deny that he and his comrades felt the same for General Kenobi.

But still.

General Kenobi, for his part, had returned from his patrol too late to join Cody and the others, and he obviously felt that he should have accompanied the rescue team as well. But as it couldn’t be helped, he busied himself by pacing around the checkpoint with a purposeful stride that fooled everyone who didn’t know him well. He wanted Skywalker home as badly as anyone, but he was too “Jedi” to show it.

The emergency receiver at the medic’s station crackled. “Helix?” said a broken voice.

“Here, Captain.” Helix replied. He assumed it was Cody, but truthfully the reception was too staticky to tell.

“It’s Kix. We have the General.”

Helix stood up straighter. “What’s his condition?”

Kix paused for a long moment. “You’re going to want to prep one of the surgical bays.”

That caught Helix by surprise. The Jedi took care of their own, and whenever possible they preferred to return to the Temple for any major procedures. Helix certainly wasn’t capable of inducing a healing trance or any of that Force stuff, but at least he knew how to adjust medication dosage for an elevated midi-chlorian count.

“He’s hypovolemic and we need to get his temp up. I think it’s a spiral fracture to his femur with mild arterial bleeding,” Kix continued. “Some bruised ribs as well but I think it’s the shock that’s depressing his breathing. Pressure’s all over the place. I need you to be ready for us when we land, Helix.”

“You got it, brother,” said Helix at once. He decided that once he had prepped everything he would pull Fives aside and let him know the seriousness of the situation, because Rex had left him in charge, but the fewer troopers he could involve, the better.

Helix left the receiver and turned around to find a dozen pairs of identical eyes staring at him. They had heard everything.

“We want to help,” Fives pleaded. The rest of the crew nodded solemnly.

Helix sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time.

“Someone go track down Kenobi. A few of you can be ready at the landing dock—not you.” Hardcase had perked up as though about to volunteer. “One of you can escort Hardcase to the barracks and make sure he keeps his knee elevated.”

There were murmurs of mild protest as Helix shooed them away. Only Fives lingered behind.

“Brother,” Fives stammered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Take care of him.”

“Like he were one of our own.” Helix promised.

Part 1 of 2! Took a break from Nano to finally answer these. This is more or less a prompt fill for the first ask, and part 2 will address the second ask, so stay tuned! And thanks for your patience while we worked on these!

Update: Part 2 is here!

[brothers-all]

Aru'e Tio'r (Enemy Within)

Hay mates! Here's a new one for ya! Kinda shorter than others, but I think it makes up in content =P

Okay mates, here we go! I really liked writing this one, so I hope you enjoy it! Read, review and enjoy~

[Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [FanFic] [AO3] [Master-list] Aliit ori'shy tal'din (Family is more than blood). [FanFic] [Ao3] Memory (Tome'tayl) [FanFic] [AO3] or [Tumblr]

Chapter 9

Rex walked down the hall towards the room Krell was supposedly staying. He hadn't gone to check on the tech boys, but he heard their chatter from the control room. The twisting feeling in his gut never went away, but as he got closer, it started feeling sick.

"I got bad feeling about this," he said to himself, the door in sight.

Just before he actually did reach the door, it opened and Pong himself stepped out, eyes staring down at the soldier.

"Sir!" Rex instantly gave a salute, clicking his heels together.

"Captain," Krell had his arms behind his back as he spoke. "Have you been able to restore communications?" the question made the blonde take a double take. That wasn't what he expected to be asked.

"N-No sir," he said soon after, covering up his shock. "…How did you know they were down?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.

"I tried to contact General Kenobi and congratulate him on successfully destroying the enemy supply ship."

The two stared at each other, one calm and collect, the other feeling chills up his spine and barely suppressing a shiver. His instincts were screaming at him to move, to run and get away because this was wrong. There was a pressure coming from the Jedi, one that threatened to crush the soldier. It was… terrifying.

"Is something the matter?" the words came to his ears weakly, muffled almost as Rex felt sick enough to almost throw up. What was this? From behind the General, he could almost see shadows or tendrils of mist emerging, licking the walls and ground. A voice followed them, but he couldn't understand or really hear anything.

"Perhaps you should have someone have a look at you," the feel of the Besalisk's hands on his shoulder made his body numb and turned his legs to jelly as he collapsed on the ground, heaving up empty. The cold which wrapped around him was unlike anything he's ever felt, and it made him tremble. His breath shuddered and as the shadows seemed to close in on him, an ear piercing scream emerging from it.

Fixer, Patch and Scar rushed to the tower as soon as they were able. Frost sounded panicked as he called them, saying the Captain had collapsed in the hall and that the General had told them to get him into a medical wing.

"What happened?" Fixer asked immediately as he saw Rex trembling, propped up against a wall. His eyes found Pong standing by, looking bored as hell. But there was something in his eyes… Like he seemed mildly surprised. Maybe he expected Kix to be here as well.

"I am unsure," Krell said, looking from the medic to the blonde. "We were speaking one moment and the next he was on the ground."

"We need to move him," Scar said, kneeling next to Rex as he and Patch checked his vitals.

"Can you tell what's wrong?" Fixer was already working on getting the blonde up.

"Best guess? Exhaustion. I doubt he's slept more than three hours since we arrived on Umbara," Patch said as he helped moving the Captain.

"Great, this just keeps getting better and better," Fixer grumbled. First the Umbaran fighters, then Kix and now Rex? What's next?

"Let's go. Hopefully he'll get better soon…"

As the medics carried off their unconscious brother, Krell never took his eyes off them. He frowned when they were out of sight and turned back around, to head to his room.

"It would seem I was correct," he said to himself. "Some clones are sensitive to the Force."

He woke up with a start, his body jerking upwards and his lungs greedily taking in air. So much so, that he started choking and barely kept himself from throwing up empty yet again. His eyes stung and he could only see blurry images, but he could tell he was in the medical wing. The calls from around him showed there were others as well, and soon enough he felt hands on his shoulders, pushing him back down.

"Captain, you need to calm down!" he wasn't sure who it was, but he managed to do as he was told and felt something on his neck. Stimpak.

Moments later, he could breathe normally, his vision cleared and he only caught slightly to clear his throat. However, he felt incredibly cold and could still feel himself shiver, even under the blanket wrapped around him.

"Wha-?" he couldn't speak yet though, wincing at how his throat hurt. Luckily enough, Scar reached for a bottle of water and handed it to him, before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You collapsed during your meeting with the General," the medic explained as best he could, concern and worry in his eyes.

"I… I," Rex couldn't really explain what happened or why, just that the feeling was still creeping around in him.

"Patch said it's because of exhaustion and we pretty much agreed," he added, a sigh escaping him. "You need your rest, Rex."

"I know," the Captain said, his shoulders dropping. "It's just… There was something back there… At least, I think it was…" his memory of it was fuzzy, unclear, like a dream, but he knew it wasn't normal.

"Here," Scar handed him a protein bar. They aren't many clones are given, and usually reserved for long battles so they can keep pushing on without feeling too tired. "I know you won't sit and rest like you're supposed, so at least take this."

"Thanks," Rex managed a weak smile as he took the bar. He had work to do.

"Where is he?"

"Hey, c'mon, calm down!"

"He just woke up man!"

"I need to see him!"

The commotion caught Rex's attention as he was getting ready to leave the medical wing. He turned and saw brothers trying to keep an angered Kix away.

"REX!" the medic yelled and everyone seemed to pause as he moved towards the Captain.

"Kix-?" Rex never saw the punch coming, and it knocked his head to the side as the medic barely kept his balance.

"They're dead!" Kix screamed as the blonde held his jaw, turning back to the younger man. Kix was visibly shaking, his breath coming in quick and harsh. "They're all dead because you sent them away!"

"Kix!" Appo called from nearby, moving closer. The others weren't sure what to do.

"Don't you dare!" the medic spun around, his glare stopping the Sergeant in his tracks. "W-Were you even going to tell us?!" he turned back to Rex, voice breaking. "Or were you just going to pretend it was all okay?!"

"Kix…" Rex felt a lump in his throat as a familiar scene flashed before his eyes.

"Bishop is dead because of you Rex! He trusted you and you let him die!"

"Jezdec, calm down! If you don't they're going to take you away!"

"Let them! I'm gonna die either way, right Captain? How do you plan on leading a whole battalion and get everyone out alive, when you couldn't even save two brothers in a small team?!"

"You gave the go ahead! You let them out! They're dead because of you!" Kix moved forward, aiming another punch, only to have the blonde grab his arm.

"You need to calm down and think about what you're doing, Kix," somehow, to everyone's astonishment, Rex remained calm, his eyes unwavering.

"It's not fair…" the medic spoke through gritted teeth as he lowered his head. "It's not fucking fair…" he trembled in the Captain's grip, tears slipping down his face.

"…" Rex wanted to say that life for them isn't fair, that they don't get any fairness. But he couldn't. This was far too similar to what he already experienced and he couldn't stand a repeat.

"I don't want to live anymore…" the whisper froze everyone as the medic collapsed on the ground, released from the blonde's hold. "I just want the pain to end…"

"…Scar, see to him will you?" Rex kept his voice form and cold, for fear of having it crack and losing himself in his emotions. "Make sure he's okay."

"Yes sir," Scar moved quickly, picking up the fallen brother and getting him to his feet.

"The rest of you, back to your places. We still have work to do."

"Understood!"

Rex stepped out of the medical wing and felt the air on his face. He took a deep breath, calming himself as memories continued to torment his mind. It's been a long time since he's last had memories of Jezdec and what happened…. And now of all times.

He turned towards the hanger and started walking there. He had to make sure that what Kix was saying was true. He wouldn't go on blind belief – not again. He just hoped that by the time this was all over, the poor medic wouldn't have to face the same fact as his old squad mate.

"Tup, Dogma, any news?" the Captain asked as the rookies gave quick salutes.

"Well…" Tup looked at his brother, anxious.

"We saw signals that, Umbaran fighters did crash and were destroyed… Many, if not most…" Dogma started, looking away.

"And our fighters?" the blonde managed to keep his voice steady.

"…Crashed…" Tup said when he saw his friend didn't want to. "No idea where or when, but their signals are dead on any channel and frequency we check."

"…I see…" it was hard to swallow, but he managed. "Turn it all off and get some rest. We'll see what happens next soon. Hopefully, we'll get our communications and sensors back up."

"Copy that!" the rookies gave finals salutes as the older man left the hanger.

"…Did you see his face?" Tup asked when Rex was gone.

"Yeah… Solid punch. Wonder who got him," Dogma couldn't think of anyone.

"Yeah but, his eyes… He looked so… lost."

"…"

"Any sign of the 501st boys?" Cody asked as the pilots and fighter units checked for any last enemies.

"No, nothing," Broadside reported in.

"All clear on my end," Killer said.

"Only craps and clankers," Eagle added.

"Has anyone been able to contact the airbase?" Cody asked, worry gripping his heart.

"No, communications are blocked. We can only get ours around here, and they're probably dead on the surface," the way Fiddle said it made the Commander wince. Dead. Yeah, that's what he was afraid of.

"I'm going down there," Ahsoka spoke up, glancing around the debris in the air.

"Commander Tano, you need permission to do so," Cody didn't like it, but in a situation like this, they had to follow protocol.

"Permission granted Commander Tano. Say hello to the men for me," Obi-Wan cut in, the relaxed tone in his voice putting many at ease.

"Thank you, Master Kenobi. I'll report back as soon as I can," Ahsoka couldn't help herself as she smiled, changing directions as she flew.

"May the Force be with you…"

Rex was outside again, and he looked up at the tower. A cold engulfed him again as he tried to recall what happened back there and why exactly. But he couldn't think of anything solid.

"…I need to get back up there," he told himself, biting his lip. Yeah, but how? Getting past Krell would be near impossible, especially if he's going to his room. He needs a plan.

"…Dogma!" he called and turned back towards the hanger, a nervous smirk on his face. "I need a favor from you and your silver tongue!"

"General Krell," Fangs spoke up as the Besalisk watched the layout of the base again. "Dogma is requesting your presence in hanger 9-4," he added quickly.

"What could he possibly need?" Pong frowned, clearly annoyed.

"Didn't say sir, just that it's important."

"W-W-What are you gonna say?!" Tup was in a full panic as Dogma shook by the control panel, looking pale.

"I um… I don't know yet…" he admitted, swallowing hard.

"Y-You don't know?! DOGMA!"

"Hey, I'm trying okay?! It's not easy! Don't put more pressure on me!"

"We're both gonna die…"

"…Probably…"

Rex was causally patrolling not too far from the tower when he saw Krell exit and grinned to himself. Whatever Dogma did to get him out worked, and he had to remember to thank the rookie after he was done.

Not hesitating, the Captain moved towards the tower and quickly passed the halls to get to where he needed to go. It was surprisingly easy to find the room – he just followed the apparent cold and uneasiness he felt before. That, and he memorized the whole place.

He snuck past the tech experts, who were chatting among themselves and down the hall. He froze in the middle actually, because of the familiar feeling from before.

"I have to do this," he told himself and pushed forward, hands clenched and teethed gritted. Whatever lay behind those doors, might explain at least some of what's been going on.

There was some hesitation as he opened the door, but closed his eyes and did it anyway. The room was dark, but there was that box the General collected before, and there was light coming off it. Neon blue, but it made the place more creepy.

He couldn't see what was inside it, but he spotted a datapad on the table, as well as a small computer. He didn't know how much time he had, but he couldn't keep himself from checking all of it. And he went for the computer first.

"What the-!" he took a step back, seeing his own file open and free to read on the computer. And it's been thoroughly read, by the looks of it. Fives was there as well, along with the rest of some of 501st more known soldiers. Those files are supposed to be sealed and off limits – only their own General and a few others had access to them. So how did Krell get it?

He couldn't really check anymore, so he went to the datapad and feared what he might find there. And what he did, chilled his spine.

"This is our newest experimental development. With the help of the Techno Union, we are able to use it as counterintelligence. It is, thus far, untested, and you shall be the first to see it in action. Take care of it, Krell, as it is a valuable strategic item."

He looked at the box and swallowed as he looked back at the datapad. There was more under, about how to properly use whatever this was and what it can do and all that. What bothered Rex most, was the codename. Echo Effect.

He found the code and with shaky hands, set down the datapad. He walked closer to the box and entered the code, and started feeling sick again. The world seemed to spin as he leaned on the edge to keep himself steady. And then-

"W-What is this?" it was low, whispered and shaky as his eyes saw what was inside.

Wires and small machines connected from the box to a person. But it wasn't just any person, it was a clone. The eyes and the face couldn't be mistaken, even if he looked more machine than human. Pale skin and murky eyes, all sorts of contraptions, wires and connectors spread over the man's body. There were glowing lights around the head, and it made Rex all the more sick as he heaved empty on the side.

"What have they done to you?" he whispered, arms shaking. He didn't know who, it was. But then he recalled the code name. Echo Effect.

"Echo…?" a shuddered breath and he couldn't breathe. "No… It – It can't be!" he screamed in his mind, unable to look away from… this.

He couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't speak, breathe or do anything as he kneeled there, leaning on the box, staring at the hollowed face of a long supposed dead brother. But why was he here, in Krell's room? Did the bastard even know?

"We are able to use it as counterintelligence." He recalled what the message said and opened his eyes wide. Was it… Did they turn Echo into something that could gather intel from anywhere and, probably, mess with communications? Was it all because of Krell that they couldn't reach anyone? Just what was going on?

Suddenly, there was a familiar sound of lightsabers being activated, as blue and green light filled the small room. Stiffly, Rex turned his head to the side and saw none other than Pong Krell standing there, mostly covered in shadows.

"My dear Captain," he started and the blonde couldn't move, even to reach his blaster. "You have seen too much."

"…Why?" the word was weak and shaky, but Rex tried his best to glare. He knew it was pointless, this bastard could see right through him right now. Could probably see through him all along.

"Someone like you would never understand," the anger and hate in the tone reached the pit of Rex's core and somehow, his body instinctively reached for his blaster. The world seemed to slow down for a few seconds as Krell jumped forward, lightsabers in the air and Rex aimed his pistols. And in a moment, it was all over.

Ahsoka didn't like the coldness she was feeling as she got closer to the airbase. It was wrong. But she managed to ignore it, as she landed and saw some of the boys gathering around the landing area.

"Commander Tano!" they called and she smiled as she jumped out of her fighter. But seeing them, and the feeling the Force around them… Her smile dropped and she couldn't help the look of sadness and pity on her face.

"Hey boys, how're you all doing?" she tried to ask, but their own expressions were grim.

"…A lot's happened…" she saw Appo and her heart skipped a beat. Where were the others who usually stood out? Fives, Hardcase, Jesse… She couldn't see a single medic. But lastly…

"Where's Rex?" her tone carried a pinch of panic as she couldn't even sense him.

"He's-,"

"I have given him a task," Krell walked up, hands behind his back, his usual frown on his face. "Young Padawan Tano, I did not know of your arrival," he gave a small bow of the head.

"I came as soon as the battle topside was over. Master Kenobi gave permission, if you think that might be a problem," Ahsoka said clearly and bluntly, arms folded.

"Not at all. I am glad to have you here," Pong ginned. "Come, I must ask about-,"

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" someone yelled and before anyone knew it, Umbarans were swarming the airbase, some of their fighters fly overhead and even two of those spider tanks making their way closer.

"Everyone, get ready to fight!" Ahsoka called and activated her sabers, defense position ready. So much for getting a break.

Cut! Hahaha! A cliffhanger! ...I'm so sorry xD I couldn't resist! And this one is short, well, because I wanted to keep some suspense. But yeah, a lot of stuff is revealed here, and I'll continue to work my way through this... mess I've created. We'll see how well that goes, eh? xD Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading! Do review and tell me what you thought! Till next time~

[throwingideasatthewall]

Clone Wars    Kidnapped

Also, yeah how do you   follow up an episode like that?

    Also isn’t this like the     second kidnapped episode?

Oh

You know we actually needed the levity so that I am completely OK with the saving a   thing plot,

  Gives time to breathe-

Ho-nest,      This place looks pretty     neat,

[Though they still knowingly enabled     Tox be    hav-ior]

This is the equivalent of someone ditch    -ing productivity,      And att      -em       pt       Ing          To     Go     Straight         To     creat-iv-ity        Before      anything’s       set up,]

And I should really be careful   not   to get distracted by the pretty lights,

Wa-     rr    ior-

Well least      tox

  Whe         lp,       In-        Sti        gators       ,    Fe      ck,      -      Oh hey that   war we enabl     -ed

 Whelp

Okay, seriously who is that guy?         (Normally I wouldn’t be so nervous        (but the last few episodes                 Not Krell          The under water                   One)       Introduced a guy of a   random species that we have never heard or seen of    and he died before we ever did,

            So,

             I’m                   a                  Little                Nervous                    ,     (I like different   species,)

His design       seems      nice          ...    Neu       tral.

Yet we won’t assume the amount of   accoun-   tability necessary to     enforce it       Don’t get      me wrong;     I don’t want an  infinity war

  But if you enable, be prepared for the consequences and/or to push it back, (what      ever        You       Left,)         Whenever        it comes for your life,         For the rest of it,  (Or until you snap and       hold it accountable,)

      Pro-tection

Usual spiel    but it works.

You know that would’ve worked really well with overinvolved     positivity,

  Though at this point it’s pretty clear they are going for the clear-cut        Jedi- are      Posit         Ive          Ly         Over-          Involv        e               -d-            (Sith - negative)

  And more so         general   “everyone is a     shithead,”         Kinda         Vibe.

   Which is perfectly fine,

    Why?

   That’s a lot

 [also never mind with the     - warning - or get into lines,]

  Obi-Wan looks really young-er      in the scene for some reason

     -His face

         -it’s too smooth

           - and are his eyes a bit bigger?

  10

  Also yeah they specifically told us not to get involved and that they were going to do it on their own       I-n.       Ia        tiv        e

   But screw that

  “Let’s   escalate the situation!”

   Despite that being literally what the dude       fears and probably        his nightmares

                              [screw respecting other adult’(s) initia     tive]

    I know Dooku is implied to be really feckin tox also

   But talk means nothing

   Dude has to have the actions       Attempt it on himself and decide what to do for        himself,

     He’s decided to enable,          Ain’t nothing       that can be done         about that,

[What    was that look?

   [also did Obi-Wan not ask what happened               down there?]

               Great

                Time for   warfare

                 For the Jedi that can’t take a   “no,”             For an   an   -swer

 Gr      -e         a-t        -       ?       Voice    -act         -ing       -       People        Shield             -               What,          I’ve-         Watch          -ed             The     Watton           Boar         -         Arc-           -      -Battle

   Yeah but it’s      -also      pretty     bullshit          - (when have the separatist ever respected the Gen       eva convention?)

    Rex-        Has a           Feck’in            Point

   I

(Also that doesn’t tell them anything this could be    basic    clankers    when no   in fact they are commando droids              )

Ana       Kin’s         Voice      De-eper?

Com       -man                  do-

       [I have a feeling they’re really trying to contest           the we have no fig           -h-ters)

         Lin                  e-             -             A-g                  ain-

        O-h                           Sir,           Oh,           ,           Also, how?

     But also         ok that            guy,

               Surprisingly,     calm        ly      spoken-

    So this could make a great scene    contrasting Obi- won’s I believe   moral nature,       With another strategist that seems to be believing some kind of     chivalry

   [Also, OH SHIT,   is that where they’re keeping the     pris    oners,

  Whelp

   Anakin is a         dick to        holograms,

Seriously      you could’ve      just turned it off,

     [if you had news       or opinion to share        ?)- 

Ok, where the    fuck?

    [Don’t, get me wrong I know Anakin,         was an ex slave,           Everything else             is new..  .  

 Including his    rage towards it,

      Me,

 Hey, they’re being smart    about this,         -                        Up-   s-   et-

Yes,   thank you,   did I miss     something?

P-ast

Doesn’t     justify any of this     bullshit. .

I     mean,

Literally no one     is smarter   than anyone else

 So       Ana        Kin,      ,      OK but that’s a whole different species     and/or a group - -           this is not “past”    this is I just hate feck     -ing    sl-av        er s              -                       And possibly un-vented            anger at trauma-         -                          Either way pretty damn           va                 -lid                  -                         Dis-              trust                 -              Whe-  

Oka-y         ,          I don’t- 

  Also is that an animal or     sentient?            - A game      I find myself playing           to no         One         ‘s      Cha        -grin-         -,         Oh

    Arro         gan      -c-          e

    Ah- tak        e?          ,            Also he has a    non-evil       pet           -            That’s kinda          cute

       But also kinda sad,            Hint,ing          at the fact              Dude was probably intended to be some kind of   animal      focus        (Someone who works around or just generally likes animals - special             ity)

       Before he went     corrupt

            (Showing some    interest in keeping them out of the battlefield,                    And                  Fond-ness)

       Or this could just be a short han     d-e        d symbolism                 For              slavery     ��    and   grooming          -          Both    -work           -             Do        -Tell           -          [oh yeah         dude totally gave away his plan,]

     Despite Obi-Wan almost clearly not being          in earshot

     Nice interaction         * introduction

   Also     ,doesn’t he         already know,            Holo-gra       -m    -         Formal     in-         tro         duc-          tions            -                Are           Nice,             -              Er-

    Seriously what is up with         these two            people?

     Also why did dude           growl?

    For people that look like cats      they sure act like dogs              (Bor- d       -er)        (Nothing wrong with that-        just-         curious-             “      -i

    How?

    Also they’re just really shout-ing their      plans out here      aren’t they?

    S-u        -rr          en-          der-            -           Obi- won    still playing        along..     ——           W-help            -           He       gave        him            a         chance             -         Whelp-

    O-k

  Honestly he’s acting pretty calm and      diff-erent-ly characterized,             The Kenobi we know wouldn’t raise             a hand to help even himself                   (In ani.)             Also            I’m surprised Aniken hasn’t stumbled across anything by           now,

       Thought that would be the        crutch            of the narr-ative tension in the          office,

       But          Aight           ,         Calling the chips early is completely fine I will never have an issue with chara-     ter     -(s-     acting slightly smarter than expected,

Though wish Anakin had shown some kind of      initia-       tive-

 Like the stories telling us that he’s really      pumped up   “about      the     whole      slave      thing,”          . . .         But has just found          nada when it comes down to      rescuing the slaves,         Or just finding any hints about this    oper     -ation      in general,

To summarize;     What the heck has Aniken been doing the last minute      and a half             ~              ?            No-thing

[like if everyone had told him to chill due to his       clear aggression     believe he caused some harm      in his rage,

   And sent         Ahsoka         in-stead

         That would make a lot    more sense,

  [and make up Obi- wan look like less of a              Irrational Dick        By sh(ar-ing) Anakin‘s backstory         without any permission       or reason,

    While there    he might have to explain to       Ahsoka    why he’s sending her      and not Anakin,]

  Just-        Writer       Th-       ough   -t-         -      Treat-        ment          -    “ You have broken        through my         defenses,”

   Emotionally             or            ...      physically?             . .           Never           mind-

        Would’ve              been nice      if someone actually took him up on that          offer               -              (Like some villain(/enabler) is like you know what my job sucks,    my boss sucks, I could really use an       nap...

    Sure]     ..     They were just standing there          ...      doing nothing,

     Like,      Dude literally just said       there were bombs planted all over the city,

  And, no one’s in a ru-sh            to fix that-

       Or use them to find the           kidnapped people..

[I   mean      fair       ...    but      geez.

   Colo      -nists,

     Again,      where are they?            . . .             You supposedly sent Anakin to find       - them but we haven’t seen anything           -               Also yeah the dude is totally going to give up    his only bargaining     chip         . . .           After being          out gunn        -ed-            -            Well             -           Also you have one button that only activate(s     one mine?

          Like did you, set that up just for the purpose of    in-timi     dating people

   Also congrats    you likely threw away    your only bargaining chip                 -      because from his point of view     the explosion already went off-                        -       And he doesn’t know that you had one     specific button just for that      one mine-             -      (Like it   doesn’t sound that loud but he could’ve gotten     hear-ing probl-em (s-) from the      near- by      explosions,     )

  We-         ll-

   “Col-on-ists,”

  Oh     good thing you told him after you destroy-ed the       thing-

   And he didn’t go into attack mode and you have a light saber press-ed to your throat-

   dumb

I’m sorry but that’s just so adorable

   Look         at            it;

   Man like(s soft squishy things and    he doesn’t seem to be      hurt          ing-           -it,

      Like,           How               ?

        Also, did       no one check               for               that               shit?

Like,      No-

Me-      dic

 Wh-       el        p-

  Bo-

 Several people      -just died           And he         comforts the    robot.. .

   Dick

Also, Maybe       It’s be       cause         Cody         is     Obi-Wan’s        Gen.       (Generation          or      General)            Doesn’t     make much         of a        dif-ference?            -         That          this        flies?      (I mean I can        understand him not giving       too much of a heck,       Due to this being a war      caused by this guys’             Gen,         But     seriously,)

     Also yeah            kinda          ,dick             ,          Screw         medical     attention,

      Well,

     That’s a lot of faith          for a whole              lot a          nothing,

     Also let’s go do the thing       we were supposed to be doing            this entire time,

   (I think)

  My brain started going numb and I half paid    attention            -         Oh, wait 

now we’re getting into the back      story?

 After they’re on the planet

  Without any       pre-emption?

 -Er

My brain      cells      are    asleep,        -        Al        -ive         -           Seriously, what is up with the   -bird     thing,

   (I really hope     it factors into his character)

   Or is brought up

  Frust-      trat-      Ion

“Zy,”

  Dude they’re slave traders    I really don’t think     you want to do that          (Just           a       thought)

Also maybe     suggest     trading        him some       exotic animals,

   Dude seems to have a pen      -chant

   And he seems to treat them    re-     lati       vely       well,

   (There   are some in cages but that just seems to be for      transport,                         ) -  no I thought you should ever take animals        out of a pre-         ferr              ed         Safe  climate

       But he could have one set up            abet a smaller one,

        Wha?             (The      voice acting           there           was         weird,)

       Also, really?

    That’s the     competition?

 (Is there ever a tradition..   

    That isn’t fighting?)

  Also, okay,

 but is it like some kind of style of fighting?

     (I swear he you challenges him to sword fighting.)

   Then again Zy-         ger-          Ian-       fighting-

  Dif-ferent rules   could be interesting

   Possibly establish           Obi-Wan                 as                a          well traveled              man,

                   (So long as he isn’t allowed to use his                         feck -in light saber,                             -) (Which     Anakin      hasn’t        been       doing         at all,

 Also lower      ed risks     are nice,

Again, not saying anything about     deactivating em,

Also what the fuck is with that guy’s facial   expressions,

  Like ever since that moment       it has gone     insane,       (As in I can’t for my life     read what they’re trying to express,       And that is the closest     translation;       I can come up with,

Never   mind      -   he’s an asshole      -    Even th-

  Screw         It

  (The       logic         is not on        the high setting           with this one.”

       Any way,              Per-

        That’s

         [do you know how back when I was revie-       wing the movie I thought about how the escalation one from         1 to 10 and the characterization switched on a dime?

               -Not to   insult,

    But this is starting to feel a lot like   that-

 My brain already very checked out at this   point-

Because I     really   don’t    need      it for     this-      -   W-

  Constant      Characteri-zation?!

   What-  

[Excuse me while I sit over here drinking my       ‘wtf just happened,’          juice

   You know      when I was reviewing (Earlier) scenes       like this;           I used to give it somewhat of a pass    saying;              (Some        thing       along           the          lines            of)

       Well people change on a dime,

  Which I’m starting to realize    getting further into this;        Is that you need some kind of sentiment       Or pre-       -empt         To        Connect          Those           Thoughts      -             The           eyes             need              to           narrow                 -               The             body          language            needs              to             change                 -      The     music       (perhaps)        a subtle       change in tone;         -        It can’t change on    that much of a dime        -

            I               don’t               need                   a                  lot;                 Just some kind of indication about what the      feck just happened,     -             Because otherwise it’s just    spaghetti      -         Like I’m sorry     but it’s true-              -      The expressions before were completely unreadable      and down          right-        unhuman,

      There was no word      ,cues to indicate anything

      And the music     which could’ve been a brief    Cue,        Of whether this is supposed to be        abrupt or         instigated,             Well I don’t,     think there is any,   

                        Fix scen;                                    e

                     This guy smirks, possibly chuckling, the bird leaving his           arm-, possibly pre-facing it with, “ well then,  let’s          be-gin,” or a body posture is simply leaning in before     pouncing,

      Telling me    this is part of the plan,

        And that’s Zygrians value a more wild style of fighting with the element of surprise      being      emphasiz       ed-

    Which makes sense considering what seems to be a      hunting         focus,

    With snark following up either confirming or     denying,  

    That as true           (Or          False)

     That his actions were        prec-        edent-        ed         or        not,

      As it stands,  

   There was no      Cue

    And I’m        completely          lost.              . . .           Whel            -p

                           Well that was a bunch of nothing                                                                                  .  .  .                               Which is a shame because it had a lot of good     subjects to focus on, Slavery, the difference between Wild and Order, tam-ing, groom-       Ing,      Cap-       tivity              -         The concept of an invasive species,

     Unfortunately the writing is so inconsistent,      And generally        poor,         That it can’t carry a beat for longer than a few     min-utes

        Well I’ve noticeably praised the attempt to take on a higher intensity material

         That doesn’t give an     excuse for the apparent drop in quality

          Often; i’ve said that            stupid villains are fine

        However       the thing that often irritates me         in those episodes;           Isn’t that the villain’s            Stupid   

          It’s the lack of          self-awareness             (Not in the poking            fun of one’s                 self                 way)

  Is that it isn’t        framed that way,

  (No snark,    very little realistic the consequences without drawing attention to it,        And very little change       except the     villain is now Stupider          Though it attempts to keep the same dramatic tension          and stakes)

   In sum        -mary:

    While I think this episode had a lot of interesting concepts to work with they will unfortunately             Wasted                   By the episode lack of commitment, consistency, and constant characterization,

      Most        notably;

     - Anakin’s resent             -ment                    Of          slavery             (His care of it turns off and on like a light switch and his intensity             varies)

         Functioning less like a Berzerk/.              accountability button                  (Mild               Responsibility)  

               And                 more                  like                   an                excuse            to have him             flip his lid,

             Make                   odd                 facial            expressions,  

             And generally put, shout  put emphasis In a nonsensical bordering on                  inhumane way

                What seems to be a disturbing trend (with the characters       ;)

               Specifically the                  Zygarian                     here

                 And                      Ani             

              -The                 difference               between            wild and tamed;                   Along with a constant theme of slavery,                  It’s paired with the constant imagery                 of animals in cages

             Which would be fine if it was actually presented as an               excessive detail,

             But the focus is put on it and nothing ever seems to come of it

            (Almost as if it’s expected that just by having      it there, the motif comes with it)

             Which no

             Animals in cages and...            What?

             Like, I have an idea         what they’re trying to hint at,

             But until           the story commits;

             “These animals           are very much like you,”

               Then it remains in                        limbo,

 As wasted time          And wasted     emphasis,            -

      The Zy-             Gar            Ian             (s)          backstory;           Note      this works off another point         about captivity,

        Now, from the little bits,  I could get from the conversation;

        The Republic                inter                   fer                  r                   e                  d,                   Note; this seems to be a pretty big deal

   The antagonist      esp          ecially             affec               t-                e-d

           By                  It,

  But we never learn much about it      or him        (How it affected)

    Yeah he re-peats           Some          po-ints;            But it’s never elaborate-         d on

         What exactly       hap-pened to him?

          What exactly       hap-pened with the conflict?

           How?

            To be more                  precise;                     This presents the idea of a rather fas-       cin-        at        ing      conflict about the over- involve-ment of an outside species into              a           Nother’s            Planet          -           And I don’t think it really       utilizes it

       Drop      ping it almost instantly,          For an almost emotion-    less        fi-        gh          t,        Where are dude repeats ‘they were happy,        And generally everything except “I”             (How he was affected)                 Or any authentic emotion

       Just unread         able        inhumane       expressions            . . .       Not much in the way of themes,        motifs,            Or anything of         real        sub-      stance-         -       Sub      Category;           The clones got injured in an            attack;             This is not treated with any sort of        heaviness              -             Or even note             (Nor to the status/            theme of captiv-               ity- or                Sta              Tus                In               The              Empire-)

            Or         represen-tation               of             order,

           (And is quite point blank pointless)

           Not to speak of the ending where the Anakin is         almost point-blank informed                  That the captives are being held on                    Ty-                    Ger                        ia/                        By the Ty-                       ger-ians

                Po-int being;                      This is pretty subst                  antless                          Sn                            -ack,                             That lacks any kind of consis          tence

       - And isn’t.          worth the                watch,

           (With             nothing              set up)

          (Might’ve wanted to go with an                 R2-D2/ (CpO?) episode)                   Work on that tone                first

               Before trying anything serious,                   With that robots scream of absolute terror                  upon its death..

[isitmadness]

What Keeps Us Alive pt. 2

summary: Obi-Wan, Cody, and the very few remnants of the 212th make their way back to Coruscant after Order 66. Beyond dealing with the emotional fallout, they need to find a way to locate the inhibitor chips and remove them before they’re triggered again.

characters/relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi, Commander Cody, Longshot, Boil, Cross (original clone character); established Obi-Wan/Cody

words: 4.2k

a/n: I got nothin’ except i hope you enjoy

Read it on a03

The War is Over; What Keeps Us Alive Part 1

Obi-Wan awoke slowly the next morning feeling physically and emotionally drained. Every joint ached, every muscle was tight. He felt every scratch, bruise and break from his fights with Grievous and Cody, then the subsequent fall from the upper levels of Pau City. But he was grateful it wasn’t worse. He remained on his back, staring at the grey ceiling of his quarters. He was still alive.

Though wary at first, lying beside Cody and holding him once more was a balm to his soul. He realized how very close he had come to losing him, too. He didn't know what would happen to them now. He didn't know what to do when they returned to Coruscant…

But he would try to appreciate the time he had with him until then. As long as he didn’t try to kill him again. He couldn't, wouldn't, think of that.

He groaned as he turned over and was surprised to find Cody still in the room. He hadn't even felt his presence there. He was sitting at Obi-Wan's desk in his blacks, a cup of caf in his hand and his head bowed over a datapad. It was rare that they were ever in the same room the next morning. There was a sudden tightness in Obi-Wan’s chest that he knew was unrelated to yesterday's battle.

Cody mostly felt like his Cody, but below the surface, there was anxiety and a delicate and fragile calm emanating from the commander. Obi-Wan was hesitant to say anything for fear of breaking that calm.

"Cody?" The commander turned to look at Obi-Wan.

"Good morning, Obi-Wan," he smiled softly. Cody could be stern, calculating and tough, but he had to be as marshal commander. That’s why Obi-Wan felt privileged that he got to see his softer side, whenever he was able to show it. That gentle look never failed to catch Obi-Wan’s breath in his throat.

He sat up and ran light fingers through his hair in an attempt to tame any wild and unruly pieces. "What time is it?"

Cody stood and closed the distance between him and Obi-Wan in two steps. He gently plunged his fingers into the Jedi's thick sandy-ginger locks, smoothing down the worst of it. Obi-Wan closed his eyes, relishing the touch.

"It's almost 8:30," Cody said, finally removing his hands and dropping them at his sides. Obi-Wan opened his eyes and grabbed his left hand and brought Cody's bruised and scarred knuckles to his lips. He watched as Obi-Wan kissed each of his fingers gently. That old familiar warmth began to pool in his gut. "Obi-Wan…" he said breathlessly.

Obi-Wan looked up at him with hooded eyelids. "Yes?" He turned Cody’s arm over and kissed the inside of his wrist just where the sleeve of his black undersuit ended.

"We--" Cody cursed under his breath when his comlink beeped. Obi-Wan smiled, squeezing his fingers. He raised his other wrist and turned on the communicator, "What??" Obi-Wan laughed at the frustration in Cody's voice. He leaned back on his hands.

"Commander?" It was Cross.

"Sorry, yes, Cody here," he sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. Obi-Wan stood and ran a sympathetic hand down his bicep.

"Uh, it's Cross," he stammered, not quite sure what mood he found his commander in. "There's something I think you should see, sir."

Oh. Cody and Obi-Wan exchanged a nervous glance. "Of course, Cross, I'll be there right away."

"Oh, and bring the general with you, would you?" Though he couldn't see him, Cody heard the smirk on Cross' face.

"That little shi--"

"Cody," Obi-Wan said in a playful warning. Cody sighed and leaned in for a quick kiss which Obi-Wan returned gladly.

"Let me get my armor on, then we'll go." Cody leaned down and picked up the various painted plastoid pieces he had scattered on the floor the night before, putting them on and locking them into place. Obi-Wan didn't get to see him dressing often, in fact, it was usually quite the opposite, so he was always enthralled by how quickly Cody's deft fingers created the suit of armor.

Without looking up, Cody asked, "You gonna just stand there and stare at me or you gonna get dressed, too? I mean you're more than welcome to go looking like that, I won't complain." Cody finally looked up with a wicked grin.

Obi-Wan looked down at his own state of undress. "Ah yes, I suppose I should do that, too."

"Yeah," Cody chuckled. "You should."

----

Cody and Obi-Wan walked into the command center 10 minutes later to find Cross standing at the holo table, a large blue projection of a Kaminoan rose from the center.

"Ah, General, Commander, good morning." Well, at least Cross is himself, Obi-Wan thought. "I trust you slept well?"

Cross kept a completely straight face, but there was a knowing glint in his eye. Cody stared at the medic and remained silent. Obi-Wan cleared his throat, "Yes, thank you, Cross. I hope you weren't up all night looking for this?"

Cross waved his hand dismissively, "I got a few hours, I'll be fine." Obi-Wan and Cody were both skeptical. "But anyway, I've been searching through records, looking for anything about the chips. And I think I've finally found what we need. This is Nala Se, Kamino’s Chief Medical Scientist."

Cody and Obi-Wan exchanged a brief glance with each other. "I remember a report from Kamino after the tragic incident with Fives. The Council reviewed it after the Chancellor sent it to us." Cross pressed play anyway.

An independent investigation confirmed that the clone trooper CT-5555 experienced a malfunction with his inhibitor chip. Both the Senate committee and the Jedi Council have accepted these findings. However, a grievance report was filed by CT-7567.

"CT-7567? Captain Rex?" Obi-Wan looked at Cody then Cross quizzically. "And what sort of grievance? I've never seen this report." It disturbed Cody that neither the marshal commander nor a high general had ever seen this grievance.

Cody hung his head and sighed. "I…I remember him telling me he was going to do this." He closed his eyes and sent a quick prayer to the Force that Rex was still alive, and that he hadn't made the same mistake as Cody. "I encouraged him to do so if he felt it was necessary, but I never saw the report. I guess I assumed he hadn't done it after all…" what must Rex have thought of him?

"Well, I found the file," Cross looked down and pressed some keys, but it was followed by a warning beep. "It's locked."

Obi-Wan stroked his beard. "Locked?"

"I tried every code of mine that I could think of, none of them worked. Surely General Kenobi or Commander Cody have one that works?" Cross looked at Obi-Wan with a hopeful expression.

Obi-Wan and Cody both walked closer. Obi-Wan’s hands hovered over the keyboard as Cody looked over his shoulder. Obi-Wan turned his body slightly to try and enter his code discreetly, but Cody saw it anyway and smiled to himself. "Obi-Wan… you're joking."

A holo of the 501st captain appeared over the table. Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder innocently, "What?"

"That's your code?" Cody put his hands on his hips.

Cross looked between the two, curious about whatever inside joke he was missing. "I feel like I'm missing something."

"It's nothing," Obi-Wan smiled. "Let's watch this recording, shall we?"

All three men turned back to Rex as Obi-Wan pressed play.

I already know this report is gonna fall on deaf ears, but I owe it to Fives to record what I saw. I’m not sure I believe it myself, but there’s a possibility that the inhibitor chips the Kaminoans put inside of us have a purpose that we don’t yet fully understand.

The room was somber once more.

"Oh, Rexy… how have I failed you?" Cody murmured and shook his head. Obi-Wan settled a comforting hand on the commander's shoulder.

Cross finally spoke up. "So the official report was that a virus from Ringo Vinda caused Tup and Fives' chips to malfunction. And now we know that to be completely false."

"This was a planned conspiracy of the highest order." Obi-Wan was incredulous, hurt, and confused. "One that went all the way to the top and planned since your inception." The weight of what Obi-Wan was saying struck Cody square in the chest full-force. "This was all very carefully orchestrated for our complete destruction."

"At the hands of those you trusted implicitly," Cody finished. Anger bubbled in his chest. Whoever was responsible for this would pay. For Tup, for Fives, for every life lost because they weren't believed...because they were all manipulated. Cody clenched and unclenched his fists at his side. He slowly started to back away from the table. "I can't...be in here right now." Obi-Wan reached out as Cody turned and left the bridge.

"He'll be okay...eventually," Cross said, trying to comfort Obi-Wan.

"Will he? Will you?" Cross looked down, unable to meet his general’s gaze. They stood in silence staring up at Rex's face. Obi-Wan felt almost like he knew even less now. It was clear this was covered up and swept under the rug, and whoever was responsible did a fine and thorough job. Obi-Wan looked over at Cross who seemed to be dead on his feet. "Cross, why don't you go get some rest? You look like you're about to pass out," he said gently.

Cross chuckled and shook his head gently, "You know, general, I think I will."

"Good man." Obi-Wan turned off the holo projector and watched Cross leave the command center, too.

He was alone again. -----

Death to the traitorous Jedi. Longshot raised his blaster, keeping the back of the Jedi traitor’s head in his sights. He would not fail where his commander had.

"Longshot? What the h--" Cody's question was interrupted by a firing of the blaster. Cody ran.

"No!" Longshot yelled as Cody grabbed him from behind, putting him in a headlock with his left arm and wrenching the arm that held the blaster behind his back. Obi-Wan spun around, wide-eyed and grabbed his neck where the blaster fire grazed him. He reached for the lightsaber on his belt as Cody and Longshot struggled, but froze when he discovered it wasn't there.

"Let it go, Longshot!" Cody growled as he squeezed the arm around Longshot's neck, tugging the trooper closer to his own body. He shook Longshot's right arm violently until the blaster fell to the ground with a thud.

Obi-Wan reached out and used the Force to pull the blaster towards him. It slid across the floor, stopping at the toe of his boot.

Cody continued to struggle to subdue the trooper. Through gritted teeth, Longshot repeated every word of that hollow line, "good...soldiers...follow...orders." Cody tightened the arm around his neck one last time, cutting off the air flow until Longshot passed out. He gently laid him on the durasteel floor.

Obi-Wan rushed over and knelt by Longshot. He placed two fingers on his neck searching for a pulse - alive. "Is he okay? What happened??"

"Is he..." Cody panted and huffed out of annoyance. "He just tried to kill you, sir!"

Obi-Wan gave him a weary smile, "Well he didn't succeed, thanks to you. "

Cody hung his head and shook it. When he looked up again, Obi-Wan was staring at him curiously. Cody noticed the red, angry mark across the side of Obi-Wan's neck. He reached over and placed his hand on Obi-Wan's cheek. "He could have killed you, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan placed his hand over Cody's and leaned into the touch, "But he didn't. I'm still here. I'm still whole." Cody could feel tears threatening once more. "Let's get him to a holding cell, shall we? Before he tries it again. We must work faster on this chip problem."

Cody nodded, "We need to get you patched up first, then we'll deal with it." Cody looked down at Longshot's sleeping face. He seemed to be struggling, even in sleep. His eyes darted back and forth quickly behind his closed eyelids. Cody placed his arms under Longshot's shoulders in an attempt to lift him off the floor. "A little help here?"

Obi-Wan looked down at the two clones, "Ah, please allow me." Cody sat back on his heels and watched as Obi-Wan stretched out his hands, fingers splayed. Longshot rose gently off the floor and hovered a few feet off the ground.

“I guess it beats carrying him,” Cody joked weakly. Obi-Wan gave him a sympathetic smile.

----

Obi-Wan gently laid Longshot on the cot in the holding cell, surprised but grateful that he had remained asleep. For once, Longshot looked small and peaceful. He felt a profound sense of sadness for what had been done to all of them. This life they were created for.

He startled when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "Obi-Wan, we need to get your wound cleaned up." He turned towards Cody and felt like he was almost seeing him for the first time. He had spent the last three years fighting and wishing the war had never even happened, but without it, he wouldn't have Cody. It’s not that he just wouldn't have the opportunity to know Cody, he just wouldn't even exist. The thought took his breath away.

"Are you okay? You have a bit of a faraway look going on." Cody searched his face, concerned.

"I think will be," Obi-Wan said as they walked out of the holding cell.

----

In the medbay, Obi-Wan sat on an exam table while Cody gently cleaned the wound on his neck. He found himself thinking how easy it was to slip back into trust - trust of his men, trust in himself. He was disturbed that Longshot had snapped again. Especially seemingly without a trigger. That meant that any of them could try it again, even him. He'd need to separate himself from Obi-Wan from here on out. Especially at night when the Jedi was at his most vulnerable.

What must Obi-Wan be thinking, knowing he was trapped on this ship with four potential murderers for three more days? If it weren't for the fact that Obi-Wan would be completely alone to fly the cruiser back to Coruscant, he'd suggest they all be put in the holding cells until they returned.

Obi-Wan reached up to still Cody's hand. "I know what you're thinking."

Cody wrinkled his brow and continued the first aid. "You're not a mindreader, how could you possibly know."

"Call it a hunch then," he smiled. "I know you and--"

Cody raised a single finger, "You thought you knew me. Turns out I don't even know myself." He put the bacta patch on Obi-Wan's neck and readjusted the collar of his tunic.

Obi-Wan stood. "We're going to find out how to locate and remove these chips. I promise."

Cody looked down. “I haven’t forgotten your other promise, you know...on Utapau. I hope you haven’t forgotten it either.”

“I will hear no more of this,” Obi-Wan said sternly as Cross walked in the medbay.

He stopped abruptly, surprised to see the two men. "General, Commander, what are you doing here?"

Cody rubbed a hand over his short, dark hair. "Well, Longshot tried to kill Obi-Wan. Where have you been?"

Cross' jaw dropped. "I was, uh...I was--"

Obi-Wan put a hand on Cody's arm. "Cody, I told him to go rest."

That hard, steely glare was back in Cody's eyes which caused a chill to run through Obi-Wan. Was he, too, about to snap once more? "He should have been in here doi--"

"With all due respect, Commander," Cross said hotly, interrupting whatever rant Cody was about to go on. "I don't know what to do. This is beyond anything I've ever dealt with. I can scan all of us again and hope to hell that the chips show up, but I'm not sure what you want me to do otherwise."

Cody clenched his hands once again.

"Okay, I think we all need to just remain calm, first of all,” Obi-Wan said. "And second of all, there's no harm in scanning you all again, is there? The worst that could happen is that it just wouldn’t show anything, yes? So, I think we should try. Our options are quite limited."

“Fine, I guess I’m volunteering then,” Cody threw his hands up, exasperatedly. Obi-Wan smiled to himself.

“Thank you, Cody.” He put his hand on Cody’s back and led him to the imaging table.

Cody laid down while Cross prepared the machine. Obi-Wan stood next to the table and watched. The situation continued to gnaw at his insides. He was having trouble finding peace. He was sure the troopers were feeling the same way, and he wished there was something he could do to put them at ease. They needed a win.

“All right, Commander, are you ready?” Cross asked, putting a gentle hand on Cody’s forearm. He knew the commander was on edge - they all were.

“Let’s do it.” Cody closed his eyes. Obi-Wan and Cross stepped back as Cody’s upper half disappeared into the scanner. Cross watched the screen as it blinked to life, showing Cody’s cranium. His face fell and his shoulders slumped when the image of his brain looked exactly as it had yesterday. Absolutely no indication of a chip.

Inside the machine, Cody screwed his eyes shut tighter and focused on the chip. He knew it was ridiculous, but he desperately wanted to believe that if he focused hard enough, it would show on the scan. He’d laugh at himself if it weren’t for the need to remain still. And though he wasn’t a Jedi, he believed in the Force. He believed what Obi-Wan and the Jedi believed, that it flowed through all living beings, binding them together. So he prayed to the Force, hoping it would come through for him this time, too.

Obi-Wan, for his part, hoped for this as well. “General!” Cross suddenly shouted. Cody flinched and Obi-Wan ran around to the other side of the table. The image of Cody’s head flickered and a large red spot appeared in the right frontal lobe. “There it is!”

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the spot disappeared, but they had both seen it. It was the confirmation they needed. Cross looked over at Obi-Wan, his eyes were glistening, but he seemed to be holding himself together. He put his arm around his shoulders and pulled his general in for a quick, tight hug. Obi-Wan exhaled and patted Cross on the back.

“Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on?” Cody suddenly said from inside the machine. Cross chuckled and pushed the button to bring Cody back out of the scanner. Once out, he sat up and looked at the two men.

Obi-Wan grabbed his hand, not caring this time that Cross was around. He already seemed to know what was between them anyway. “We saw it. Cody, we found it!” It seemed Cody also didn’t care that Cross was there since he pulled Obi-Wan forward into a tight hug then kissed his cheek.

“So, if you two are done celebrating here,” Cross said with a smirk, “then maybe we can finally get that thing out of your head. Out of everyone’s head. Get some peace.”

Cody exhaled, “Kriff, yes.”

----

It took the better part of an hour, but Cody, Cross, and Boil all had their chips finally removed. Their headaches were gone and their anxiety over potentially killing their general had subsided.

“I feel like I could sleep for days,” Boil said scratching at his head lightly, careful not to upset the bandage.

“You certainly have my permission to do so,” Obi-Wan laughed. “Not that you need my permission…”

“Now, what about Longshot?” Cody asked.

“If he’s still...compromised, sedation will have to be our only hope,” Cross said. He rummaged through the supply drawers looking for the strongest sedatives they had. “I will ask his forgiveness later.”

----

All four men walked to the holding cell, believing in strength in numbers. Cody had insisted that Obi-Wan stay out of sight in case his presence triggered something in Longshot, but Obi-Wan was stubborn. As the only Force-user, he wanted to be on-hand just in case Longshot managed to overpower the others. His lightsaber still remained in his quarters.

When they got to the cell door, Cody and Boil raised their blasters at the ready. “Surely you don’t think this is necessary?” Obi-Wan asked worriedly.

“I don’t think it’s wise to be unprepared, sir,” Boil answered.

“It’s not...ideal, certainly,” Cody added. “But we can’t take any chances.”

The door slid open and Longshot shot up off the cot.

They held their blasters at the ready, and Longshot raised his hands in surrender. “What is this shit?” Obi-Wan walked in last and stuck his head out from behind Cross. “Kill the Jedi!” Longshot yelled as he leapt at Cross who plunged the hypodermic needle with the sedative into Longshot’s neck in the scuffle. The force of Longshot’s jump pushed Cross back into Obi-Wan who reached out with the Force to keep them both from hitting the ground.

Cody and Boil turned to face them and put their blasters down when Longshot slumped heavily into Cross’ arms. “Thank the Force,” Boil sighed.

“Let’s get him onto the stretcher and back to the medbay, quickly,” Cross said struggling under the weight.

----

Once Longshot’s extraction was finished, all four clone troopers disappeared, presumably back to their beds and quarters. They all deserved to rest as much as possible in the remaining time it took to get to Coruscant. Obi-Wan found himself wandering to the bridge once more, desperate to reach anyone. He tried hailing Coruscant, but was only met with a message to retreat to the temple, 'the war is over.’ His heart sank.

Trying once again to find someone, anyone, Obi-Wan sent out another message on his comlink. “Emergency Code 913, I have no contact on any frequency. Are there any Jedi out there?... anywhere…”

A fuzzy blue hologram of Senator Bail Organa appeared. It was mostly static, but Obi-Wan could at least make out his own last name. “I’ve locked on, repeat!”

The image of Bail became clearer, “Master Kenobi??” He sounded relieved. Obi-Wan’s heart beat wildly, grateful he found someone.

“Senator Organa! My troopers turned on me on Utapau, it’s a long, long story, but by some miracle, I escaped with four of them,” Obi-Wan was desperate to tell Bail everything, but he felt the need to be brief. He would hopefully get the chance to tell him later.

“It appears this ambush has happened everywhere,” Bail said. That was the final confirmation that Obi-Wan didn’t want. “And we have just rescued Master Yoda. We're sending you our coordinates.” Obi-Wan breathed another sigh of relief. Master Yoda was alive. It was something.

Obi-Wan took the cruiser out of hyperspace and set the new coordinates Bail had given him. He would tell the men when they woke up. They would be to Bail and Yoda in less than a day. It still felt too long, but it was closer than Coruscant.

----

Cody and Obi-Wan laid side-by-side in Obi-Wan’s bed again. Darkness surrounded them. Both knew the other wasn’t asleep, but they pretended anyway. Cody finally broke the silence. “Would you have done it?”

Obi-Wan’s first instinct was to ask ‘done what?’ but he already knew. “No.”

Cody turned on his side to face him, “Even though you promised?”

“Even though I promised,” Obi-Wan sighed. He remained on his back, staring at the ceiling. He could barely see Cody in the dark, but he didn’t want to look at him and see disappointment anyway.

“Look at me.” Cody reached over and gently grabbed Obi-Wan’s chin to turn his head. “You’re not one to break your promises.”

Obi-Wan blinked and Cody let go of his chin. “Well, I certainly have tried. But...I’m fallible, and sometimes I break promises.” He sat up, propping himself up on his elbow. He placed the palm of his other hand on Cody’s chest right over his heart. His skin was surprisingly cool, but he found the solace he was looking for in the steady rhythm in his commander’s chest. He was alive - they both were.

Cody picked up his hand, brought it to his lips, and pressed a tender kiss to Obi-Wan’s palm. “You are stubborn and see the good in people, even when they don’t deserve it.”

Obi-Wan laid back down and put his head on Cody’s shoulder. “If you’re referring to yourself, you do deserve it, and you always have...you always will. You’re a good man, Cody.” He paused for a beat then chuckled. “But I am stubborn, that is true. Then again, so are you.”

“We kind of had to be, didn’t we?” Cody pressed another kiss to Obi-Wan’s head.

“I think it’s what keeps us alive.”

The Force was so murky and shrouded in dark that Obi-Wan could barely see the immediate future, let alone any further. But he would continue to be stubborn if it meant the difference between life or death for those he cared about, and for himself, too.