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yellowocaballero · 3 years ago

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@bytebun

SIR YOUR TAGS.........

Double spoiler readmore so I can respond, if that's okay!!

#things that fucked me up so bad. I cried about this one#I haven’t cried since the last time I watched princess mononoke -_- <= my puffy-eyed face#me & obi-wan unable to believe that his dad would hurt him up until the#”you’re gonna be the safest kid” line. Like. Oh. OH fuckkj. I understand now#I’m remembering the meta commentary on less than zero… something something Cody isn’t equipped to be a dad + family as safety and I didn’t#get it until I read this. Fuck. He can’t keep him safe#I am so fucked up abt this it took me like six hours to manage anything coherent#Cody going. I’ve been so selfish. But -#I can’t stand it aghhhh the hey! They put force cuffs on me! The absolute trust up until -#FUCK. We have to leave Cody & obi-wan behind now EXCUSE ME. God#this is it. I love no chip aus but I can’t think abt them for too long bc/ they hurt me too bad but this is exactly it#the most compelling characterization of the clones is looking at a dude who is so uniquely fucked up that it looks like he did a 180 in 2#seconds but is defined by “loyalty” repeatedly as a character trait#and then working out what the fresh hell made him like that. Agh#oh clever clever Cody. Picking the narrow path that you think will keep your child safe even if it means you have to give up everything#YOU IDIOT.#and ofc it feels perfectly in character#It was so jarring to see five and tup being so callous but ofc it had to be them - bc/ they wldnt be dead w/o chip plot - but then what#abt echo and. Rex. Bc/ I will admit I cannot see Rex not avoiding order 66 somehow (possibly bc/ that’s the arc filoni sets up for him)#possibly promising that gregor left. & wolffe#god I’m hoping Cody did not kill boil.#some part of me is still hoping this is a itachi style plot. But while I think dad!cody wouldnt /kill/ obi-wan if that had been the order#keeping him safe by [spoilers] is. Yeah. That’s totally reasonable from his perspective!#Augh. & u can rlly. I mean. The thing abt the order is it’s a terrible awful tragedy for the Jedi but also it highlights the tragedy of the#clones existence. You make a guy so fucked up that he can do this (whether willingly or thru brain control)#Also I see the Rex babysitting follow-up in ur list of fics to come#ok I’m gonna close my mouth now. To whomst can I talk about this. I’m never going to b normal abt it for the rest of my life#Tragic awful parenting decisions by people who don’t - who don’t really ever have a choice is just so! So!!!#I’m also sad about boga. God#but; but also. Cody leaving the light saber within reach???

AAAAHHHH THANK YOU. Again if you don't mind me responding...

1) No matter the AU, Cody is always aware that what he and Obi-Wan have going on can't last. Here, specifically, he's extremely aware that there will be a point where they will all fulfill their purpose and that their paths will part. I definitely think that, if Cody had been commanded by the Emperor to kill Obi-Wan instead of keep him safe for Anakin, he would have rebelled. It's definitely not an Itachi thing - more, "well, if it's gonna happen anyway, I may as well be there to play damage control". As it was, Cody could justify what he was doing to himself. Giving him over to Anakin is a terrible decision, and not a rational one, but...well, Cody's a loyal (indoctrinated) Imperial soldier. He genuinely believes that it's a good idea.

2) I like writing roleswaps (and situation swaps like this) because you get to really explore who a character truly is through putting them in a radically different position. You can write an Obi-Wan with the exact same character traits of canon but who acts completely differently if you have him obsessively chase the life of an ideal soldier instead of an ideal Jedi. This is very much the same thing. Cody has the exact same personality traits as I wrote him before - loyal, dedicated, selfless, loving, responsible - but you can have him act in the exact opposite way that he normally would. It's hideously fun to start off with "one of the best people in this universe has just committed an atrocity" & "the best parent I've ever written has now become a TERRIBLE parent" and then work backwards into why. When you take someone that loyal, and change his loyalties...

3) Fives and Tup were my way of showing that the chips definitely don't exist, yeah! And, if I'm remembering Fives right, he's a very intelligent and thoughtful person who doesn't always believe what he's told. With a combination of every factor happening here, Fives is still going along with everything because he has no choice, but he has no illusions about it and he's very bitter. Poor Tup is a good guy who is SUPER fucking brainwashed. I feel bad for establishing that every time Obi-Wan was upset every clone would freak and run to grab Cody to solve his Baby Emotions.

4) I specifically mentioned Bly, the Wolffepack, Boil, and Gregor rebelling to establish that it was completely possible for them to rebel, and in two cases escape. Wanted to be clear that Cody was Making A Choice (TM). As for Rex and Bly, you see what they're up to at this time later (macking on his girlfriend and getting beat up by Ahsoka, mostly).

5) I mean the clones were already growing up in a military cult, but yes definitely their behavior here is guided by childhood indoctrination + propaganda + brainwashing + external pressure + group pressure + aaand some light brain mods. Really fun to fuck around with. We see further how Cody's upbringing fucked him up.

6) You are the only person who's read this who commented on the fact that Cody ordered Obi-Wan's pet lizard shot because it was pissing him off lol. He's a charmer.

AU of Roleswap AU: Cody's First and Final Choice

Obi-Wan was staring very intently at the churning blue river running underneath the gorge, wondering if he would die when he jumped down it or if it would simply be very cool, when Cody accepted the transmission.

He felt something spike in the Force, like a hot knife pressing through skin, before Cody’s comm rang again. Obi-Wan relaxed when he saw that it was Master Anakin, making some curt commands to Cody before his holoimage vanished into dust. Cody was standing very straight. Boga began lowing.

He listened with half an ear as Cody made some more calls. A lot more calls - he heard Pond’s name somewhere in there, along with Bly and Wolffe and Fox. Definitely Wolffe - Obi-Wan rolled his eyes when he heard a lot of loud cursing from Wolffe before the call ended.

What was happening?

The rabbit hole is growing increasingly deeper and I am giving increasingly less fucks, so here's an AU of an AU. For this one, I'd even say that you don't need to have read the original - the premise is only that Obi-Wan is Anakin's padawan and that Cody ended up half-raising him. I have four other stories in this AU, all of which are much longer than this, and I'll probably post them in the upcoming week.

Hey, do you remember how the Order 66 chips didn't exist in the original movies? The Clone Wars cartoon made them up.

So if the chips didn't exist...what would that look like?

11k of bad parenting under the cut.

He turned only long enough to see if it was Master Qui-Gon - it wasn’t, otherwise Cody would have opened the call with a ‘where the kriff are you’ instead of some sort of greeting - before turning back to the gorge. He probably could. Rex would help him. Master Anakin would throw him, and it would be very funny. Master Qui-Gon would also think it’s very funny, but he wouldn’t help him. Cody was probably the only one who both did not think it would be funny and would also actively try and stop them. Cody was a buzzkill.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan heard a great echo of armor rustling. Every 212th man who survived the land battle - easily over 200, maybe closer to 300 - was moving simultaneously, all closing in around Cody. It almost felt like a rush, although it didn’t look like that at all.

Were they debriefing without him? Like he was a freaking fourteen year old? Obi-Wan jogged up to the group until he reached the fringes, pushing gently at the mass of plastoid armor. Something strange was beginning to boil up in the Force, but with long ease of practice Obi-Wan pushed it aside. If you listened to the Force all day nothing ever got done.

Boga began crying again, with short and mournful howls.

The trooper - Klick - turned around to look at him. He didn’t have to look down anymore. They were almost of an equal height, the top of Ben’s head finally reaching their noses. It was both very satisfying and a little weird.

“Are we pulling out?”

But Klick just looked at him. There was…something weird…

“Commander.”

The troopers parted instantly to let Cody through, and Obi-Wan immediately relaxed. The bad feeling in the Force dissipated in seconds, even though Boga was still crying her head off. The sound echoed through the canyon, oddly in tune with the beat of Obi-Wan’s heart.

At some point Cody had put his bucket back on, and Obi-Wan watched as Cody moved to stand in front of him. A little closer than usual - he almost bent over before thinking better of it, abruptly remembering that he could meet Obi-Wan’s eyes straight on.

“Commander,” Cody repeated. He fell abruptly silent - not as if he was trying to think of something to say, but as if he couldn’t get anything else out. Finally, he said, “There’s been a new development. We must return to Coruscant immediately.”

What? “But what about Master Qui-Gon?” Obi-Wan asked, alarmed. “We just captured this sector, we can’t leave immediately!”

“Your master has requested your presence on Coruscant,” Cody repeated. Something was wrong with his voice, and Obi-Wan cautiously reached out to the Force. “We must return to Coruscant immediately.”

“Well, Master can just wait,” Obi-Wan said, miffed. He crossed his arms, letting the wind whip harsh dust onto his tunic. He had lost the robe during the fight. For once, Cody hadn’t picked it up after him. “Not everything is as important as he thinks it is.”

Cody just stared at him. Obi-Wan looked around. All of the 212th were staring at him, or whispering amongst themselves in low voices. It made his skin prickle. Or maybe something else was making his skin prickle.

For a second, Obi-Wan thought Cody was going to press the issue. Master Anakin wasn’t automatically Cody’s commanding officer on the field, even when Master Qui-Gon was gone - if Obi-Wan was leant to the 212th then that was him, which was complicated when Master Anakin was there telling him what to do - but he had always obeyed Master Anakin before. Every clone did, even the ones unattached to him. He had a powerful personality.

But Cody just knelt down instead, putting himself underneath Obi-Wan’s confused eyesight. He looked up at him, and there was a strange tint of marvel amidst his durasteel presence. He stared at Obi-Wan for another few seconds, the obscure aura of marvel and wonder blossoming until Obi-Wan’s breath caught, before he reached out and grabbed Obi-Wan’s forearms.

“Obi-Wan. I need you to be brave right now, okay?”

“I am fifteen years old -”

“I know,” Cody said wryly. It was only then that Obi-Wan realized that Cody had called him by his name. He never did that. “But I’m going to need something from you now, okay? Can you do that?”

Something cold pricked down Obi-Wan’s neck. Some of the troopers were looking away. “Yeah? Of course. Are we still going to go swimming later?”

“Sure,” Cody said. “We can go swimming later.” He stayed silent for another long moment before seeming to compose himself. “From this moment on, until we rendezvous with your master, I need you to obey me as your CO in battle.”

Obi-Wan stiffened. That meant no questions, no arguments, and ‘hopping to it’. “Yes, sir!”

“Good. Give me your lightsaber.”

Obi-Wan unbuckled his lightsaber and passed it to him. From the way Cody knelt in front of him, the moment almost felt like something else - like he was some sort of royalty passing on a weapon to a knight or something, like in the books he used to read as kids. Grandmaster’s voice rang in his ears - your weapon’s your life, stop making Cody always go fetch it for you.

Cody released his forearms, leaving them sticky in the heat, before straightening and tucking the lightsaber onto his empty clip. “We’re marching back to the ship. Lieutenant Wooley, coordinate with Lieutenant Crys on departure. Troops, move out. Obi-Wan, I’ll need your blasters and your vibroblade too.”

They moved out, Obi-Wan removing his weapons as they went.

The ship was ready to fly when they arrived, the engines churning and spitting into the thin atmo. Cody stuck close to Obi-Wan the entire time, hovering at his elbow in a classic anxious Cody maneuver. Obi-Wan followed the men onto the transport, jostled slightly in the commotion, when he stopped short.

A hammer rapped in Obi-Wan’s skull. Sharply and politely: a one-two knock.

Obi-Wan twisted around. “Something’s going to happen.”

Near him, Wooley cursed.

The hammer hit Obi-Wan’s skull - cruelly and insistently, an invader striving to destroy your home. “Something’s going to happen! Cody -”

“Longshot, the cuffs.”

Firm hands wrestled his hands down from his head and clasped something cool on his wrists, and a very familiar pressure and weight settled onto Obi-Wan’s wrists. The feeling went away, and he opened his eyes to see that Longshot had locked him into Force inhibitor cuffs.

He looked up at Cody, confused beyond measure. The knocking had gone away, but he was left standing in a void so heavy it pressed down at his shoulders and sucked down at his stomach. They were painful and uncomfortable and anxiety inducing and, after a few hours in your prison cell, torturous.

To his eternal embarrassment, Obi-Wan found himself saying in a small voice, “Cody?”

“No questions,” Cody said, gently pushing him up the ramp, and Obi-Wan closed his mouth abruptly. Cody had given him very explicit orders. This was a disgusting lack of discipline.

Obi-Wan swore to himself that he’d uphold the highest standards of discipline. As befitting a Jedi and a Commander of the finest army in the Republic. So he walked in lock-step with the men, and sat down at the wall benches as a small group of clones stayed outside the transport and whispered furiously between themselves. Without the Force he couldn’t make out their words. He caught something about “at least we -” before Wooley barked a command at them and they broke up. In the background, Boga was howling. Obi-Wan craned his head, trying to see out and see what was happening with Boga.

“For twice born god’s sake,” Cody snapped, with harshness Obi-Wan rarely heard from him, “will someone shut the animal up?”

The bridge closed. Obi-Wan might have heard a blaster bolt outside, but it was hard to tell. Boga cried, and Obi-Wan didn’t hear if she cried again.

Cody buckled Obi-Wan’s harnesses for him, since it was a little difficult to do the matter cuffed, and Obi-Wan watched with exasperation as he triple checked the thing. He would do that when Obi-Wan was thirteen, triple check his work and redo it as if he couldn’t buckle his own harness correctly. In retrospect, he couldn’t. No wonder they all thought he was incompetent for months on months.

The transport was dead silent as they took off. Unusually, nobody took off their helmets or started chatting. They just sat in silence, staring at the floor or at the ceiling or exchanging glances with each other. Obi-Wan thought wistfully of Boga. She was a very good girl. Maybe the fallen soldier transport could -

Obi-Wan jolted, turning to Cody. “We didn’t pack up the fallen!”

They always did that, or they left people on the ground to take care of it. But Cody just tilted his helmet to Obi-Wan before looking away. “Silence the rest of the trip, men.”

Obi-Wan fell silent, hurt. He’d ask later. Right now, the important thing was discipline.

When they reached the ship Obi-Wan found it weirdly busy. They were pulling out of a captured planet to rendezvous at Coruscant, there shouldn’t be this much to do. But everybody was walking sharply in twos, murmuring in low voices, or talking into their comms. They all looked up and stared as Obi-Wan and Cody walked by. Obi-Wan found himself shrinking against Cody. Way to ask about the cuffs, guys.

When they reached the bridge they met Boil standing at the entryway, arms folded. Three other troopers were standing behind him, hissing furiously at him, but he ignored all of them to stare dead straight at Cody. Almost imperceptibly, Cody sighed.

“Sir,” Boil said frostily.

“Get back to your post.”

“Sir.” Boil’s helmet tilted to the confused Obi-Wan before looking back at Cody. “This is my conscientious objection. I refuse.”

“Good for you,” Cody said dully. Obi-Wan was slowing, and Cody gently put a hand on his back to push him forward. “Get back to your post. We’re joining with the 501st after their mission.”

“Go to fucking hell, sir!”

Obi-Wan gasped. Wow! Go Boil! But also - what?

But Cody didn’t react. He just stopped them both in front of Boil, who was still blocking the entryway. Rubbernecking clones milled about behind him. “I didn’t hear that. Get back to your post. That’s my final warning.”

“I’m not participating in this.” Boil’s voice was drawn harsh and tight, firm as a coil. “You can all do whatever the fuck you want. I’m not doing it.”

“Um.” Obi-Wan figured that discipline could take a back seat for right now. He looked at Cody. “Are you mutinying? If you’re mutinying you can tell me.”

“We’re not mutinying.”

“I’m mutinying,” Boil spat. “You’re all fucking droids. Waxer would never go along with this.”

“Good thing Waxer’s dead,” Cody said blandly. Obi-Wan gasped. “On second thought, I’m taking Obi-Wan to his room. Someone find Gregor. He didn’t report in. Gearshift, Peel, go ahead of us. Barlex and Crys.”

Then Cody firmly changed their direction, and set off down the hall much faster than they had approached. Obi-Wan heard a distant thud and a grunt, but when he tried to turn around Cody just put a hand on the back of his neck in warning.

They walked the familiar path to Obi-Wan’s room, and he already resigned himself to being shuffled off while everybody else dealt with all the action. He’d have to call Quinlan and see what was going on. He just needed to talk to somebody, at this point. The Force was so empty and cold. It made Obi-Wan feel so empty and cold inside. He needed just a little warmth. But he wasn’t seeing any warmth on this Star Destroyer.

When they got to Obi-Wan’s officer cabin Cody stopped short. He looked at Obi-Wan, who gave him the most unimpressed look physically possible. Sassy looks were still undisciplined, but they tended to go unremarked upon if the officer was being stupid enough. Hardcase used to pull faces behind Master Anakin’s back just to make Obi-Wan laugh. Man, had Echo upbraided him for that. Fives had called him a moron, with that particular insulting-fond way Fives always has.

“Give me your comm.”

With far more hesitation than his weapons, Obi-Wan slowly unbuckled his comm and handed it to Cody. He hooked it to the back of his belt without looking.

“Okay.” Cody knocked on the door, and to Obi-Wan’s alarm he saw Gearshift and Peel emerge. Was that his stuff? Were they stealing his stuff? “Stay in here until I call for you. Gearshift and Peel are guarding your door.”

“You are imprisoning me,” Obi-Wan said. His head felt light and fuzzy, as if he wasn’t in his body. Most of that had to be the Force cuffs, but - hey, they had put fucking Force Cuffs on him! What! “You are putting me in a cell.”

“If I was putting you in a cell you’d be able to tell,” Cody said dryly. He put a hand on Obi-Wan’s back, but when Obi-Wan shook it off he carefully retreated. “Don’t try to escape, we can’t spare the men to chase after you right now and we’ll have to put you in a real cell. I’ll be back.”

“What, next to Boil?” Obi-Wan cried, voice hitching higher and higher. “What’s happening? Boil wouldn’t betray you, why are you hurting him?”

“You have to be brave, Obi-Wan,” Cody said, and Obi-Wan quieted.

He let them put him in his room. It felt different - partly due to the Force, partly due to the fact that they had confiscated a mysterious assortment of his things, partly because he was now locked inside. This was kind of like being grounded, except way weirder.

The minutes stretched on. He took inventory of what they’d taken. Anything with HoloNet access, which Obi-Wan carefully stored away in a mental file. Any weapons or anything that could be used to fiddle a lock or act as a weapon, which was a very comprehensive assessment and ended up taking out a disturbing variety of the things in his room. It took even more time to realize that they had sealed the room - they had triple bolted the ventilator cover shaft. Who did that?

Anybody who knew Obi-Wan, for one. So much for not being in a cell.

Obi-Wan lay on his bed, mind buzzing with a million thoughts before he brushed them aside. He wondered if they were really rendezvousing with Master Anakin, or if that had been a lie to get him on the ship. Not that he cared or anything, he just really wanted to know. Were they going to kidnap Master Anakin too? Good kriffing luck. Obi-Wan would have to be sure that Master Anakin didn’t injure anyone, he always got worked up in the middle of a fight…

Obi-Wan knocked politely on the door.

Gearshift opened it, standing at the entryway with his rifle on the ground. “What is it?”

“Are you sure you’re not mutinying?” Obi-Wan asked. “Because I thought I’d made it abundantly clear that I’d be on that boat with you all. Seriously, do you need a plant? Mole? I have some other padawans I can call up who’d help.”

Gearshift stared at him. Beside him, Peel slumped against the wall.

Finally, Gearshift said, “Thanks for the…offer, but we’re alright. Worry about yourself first for once, Obi-Wan.”

Of course, that cinched it. Cody was one thing, but the rest would never call him Obi-Wan. Especially at a time like this.

“For what it’s worth,” Obi-Wan said firmly, “it’s the right thing to do. Don’t feel guilty. I’ll talk to Boil for you if you want!”

Under his breath, Peel muttered, “Glad to see we’re all on the same page.”

Gearshift kicked him before closing the door.

The trip back to Coruscant only took around five hours, but it felt like weeks. There was nothing to do or read. Obi-Wan didn’t have anything to do besides lie on bed and stare at the ceiling in severe psychic discomfort. He reached out into the Force again and again but he found nothing. Did the nothing have a different quality than usual…?

Usual. Obi-Wan had a usual about being kidnapped, although this probably didn’t really count as a kidnapping. More like…oblique and enforced grounding.

Obi-Wan absent-mindedly ranked his kidnappings. Citadel at the bottom. No doubt. Dooku was probably right above that one. The top was definitely that one time with Hondo - where he had drugged Master Qui-Gon and Master Anakin’s cups and ended up chaining them together with Dooku and made them escape together, it was super funny. He and Cody were just fine, mostly because Cody never let Obi-Wan drink unsecured food, so they ended up hanging out with Hondo the whole time. They had watched the security footage of the prison cell together and listened to his whole lineage bickering awfully and endlessly, complete with Obi-Wan’s helpful gossip. Cody was not happy about the whole thing, but he had definitely snuck a copy of the tapes. Obi-Wan had lost a lot of respect for adults other than Cody that day. Obi-Wan was losing a lot of respect for adults right now.

For some reason, Obi-Wan reached into himself and found a deep and burning wish. Although he did not know why, although he had far more important wishes to make and more reliable people to choose, Obi-Wan found himself wishing with every ounce of his body and soul that Hondo was here now. Just for a laugh.

Finally, finally, Obi-Wan felt themselves jump out of hyperspace. He counted down the exact fifty minutes it took from hyperspace to planetside docking, staring fixedly at his desk clock, but he still jolted when somebody knocked sharply at his door.

Of course, it was Cody again. Obi-Wan had spent six hours working up anger and righteousness and eloquent demands for answers, but at the sight of Cody standing in his doorway he felt it drain from his body.

And instead of proud proclamations, all Obi-Wan could say was, “You look tired.”

Cody stared at him yet again, for the now familiar long beats of silence, before he stepped back and gestured Obi-Wan forward.

Every trooper was marching off the ship with them. That wasn’t normal either - normally everybody only left if there was a shore leave, and not even then. But they were all neatly marching out in straight and unending lines, and Obi-Wan had to stare at them for a few seconds before he realized that there was something else wrong.

They were all fully armed.

A cold stone dropped in Obi-Wan’s gut and didn’t stop sinking.

Transports were already waiting for them in the ship bay, and Cody wasted no time in packing him into a ground transport. He only got to look around the ship bay for a few minutes, but he recognized a lot more troopers than the 212th. It didn’t look like they were rendezvousing with Master at all. It looked like a trooper from every battalion was on Coruscant.

Obi-Wan should have known better. He shouldn’t have done anything without looking for an opening. But he couldn’t find any openings, and he couldn’t see any possible way to wriggle out of this. He wasn’t a fresh padawan, he didn’t run from a fight just because he was terrified. He should have bided his time, waited -

But the minute he stepped onto the transport, the second he realized it was a tank class only used for occupied planets, he bolted.

He misjudged his speed and mobility without the Force. He always did. Everything was always slower, as if he was wading through molasses. Obi-Wan thought that adrenaline would do the rest - or, maybe, he thought that he was strong even without the Force - but it didn’t even come close.

Gunner grabbed him, before even Cody could. Obi-Wan wrestled in his arms, moved by pure panic, but when a knee slammed into his gut he lost all breath. He fell to the floor, wheezing, as angry voices immediately started snapping above his head.

“ - insane? His master wants him untouched!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I panicked!” Cold gloves grabbed at Obi-Wan’s collar, tugging him up, and Obi-Wan thrashed in the grip. “Commander, are you okay -”

“You panicked?” Cody snarled. It was the special kind of angry he only got when he was stressed out of his mind. “A clone trooper panicked intercepting one teenager? Did you sleep through the nonviolent apprehending lessons?”

“C’mon, Marshal Commander, it’s not just one -”

“Give me him and get back in line.”

The hands passed him back to Cody, and he would have thrashed in the grip if he wasn’t too out of breath. Everything was so difficult with the cuffs, even breathing or moving. Cody practically had to push him into the transport - the tank - and steer him into a seat. Within seconds the tank began rattling and jumping and they were off.

Obi-Wan watched as Cody did up his harness again, this time far more unnecessarily. Cody’s hands were trembling. Just for a few seconds. When the clone trooper next to them turned his head and saw it, Cody’s hands stopped shaking and he quickly finished the job.

The troopers maintained their silence, this time fully kitted up with artillery and weapons. Their rifles shook in their racks, the stocks clanging as they bumped up against each other. Cody typed on his wristcomm constantly, bucket tilted in the specific gesture that always meant he was sending internal communications to the other troopers.

Reed exhaled heavily, looking around the room. “Well! I don’t know about you guys, but kriffing finally, right?”

The other troopers immediately burst into synchronized bitching, like they often did with Reed.

“This isn’t the time!”

“Oh, real tasteful Reed!”

“Are you serious? With the Commander in the car?”

“Hey, we’re doing the Commander a favor,” Reed protested, gesturing loosely at a frozen Obi-Wan. “He’s gonna be way better off! We’re all going to be better off!”

“We can celebrate later,” Cody panned. “Quiet in the transport.”

There were no windows in the back of the transport, so when they rattled to a stop Obi-Wan didn’t know where they were. Everybody stood up as the hatch ground and rumbled downwards, arranging themselves in exit formation as Cody silently undid Obi-Wan’s harness. It was awkward with the cuffs. Cody’s hands were shaking much harder this time, but nobody was looking.

Rumba, at the back of the line, looked backwards at Obi-Wan.

“You’re better off without them,” he said.

And then he turned his back on Obi-Wan, marching out the transport with everybody else. Cody didn’t push him forward, and Obi-Wan’s feet were frozen to the floor, and neither of them moved.

They stood there in silence alone in the transport. All Obi-Wan could hear was the harsh intake and exhale of his own breaths, playing out every trick in the book he knew to keep himself calm. All he needed was that battle calm. Obi-Wan was always calm in a dangerous situation. He never lost his head, and he never panicked or got scared.

It was probably the cuffs. Or maybe it was because Obi-Wan’s body couldn’t discern if this was a dangerous situation or not. How could it be scary if Cody was right behind him?

Finally, Cody rattled out a deep breath. He moved to stand in front of Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan watched in surprise as he reached up and unlatched his helmet. He knelt in front of him again, and this time he didn’t look anything like a knight. He looked as if he was ready for Obi-Wan to execute him, one clean lightsaber through the neck, or as if he was asking for forgiveness in the ancient Mandalorian way.

Obi-Wan was right. He really did look tired.

“Obi-Wan,” Cody breathed. He took Obi-Wan’s hands in his, squeezing tightly. It was awkward through the cuffs, his hands an unnatural distance apart. The glove was warm, almost hot, and Obi-Wan wondered which of them were running a fever. “Cyar’ika. You - you’re beautiful, you know that? Cyare. You’ve grown so tall, and you’re only going to get taller. You’ve become so brave and strong. I feel so lucky just looking at you.”

To Obi-Wan’s horror, he felt hot tears pricking at his eyes. “Cody, you’re scaring me.”

“I know, I know. I just needed to tell you.” Cody inhaled and exhaled harshly, another long silence, but Obi-Wan could see his face now. Something awful was passing through his expression, and the silence was so he could school it back into something remotely neutral. “Obi-Wan, once we leave this transport I cannot be your Cody anymore. And you can’t be my comma - my Obi-Wan any more. Do you understand?”

“No, I don’t,” Obi-Wan said, voice rising upwards in fear. “What’s -”

“Listen to me! We don’t have much time.” Cody shook his wrists a little, and Obi-Wan fell silent. “I have to leave Cody behind now. That means we are nothing to each other. You don’t talk to me. You don’t show favoritism towards me -”

“Cody -”

“I said quiet,” Cody said harshly, and Obi-Wan shut up again. “You have been stripped of your rank and position. You are a civilian. Your war is over, Obi-Wan. Mine is not. You will still see me. I will still be here. But if you look for Cody, you will not find him. I will not help you. Once you leave this transport, you are on your own. Nod if you understand.” Obi-Wan nodded dumbly - a lie, how could he possibly understand that? - but Cody’s expression gentled. He released one of Obi-Wan’s hands, and reached up to gently run a hand through his hair. “He’ll take care of you. You’ll be safe. You’ll be the safest damn kid in Coruscant. He’s taking you away from me, but…but you’ll be safe. That’s the important thing. I can’t be selfish now. I’ve been so selfish, cyar’ika, but we have to be brave now.”

Cody stood up, armor rattling, and before Obi-Wan could react he put a hand on the back of Obi-Wan’s neck. Obi-Wan’s heart jumped, but all that Cody did was gently press his forehead against Obi-Wan’s. Obi-Wan felt the sweat on his face, heard three deep breaths, but before he could reach up Cody had already moved away.

He reached for Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, easily flipping it into his hand. “Stay still, now.”

He ignited the lightsaber. Obi-Wan froze, cringing backwards, and he tried to step away. But Cody just caught his collar, yanking him in. “Stay still or your face will be burned off.”

Cody raised the lightsaber to his face. Obi-Wan froze, and he couldn’t have moved even if he wanted to. The bright and hissing blue took up his entire field of vision, and Obi-Wan screwed his eyes tight. He felt a sharp tug at his temple, and he fought to keep his head straight.

A burning smell hit his nose hard, and Obi-Wan instantly recognized it as the stench of burned hair. He heard the buzz of the lightsaber deactivating, and he opened his eyes to see a hand in front of him. It was holding his padawan braid, draped long and limp in his palm.

“He won’t want you wearing it. Take it.” Obi-Wan didn’t move. “Take it.”

But Obi-Wan just shook his head, and he reached out to fold Cody’s fingers over the braid. He pushed it towards him, ignoring his look of surprise. “You earned it.”

Cody stared down at the long braid, expression lost, before slowly tucking it back into his belt. He stood back, clipping the lightsaber back onto his belt next to it - everything that made Obi-Wan a Jedi, confiscated - and schooled his expression.

“Your master’s waiting outside. Let’s go.” Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. “Reply affirmative.”

“Fuck you,” Obi-Wan whispered.

“Say it, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan clenched his jaw together.

“Say it.”

It hurt. But it all hurt.

“Yes, CC-2224.”

Cody led them out of the transport, Obi-Wan following on his heels.

Cody and Obi-Wan stayed behind.

They were at the Jedi Temple. Obi-Wan fought his shock. They were standing in the giant pavilion in front of the Temple, all beautifully carved ancient duracrete (“It’s called concrete,” Obi-Wan would snootily inform everyone who didn’t care). It didn’t seem so big now. It was packed with troopers, and Obi-Wan realized with a start that they were all 501st. It should have been so surprising. He was being brought to his master.

His master. Maybe he was being held captive. The clones had gone turncoat and pledged allegiance to the Sith or something, because - because - because -

Master stood in front of the Temple doors. Clone after clone were marching inside the Temple, 501st blue after 501st blue disappearing into the depths. Master was talking with Captain Nemo, who stood stiffly at attention.

He turned around as Cody and Obi-Wan approached. For a second - just one - Obi-Wan felt pure and complete relief at the sight of his master.

He didn’t look good. The opposite of Cody - strung out and wired, but as if he was running a desperate fever. His hood obscured most of it, but Obi-Wan could see curls slicked by sweat pasted to his neck. His skin was reddish, hot to the touch, and his eyes were a sickly yellow.

But he brightened when he saw Obi-Wan, waving Captain Nemo off and walking forward. His lightsaber was lit by his side, a softly humming blue, as the men marched behind him. He wasn’t captured or restrained or anything. He was just standing there, lightsaber by his side.

“Master!” Obi-Wan cried. He wanted to surge forward, but something kept his feet locked to the ground. “Master, what’s happening!”

Master walked forward, an odd cousin of a grin stretching on his face. “Obi-Wan! Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Okay?” Obi-Wan screeched. “What is happening!”

“I’m here to save you, Obi-Wan,” Master said, approaching Obi-Wan and Cody. He was practically dripping with sweat, and every word held unshakable conviction. “The Republic and the Jedi have put you in danger, tried to kill you. The Chancellor and I are here to protect you. Go back to the Twilight , I’ll explain everything later.”

“You’ll explain everything now!” Obi-Wan screamed. “The clones are occupying Coruscant! What’s happening to the Temple -”

“I’m taking care of it,” Master swore. His eyes were alight with the same righteous fire that burned behind his words. “They didn’t let me protect you before, but I’m protecting you now. I’m taking everything I deserve. What we deserve. Padme and you and the baby. I’ll provide for all of you.”

“The baby,” Obi-Wan repeated, lips numb.

Master approached him, standing as close as Cody had only a minute ago, towering tall over him. “I love you, Obi-Wan,” Master Anakin whispered. He reached out a shaking hand and ran it through Obi-Wan’s hair. It was almost dripping with sweat, overheated with fever. Cody didn’t move. “You’re not like the rest of them. You never abandoned me or told me I wasn’t good enough. I’m doing this for you, understand? For our family. Don’t you want that, Obi-Wan? You want that.”

Somehow, the only thought that could hang desperately in Obi-Wan’s mind was: but I just lost my family.

Maybe it was that thought, as empty and cold as their master-padawan bond stood. Or maybe it was something else, something that Obi-Wan couldn’t discern without the Force. But Master’s eyes snapped to Cody for the first time, eyes narrowing.

“Do you have something you want to say, Cody?”

Far differently than he had ever said it to Qui-Gon or Anakin, Cody said, “No, Lord Vader.”

Lord Vader.

But that’s not his name, Obi-Wan thought hysterically. That’s not his name. Did they leave Anakin Skywalker behind in that transport too? Were everybody’s names piled on that durasteel floor, trampled under a hundred boots?

Lord Vader.

“You’ve always been really uppity,” Master said, a gleeful smile stretching across his face. “You always thought you were better than me, didn’t you?”

“No, my lord.”

“Liar,” Master said, easy as anything. “Well, you’re not. The powerful rule in this galaxy, and the weak like you serve them. If you didn’t want to be a servant you shouldn’t have been weak. It’s your own fault.”

“As you say, my lord.”

Master turned on a dime - from smug to snarling. He strode forward, lightsaber twirling in his hand, and pressed it against Cody’s neck. The vulcanized rubber of the body glove began to sear, the stench of burned rubber filling the air.

“You’re still making fun of me!” Master yelled. “You still think you’re better than me! You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?”

Obi-Wan tensed, ready to jump in and protect him, protect someone - but Cody’s words echoed in his head. And the faint, almost imperceptible tap of a gloved index finger against a thigh. Hold.

So this is what he had meant. They were on their own now.

Master snarled at him, yellow eyes glinting sickly in the harsh daylight. “Do you know what happened to your General, Cody?” Cody paused just a beat too long, and Master smiled again. “He was a traitor. He and Mace Windu tried to assassinate the Chancellor. Like filthy traitor cowards. And I - and I helped - and I helped the Chancellor k - k - kill them!” He was breathing hot and heavy, his powerful and empathetic words undercut by the way his tongue froze over the confession. “What do you think of that, Marshal Commander? What’s your opinion on the fate of your precious General?”

Cody didn’t pause. “I’m disappointed I didn’t get to do it.”

Obi-Wan made a wounded noise.

Master’s eyes flickered to Obi-Wan, the half-grin rising higher on his face. “Yeah, baby. Your clone’s a real monster, isn’t he?” He stepped away from them, turning around to call to his troops “The Chancellor promised me you’d all be loyal to me, but I’m not seeing much loyalty. Are any more of you having second thoughts?” The 501st stood stiffly and silently, and Master twirled his lightsaber in his hand. “Good. Fives, Tup, to me.”

Obi-Wan backed up, but Cody grabbed his arm. Obi-Wan tugged at it, half-heartedly and weakly, as Five and Tup broke from formation and stood in front of Master, saluting.

“Sir!”

“Take him back to the ship,” Master said. “We’re rendezvousing on Mustafar. Make sure he doesn’t see this. Obi-Wan, follow the soldiers.”

“Yes, my lord!”

And Master turned away, cloak billowing as he followed his men into the heart of the Jedi Temple, leaving Obi-Wan alone. Hemmed in by all sides.

He felt dizzy. Weak. It was the cuffs, just the cuffs. If he just got the cuffs off, then he’d be fine. He’d be okay. He wouldn’t be scared if they could just get the cuffs off.

“We’ll take him from here,” Tup said. They stood strangely and rigidly in front of Cody, an unnaturally large distance between them.

But Cody didn’t move, and he didn’t release his grip. “Lord Vader requested that I see his brother to the Twilight.”

“Lord Vader requested that we escort him to the Twilight,” Fives said, perfectly bland but perfectly unimpressed.

“Then I understand he asked all three of us.”

The clones stood in a detente. Obi-Wan pulled frantically on Cody’s grip, trying to beat his hands against the armor but finding it almost impossible because of the cuffs.

Blaster bolts echoed from within the Temple. A scream ripped itself from Obi-Wan’s throat.

“Let’s just go,” Tup said.

After that, Obi-Wan began undertaking his best rabid loth-wolf impression. He pulled, yanked, yelled, and kicked as hard as he could. It was pretty hard, and by the time they reached the edge of the pavilion he had managed to sock a good one in Tup’s jaw.

“Aren’t you glad there’s three of us now?” Cody asked.

“Okay, that’s it.” Fives stepped up to Obi-Wan, who may or may not have been screaming, and cleanly backhanded him across the face.

Obi-Wan yelled again, crumpling in Cody’s grip. Fives grabbed his shirt, keeping him upright as Obi-Wan snarled at him.

“Listen to me,” Fives said lowly, “and look around. What do you see?”

Of course, the answer to that was obvious. They were hemmed in on every side in every direction by clones. Marching, talking into comms, directing in tanks. There was screaming in the distance. From every direction. Obi-Wan turned back to Fives, and he knew horror was blossoming over his face. The sight of one of his best friends, a sight that always meant an ally at your back and rumpled hair, brought no relief.

“That’s right,” Fives said, in response to the look on Obi-Wan’s face. “You get away from all three of us and you’re running straight into the arms of someone else who will get you to Lord Vader’s ship. So stop making this hard and get with the program.”

“Lord Vader didn’t want him harmed,” Cody said, voice wound tight as a coil.

“But he was resisting arrest,” Fives drawled, dripping mockery. “We can do whatever we want if they’re resisting arrest.”

“Are you having fun -”

“Let’s just get going,” Tup said.

They got going, Obi-Wan dragging his heels the entire time. Cody and Fives dropped behind to have a hissed argument, roughly depositing Obi-Wan into Tup’s custody.

“I hate you,” Obi-Wan hissed.

Tup didn’t respond.

“I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”

But Tup didn’t respond, and eventually Obi-Wan stopped trying.

In the end, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. He was eventually dragged to the Jedi ship loading bay - the same one where transports could drop things off and load up, the same one which was not usually locked down by almost fifty clones. It was ridiculous. What were they all doing in the Temple? Was Master taking it hostage? Was he going to try and kill Grandmaster Yoda or something? Why? What was the point?

Master had gone…he had turned…he had to have joined the Separatists. Or something. The war was almost over. Maybe - maybe there was - something.

The Jedi had turned traitor? But they hadn’t. Wouldn’t Obi-Wan know? Had they kept it from him? They had plotted to attack the Chancellor? Why would they do that? Why would Master kill - kill - kill -

“Is Master Qui-Gon dead?” Obi-Wan asked. He meant for the question to be loud and forceful, but it came out shamefully small instead.

Cody didn’t look back. “The traitor was executed.”

Rage burned so hot in Obi-Wan’s chest it exploded, bursting apart into a single sentence screamed at the top of his lungs.

“I hate you!”

“Oh, look,” Tup said, “the ship.”

Obi-Wan’s throat was hoarse, and the comforting sight of the Twilight turned into a looming giant. Fives was coordinating something with the dozens of troopers in the one loading bay - that was the kind of secure and lockdown building protocol overkill they had only ever used on Christophsis - and he almost couldn’t scream at the top of his lungs anymore.

He had never screeched at Cody like that. But he had never hated Cody either.

Dementedly, the Twilight was the same as ever. The stray lugnut wedged between two panels was still there. The loose shreds of leather from Master’s stray fidgeting were still lying around the pilot’s chair, casually discarded as they were ripped up. Obi-Wan’s goddamn fucking homework was still at the nav station.

His homework, Obi-Wan thought stupidly as Tup extended his cuffs and fixed them to one of the grip bars above the nav station. He was able to sit down in the chair as the clones took the seats further back, staring dumbly at his homework. Astronav. Quinlan’s notes were scribbled on it, transmitted from his own. Since you have no time to study, I thought this might help…don’t tell anyone, they’ll think I’m a nerd like you…

When he turned around, letting the chair spin with him, he saw all three clones sitting at the chairs in tense and wired exhaustion. Fives removed his helmet, setting it down on the seat next to him as Tup inclined his head. Probably receiving internal communication from the other clones.

“Bly’s rogue.”

“Wow, really?” Fives asked, with pure fakey surprise. “What a shock! Who could have guessed!”

“I mean, you never know,” Tup said, removing his own helmet and dropping it onto the seat next to him. “Cody’s here.”

Cody was leaning back on his chair, helmet tipped on the wall and staring up at the ceiling. His arms were folded, for all appearances sleeping at his seat. Not that he ever did. “Shut up.”

“I mean, he wasn’t fucking his command,” Fives said easily, “ ‘least I hope not. Anybody else think that was kriffing weird, by the way? Playing happy families with your command? I tried telling him it was sadistic but he just smashed a bottle over my head.”

“Yeah,” Tup said, staring at Cody, “who would ever -”

“We lost the Wolfpack,” Cody said, talking over him. “Another surprise. Obviously.” Tup and Fives snorted. “I think we kept most of the rest. Lost Boil and Gregor on my end. What about the 501st?”

“Not anymore,” Tup said, almost cheerfully. “It was all cold feet, anyway. We’ve been preparing for this for years. Didn’t know it was going to be like this, but it’s nice to finally achieve your mission. You know?”

Cody detached his helmet, showing his bare face. It was a blank, expressionless mask, with nothing shining through except deep-set eyes and exhaustion. “Yes, it feels wonderful to finally enact our life’s purpose: the hideously convoluted deep cover assasination plot.”

Obi-Wan muffled a scream.

All three troopers stopped talking. Fives craned his head to look at him, even as Cody rubbed at the bridge of his nose.

“Did nobody tell you, my lord?” He looked at Cody. “You didn’t tell him.”

“I was a bit busy trying to avoid getting my ear bitten off.”

“Whatever. It’s fucking stupid anyway.” Fives leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. He looked at Obi-Wan, expression somehow mocking. Obi-Wan wasn’t sure what he was mocking. “As it turns out, the secret clone army designed only for murder death comissioned by a shadowy figure that pretended to be the Jedi yet obviously was not…was a secret Sith plot. Surprise! Big old Sith plot all along.”

“But not Lord Vader’s Sith plot, right?” Tup asked Fives. “We’re all but weapons in the hands of Lord Vader, but I don’t think he…personally…you know…”

“Lord Vader is our reason for life and we’re honored to die for him,” Fives agreed, “but no, he is absolutely just winging this.”

“You double crossed us,” Obi-Wan rasped. His voice was torn up and destroyed from the screaming. “So now what? You imprison every Jedi?”

Silence stretched over the ship.

Fives looked at Cody. “You didn’t tell him.”

“Tell me what?” Obi-Wan yelled.

“I think Lord Vader deserves the honor of letting him know,” Cody said blandly. “So they can celebrate their victory together.”

Both 501st men nodded, as if it was coherent logic at all.

Tup craned his head back, smiling reassuringly at Obi-Wan. It made him feel sick. “There’s no need for concern, my lord. Everything’s going to be alright. I know it’s scary now, but once the world galaxy’s razed we can help build the new one.” Obi-Wan gaped silently as Tup continued talking. “No more Jedi placing little kids on the battlefield. No more Republic’s bloated body standing in the way of progress. No more Separatists! The war is over. Now that the entire galaxy’s unified, we will have absolute peace.”

“Dozens of gods, you sound like the shinies,” Fives said, staring unimpressed at an offended Tup. “All they do is spout dumb Kamino Imperial propaganda. I swear the Empire’s going to be just as useless as the Republic.”

“The Empire’s not going to have any Jedi,” Tup said waspishly, “so it’s already better.”

“True.” Fives grunted. “Finally. No more traitors.”

“Nothing standing in the way of the glorious Empire,” Tup agreed.

“Whoo,” Cody said.

“Typical 212th,” Tup told Cody. “You gotta start showing a little more enthusiasm. You’re already on thin ice with Lord Vader.”

“Watch it, Lieutenant. I still outrank you.”

“Yeah, for how long?” Tup mocked. Cody’s eye twitched. “Lord Vader’s going to reward our 501st dedication. You 212th never had that. I think we’re finally going to get some respect around here.”

“You’re brainwashed,” Obi-Wan said, lightheaded. He pulled at his cuffs, but he could barely move. “The Sith did something to you - to all of you. You don’t really believe all of this…”

For the first time, Cody turned to look at him. His eyes were utterly dead, but were drilling in intently on Obi-Wan. “The 501st are uniquely loyal to Darth Vader. They are very adherent to the Sith’s mission of peace and order. It gives them the strength necessary for the hard jobs.”

“Like what’s going on now,” Obi-Wan said. Nausea crept up his throat, bringing with it a realization that he forced himself to swallow down. “At the Temple.”

Cody didn’t look away. “Yes, my lord.”

“Why are you calling me that?” Obi-Wan yelled hoarsely. “I’m not your lord! I’m a Jedi, I’m a Jedi padawan!”

“You’re the honorable brother of our Lord Vader.” Cody rubbed at a small patch of his temple in thought - exactly where Obi-Wan’s braid used to be. “When the Jedi betrayed the Republic, you and your family remained loyal.”

“It’s true,” Tup said empathetically. Fives rolled his eyes. “The lord’s a 501st man. He was the student of Lord Vader, he’s always been more than those weakling Jedi. He was always closer to a brother than anything.”

“I’m a Jedi!”

“And what did they ever do for you?” Cody snapped. “They’re traitors and thieves. They’re so high on their righteous, moralistic importance that they don’t recognize that their ancient Order is a corrupt, broken system. They’re monsters who put children on a battlefield with only a sword to protect themselves. They kept us captive servants for years. I’d call this our revenge.”

“I hate you,” Obi-Wan whispered.

But Cody’s expression just hardened. “Hate me if you like, my lord. But I’m a loyal soldier of the Empire, and I always have been. And you’d best shape up and find your loyalty soon, or Lord Vader will find another traitor in his family.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Obi-Wan breathed. He looked between all three clones frantically, his breath coming in quicker and quicker hitches. “You were - you were just pretending - this whole time, you were -”

Tup just looked at him, expression blank. It sent Obi-Wan’s skin crawling. “Of course not. You think we could hide something like this from the Jedi?” Obi-Wan had, in fact, been wondering how the fuck they could hide this from the Jedi. “We obey orders. They tell us to fight for the GAR, we do our best. They tell us to respect and give our loyalty to the Jedi, we do that. They tell us the Jedi are traitors, they’re traitors now. Sorry, my lord, but you can’t really understand.”

“Life as a soldier’s just doing what you’re told.” Fives rolled his eyes, one arm thrown over the back of the chair. It was hard to catch, but if you knew Fives you could hear the subtle hard edge of mockery and bitterness in his words. Obi-Wan’s friend was always bitter. “We’re good soldiers.”

“And good soldiers follow orders,” Cody muttered.

“I am going to kill all of you,” Obi-Wan said distantly. “You’re dead. You’re not my friends. You’re aruetii. Hut’tuun fucking - you’re hut’tuun! All of you!”

“And on that delightful note,” Cody said, slapping his thighs and standing up. “I have to return to my men. Lord Vader would give me a hard time if he found me here. Will you two be alright?”

“Worry about yourself,” Fives said blandly. He shot Cody an indecipherable look as Cody fixed his helmet back on. “We had a pool on if you’d defect or not. Order 66 isn’t getting as many as it should, you know.”

“Is that so.”

“A lot of Jedi are ‘escaping’.” Fives said, voice adding air quotes to the word. “Especially the baby traitors, for whatever reason. More than we anticipated. Fox is going to open up an investigation, but it’d be impossible to tell who missed accidentally and who missed accidentally-on-purpose.”

“Yeah,” Tup said. “If everybody knew Bly was going to go rogue, why didn’t anybody stop it?”

“Maybe they trusted their leadership,” Cody snapped, and Fives and Tup fell into embarrassed silence. “I’ve given everything I have to this army. I’m in far too deep to back out now, so don’t insinuate my disloyalty again. Are we clear?” Fives and Tup mumbled something. “Good. Have fun explaining to Lord Vader the cut on his face, Fives.”

“He fell,” Fives said, but for the first time he looked a little anxious. “Will he really…”

“I’m telling him you beat me,” Obi-Wan said.

“Don’t you dare.”

“I’m telling your Sith Master that you beat up his brother.”

“Shut up, Commander!”

“Make me,” Obi-Wan taunted. Anger was good. Anger wasn’t fear. “Give me something else you’ll have to explain to your Sith fuckhead. You’ll get what’s coming to you.”

“If he gives you any more shit then stun him.” Cody looked at Obi-Wan, and he stubbornly tilted his jaw up in defiance. “That won’t leave a mark.” He unclipped Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from his belt, holding Obi-Wan’s life in his hands, before casually dropping it in the mesh basket attached to the wall next to the door. He pointedly zipped up the basket. “This is for Lord Vader. Don’t let the lord grab it.”

“The last thing you’re going to see is me,” Obi-Wan hissed. His heart churned in his chest, pure rage spitting in his stomach. “The last thing you’re ever going to see is me chopping your fucking head off. And I’ll drop you into the hands of the ten thousand gods of a traitor’s punishment.”

“Looking forward to it,” Cody said blandly, before he exited the ship.

Tup looked at Obi-Wan, pointing at himself. “Am I going to Mandalorian hell too?”

“You aren’t a Mandalorian,” Obi-Wan said, and that shut him up.

They sat in silence after that.

For some reason, Obi-Wan found himself wondering if they really were traitors after all. They hadn’t turned on the Republic for greed or selfishness. They had never been loyal to the Republic; had never truly been a part of it. They said it themselves: true disloyalty would have been defecting from their Empire, whatever that was, and saving a Jedi’s life. And nobody who saved the life of the Jedi who loved them would ever meet the gods of a traitor’s punishment.

It wasn’t as if Obi-Wan even cared about betraying the Republic. The Republic had fucked both the Jedi and the clones over, and Obi-Wan had secretly wanted the Jedi to strike back against the Republic too. As if he was supposed to be proud and willing to fight a war he had been drafted into as a kid? Play with fire and you get burned, and the Republic’s arrogant belief that they could control sentient beings and force them to fight their wars was like trying to contain a wildfire.

But the Jedi didn’t deserve this. They frustrated him, and there was a cold stone of bitterness lodged in his heart, but most of them had shown nothing but devotion to their clones. They hadn’t chosen this either. Obi-Wan had thought that maybe they were suffering together.

Maybe it was just the fact that they had betrayed him. Obi-Wan, who would have never betrayed them in a million years. Who would die for them. Who’d follow Cody to the ends of the galaxy and back again.

He didn’t know what Master wanted with him. He had been rambling, pushed and desperate. A family. They’d be happy. Him and Padme and the baby…

Obi-Wan was no longer a padawan, but a brother. Maybe that was what Master wanted, what he had sacrificed everything for. The right to steal a family.

Thinking about it like that, Master Falling - and the Chancellor, maybe? - almost made sense. Almost. Not really. Not at all.

Thoughts crowded into his head, but they couldn’t penetrate. The Chancellor and the Empire and the Sith and the Republic and whatever was happening to the Jedi right now - he couldn’t think about any of it. It all melted away in his brain, useless words and thoughts transformed into the only thing that the cuffs would let him feel.

Hate. Hate. Hate.

The Force was cold and empty. Obi-Wan was alone, a gaping black void in the Force left to shiver in the cold. Obi-Wan needed something warm. The hate kept him warm.

“I swear, Fives, sometimes you don’t even act like a 501st man.”

“Because you all get so sycophantic sometimes,” Fives complained, slouching in his seat. “I fucking hate the Republic and Jedi as much as the next guy -”

“The next guy who was on Umbara,” Tup noted wryly.

(“You’re strong with the Force, padawan. Have a little more faith in yourself.”

“I’m not. I’m average. I have to work five times as hard as everyone else. I hate it.”

“Jedi do not hate. You’re just frustrated. That’s alright. Your hard work is your virtue. When the Force fails you, that will remain.”)

“Which is you, so shut it. All I’m saying is that it’s all the same. Republic, Empire. Jedi, Sith. Whatever.” Fived sighed gustily, staring at the ceiling. “Either one of them giving us a paycheck?”

“You and your paychecks,” Tup said, somewhat derogatory. “And your dumb time off! That shit’s for natborns. Get your head in the game, man. The Empire’s not going to be as lenient as the Jedi. You gotta shape up.”

(“I thought the Force never failed a Jedi.”

“Well, sometimes the Force helps those who help themselves.”)

Obi-Wan focused.

He breathed in and out. It only took a few seconds to slide into the battle calm this time, and he felt his fear and anguish and hate melt away. The cuffs cut him off from the Force, inscribed with ancient runes that carried the ghost of Sith magics. Apparently there were only a few craftsmen in the galaxy who could make these - the last deposits of ancient secrets.

Obi-Wan had once watched an old Jedi in the Temple make them. It was one of their many field trips, where they would learn all about every one of the hundred jobs people had in the Temple that kept their life running. They would visit the Corp, too, and talk with exaggerated excitement about the life of a farmer. Obi-Wan’s crechemates had pushed him, whispering mockeries about how he should go join them.

The old Jedi, bent with age with silvery-white fur, had showed them how the cuffs were made. They took a big piece of metal and used a vibrohammer to flatten it out, letting the vibrations stretch out the metal into a thin sheet. They inscribed the runes into the inside of the cuffs, then folded over the sheet so the runes were hidden inside. Then they would wrap it around a cylindrical piece of durasteel and use the vibrohammer again to beat them into shape. Finally, they would weld the pieces together with an electrotorch. The electric and locking mechanisms were added by an electrical engineer elsewhere in the Temple.

Obi-Wan saw it all in his mind’s eye. He took a deep breath, exhaled gently, and closed his eyes. He tried stretching out his awareness only to find it absent. He tried again. He reached deeper. He tried again. He reached deeper. He tried again.

(“You have a unique connection with the Unifying Force. You call loudly, deep within yourself, and the Force answers. I believe it’s due to your strong convictions.”

“Convictions?”

“You love very deeply, padawan,” Qui-Gon said. “Don’t lose that.”)

The Unifying Force, where Qui-Gon had returned to, drifted into his hand. Just a strand. A glimmer of light, curled inside his heart that loved too much. It was all he needed.

He reached out inside the cuffs, imagining the long and neat lines of runes running up and down the hidden interior. He knew distantly that he was sweating with the strain, but he could barely tell. His entire focus was on the cuffs and the Sith runes.

Obi-Wan used the single thread of Unifying Force he could glean and used it to cut a notch into one of the runes.

The cuffs deactivated.

A wrecking ball slammed into Obi-Wan’s mind. He screamed, with a strength and volume he didn’t know he could still summon. He heard the rustling of armor, but not footsteps. He couldn’t pay attention. The Force had exploded back into life around him, and it was screeching.

No. It was dying.

It sounded like Obi-Wan’s small noise of pain when he learned that Master Qui-Gon was dead, and that Master Anakin had killed him. It sounded like Cody saying that he wanted to do it. It felt like Cody telling him that he didn’t love him anymore. It felt like holding Mail as he died. It felt like Oya exploding in front of him. It felt like a stray limb, rolling on the ground. It felt like Master Anakin breaking a vase because he was angry and making Obi-Wan cry. It felt like being told that no master had wanted to train him, and they were sending him away. It felt like stepping on Christophsis to see two faces and hundreds of faces that did not want him.

It felt like a thousand voices crying out, before silence. And Obi-Wan was alone. Almost alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone -

“Maybe we should stun him -”

“He’s just upset, asshole!” Distantly, Obi-Wan felt a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Commander. Don’t cry. What did I say? Everything’s going to be just fine for you. Do you want Cody?”

“We can’t just grab Cody and calm him down anymore,” Fives said, sounding far away and muffled. “Congratulations. We had one thing for ourselves, that we could actually be proud of, and we’re giving him away.”

“He wasn’t ours,” Tup snapped. “At least he’s away from the Jedi now.”

“You know what, man? You’re right. As always. You think the Jedi were bad? Just wait ‘til you see the Empire!”

The Force rushed into Obi-Wan, and he moved.

It only took three smooth motions. The cuffs exploded, shards of metal flying everywhere and cutting up Obi-Wan’s robes and skin. He leapt off the chair, vision still obscured by dark spots, but he didn’t have to look to know exactly where Tup’s blaster was.

Obi-Wan grabbed the blaster, and with the unnatural speed and strength afforded by the overwhelming power of the Force, shot clean through Tup’s skull.

Fives was drawing his firearm, but it took only a fraction of a second for Obi-Wan to change targets and shoot him too. He went down clean, crumpling on the ground just as Tup had done. Obi-Wan felt them die: a little candle, snuffed out.

Obi-Wan locked the blaster and stuffed it in his pants. He ran over to the cockpit, automatically moving at the fastest pace he could in preparing the ship for flight. He ignored most of the pre-flight checks (“If you’re setting off in a hurry, just worry about these three - the rest are for when you don’t have bigger problems!”), instead slamming the switches and grabbing the controls and pushing them hard for sedentary take-off.

As the ship whirred and ground into action, Obi-Wan took a second to adjust the settings on the pilot’s chair so he could see the controls better. The chair was set for somebody much taller than him.

Out of the dash window, he could see clones yelling and waving their arms at him. He saw it as they realized that it wasn’t Tup or Fives at the helm: that it was Obi-Wan, who was already pushing the ship into the air. He jolted as the ship left the ground, and the ship radio immediately began beeping with incoming calls. He reached over and switched it off before unplugging it.

The ship jumped into the air, and Obi-Wan pushed them forwards. He heard the whirr of ships behind him as they sprang into motion, but he pushed them away into a corner of his awareness. He focused on piloting - on escaping the winding and claustrophobic skyscrapers.

He reached upwards, windows and buildings flying by so quickly they were nothing but grey smears. This port wasn’t designed for immediate hyperspace jump, and Obi-Wan had to escape the range of the skyscrapers or he’d be stuck jumping into the middle of an apartment complex.

The familiar burn of ship artillery discharge whizzed past him, and Obi-Wan risked a glance at the radar. Three bogeys advancing fast. The Twilight could outrun them, but -

Obi-Wan cursed and banked hard as a missile shot towards him. He let the ship drop, watching the missile crash and explode into a building - that undoubtedly had people inside - before reigniting the thrusters and jumping higher.

Higher, and higher, and higher. Obi-Wan was almost off his chair with the effort, the harness straining to hold him as he tried to dodge enemy fire in a narrow corridor hemmed in by buildings. They undoubtedly already had somebody headed to intercept him above the buildings, and Obi-Wan fired up his guns.

There. A ship came into view, guns whirring and sparking. Obi-Wan didn’t hesitate: the minute he saw it he fired, watching the bolt puncture the wing and send it spinning. He had only just gone back to the controls when he felt a hard impact to his left, banking the ship sharply right. Familiar impact sirens sounded, echoing around his ear, and Obi-Wan glanced at the internal diagnostics to see that they had lost a wing.

The back of the ship jolted forward, sending Obi-Wan almost crashing into the console, and the readout informed him that the back engine was damaged. It wasn’t going to hold on. Down a wing and an engine in a ship as small as the Twilight, he had barely seconds before he fell. He’d be dead in the water.

He’d killed Fives and Tup for nothing. Great.

But the Twilight lurched onwards, as indomitable as its owner, and Obi-Wan exploded into the clear blue sky above Coruscant. For just a second, he saw it - saw all of it. All of Coruscant below him, unending and arching, a pincushion boasting millions of needles jabbed straight into its center. It was a beautiful sight that somehow tasted violent: as if it had been stabbed a million times, and was crying out for help.

Obi-Wan slammed the Twilight’s specially modified button, colloquially referred to as the ‘Jinn Button’ - for fast getaways where you needed to be anywhere else but here, it computed a random hyperspace coordinate that wouldn’t kill you and got you there fast. Master Qui-Gon swore by its mystical efficacy. Master Anakin swore by how it got you out of a jam in a second.

The ship jumped into hyperspace, screeching and rattling apart as its engine bravely roared and then died, the stars smearing as Obi-Wan rattled in his seat.

They didn’t jump out of hyperspace so much as fell. The ship’s sensors screeched louder, new alarms buzzing, and the ship auto-ejected itself out of hyperspace. They screeched to a halt somewhere in space, nothing and nowhere, only endless black surrounding them.

Obi-Wan thumped the console, flipping through every readout and checking the damage. Dead in the water. Life support still active, which was always pleasant. The emergency beacon was still active. Far from the worst situation he’d been in. Turn on the emergency beacon to a GAR frequency, have the closest Star Destroyer pick them up, he and Master would get bitched at by whatever poor Jedi had to turn off-course to help them -

Obi-Wan pulled up the settings for the emergency beacon, and without really thinking about it he changed the frequencies. No vessel over five inhabitants should receive it now. When they stopped to investigate and/or capture him, he’d kill them and take their ship. Small ship to small ship emergency beacons were the exact kind that pirates used to piggyback onto and use to hunt, but somehow Obi-Wan had bigger problems.

He unbuckled his harness and stumbled forward to where Fives and Tup lay. They looked like any other dead clone, in the end.

Obi-Wan knew the Sith. He knew Anakin Skywalker. If they had let him escape, they would have been executed summarily. It was now or later. He had no choice.

A small, nasty voice in his head whispered - he didn’t have to escape. Master wouldn’t have hurt him. He’d probably live a life in luxury. As the brother of Darth Vader.

But that was a little incompatible with revenge.

Obi-Wan knelt down next to Fives, brushing a hand over his forehead and closing his eyes. That was better. He said two quick verses of liturgy, a Manadlorian goodbye to soldiers marching far away.

Was this where he swore revenge? He felt like he ought to. When this happened in the Mandalorian operas, they always sang an eight minute oath about how they would dedicate the rest of their lives to their burning revenge.

But something in Obi-Wan just couldn’t. He had already won over these two. Someday, he would win against Cody, or whatever was left of Cody. He should swear revenge on the Empire, on everything that used to be the GAR - but he was tired, and he wanted to rest.

Obi-Wan lay down next to Fives’ body, and finally let the immeasurable psychic agony of ten thousand dead force him unconscious.

**********

“- now this definitely isn’t a yacht.”

“Captain, it’s Anakin Skywalker’s ship, we gotta get outta -”

“Yes, yes, but do you see Anakin Skywalker? No? All I see is - oh.”

“...is he dead?”

“That moving chest is a human breathing, my dear. Now hurry up. Get back to the ship and tell Zell that we’re blasting this thing to smithereens. Don’t so much as leave a recognizable corpse in atmo. And we ought to leave now, because I highly suspect a certain Sith is wondering where his ship is.”

“Why we fucking ‘round with the Sith, boss - hey, that’s a fuckin’ lightsaber! Score!”

“Take it. I suspect he’ll want it back. Don’t whine, hop to it.”

A rough, pebbled hand shook Obi-Wan’s shoulder, and a familiar voice whispered in his ear. “No time for crying and whining, Obi-Wan. It’s time for action. Let’s get out of here before we all get in some unique trouble.”

Obi-Wan rattled a harsh breath.

“...alright, just this once.” Hondo leaned down and carefully picked up Obi-Wan, throwing him over his shoulder in a rescue carry. “I don’t actually know if you can move or not…let us be off! About step, now!”

“Not Obi-Wan,” Obi-Wan muttered. “Not…”

And, with those final funeral rites, he slipped back into unconsciousness.

#my writing #SORRY YOU JUST BROUGHT UP SO MUCH COOL SHIT I LOVE...

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