Chapter Text
This had to be the longest campaign since Geonosis. At least that’s what it felt like. The battle station wrapped all around the planet like a ring. If only a planetary ring could hold a legion of men.
The council decided that Obi-Wan was fit to lead the 501st into battle at certain intervals of time. He would switch off between both battalions, or add more or less men as needed on every campaign. The 212th had been deployed to provide aide to Ryloth until they could regroup with the 501st.
Obi-Wan trusted Commander Cody with his life, which included his lightsaber much too often. The poor man had a clip on his belt for the weapon. His Commander spoke highly of Captain— Commander Rex. Though Obi-Wan could admit that working alongside Commander Rex was a bit jarring. Working with men in blue instead of gold was a learning process. Of course, since Obi-Wan was High General of the Third-Systems Army, he worked with the 501st before, but leading them was certainly a slight change in mentality.
He knew the troopers were a bit uneasy around him. He wasn’t their general, and he hadn’t earned their trust, not really.
A soldier’s trust is only given rarely, only when one protects their fellow men.
Obi-Wan had a habit of reciting old poetry books when he was anxious.
He had plenty to be anxious about, could you truly blame him?
Rex, Fives, Jesse, Kix, Setter, Hawk, Banth, Tweak, Twi, Papes, Banter, Brute, Appo, Widower, Dunk, Tup…
He repeated and pounded the names into his head. He tried to memorize their force signatures. The least he could do for these men is get their names right.
Not to mention shinies who didn’t have a name.
How uncivilized, that those Kaminoans didn’t give sentients names from birth, but instead numbers. Cody only gave him so much information about life on Kamino. Obi-Wan couldn't really imagine being a clone, having to build a character and personality from complete scratch, surrounded with people who look, and supposedly think, just like you. And from what Cody told him before, they weren’t even supposed to flaunt their found personalities. Quite uncivilized indeed. He briefly wondered if Senator Organa had—
“General! We need to advance our attack before the Seppies decide to get impatient,” Commander Rex said, snapping Obi-Wan out of his thoughts.
The men on this campaign had plenty injured, so they had regrouped with the other two Generals on the Ringo Vinda campaign, the twin Generals Tiplee and Tiplar.
“Of course, Commander. We will press two assaults towards and meet at the point Slicer found Admiral Trench’s control location. Notify the twin Generals and Commander Doom?”
“Yes Sir,” The clone saluted, stuffing his head into his buy'ce and rushing out of the room. Obi-Wan swiped at his robes and sighed as the loud barking of orders could be heard outside of his makeshift war room.
The blaster shot rang through the force. Am shocked pain rippled. Obi-Wan turned towards the disturbance, still blocking off blaster shots.
He didn’t want to believe what he saw.
A clone stood hauntingly above a sagging yellow skinned Mikkian, his blaster still pointed towards the Jedi Master’s head.
Obi-Wan watched as Fives tackled the clone, Tup, his name was Tup, and dragged him away by the neck, restraining his arms.
The magenta Mikkian scooped up her sister, an unusual expression of mourning leaking onto her face.
Obi-Wan distantly heard himself bark an order of retreat over the roar of the blood in his ears and the force, mourning the loss of one of its followers.
The blast doors were quickly sealed after the retreat was fulfilled.
The force mourned loudly.
“She’s gone.”
Obi-Wan placed his hand on Tiplee’s shoulder.
“We will get to the bottom of this, I promise you,” he tried reassuring her.
“... Was it Separatists?”
“I’m not sure.”
Tiplee put a brave face through all of this. If Obi-Wan didn’t know better he’d even think she didn’t register the situation at hand at all. The magic of the Jedi Master “I don’t have time to care” face, as Anakin had so cruelly called it.
“If you excuse me, Master Kenobi, I would like to meditate.”
“Of course.”
Obi-Wan watched her shrink into a further part of their current base.
Well, he’d made a promise. And Obi-Wan liked to think he was a man of his word.
Kix, Commander Rex, Fives, and two shinies were gathered near where Obi-Wan knew Tup to be held.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted, “Would anyone like to tell me what’s going on?”
Kix shifted his buy'ce around. “That’s just it sir. We’ve run some quick tests, but there seems to be nothing physically wrong with Tup. Although I haven’t been able to run any brain scans, I don’t have the right equipment. What caused him to kill General Tiplar… I think it may have been separatist work, sir.”
“May I see him?”
“Right this way sir.”
Kix ushered him into medbay, where Tup was hooked up to an oxygen mask and strapped down to the cot. Fives and Rex followed while the shinies stood guard, but Fives was clearly upset over this whole situation. Obi-Wan wondered if he and Tup were close.
Tup was struggling against his restraints. He was muttering questions, and he honestly sounded close to crying. It was terrifying to watch, really, such a display of helplessness from a hardened soldier.
Fives rushed to the bedside of his fellow soldier.
“Tup, Tup, you’re safe vod. You’re safe, relax—“
“Where am I?” The clone sounded panicked, “Why am I restrained Fives, Fives I—“
Tup started thrashing his head around, and Fives tried his best to quell the shaking.
Tup’s eyes landed on Obi-Wan.
Tup stilled.
“His pupil, they’re blown—“
Kix was interrupted by Tup.
The chant started as a small mutter, but it gradually got louder as Tup twitched his hands like he was grabbing for Obi-Wan.
Good soldiers follow orders, he repeated. Good soldiers follow orders, Good soldiers follow orders, Good soldiers follow orders, Good soldiers follow orders—
“Kill the Jedi!” Tup rasped, before a needle stabbed into his neck. The soldier’s eyes fluttered shut as whatever drug Kix administered worked its effects.
Fives looked completely distressed.
“Sir…” came Commander Rex’s voice from behind him, “We told Tup before that he killed General Tiplar, and he denied it. It seems like he has no memory of it at all.”
Obi-Wan dragged his hand down his beard.
“Anything else I should know?”
“Tup was missing for five standard days and was only returned a few days ago, but when I checked him over then, he was completely healthy.” Kix reported.
“Was he taken by separatists?”
“He didn't imply he was taken at all. Just… nobody saw him.”
“So he was being reclusive?”
“I’m not sure, General.”
Obi-Wan sighed. “Did any of you ever… see Tup and Tiplar speak to each other?”
All five troopers shook their heads.
Fives crossed his arms. “Why do you ask sir?”
“Well… for all we know this could be a personal thing,” Obi-Wan told them, “Are you sure General Tiplar never interacted with him?”
“Sir,” Fives said, an edge to his tone, “Are you implying Tup killed a Jedi as… revenge?”
Obi-Wan felt all their eyes train on him.
“I would never accuse Tup or Tiplar of disliking each other, no, but… we must flesh out our options. There have been cases of personal conflict between interests of soldiers and commanding officers,” He said, keeping his time soft, “You all were there, I think, back when Slick expressed his ideologies. His opinion wasn’t wrong.”
Commander Rex balled his fists. “Slick was a traitor, he put brothers in harm's way. We all agreed not to let anything he said get to us.”
“Yes, but that does not make it any less true that some Jedi Generals have been… less than civil to their men,” Obi-Wan stated, cold settling over them as they remembered Umbara, “It would only make sense really, since clones have no civil rights under the Republic, that the only way they could lash out is by harming the Jedi that are no better than slavers.”
Rex’s eyes widened. “Sir, we are not slaves, are you are no slaver.”
Obi-Wan sighed once again. “Yes, but it is easy to be perceived that way, no matter how you feel. I lead brave, good men into battle each day, where they very well die for a Republic that grants them no rights, not even citizenship, and they fight with no pay and no benefits. I, along with many of the Jedi believe this is morally ambiguous to say the least, but we are under jurisdiction of the Senate. Our voices are not heard, and so your voices are not heard. And I will forever be sorry for that.”
Silence stretched across the small medbay.
Fives cleared his throat. “But sir,” he said, conviction in his tone, “You do fight for us anyway.”
The other clones turned to their brother.
“Boil told me,” Fives continued, “that he heard you, Commander Cody, and Senator Organa are drafting a bill and organizing a committee to grant clones citizenship and payment for their service in the war. Now, I may not know anything about fancy politics, but if I have to wait the whole war for it to pass, I will gladly keep fighting. We won’t get what us clones deserve until the war is over, and to win a war you gotta keep fighting. Killing Jedi doesn’t make anything go faster, and Tup and I are best friends. He would never shoot down a Jedi. The Jedi are the only ones actually on our side, and every clone in the Third Systems Army knows it. This has to be the work of some seppies, because this isn’t Tup,” he gestured to the restrained soldier, “and there’s something larger at play here than just revenge, I can prove it.”
“How?” Rex asked. The poor man sounded exhausted.
Kix looked up from his datapad and frowned.
”We have to send him to Kamino.”
Fives reaches down to lightly rub Tup’s arm. “You hear that, Tup’ika? You’re going home.”