Chapter Text
“When do you think they are going to wake up?”
“I don’t know Rex,” Cody said with a long-suffering sigh. “Kix said they could be sleeping for a while.”
Rex hummed. Cody tried to ignore the squeaking sound Rex’s chair made as he rocked it back and forth on its legs.
“You’re going to fall backward and hurt yourself if you keep doing that.”
Rex leaned his chair forward again and the front legs hit the tile floors with a resounding thunk. “Well, do you have anything better to do besides sitting here and worrying over them?”
Cody glanced at his General. He was still too pale, but his shivering had finally stopped and his lips were no longer that frightening shade of blue. He would be fine. Kix had assured him of that. However, Kix’s assurances did little to stop the cold pang of worry in his chest.
When Rex had finally found the Generals, he had sounded so alarmed over the comms. Cody immediately rendezvoused at Rex’s position with a full medevac. Cody met Rex inside the cave and found the two Generals huddled together, unconscious and pale.
“Are they…” Cody had started to ask.
“They’re alive,” Rex had said, cutting him off. “But they’re freezing. General Kenobi looks injured too. We need to get them out of here now.”
From there, Cody, Rex and a handful of other clones carried their Generals back to the shuttle and then hurried back to The Resolute. Kix treated them both for hypothermia, which mostly consisted of burying them under piles of blankets. Only their faces peeked out from underneath the blankets, but they were both lax. They both looked younger like this, especially Skywalker. At times, Cody found it difficult to believe they let a 22-year-old lead an army. Even Kenobi seemed too young to be leading an army – as skilled as he may be at it. But the Republic was desperate and in its most desperate hour, it called on the Jedi – it called on Kenobi and Skywalker. And in Kenobi and Skywalker’s most desperate hours, well, they called on Cody and Rex.
“We should play a game,” Rex said, pulling Cody out of his musings.
“A game?” Cody replied, cocking an eyebrow.
“Yeah, a game. Let’s play “who’s more likely?”
“‘Who’s more likely?’” Cody questioned.
“Yeah, it’s simple. One of us asks who’s more likely to do something and we have to decide if the answer is General Skywalker or General Kenobi.”
Cody looked back and forth between Rex and Kenobi. The worrying wasn’t helping anyone. Plus, it wasn’t like the two generals were conscious to hear any of this. A distraction couldn’t hurt. “Fine, you start.”
“Hmmm let me think,” Rex said. “Who’s more likely to forget the other’s birthday?”
“Well, considering no one actually knows when Kenobi’s birthday is, I would have to say the default answer is Skywalker.”
“Agreed. Even if anyone did know Kenobi’s birthday, I’m sure that of the two, Skywalker would be the most likely to forget it anyway.”
Cody chuckled.
“Who’s more likely to end up in prison?”
“Oh, that’s a tough one.”
“That’s a tough one?” Rex asked incredulously.
“I mean, the obvious answer may seem like Skywalker at first, but I can see Kenobi ending up in prison purely on accident. He doesn’t exactly have the best luck.”
“Hmm yes. I didn’t look at it that way. Kenobi it is then,” Rex said. He pursed his lips in thought. “Oh, I know! Who’s more likely to become a holovid star?”
The two officers looked at their Generals and then back at each other. “Kenobi,” they said in unison.
“I could be a holovid star,” a voice complained.
Cody and Rex snapped to attention. “General Skywalker,” they said in unison once again.
“Rex?” Skywalker asked, his voice weak. His eyes were half-lidded and his skin was still a few shades paler than normal. “Where’s Obi-Wan?”
“It’s alright Sir,” Rex said calmly. “General Kenobi is right here. You both had hypothermia, but it looks like you’ll both be fine.”
Skywalker turned his head to look at Kenobi. His eyes conveyed his worry. “He was injured… his head. Concussed I think?”
“Yes, he was, but Kix says he’ll be fine.”
General Skywalker relaxed a little bit. “I could be a holovid star,” he restated.
Cody bit back a laugh.
“Sure you can sir,” Rex said placatingly. “But the question was who’s more likely.”
Skywalker huffed, but then a grin spread on his face. “You should have seen him on Lanteeb. He’s wasted as a Jedi. He really should have become an actor. He almost had me convinced he was a poor, defenseless farmer.”
Cody cringed at the memory of that mission. The Generals had been sent in alone. When they were finally rescued, they looked like shells of their former selves – skinny and gaunt and looking for all the world like they were hours away from death. “I wish we had been there, General.”
“Yes, me too. It might have gone smoother if we had you two by our sides. I hate stealth missions.”
“We know, Sir,” Rex said with a grin.
Cody noticed Skywalker’s eyelids fluttering. The stubborn General seemed to be fighting the call to sleep. “You should rest now, General.”
“No, no I want to be awake when he wakes up.”
Cody shot him a sympathetic smile. “We’ll wake you when he wakes up.”
“Promise?”
“I promise, General.”
Skywalker gave one last glance to Kenobi before letting his eyes close again. Cody and Rex settled back into their chairs and continued to keep vigil over their Generals.
The room was silent, save for the steady beeping of heart monitors and the quiet, even breaths of the Generals. Cody shot Rex a sideways look. “So…” he said. “Got any more games?”
Rex grinned at him. “Thought you’d never ask.”