Chapter Text
Obi-Wan knew he was being moved, the hands that picked him up were careful but his injuries still flared with pain. Distantly he heard someone make a pained sound, it was probably him, he couldn’t be sure.
The world seemed oddly removed, he couldn’t concentrate enough to use the Force to numb the pain. His thoughts kept smearing sideways, it made it hard to focus on the present, to keep his awareness on his surroundings.
He’d been still for some hours, Cody a warm presence beside him, the familiar flare of 212th troopers nearby. But now, movement, sounds, the feel of unfamiliar clones’ signatures in the force.
Hands were on the bandages around his chest and a medic’s muttered curses, not the 212th’s medic, but a recognizable litany all the same.
Being moved made it hard to focus, he lost track of time, lost track of the world around him, he reached for Cody’s signature and couldn’t quite find it. Without that anchor he drifted, unable to pull himself back, mind pulling him back into the swirl of memories and he can’t--
Can’t focus--
Can’t--
--Cody handed him his lightsaber, he smiled down at him as he took it. Boga shifted eagerly, the varactyl eager to be off again--
The sound of the GAR heavy cannon was one Obi-Wan recognized quite easily after so many years, as was the whistle of the shell. He barely had time to look up as it hit the sinkhole wall just above them, sending Boga flying and--
He screamed as they hit a rock outcrop, his leg caught between the wall and Boga’s saddle, twisting unnaturally with the impact. The varactyl keened in pain and tumbled down, toward more rocks, claws scrabbling desperately on the stone, trying to gain purchase.
When they hit the next outcropping he was thrown into the wall, the impact reverberating through his chest. No air to cry out.
He felt the ribs break--
The water at the bottom of the sinkhole was so cold he saw stars when he hit it, then Boga’s flails tossed his leg free from where it had become wedged in the stirrup, the jostling sending a dart of agony through him.
Boga’s claws made contact as she struggled to orient herself in the water, he felt them tearing past cloth, sinking into skin. But then she seemed to have figured out which was up and was off, swimming in swift strokes.
As best he could he gave the pain to the Force and swam to the surface--
Perched in the rocks above the pool he looked down at Cody, standing just below. There was something wrong about him. Not just in the stance, the curt orders to the squad to fan out for the search, the way he called the troopers by their designations. Something wrong in the Force.
It twisted oddly around him, trying to cling close but kept at bay by something dark, something in his head.
For years now Cody had stood by his side, through battle and death, he had always been a bright light in the Force, something Obi-Wan could reach for. An anchor to pull the rest of the world into order.
First and foremost they were Jedi Master and Clone Commander but after that… there was love and affection and undeniable attachment. It was a quiet thing they had, born in small gestures and what few moments were theirs alone but he’d thought they both held it dear, treasured it closely.
And yet…
Someone had fired on him. It hadn’t been an accident. Cody had ordered his men to look for his body. Had named the Jedi traitors to the Republic in those same orders.
Obi-Wan saw nothing familiar in Cody’s stiff posture, his clipped words, the complete flatness of emotion from him.
The Force cried out for him to act.
Obi-Wan pulled on it for strength and--
It had only worked because he caught Cody completely off guard. He would have never gotten him on the ground without the advantage of surprise.
Before Cody could even register someone was dropping on him Obi-Wan swung, pulling on the Force to give him more strength, fist connecting with his temple. Helmet impacted the head it protected as his knuckles sparked pain and his commander dropped like a stone.
Clutching his ribs Obi-Wan let his managed leg fold, taking him down to his knees next to Cody. With shaking hands he pulled off Cody’s helmet, cupping his head, where the dark feeling lurked, trying to chase it down.
He couldn’t focus on it and give the pain to the Force at the same time. He was going to have to let go of one to do the other.
Taking a deep breath he dropped the pain blocking and dove into Cody’s mind, searching out the feeling of wrong before the pain could paralyze him. The speck of darkness was small but unmistakable now that he was looking, hidden deep in Cody’s brain.
Ruthlessly he grabbed it and exerted all the pressure he could.
Finally there was a crunch and the darkness vanished.
He sagged in relief, then hissed in pain as his leg and chest lit up in agony--
Ambush had allowed him to free the next trooper as well, Gale had seen him slumped at Cody’s side and come in close. Obi-Wan had used the time to give as much pain to the Force as he could, knowing he wouldn’t be able to to soon.
When Gale reached down to roll him over Obi-Wan struck, grabbing the man’s head and reaching into his mind. The pain screamed through him but he knew what he was looking for now, knew to reach for that tiny point of darkness and squeeze --
It should have occurred to him that Gale wouldn’t have come close if he was alone, not without a trooper to cover him. He was lucky that Moth always aimed high and his shot went well over his head when he ducked.
Gale was still slumped forward, clutching his head, eyes wide and shocked behind his visor. They were too tangled up for him to roll free, he couldn’t risk Moth firing again. Throwing a hand out he pulled the blaster from his surprised grip, flinging it toward the water.
Undaunted Moth threw himself forward to push Gale off him, hands going for this throat as he snarled. A mistake, Obi-Wan reflected distantly, it put his head in grabbing range and--
He freed the next trooper when they ran around the corner and straight into his ambush--
And the next when Speakeasy--
And the next when--
And the--
Something crunched in his shoulder as he hit the rock wall, his whole arm went numb. It was going to be agony when he had to let go of the pain blocking. Stutter screamed at him, the stutter that had earned him his name gone under his rage, “Good solider follow orders !”
He made to charge forward but hands came up, grabbed him. Moth and Gale, clinging to their brother, forcing him to his knees. Obi-Wan went to take the step forward he needed and his leg gave out--
It turned out he didn’t need both hands to feel for the thing controlling Stutter, just one and desperation was enough.
He collapsed forward when the darkness was snuffed out, trying to push his pain into the Force again. It just won’t go, agony too deeply entrenched.
The only reason he was upright at all was Stutter’s grip on his arms, his voice is all concern and stutters when he spoke. “G-General, are y-you…”
Obi-Wan can’t quite make out the rest of the words, can’t quite focus on--
There are hands, touching his cheeks gently, brushing his hair back from his face. “General.” Cody’s voice is laced with concern, with care, “ Obi-Wan . Please. Open your eyes.”
He manages, somehow and is rewarded with the sight of Cody looking down at him. Something about his felt different but he couldn’t quite tell… there was too much pain to reach to his through the Force. “Try to stay awake.” Cody told him, then, looking over his shoulder at the trooper he was propped against. “We need to move. Now. Help me get him up.”
They started to shift him and he choked--
He was being carried on someone’s back as they crouched behind cover. In a distance he couldn’t quite focus on white forms marched by, precise and regimented.
There was a wave design on the shoulder plate his cheek was pressed against, golden curving lines familiar. He must have made some sort of noise because Gale’s helmet turned toward him a little and he whispered, “Shh, General, we have to be quiet until the patrol passes.”--
“Now!” Moth hissed and they lurch forward, out of cover, the patrol running for the transport.
Each step Gale takes jolts Obi-Wan, making him gasp, chest throbbing and protesting. His left leg feels like it’s on fire, he still can’t feel his arm but his shoulder is alive with pain. Something in his chest is a bright shard of agony and he can’t focus enough to block it out--
The familiar feeling of fight straps around his chest, Cody’s voice, sounding upset as he realized Obi-Wan’s tunics were wet with blood as well as water.
There’s the sound of fabric tearing and something being pressed to his stomach.
“I don’t know where.” Cody snaps, “Just get us off planet then we’ll figure it out.”--
The ship banks left sharply, the men swear as they’re thrown to the side, Obi-Wan can’t stop the pained sound.
“I’m going to have to get close to the moon!” Speakeasy yells back from the pilot seat, “See if I can loose them in these clouds!”
There’s the sound of cannon fire--
“They’ll hit their own transport if they don’t stop!” Moth screams, “Stop it you idiot--”
The explosion is muffled by distance but unmistakable. The shot that hit them comes only moments later--
He thinks they crash? He can’t tell, he can’t get his eyes to open--
He’s being pulled, dragged free of something, across what feels like sand--
He’s being settled onto a cot, a sharp sting of a needle and painkillers easing the pain down a little--
He can feel them all around, familiar sparks in the Force. Waiting, hoping, though for what he can’t tell. He tries to push through, to open his eyes, he needs to speak to the men, tell them--
Unfamiliar presences , someone pulling the bandages from his chest and swearing a medic’s swears--
He’s being moved. Distantly he heard someone make a pained sound, it was probably him, he couldn’t be sure.
Being moved made it hard to focus, he lost track of time, lost track of the world around him, reached for Cody’s signature and couldn’t quite find it. He reeled, anchor lost--
Cody handed him his lightsaber and he smiled down at--
The cannon blast hits the cliff and they fall--
He hits the wall--
Hits the water--
Cody is standing down below, the Force twisting around him wrong--
His fist hitting Cody’s helmet--
Grabbing Gale when he leaned down--
He used the Force to pull the blaster from Moth’s hands--
Crushing the spot of darkness in Speakeasy’s mind--
The pain flaring as he stopped blocking to--
Another trooper free--
Another--
Moth and Gale pulling Stutter upright for him--
Collapsing forward, into Stutter, the trooper trying to prop him up--
He looked up into Cody’s face, alive again, eyes concerned--
There’s a wave painted on Gale’s shoulder plate, golden lines--
Running across the--
He’s being strapped into his seat, Cody finding the blood on his tunic--
Speakeasy shouts as the ship banks sharply--
“One.”
The explosion when they’re hit--
“Two.”
Do they crash? He isn’t sure--
“Three.”
He’s being pulled across the sand, settled onto a cot--
“Lift.”
New sparks in the Force around him, he reaches for Cody, always steady at his side and--
“Good. Now down.”
The pain punches the air out of his lungs, making him gasp. He’s set down the… cot? There’s the scratch of starched sheets, the smell of disinfectant.
He can’t get his eyes to open, can’t focus. He reaches out in the Force and there’s nothing to catch himself on--
Cody hands him his lightsaber--
The cannon--
“ Hold him still, we’re going to need to tank him. Fletch, prep a bacta tube!”
Impact with the cliff--
“His heart rate is through the roof, get some--”
“Commander, get over here, we need another set of hands!”
The water was so cold--
“What’s going on?”
“Hold his arm, we need to--”
The Force is twisting wrong around Cody--
Obi-Wan opened his eyes and Cody’s face looked down at him, brow pinched in concern. He had to-- to--
For some reason Cody was pinning his arm to the cot so he lifted the other, he had to reach, had to break the thing in his mind.
There were other voices, other clones --perhaps medics?
“What is he--”
“Sir, lie still!”
“You’re going to--”
But he moved too fast, grabbing at Cody before they could stop him. They didn’t understand, this was vital . He had to reach Cody.
His hand grabbed at Cody’s head, fingers sinking into his hair to he could pull him closer.
Cody winced but allowed it, holding up a hand to stop an advancing medic. “Wait. General-- Obi-Wan, can you hear me?”
He couldn’t get distracted, he had to--
For a breathless moment he couldn’t form enough control to direct the Force and panic clutched at him. Then it came, flowing into Cody’s mind and finding… nothing. No patch of darkness.
“It’s alright.” Cody said. “You did it. I’m me.” He brought up a hand to cover the one clutching at him. “Obi-Wan, you need to let go, let the medics work. You’re hurt.”
There was none of the blankness in his eyes from before, none of the numbness in the Force around him. In fact he was radiating such sadness and grief into the Force that Obi-Wan didn’t want to let go. But Cody was already gently prying his fingers open, “You’ve got to let go. They have got to put you under to tank you.”
There was a flare on panic in his chest, if he lost consciousness again he was going to lose where he was again, going to back to Utapau instead of… wherever this was.
Unless--
“…stay?” he croaked, with what little breath he could manage. Why was it so hard to breath?
Cody disentangled the last strand of his hair from his fingers and held Obi-Wan’s hand, his expression softening. “Yeah. I will.”
Obi-Wan reached out through the Force, wrapping Cody’s presence around him like a blanket. That calm, anchoring aura, even shaded with uncertainty and guilt as it was, gave him something to hold onto. Something to make his marker for the present.
To the side he saw a medic push something into an IV line. He hadn’t noticed the arm Cody had been pinning down had a needle in it but he felt the coldness as it--
The world became blurry around the edges--
He held tight to his link to Cody--
And fell, not into the past this time but into the soft embrace of unconsciousness.