Work Text:
War time is hard on everyone. Obi-Wan understands that the men of the GAR need their own time and space away from the Jedi and without having to worry about rank. The clone troopers of the GAR are held to high standards and put through rigorous training even after they leave Kamino and join their designated battalions. It’s no surprise that the men have created their own ways to relax and have fun while keeping to their strict schedules and regulations. Obi-Wan understands and knows that his men play games and pranks on one another, but they do their best to keep it from interfering with their duties.
Really that’s all Obi-Wan spares a moment to be concerned for. He’s happy to let them have their fun as long as they keep to their duties, standards, and remain respectful. He doesn’t take it to heart that the men keep their creative methods of fun and relaxation or games away from the Jedi. The Jedi are the Generals and Commanders within the battalions and he’s well aware that with those ranks comes a certain amount of distance between them and their men. Sometimes it hurts Obi-Wan, that he can’t get close and connect with his men on their down time, but he respects their right to keep that distance if they want. So, Obi-Wan is well aware that the men within the 212th have their games they play with each other. One day he’s stunned when he realizes he’s been pulled into one of their games. He’s not sure if they meant to or not, since it seems more like an accident, but he’s happy to play along.
The problem is, he has no idea what they're playing.
---
Longshot groans as he looks at the strip of gold orange fabric in his hand. The small white Republic cog painted on it feels like it’s mocking him. He’s been the pole for the last two days and he’s about ready to give up the responsibility. Boil had passed the flag to him during a shift change when a group of the tech boys had been tailing him down the halls. Longshot had been able to hide the fact that he had the flag until last night when it had fallen out of his boot during a training sim. Crash hadn’t made a grab for it at the time and no one from his team had come after Longshot yet, but it was only a matter of time. With a sigh, Longshot slips the flag into the edge of his blacks, around his wrist, so that he can slip it to a brother on his team at breakfast.
As he leaves the barracks a few brothers on his team stay close. Longshot had told them that Crash and the other team may come after him, so on the walk to mess he’s got to have protection. Thankfully the barracks and the mess are safe zones, but unfortunately the halls are fair game. Crys had told him to pass the flag to a shiny, but Longshot didn’t think they understood the severity of the responsibility that came with holding the flag, aka being the flagpole. They’d only just explained the rules to the shinies a week ago. The battalion is split into 2 teams. Each team gets a ‘flag’, which is a piece of cloth that is a specific team color with the team's logo painted on it. The objective is to capture the other teams flag. Flags must be attached to a person, but it can be passed from person to person. No trying to capture the flag during active campaigns, missions, or briefings. The barracks, mess hall, showers, and medbay are constant safe zones. Losers pay for drinks during next leave.
The shinies had been excited to join the game, but they understood that they’d likely not carry the flag until they'd proven they could be sneaky or effective in keeping the flag from the other team. Or if they happened to show they could hunt the other teams flag really well. Some brothers were only tasked with hunting the other team's flag simply because they were really good at it. The 212th wasn’t scheduled to join any other battalions for a while, so thankfully they didn't have to worry about additional flags in play. The vode version of capture the flag wasn't just within battalions, it stretched the entire GAR. It was basically the same rules, but with battalions competing against each other. The objective is to capture one of the other battalions flags. The team that has their flag captured pays for drinks during next leave. As Longshot and his secret guards enter the mess, they breathe a sigh of relief. Made it to a safe zone. Longshot grabs a tray of breakfast and makes his way to an empty seat.
Breakfast passes all too quickly and then it's time to hit the training rooms to continue getting the new shinies in order before their first fight. As Longshot and Spin make their way, Longshot spots Wooley up ahead of them. That’s when the idea comes to him. The younger vod is no longer a shiny, but he’s still new enough that maybe the other team won't think to go after him.
“Hey there Wooley. Where you headed?”, Longshot asks as he slings one arm over Wooleys shoulder.
“Oh, Longshot! I’m just headed to visit Reese in the medbay”, Wooley smiles openly.
“That’s great, give him my best”, Longshot grins, “Also, hang on to this will you?”
As he says it, Longshot presses the orange flag into Wooleys hand. Wooley looks down at what’s been pressed upon him, then sharply up at Longshot. Then he looks back down at the flag.
“I don’t know if this is a good idea..”
“It’s the best idea. Welcome to the game vod’ika”, Longshot smiles and steps away from Wooley.
Wooley gives a dutiful nod and slips the flag into his duty belt. Longshot and Spin share a nod with Wooley and the three part ways at the next intersection.
---
Wooley is terrified and in so much trouble. It had only taken him three hours to completely kark up the game. He’s not even sure how it happened. One minute he’d been walking out of the medbay from visiting with Reese and then he’d been so worried for his friend that he’d almost run headfirst into General Kenobi. The General had been good about it, because he’s amazing like that, but then he’d asked if Wooley was busy or if he’d like to share a walk. Wooley wasn’t sure what the purpose of a walk was. Didn’t everyone walk? That’s how people got places slower than running. When he'd tentatively said as much, General Kenobi had smiled and mentioned that it was just a way to spend time and talk with someone. Wooley had felt silly, but it had been nice of the General to take time out of his day to spend time with Wooley as an individual. Their General was awesome. Somehow they’d gotten on the subject of the lucky stone Reese always had on him and how he’d given it to Wooley to hold on to, at least until Reese was out of the medbay. General Kenobi had commented about not really having anything special like that. Wooley, wanting to do something kind and make his General feel special, had taken the first thing he touched out of his duty belt that he did not necessarily need and handed it to the General. General Kenobi had smiled at the strip of orange fabric and commented that he rather appreciated the little gift. They’d then moved on to talking about the General's favorite foods from random worlds. At the end, the General had commented on perhaps trying to get some of the interesting dishes made for the men to experience. Spending time with General Kenobi had been awesome and Wooley really enjoyed their walk. It wasn’t until later that he’d realized he’d given the flag over to the General as the ‘good luck gift’.
Which is how Wooley ended up here, three hours later, terrified because he’d karked up and given his team's flag to the General. The man didn't even know the troopers played capture the flag. It’s not like he could go and ask for the flag back, that would be rude. There is little hope. Wooley has no idea what to do. He's making his way to the training room where he has to do formation drills with the rest of his squad. He’ll have to let his team know what has happened with the flag at some point soon, but it’ll have to wait until after drills. Wooley heaves a heavy sigh as he steps into the training room. Longshots squad is here too. Hopefully he doesn't ask about the flag. The company starts their drills with Commander Cody leading them through, since they have so many new men with them. Wooley resolves to let his team know as soon as drills are over.
---
Cody isn’t sure what’s happened, but he knows something has. Poor Wooley can't seem to lift his head to look up and he’s completely out of step. The trooper is young, but he’s not sloppy, so his mistakes are a bit worrying. Another misstep on Wooley’s part has several other men tripping over themselves, leading to the entire formation falling apart. That’s it, Cody’s had enough of whatever this is. He calls the men to attention and is about to launch into an epic dressing down when the doors to the training room swish open and in comes General Kenobi. Cody and the men quickly salute on instinct, but it’s only seconds before as a collective their brains seem to stall. All of them except Wooley, Cody notes, who has dropped his head yet again. Well then…
“Is everything alright, Cody?” Obi-Wan asks with a smile.
“Of course, sir. Sorry, sir”, Cody responds quickly and gives himself a good mental thrashing for not paying attention to his Generals words.
“It’s quite alright, Cody. Seems like many of us are having an off day.”
Cody would bet his helmet that what the General really means is ‘several of the men are acting odd every time they see me and I’m too wonderful to call the men out so I’m going to include myself in the off day’. Because General Kenobi is amazing like that. Cody has to forcibly pull his gaze up to the General's face, despite the fact that he’s still wearing his helmet.
“Anyway”, General Kenobi says when he seems to catch that he’s got Cody’s attention again, “I wanted to let you know ahead of time that we’ll be meeting up with General Plo and the 104th within the next few days. He’s having a bit of trouble wrangling the Separatists and protecting the refugees, so we’re being sent in to assist. There will be a formal briefing at 08:00 tomorrow, but I thought I’d let you know, so you can start planning and preparing the men.”
“Of course, General”, Cody agrees instantly, “We’ll get right on it.”
“Good. I apologize for interrupting your training. I’ll let you get back to it”, General Kenobi smiles as he goes to turn away.
Cody has the insane urge to reach out and grab the General's arm, but stops himself just in time. Wooley makes a pained noise when Longshots hand shoots up in the air and he calls out to the General.
“That’s a nice armband General. I don't think I’ve seen it before.”
General Kenobi pauses and glances down at the 212th orange fabric. He’s folded it to be about an inch and a half wide, with the painted white cog centered, and tied it snugly around the top of his right bicep. All of the men know what it really is, team 1’s flag. Cody has no idea how his team's flag ended up on the General, but he’s fairly sure he knows the trooper to start with.
“Yes, it’s new and was gifted to me. I was going to keep it in my quarters, but then I figured ‘why should I not wear our battalion colors as well’. You men have your armor and now I’ll have this.”
Cody almost wants to hug the Jedi for how wonderfully kind he is. With a parting nod and smile, General Kenobi leaves them all standing there. Cody's not sure what to do now. He’s still trying to process the fact that General Kenobi is now wearing one of the flags used in a vode game of capture the flag.
“Well, that’s exceedingly unfortunate”, Longshot mumbles, “How did you even manage that Wooley?”
Cody and the rest of the men turn as one and look right at Wooley. Poor Wooley looks like he’s trying to phase out of existence.
“It was an accident”, Wooley moans miserably.
Unfortunate indeed, Cody thinks.
---
“Now what are we supposed to do? It’s not like we can just take it from him. He thinks it’s a gift and if we just yank it off him he’ll get upset”, Waxer groans as all of the men in the barracks discuss what to do.
“What if we just explain that Wooley karked up and that it’s all a game?”, Gearshift offers.
“And admit to our Jedi General that we’re all a bunch of younglings that play games when we’re supposed to be hardened soldiers? No way!”, Boil shoots down quickly.
“How about we just make a new flag and move on? The General gets to keep his ‘gift’ and we keep playing. No harm, no foul”, Wooley pipes up from the corner he’s been hiding in; several brothers glare him back into silence.
“Or we let him keep it and just up the ante. I mean, we’re hardened soldiers, right? We should be able to get that flag from the General without him noticing. Then think of the bragging rights the vod that managed it would have”, Longshot suggests with a wicked grin.
“That’s a terrible idea”, several brothers say in unison.
“You’re just saying that because you know some of us can get closer to the General than you lot”, Longshot challenges.
“I could get closer to him than any of you”, Crys says evenly.
“Ha. Yeah right. Maybe the Commander has a chance, but not you and certainly not the rest of us”, Trapper sighs.
“Wanna bet?”, Gearshift grins.
“Fine. You’re on. Safe zones stay the same, but new rules: we’re all after the flag, the first person to get it off the General never has to pay for their drinks ever again.”
“Sounds good to me. Spread the word.”
“I don’t think Cody is gonna agree with this”, Wooley chirps from his hiding spot.
---
Shockingly enough, Cody does agree to the new game parameters. Several brothers are sure it’s because the Commander thinks he can get closer than anyone else to the General. It may be true, but Cody is known for being pretty straight laced and insanely dedicated to protocol. He may be able to physically get closer to the General than any other brother, but few think he’d have the guts to actually take the flag off the Jedi. It’s a challenge that Cody recognizes and plans to beat.
The 212th is scheduled to meet up with the 104th in three days. Cody is fairly sure he can get the flag before the rondevu.
---
Somehow, Obi-Wan has gotten involved in one of the games the vode play. He’s still not sure what game they’re all playing, but he’s fairly sure he’s ended up right in the middle of it. He’s noticed that over the last two days the men have started to get really close to him. Some will walk extra close, others will reach and put a hand on his shoulder or back like they're trying to get used to touching him. Poor Cody is the worst. The commander seems stuck somewhere between trying to remain professional while also starting to get very touchy and getting physically close to Obi-Wan.
Not that Obi-Wan is complaining. To him, it seems like the men are starting to loosen up a bit around him. They’re not as straight laced and the moments of touch are comforting. Obi-Wan can tell that now that the men realize it’s ok to touch and share space with him, they are more relaxed in general, but he can also tell that there was a purpose to it originally. He doesn’t mind either way. The closeness and touch are doing wonders for all of them, so he’s not about to complain. He just hopes that the men don’t let it interfere with their upcoming mission with Plo and the 104th. Obi-Wan doubts that it will be an issue. The men have always proven to keep their games from interfering with their work or duties. And Plo is one of the Jedi that is exceptionally close and open with his men, so he likely won't find the 212ths new behavior too off putting. Hopefully.
---
The GAR soldiers of the 212th and 104th are nothing if not good at what they do. When in the zone they do their duties and execute their orders to byond the best of their abilities. They hold themselves and each other to high standards. Which is why nothing more about the flag happens until after the battle has been fought and won. There’s nothing to do, but keep a look out just in case and wait for the transports. It’s a grey area as far as playing the game goes, but as long as jobs are done and eyes are open, then it’s mostly fair game.
Well, usually it’s fair game. Now that the only 212th flag in play is currently being worn by Obi-Wan Kenobi… It changes some things. Wolffe and his men have been made aware of the situation, but that doesn’t stop him from being a bit surprised the first time he really focuses on the General. The orange stands out like a sore thumb on the Jedi. Wolffe would make a crack about how tacky it looks if he didn’t think it'd get the entire 212th after his skin. Even some of his own men may come after him. Still, the reward for removing the band from the Jedi cannot be ignored; never have to pay for drinks ever again and bragging rights. Who was Wolffe if he didn't find joy in the challenge. With that in mind, he starts trying to devise a way to get close enough to tug the fabric from General Kenobi.
---
Obi-Wan admits that he’d originally had no idea what game was being played or how he’d managed to get roped in. He also admits it took him far too long to finally figure out what was going on. The realization had come to him during this last battle where they joined in with the 104th. They had been in the heat of battle, but Obi-Wan had caught one of the 104th men tossing a small bit of fabric tied to a small knife to another of his brothers, while a third had made a jump for it before giving a curse and returning to the battle. It had reminded him of how he and the other younglings had played keep away when they were kids in the temple. That’s when he’d realized, the men were playing some version of keep away or capture the flag. The bit of fabric the 104th trooper had tossed was a deep red with a black wolf head painted on it. Obi-Wan had considered this was a game of keep away between battalions up until he saw the exact same scenario happen again with some 104th men, this time the fabric strip was dark gray with a red wolf head.
So a game of capture the flag within each battalion, Obi-Wan reasoned. He paid little mind to the flag issue after that. If he had one of the 212ths flags then that meant he only had at least half of his own men to worry about. Surely Cody was on whatever team Obi-Wan was currently representing, as the Commander had been sticking extremely close to him during down time. Wooley clearly was on his team as well, since the trooper had been the one to ‘gift’ him the flag. Obi-Wan knows now that it was an accident on the troopers part. It’s both amusing and sweet in a way. After the battle is won, it’s down time as they wait for the transports. Delegates from the neighboring moon are the ones sending the transports, not either of the battalions own ships, so hopefully the men will keep their antics to themselves once the delegates arrive. As they wait and move around, Obi-Wan keeps an eye out for any of his men getting too close to his right arm and goes to look for Cody. If his Commander is on his team then he’ll likely be the safest person to be near.
As he walks along it occurs to him that perhaps this isn't just an internal battalion game and instead may include other battalions. He considers this as he walks and several members of the 104th get far closer to him than normal. His suspension isn’t confirmed until Commander Wolffe comes to walk next to him. Obi-Wan has never had Wolffe so close to him before outside of battle. It’s almost close enough that they’re brushing arms as they walk. Almost instinctively Obi-Wan tightens his right arm to his side, keeping the strip of orange secure to him. When Wolffe rubs his shoulder up against Obi-Wan's arm, he knows that the 104th is in on the game and their Commander is after his 212th flag.
Like all of the men so far, Wolffe isn’t being obvious about trying to take the flag. It’s subtle movements and glances at the flag tied around his arm that tips Obi-Wan off. He feels a little relief when he spots Cody up ahead with several of the 212th. His men may be playing against each other, but Obi-Wan hopes they will unite to keep Wolffe and the 104th from winning.
“Good fight, Cody?”, Obi-Wan asks casually as he comes to stand with his men; Cody moves to almost subtly shove Wolffe from next to Obi-Wan.
“Yes, sir. Some men were injured, but no one is dead”, Cody responds calmly.
Several 104th join them as they start talking. Obi-Wan observes as the men move around him. He tries to not shift away too much from his own men, but he feels more like a tooka in a loth-wolf den than he’d care to admit. It isn’t until he feels a slight tug on his arm that he realizes the precarious situation he’s in. He turns and the only person that could have tugged on the flag is Cody, since his Commander has been keeping extra close to him. Obi-Wan catches Cody's helmet tilt from where he’d been looking slightly down. It hits him suddenly, all of the men are playing against each other and the band around his arm is fair game to any of them. As casually as he can, Obi-Wan takes a step back from Cody, putting distance between himself and all of the troopers. He does his best to not let on that he knows what’s happening. To be fair, he only knows parts of what’s happening.
Obi-Wan knows the men are playing a game of capture the flag. He knows that by accident he's been pulled into the game and is now wearing one of the team's flags. He’d thought that meant that his team would protect him. He’d apparently not thought through how competitive all of the men were on a good day. Obi-Wan goes to excuse himself from the gathered men as casually as he can when a hand lands on his shoulder.
“Obi-Wan. Glad to see all of our men made it out alive”, Master Plo says with a happy lilt to his voice.
Most of the men move away and Obi-Wan figures that must mean that they’re trying to keep the game out of the Jedi’s eyes. Despite the fact that Obi-Wan was accidentally brought in, the men must not want the Kel Dor Jedi to know they’re all after the strip of orange on Obi-Wan's arm.
“Yes, a good day in my-”
Obi-Wan was about to say it was a good day in his books, but his voice shrivels up in his throat as Master Plo’s hand slides down from his shoulder along his arm. Just as the Kel Dors fingers snag on the flag Obi-Wan ducks and combat rolls out of reach from the men and his fellow Jedi. Obi-Wan glances over his shoulder, just as surprised at his instinctive reaction as he is to the fact that Plo had been going for his flag. As he stands and starts backing up the feeling of being trapped tooka intensifies. Wolffe and Cody look positively lethal as they start to prowl towards him. Several of the men move to start flanking Obi-Wan. His back is still open and it’s his best route for escape. It hits him suddenly how juvenile this is. How fun this is. There’s no real threat or fight here. It’s just a good natured game of capture the flag. Obi-Wan just happens to be the one wearing the flag that everyone is after apparently.
With a huff at how purely ridiculous the entire situation is, and a bit of amused excitement, Obi-Wan turns and makes a run for it. Behind him rises a chorus of laughter and shouts of ‘after him’ and ‘first one to catch him wins!’, followed by the stampeding of an army.
---
When the delegates from the neighboring moon arrive, they aren't quite sure what to expect. They're here to pick up two of the most respected Generals of the GAR and their men. The pilots have been trading theories over the comms about what the Jedi and their men will be like. The professionalism and steadfastness of the GAR is legendary to these delegates and the people of their small home moon.
It’s an understandable shock then, when they arrive to see one of the Jedi Generals running from many of his own men, as well as the other General and his men. As the first ship touches down, the fleeing General takes a running leap up into the open cargo door.
“Don’t land! Go!”, the General orders quickly.
Far be it for this simple people to deny a General of the GAR. The pilot quickly pulls them out of the landing sequence and back into the air just before the other Jedi is able to reach them. As they hover out of reach, the Jedi onboard bursts into laughter.
“A truce for now!?”, he calls down to the men and his fellow General.
The delegates and their poor pilots have no idea what’s going on. What they do know is the Jedi and their troopers are very odd indeed.
---
Over the course of the next few weeks things spiral. Nothing gets quite out of control, thankfully. The GAR still functions as the well oiled machine of the Republic it has always been, but something clearly is up. The war is still going on and the Jedi Generals and their men are still fighting the good fight with professionalism and tenacity. That being said, a good portion of the galaxy is fairly certain that at least part of the GAR has quietly lost its mind.
The End.