Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Get ready boys, we’ve got a mission with a Jedi,” Hunter announces, standing from his seat and flipping up his knife in a smooth movement. He catches it easily and straps it among his forearm’s armor. Easily enough, he hears the quiet creaking of Crosshair standing up, the way Tech was quick to reach for his datapad and tap onto the screen, and the way Wrecker groaned with exasperation. It was almost impossible not to listen to the sounds around him considering of his heightened senses.

His attention wanders toward Tech knowing that he would have looked up their mission and find out more than what was given. Crosshair seems to be all ready to go while Wrecker has barely begun getting prepared. Hunter cannot exactly blame him; he does not like Kamino, but he was not exactly in the mood to work with another person. Especially a Jedi.

“We’ll be working with Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi of the 212th Attack Battalion,” Tech begins to introduce the Jedi, tapping rapidly onto his pad. Hunter raises his eyebrows curiously upon noticing the way Tech went silent and continued reading whatever data they have on the Jedi. He does not mind much since he knows Tech will soon blabber on what he has read.

Wrecker, however, does not seem to have any patience. “Who’s that?”

Tech glances up briefly before saying, “Cody is his commander.” There is more to be said, but he does not actually voice it out loud and instead returns to reading. Wrecker frowns at the vague answer before brightening.

”I like Cody!” He exclaims, appearing excited.

Crosshair grunts his agreement which Hunter respects since Commander Cody truly do have their respect. He seems a bit too orderly for them, but it had been his idea to team up the Bad Batch and gave inspiration to Clone Force 99. They are defective clones with mutated abilities that have now become their best work. He never treated them any differently which makes him one of the only regs they like.

”Out with it, Tech,” Crosshair drawls, crossing his arms impatiently himself. 

The genius of the Bad Batch stands from his seat and readies himself instead earning a lazy glare from the sniper. Hunter shakes his head at their antics before heading toward the exit of their barracks. It does not take long for the rest to follow along. They pass through groups and individuals of regs, ignoring some of their insults long used to such thing. Many of them are not even in the same range of experience as them so it truly does not matter. Those already faced with war tend to me a little more nice, especially since Clone Force 99 always complete their mission successfully.

Tech continues to be on his own head even when they arrive at the Havoc Marauder prepared to head to Coruscant where they will be meeting the Jedi. They did not receive too much information about the mission and was noted that everything will be talked about upon their arrival. Hunter wonders if their mission requires to work with the whole 212th troopers. Usually, they work best at their members of four, but with a Jedi involved... they tend to be forced to work with regs.

“Alright, tell us how bad,” Hunter sighs, raising a curious eyebrow at Tech.

It takes a moment for Tech to realize Hunter had been talking to him. He glances up confusedly and with a hum before making a face of realization. Noting that he was now prepared to give them information, Crosshair leans back onto his chair comfortably while Wrecker leans forward almost out of his seat. Hunter simply keeps his posture focused ahead, briefly giving them a look over and then staring back at the galaxy.

”Well, from what I’ve read, General Kenobi has a great deal of successful missions. The 212th are considered one of the best there is alongside the 501st Legion and 104th Battalion. He... writes kind, detailed notes about his ‘men’ and less casualties than some other generals involved in the war,” Tech starts, emphasizing on one of the words with air quotations. He gives a small shrug to his brothers. “It seems like he gets the work done.”

Hunter notes all of that down. General Kenobi does not seem too bad with his own troopers then.

”But?” Crosshair waits, leaning his head back to his chair. He was still listening in, of course, but most likely bored and annoyed at how Tech took forever to inform them of the Jedi.

“Yeah! But what?” Wrecker supports Crosshair, his voice loud among the area of their ship. Crosshair always sounds like he is annoyed or in a teasing, bitter matter while Wrecker’s voice booms through them. Except when he tries to whisper, but usually that just sounds like their normal tone.

“He seems strict and orderly-based. Similar to Cody, perhaps more as a Jedi. Truth be told, I am not exactly positive that we will work well with him,” Tech explains, finally placing his datapad away. Wrecker groans what they are all thinking. Crosshair simply rolls his eyes and takes out a toothpick, closing his eyes for the barest of time left to relax.

“Nothing out of the norm then, boys. We’ll probably be working with the regs instead,” Hunter reminds them. Despite saying this, he wasn’t excited about teaming up with the 212th. They do like Cody, as stated before, but following orders was not exactly what they were good at. Unfortunately, with a Jedi involved, they will have to dial what they do to a notch.

Crosshair examines Tech and arches an eyebrow. “Tech here isn’t finished, are you?” He hums, in the same drawling tone as always.

Hunter looks back at Tech to see him fixing his glasses’s position. He too raises an eyebrow while Wrecker switches from staring at the three. He hugs his ‘Lula’ around him which does not go unnoticed, but also is not judged by any of them.

”It says here that General Kenobi was the Jedi to have the first proper glance at the clones. Technically speaking, he would have to be the one to set off the Clone Wars with the first Battle of Geonosis. Statistically, it does not say much about his character,” Tech continues, finally appearing to have revealed all of what kept him thinking and leading to the conclusion at the end.

The sniper of the team scoffs, not saying anything else, but also not needing to. Everyone by now knows what words are said when Crosshair scoffs. It varies, yes, but they have known each other for quite some time if not forever. Hunter cannot blame him. Though, he does not think that Kenobi meant to start the war. Not sure where the doubt comes from, but something gives him that idea. Maybe because while Cody had not revealed his general’s name, he seemed rather loyal to the man. Then again, he is a reg despite thinking he is a great one. Commander Cody follows orders through and through.

“His character does not matter. We start the mission, we finish the mission. Then we leave,” Hunter finally decides to say, his voice sharp and with some authority. Not too much. He knows his brothers only listen to his orders out of respect and because they agree with his strategy.

Thankfully, it was the end of the discussion. He understood their hesitation since they mostly worked on their own terms, but what is done is done and they still must go to where they are called whether it be as reinforcements, individual missions, or team-ups with Jedi (which they barely do and last time it had been with Quinlan Vos who did not like them nor they liked him).

*

The higher area of Coruscant truly does bless the eyes with the city skylines. It is not Hunter’s favorite place to visit, but it pleases the eye for some time. Mostly because it appears different than Kamino’s usual storms and oceans. Tech usually finds himself trying to understand the architecture, Wrecker does not like the place since he cannot blow something up. Crosshair just does not care.

(Though, Hunter knows Crosshair prefers places with tall heights in which he can climb from).

Already, a few glances has been given their way. Their armors are different than the usual clone trooper. None of them are white-colored nor have a specific color to it to represent a group. Well, they do have a color, but the armor is clearly different from the rest. Except Delta Squad also tends to wear a bulkier armor like them. Still different, though.

“What are you looking at?” Wrecker storms, most likely glaring at the eyes looking their way. Hunter can practically feel it even with their helmet on. Then again, Crosshair probably is too. Tech would rather hide away from the eyes.

”Sergeant Hunter,” a reg’s voice calls out from ahead of them. It only takes one second to recognize the helmet and the name that follows along with it. Hunter motions for the rest of the Bad Batch to follow along with him as he heads toward Commander Cody of the 212th. The commander’s helmet is off, resting on the side on his arm noting the familiar scar close to his eyebrow. Another distinctive quality about him apart from his commanding helmet.

“Commander Cody,” Hunter acknowledges, raising an eyebrow while noting there are only a few troopers behind him. Probably only a company at the most. Tech had said something about a specific ‘Ghost Company’ being one of the very best from the 212th. 

Once they reach in front of him, Hunter takes off his helmet at the same time that the others do. Cody smirks slightly in return, clearly not offended by the helmet being off. Hunter isn’t surprised since he knows about every clone likes to have a chance at breathing air from a fresh scent.

”It is nice to see all of you. Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair,” Cody says, nodding sharply at the rest of them. Hunter’s batch salute Cody with respect, returning the favor of nodding back.

”The same can be said to you, Commander,” Hunter replies easily. It is not a lie from any of them, and yet, Cody raises an eyebrow unsurely. Either way, he lets it off easily and gets straight to business which does not surprise any of them.

Cody motions for them to follow him to where the rest of the troopers are. Except... he does not. Hunter keeps his face the same, but he glances at Tech who raises his eyebrows in surprise. Rather than heading with the others, they were taken a little more further until they noticed two clone troopers talking amongst each other.

”Waxer, Boil,” Cody calls to attention.

Immediately, both troopers shut their mouth and turn toward their commander. The bald-headed one widens his eyes slightly before blurting out, “It was the General.”

At the same time, the other one with the goatee says, “It was us.”

The two of them turn to give each other a sharp look. Cody stares at them unamused, a long deep breath escaping his nose. Hunter stares between them curiously. From the looks of it, whatever is occurring is something that usually happens or Cody comes across. It is a bit off to hear a trooper blame their general for something, however. Whether they did or did not do it.

”I don’t want to know,” Commander Cody responds tiredly. He scratches the top of his eyebrow before continuing firmly, “Where’s the General?”

At that, the bald-headed clone stands straighter and replies, “General Kenobi was momentarily called in by General Skywalker. I do not believe it was anything serious since I did hear him let out a tired sigh before heading out the door.”

”Code word for ‘Skywalker did something stupid that I have to fix’,” the other trooper adds, unnecessarily. Everyone tends to know how reckless and dangerous the young Jedi Knight can be.

Hunter has to congratulate Cody for how he holds in the urge to roll his eyes with exasperation. The conversation is amusing which has made Wrecker look at the regs with interesting and nodding as if he were rating them. Soon after the clone finished saying the words, Hunter stiffens slightly when he hears gentle steps heading their way. His eyes only wander as a figure in a cloak walks back to the area and slowly becomes visible.

Immediately, the clone troopers of the 212th stop their chattering and salute to the man, their Jedi General. The Bad Batch straightens themselves up and does the same. Maybe they should have kept their helmets on? Then again, the other troopers do not have it on either.

”That is a certain way to put it, but yes, you are correct, Boil,” the Jedi murmurs, approaching to his commander’s side while glancing at the man with the goatee. There lies a certain amount of teasing in his voice which is clearly visible to hear. A light smile on the corner of the Jedi’s lips. Beside him, Commander Cody seems to be holding back a small eye roll. The Jedi raises his hand calmly and tells them, “At ease.”

The troopers around them all relax their posture while the Bad Batch simply place their hand down. Hunter stays quiet as he inspects the way the trooper Boil shrugs at the deadpanned look given to him by Cody. Though, then he turns toward his general.

”Sorry, sir,” Boil apologizes. General Kenobi smiles at him in return. Hunter takes a moment to analyze the Jedi. His height seems a little taller than his men, but the way he hunches slightly is barely noticeable due to Hunter being overly observant. Arms are crossed within the cloak of his that he has seen some other Jedi wear. Hair slightly glowing under the light making it appear a tint of red.

General Kenobi turns toward Hunter and his team. A curious looks grows upon his face as he stares at each individual in front of him. If Hunter were a brand new regular clone trooper, he would have shifted from his place at such look. It was not bad, simply appearing as if all his thoughts and vulnerabilities are visible despite knowing his and his brother’s shields are strong enough. Only a Jedi with no boundaries (or dark, as some would say) would know what their thoughts read.

”Hello there,” General Kenobi greets, bowing down to them. From the corner of his eye, Hunter spots Tech almost stop functioning. The only Jedi to have ever done that to them had been Master Ti, as she preferred to be called rather than ‘General Ti’, when they first met her properly. “I’m more than pleased to meet you... Clone Force 99, correct?”

Never having lost his composure, Hunter nods sharply. “Yes, sir,” he confirms.

”A great choice of name, Sergeant,” General Kenobi compliments, tilting his head to the side. Hunter made another note to himself that the Jedi knew about 99. “May I know all of yours?”

Hunter glances momentarily at Commander Cody, wondering if he were to give the introductions. However, Cody simply gives an encouraging nod at him. General Kenobi waits patiently, still likely noting all the difference between them and the regs. He wonders for a moment whether to give his designation number or actual name. After a short second of hesitation, Hunter decides to continue with the latter. He had used Boil’s name instead of whatever his number is.

”My name is Hunter, General,” Hunter introduces himself. He steps one foot to the side and motions for Tech to continue.

”I am named Tech, General Kenobi,” Tech continues easily, his fingers twitching slightly toward his datapad. The Jedi briefly glances down at it clearly noticing Tech’s obsession and making a connection to why his name is Tech.

Wrecker steps forward readily and says, “Wrecker!” His introduction is short and possibly the least respectful one yet, but none of them seem to mind it. If anything, the Jedi quirks another short smile underneath his mustache. 

Hunter motions to Crosshair. Despite knowing his brother can handle his own introduction, he also simply knows him. “This is Crosshair, sir. He is not much of a conversationalist,” Hunter informs politely. Crosshair just makes sure to nod as a greeting, posture straight and stiff.

General Kenobi nods with understanding. “Very well,” he says. The Jedi gives another look toward his troopers standing off to the side and then turns back to his commander. “Cody, the 212th are off-duty today,” the man voices.

Hunter only listens in the conversation. Though, that definitely surprised him. Were they not supposed to go on the mission with them?

“Yes, sir,” the commander agrees. Hunter believes for a moment that it is the end of the discussion. However, he cannot help but raise an eyebrow when he notices that Cody is not finished yet. Commander Cody tightens his grip around his bucket. “However, I still think you should take Ghost Company with you,” he continues.

Wrecker does not even bother to hide the way his head snaps from the Jedi to the clone they respect. Either way, no one else seems to care. The 212th troopers appear as if they are used to whatever is going on between the two.

”We would be glad to help, General,” Waxer inputs, raising his own bucket enthusiastically.

”I appreciate all of you, but it is recommended we only take a batch. And if I recall, Commander,” General Kenobi turns toward Cody, “I recall your spoken confidence and pride of the Bad Batch’s special abilities.”

Commander Cody does not scowl, but Hunter can almost see it if he tries hard enough. If anything, Crosshair most likely does. One quick look at his brother confirms his suspicion. Though, Wrecker is pleased by the obvious compliment the Jedi had given them through Cody’s apparent words.

“General, may I speak to you privately?” Cody questions, placing one hand back while the other still is holding his helmet. General Kenobi furrows his brows in surprise before nodding, letting his commander walk them to the side.

At the chance to talk alone, Hunter turns to the rest of his teammates. Surprisingly, Crosshair is the first to talk.

”This certainly ties us more than before,” he drawls, briefly rolling his eyes considering he realized it was his chance to do so.

Tech raises a finger to speak. “Well, actually, the regs won’t have a chance to bully us,” he adds cheerfully.

Hunter places both hands onto his helmet as if he were to put it on. He still does not. Instead, he makes sure to stare at his brothers firmly. “I am sure Cody would have said something if they were to, Tech,” he tells him firstly. Then, he pauses and adds, “But it does change how we believed the mission would go. Have we created any problems? One would think the regs of Cody’s control could have gone with the Jedi.”

“We’ve been doing good so far. Last time it was just General Vos,” Tech informs smartly, as always. Hunter nods his agreement. Still, who actually requests for Clone Force 99 if not as a quick mission to complete or punishment for them?

Before any of the four mutated clones can say anything, the men from the 212th surround them. Their first instinct (except Wrecker’s) is to stiffen their posture. They (mostly including Tech and Crosshair) were rather used to being bullied by the rest of the ‘vode’. Truthfully, the Bad Batch only saw themselves as brothers more than the rest of the regs despite the regs referring to each and every one of them ‘vod’. Though, some of them do treat them like the rest. That refers to Cody and as default, Commander Wolffe, Fox, Bly, and a few others who see the vode as importance.

”So, you’re the Bad Batch?” Waxer questions, looking at them with wonder. Crosshair glares at him harshly while Wrecker lets out a small noise that sounds like a growl. Waxer does not back down with an insulted look or mock, but Boil takes a step closer beside his brother and glares back.

Although appearing as if he was going to say something, Waxer does not have the chance to try it as another clone grabs Boil’s arm and looks at them excitedly.

”I’m a fan of your work,” the clone trooper gushes, eyes twinkling in delight.

Beside Hunter, Tech stares at the clone with a clear look of surprise. “You are?” He questions in absurd.

”All of us?” Wrecker cannot help but wonder, sharing a puzzled glance with the genius of the batch.

The clone trooper nods enthusiastically. “The General and Commander speak highly of your missions,” he continues, nudging Boil’s side. Then, as if remembering that he is a soldier of the GAR, the trooper regains control of himself and straightens. “I’m Wooley,” he finishes with an introduction to himself.

”And you are Crosshair, I presume,” another trooper steps in beside Waxer. He keeps a curious look toward the sniper of the batch. A smirk reaches his face, but it is not lethal nor mean. “Longshot,” he greets himself, not adding anything more.

And he does not need to because they all know what his name is meant to represent. Though, Crosshair simply stares at him with a suspicious glare. As if expecting another rebuke to his abilities and defect. Longshot does nothing of the sort and instead raises his hand heading to touch Crosshair before being stopped by Boil clearing his throat. 

“Touch, Longshot, touch,” Boil reminds the marksman of the 212th, giving him a pointed look.

Crosshair had clenched his jaw prepared to brush the hand away or even smack the trooper. Longshot, noticing the discomfort, stops from what he is heading to do.

”Oh, sorry, man,” Longshot apologizes. He gives off a sharp grin a few seconds later to the rest of them. “Any who, he’s the best of your batch.”

Hunter raises an eyebrow at the statement while Waxer rolls his eyes with amusement. “Vod, you say that because you’re impressed by the way he shoots,” he teases.

Longshot shrugs. “We gotta support one another; one sniper to another,” he explains.

All Crosshair does is stare at him with some suspicion and wonder. Then, he nods in acknowledgement. However small the notion is, Hunter is surprised to see that Longshot grins back at it as if realizing how much of an honor that is.

”Huh, now I have found that it is unfortunate you will be leaving us alone with General Kenobi,” Tech declares, eyebrows raised in surprise at the respect given to them. Hunter notices how upon the word ‘unfortunate’ most of the clones had frowned.

To explain and not ruin the respect given to them, Hunter contributes, “We tend to do our best when not listening to orders.”

Waxer stares at them curiously and then ever the loyal soldier says determinedly, “You’ll like our general.”

”Only if I get to smash things up!” Wrecker declares, raising his hand into a fist with a wistful expression.

Meanwhile, Commander Cody brought his general to the side leaving enough room for the Bad Batch to talk within themselves and for them to have privacy. General Kenobi had told him the 212th had the day off while he would go off to a mission. And he had accepted it at first since he knows duty comes before all. However, when his general voiced that he requested for Clone Force 99, worries risen up. Cody trusts the Bad Batch; he knows they successfully complete their missions and are well-trained. He does not doubt their skills nor confidence and he truly does like them.

But they do not work well with other people ordering them around and are less fond of Jedi based on some questioning he had given them before. It is the reason why they usually do not work with Jedi in the first place. Except now his general had gone to look for them. And he was not going to take at least his own troopers— the Ghost Company did not mind if they were to head with him. They all love their general.

”If you needed a batch, Ghost Company would have gladly gone with you,” Cody brings up, tucking his helmet closer to his side. It might be a bit hypocritical of recommending the Bad Batch countless of times before and then suddenly deciding that their own team is better, but he had not expected for his general to find them interesting. Ghost Company consists of some of the greatest soldiers Cody recognizes from the 212th.

As if sensing his thoughts (though, Cody knows he is not doing such thing since it goes against what his general believes), Kenobi softens his gaze and places a hand on his shoulder.

”I do not doubt our men’s skills. I am, however, in need of Clone Force 99 due to their mutated abilities. For as much as I acknowledge our intelligence, they are capable of certain skills I lack,” Kenobi tells him, dutifully and yet gentle.

See, Cody knows General Kenobi does not do something without reason, but...

”May I ask what the mission is?” He asks, furrowing his brows in thought.

General Kenobi strokes his beard thoughtfully before deciding to answer, “There has been a planet taken over by Separatists which has innocent civilians as hostages.”

Commander Cody straightens up immediately. “General, that sounds like a mission for a whole battalion,” he comments in surprise. So, why are only a batch going?

”Technically, yes. However, I’ve discovered that the Separatists have developed a manufacturing droid base there. I intend to hack their battle droids,” General Kenobi continues, crossing his arms against his chest. He glances briefly at the Bad Batch, noticing that the 212th were surrounding them with interest before turning back to his commander. “I’ve heard enough from you about their abilities. Something tells me they’re the team to take.”

Cody stops himself from frowning. “The Force?” He inputs thoughtfully. That is what General Kenobi tends to use as his excuse most of the time.

In return, Kenobi smiles.

The Commander practically drills that same smile onto his memory just like every other chance. Though, of course, he does not express that in any way. Instead, he lets out a short sigh. 

“I could accompany you, sir,” Cody tries again. It was a sad attempt, but he had to try. Definitely not one of his best moments, however. He usually can do much better than that. Something tells him he will not be able to change his general’s mind.

As expected, General Kenobi squeezes his shoulder for comfort and the soft expression stays on his face. “There’s no need, Cody. I am sure they will be a great team to work with,” He assures, again.

“General, I have to warn you: they work best when under their own orders,” Cody sighs, searching quietly through his general’s face. He does not spot any surprise. Instead, he sees a light quirk of his lips. Cody’s worries only deepen. His general already knew of such thing, of course. He is most likely hoping for that. Knowing this only makes Cody want to sneak himself in the mission. “You already know this,” he decides to say, instead.

“I do, yes,” Kenobi agrees easily. He retracts his hand away from his commander’s shoulder and places them back within the sleeves of his robes. “Cody, have faith in your brothers and in me—”

”I do, sir—”

”— for the time being. We’ll be back in no time. I am not demanding them to like me, but they are the best course to work with and our interest lies on ensuring the civilian’s safety first and completing the mission second. Our personal opinions shall not have any effect on our objectives,” General Kenobi declares, a little more firmly to get his point across. All of what he said is true.

And Cody knows it. So, with defeat, he nods in acceptance.

”Understood, General,” Commander Cody responds. Though, he is unsure of whether the Bad Batch will like his general. For all their sake, he hopes they do. It is difficult not to like him, but Clone Force 99 was something else.

Noting that their conversation is now over, General Kenobi walks back toward the rest of them men just in time to hear one of the troopers yell ‘Only if I get to smash things up!’. Obi-Wan watches with amusement as the man’s enthusiasm.

”Well,” he starts, regaining all of their attention. He feels Cody straighten his position from behind him as his right-hand man. The Bad Batch turn their attention toward him, their expressions returning back to show little emotion as they were trained. “That is still to be determined, but we’ll see how the mission goes, Wrecker.”

His attention heads toward Crys as he steps beside Wooley. “Are you positive you won’t be needing us? Not even Halo?” Crys brings up carefully.

”You’ve done a great job and deserve a break from it. If needed, we will contact Republic reinforcements. Seeing as the 501st are still on their own battleground with the 104th, the 212th will be called,” General Kenobi promises. He makes sure to look at each of them in the eye. “I do hope we won’t need to call for it, however. You have three official days off and for as long as I am unavailable unless Master Windu decides to intervene. Take advantage of the break, understood?”

”Sir, yes, sir!” The members of Ghost Company exclaim, saluting at their general.

Commander Cody turns to the mutated clones. “I assume you know protocols?”

It feels almost like a trick question because they do know it (or some of it in Wrecker’s case), they just tend to go a little off-script. Still, Hunter nods sharply at both General Kenobi and his commander.

”Yes, sir,” He repeats.

Their attention turns toward the Jedi General as he steps away from Commander Cody. “I will be seeing all of you at a later time, then. And if you four can follow me...?” General Kenobi declares the first part to his men from the 212th before turning to the Bad Batch for the second part.

The troopers murmur their own goodbye (light laughter barely being heard when nudging Cody’s side) while General Kenobi leads the four mutated ones up front to where the official mission is more detailed upon. There was not much to read beforehand except that the ship being taken is the Marauder and for the Jedi intervention.

Upon reaching the strategy board, General Kenobi activates the datapad and shows them the planet they will be heading on. He stays quiet for a few seconds as he types in some coordinates before finally glancing at them. Hunter was analyzing the planet with a curious look, Tech seemed ready to do his own research on it, Wrecker appeared to be searching for something within the planet, and Crosshair simply gave it a look-over.

”Before we start, I must know if you four are truly willing to accept my request,” the Jedi warns, eyeing the four clones carefully and keeping his access to the Force open to easily capture any hesitation. He waits patiently, watching as the question makes sense in their mind and the way the four of them glance at one another with puzzlement. Unsure if they know that he is being honest, Obi-Wan explains, “You do not need to accept. This mission… it is not exactly the Senate’s decision.”

He had told Cody that if needed then he’ll call the 212th for reinforcements, but their mission is not actually official based on the Senate’s policies. If the 212th finishes their free time, then they will not be able to head to Obi-Wan’s aid unless Master Windu makes a request to the Chancellor and if the Chancellor approves. However, if they do happen to be on their said break, then they would be allowed to do as they wish considering their general gave them permission. The Bad Batch do not respond to anyone, at least, not really. They do not have a general and sometimes they report to Cody, but they go to where they are called. Technically, their reports do not have to go directly to the Senate since they are, as Cody worded it, ‘the Kaminoans special forces of defected and yet mutated clone troopers’.

”Sir?” The leader of the Bad Batch, Hunter, calls out confusedly. They want more information which is something Obi-Wan cannot blame them for.

“There is a planet... unfortunately, they are not part of the Republic and have now been infiltrated by Separatists. However, it was also a planet where a Jedi Temple rests,” General Kenobi begins, reaching across to put up more information of the said planet. The planet of Vashka enlarges to capture a beautiful scenery of landscapes and nature; almost appearing relaxing and out of war business. However, if the Jedi is showing such planet, then it is likely it no longer appears the same way. “The Temple there isn’t well known, but we had a couple of Jedi there to ensure protection for the civilians and temple itself. Our last communication with them had conspired last month when they must have contact with the temple here once every week.”

The Jedi Master rubs his chin slightly before continuing, “In their last message, they had revealed that they sensed something bad that was either happening or about to happen in Vashka. We sent another Jedi to check it out and they revealed a Separatist base has been placed there alongside with the streets being cleared of population. We suspect they are holding the civilians encaged and the manufacturing of battle droids. Unfortunately, the Jedi Knight has also stopped sending messages.”

“They have been killed,” Wrecker suggests, not exactly in a gentle way, but not mean either. The rest of his batch-mates give Wrecker a firm and disbelief expression. Obi-Wan does not take it to heart knowing he did not mean anything bad about it. It had also been the Jedi Council’s first thought before remembering they should at least be hopeful for their fellow Jedi.

”Or captured along the rest of the civilians, but none of which are good,” General Kenobi decides to say instead. He ignores the slight shock radiating from Tech and Wrecker. “Considering Vashka is not Republic territory, we officially cannot send the GAR, but since it technically involves a Jedi matter, the we’ve decided that I’ll go.”

At that, Tech straightens from his place and inputs, “And considering we do not officially report to anyone, you have requested us.”

”That is correct. However, as I have said, you are free to decline since this mission might not go exactly well,” Kenobi reminds them, bowing his head slowly.

For a couple of seconds, no more than five, the Bad Batch glances at each other. They all seem to know their answer beforehand. So, Hunter begins to nod in agreement.

”Very well, sir. We will accompany you to Vashka,” Hunter speaks for all of them.

General Kenobi brightens immediately, eyes twinkling with gratitude. When it dials down, the Jedi offers them a gentle smirk. “Actually, Hunter, seeing as this isn’t exactly official... I’ll be the one accompanying all of you,” he says calmly.

Tech snaps his head up in further realization. “Oh, this would be considered one of our own missions with Hunter as the leader,” he comments, thoughtfully.

The man’s intelligence is truly incredibly interesting to witness, Obi-Wan notes. Following along his statement, the General nods at Tech.

”Officially, I would just be a passenger if the Senate were to find out,” General Kenobi smiles.

Hunter stares at the Jedi with interest before standing in attention. “Well, sir, we are ready when you are,” the clone leader announces.

”Of course,” General Kenobi assures, motioning for the clone troopers to lead the way. Before any of them can get far, a calm and familiar voice calls out:

”General,” Commander Cody interrupts, barely stepping a few steps forward before stopping as the Jedi turns back to him. General Kenobi stares at him curiously, wondering what his commander is to say. He has a feeling no one else except he can notice the light hesitation in the familiar pair of eyes. Then, Cody continues, “Take care of your lightsaber, please, sir.”

An amused expression grows on the Jedi’s face. His eyes soften upon looking at his commander before he responds back gently, “Of course, Commander.”

Hunter raises an eyebrow at the two of them, glancing between with interest before sharing a curious look with his brothers. Then, realizing he no longer wants to be part of whatever is going on between the two, Hunter clears his throat, “Okay, then. Our ship is this way.”

“Ah, yes,” General Kenobi remembers, not jumping from his spot, but somehow still appearing a little flushed which was caught by Crosshair’s excellent vision. He bears one last look at Commander Cody before turning back to them. “Lead the way,” he says politely.

*

Obi-Wan recalls his first meet with the 212th. It had been considerably interesting seeing as he was unprepared for a whole war to truly begin. He was not a general; Jedi were meant to be peacekeepers. Truthfully, he did not think he would be ready to lead a battalion of men. And then he met them for the first time and they all appeared extremely trained and different as if they were nothing but soldiers and it surprised him to see how sheltered they were when in front of authority. That day, he was not ready to become a general, but he forced himself to appear it.

He became a Jedi General to ensure his men received care and understanding to their life and not simply see themselves as soldiers. He fights the war not only for the civilians of the Republic, but for them.

Being on the Marauder brings back the first awkward days of him meeting his men, though, this time it is not his own men, but Clone Force 99. Obi-Wan has a feeling they truly do not work with Jedi much. At least, not like this where they have to accompany them and individually work together unlike how it would be if they went along with other groups of men.

”General Kenobi,” Hunter calls out politely. There is something off about it as if it is not something they are used to. Obi-Wan does not fault him for it. This was all a rather unusual situation. It was also quiet (with the occasion of Wrecker wanting to do something and it being shut down by Tech) which adds to the fact that in this situation, he is trespassing. “We would like to discuss the mission with further depth, if you do not mind?”

Obi-Wan stands from his place and nods in agreement. “Great idea,” he declares, moving to sit beside Wrecker as they gather up together.

”I understand that officially I am seen as the leader, but sir, you know more of the mission than I do,” Hunter clears his throat, motioning for General Kenobi to speak up.

The Jedi hums at the enhanced clone. He glances at Tech and asks, “Do you mind presenting this hologram?” Obi-Wan hands over a small device toward Tech who easily grabs onto it and turns it on. The men gain an easier image on the last actual scenery of Vashka’s Jedi Temple.

”This is the Jedi Temple. As you can see, its architecture blends in with other buildings. It was done so it can be seen as an equal to civilizations, but it also unintentionally became an area that tends to be forgotten unless you were a Jedi born within there,” Obi-Wan explains, staring at the temple with wonder. “I’ve never been there myself, but I’ve heard stories of how beautiful it is inside...”

Noticing his wistful tone, General Kenobi clears his throat and continues, “We theorize that the Separatist do not know of the temple there nor of the fact that Jedi have been captured. If they were to have found out, the temple would have been burned already. This gives us an advantage since the only reason we do know that Separatist have infiltrated the place is because of our Jedi Knights which means they do not suspect of us knowing. It has given access to the planet becoming a manufacturing base of the battle droids and we are going to rescue the civilians by taking down their communication centers and infiltrating their battle droids.”

Tech taps onto his datapad, looks something up, and then points out, “There is fortunately only one communication center, General Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan smiles. “Excellent. It will not give them a chance to warn their Separatist leaders.”

“What do you mean by ‘infiltrate their battle droids’?” Crosshair questions, taking out a toothpick from his teeth in order to speak. From the four of them, he truly does seem the least sociable one which Obi-Wan has nothing against on.

“Ah, well, in easier terms... we’re going to hack them and turn them to our side,” Obi-Wan informs them cheerfully. Out of the four of them, Tech seems the less surprised probably already gaining an idea to what he meant. Crosshair does not move from his place, but he does spot a curious look on his eyes while Wrecker is openly staring at him with an open mouth.

”Is that why we were requested, sir?” Hunter barges in, his own curious look on his face. The mullet he wears reminds Obi-Wan of his first introduction to the Kaminoans and the clone facility. Not good memories, but he had at least found friends within there.

”With your team, Hunter, I believe this mission will be easier and faster than without,” Obi-Wan agrees. He motions to the sniper of the team. “Crosshair has excellent vision that can give the element of surprise.” It earns him a serious expression which he takes as a sort of win. Then, he turns toward Wrecker. “He is incredibly strong and always ready to blow things up.” Wrecker laughs and nods his head in agreement. Obi-Wan turns toward Tech. “He likely knows more of the process of hacking than anyone else in the galaxy.” A small shrug and sense of pride radiates off Tech. Then, finally, his eyes meet Hunter’s once more. “And I hear you and I have a somewhat similar ability— my senses are not all heightened, but the Force provides what I need.”

There lies a short pause after he finishes, and he bows his head slightly with respect.

”Then we start with the communication center,” says Crosshair, breaking off the silence which surprises the rest.

Wrecker’s eyes glisten. “We go on blowing it up right away!”

”By marching forward to the battle droids and destroying them all,” Tech inputs, adding to Wrecker’s statement. Hunter nods his agreement while Obi-Wan rubs his chin thoughtfully. Crosshair says nothing and instead eyes the Jedi.

“So, we start as always,” Hunter declares. They begin to form their though process.

Obi-Wan does not like the ‘plan’. Oh, he can see the way it will work at the end. However, he does not want to complete the mission by killing half or any of Clone Force 99. Having a high number of his men and losing only a few matters to him which is the reason he always tries to go as planned. Of course, some of the times it does not go as script, but he rather risks his life than the rest of the soldiers. The way they are thinking is certainly a way to go through their mission, fast and easy, but he is not willing to risk their lives so if that means having to do it at a slower pace, then so be it.

”General Kenobi?” Hunter calls out his title, silencing his brothers’ chatter when he noticed the same quietness Crosshair had since the beginning. Though, there lies an expression of worry as well which slightly alarms them.

Obi-Wan glances up at the call of his name and he blinks slowly, as if waking up from a trance. Then, he shakes his head.

”I’m sorry, but we cannot go in storming,” the Jedi disagrees, hiding his hands within the sleeves of his brown robes. He will have to change outfits in order to not appear out of place, or at least to wear black. Cody had been puzzled by his request for one of his blacks at the last minute, but he still gave it to him. Obi-Wan promised himself he would get his commander some new ones.

Despite hoping they would not appear disgruntled, he was not surprised to see the shared glances between them. Obi-Wan cannot blame them since he had said Hunter was in charge and he is the intruder to the group.

”Sir, this is how we deal with our missions,” Hunter decides to be brave, giving him a blank stare. The rest of them had stiffened once Obi-Wan shut down the idea.

”I understand,” Obi-Wan tells them. He gazes at all of them with his own kind look. “But I will not put your lives at risk. The reason I contacted you was not for any unnecessary sacrifices, but because I truly do need your skills and while I understand that you all tend to start the commotion rather than respond, we need to trespass carefully.”

”We have done this countless of times, General Kenobi,” Tech responds carefully.

”Yes, and you’ve done great. However, we will not be facing one batch of battle droids. This will be one of their bases where they are being produced. The five each of you destroy, ten more will be coming out,” General Kenobi contradicts, a frown visible on his lips. “You might succeed before they are able to communicate with the Separatist, you might not. But most importantly, one of you will evidently be killed. I need you to understand why we cannot go through with that.”

Tech stares at him blankly before sputtering out, “Sir, we are expendable. The Kaminoans will likely be disappointed one of their mutated clones were killed, but they will develop another to replace any of us if it came to that.”

Before Obi-Wan says something he has told his men since the very beginning, Hunter bows down his own head slowly and nods. “General Kenobi is correct,” he says, carefully. “We’ve done crazy osik before, but not only will we be overruled by battle droids, we are less likely to secure the communications before they are able to send a message. If we attack one, the other will soon react.”

He glances at each of his brothers. “And I do not want to lose any of you when we are able to go through another plan that can also work,” Hunter adds in. There is a sharp and yet gentle tone in his voice while he said such thing.

”So no blowing things up?” Wrecker groans, accepting the decisions easily, but still with disgruntlement.

Obi-Wan smiles lightly at him. “Ah, Wrecker. I said we should not start with such an interest, but... the communication base will need to be destroyed,” he reminds, a light tease embedded in his voice.

Wrecker widens his eyes and stares at his brothers with astonishment. “I like him,” he declares, laughing soon right after.

And truthfully, Obi-Wan considers that a win.

Chapter Text

Whatever beauty lied on Vashka long before the Clone Wars was now gone. Obi-Wan never visited before, but he knew it to be a beautiful world. He had always wished to visit the Jedi Temple, hearing stories of the star-gazing room where one feels like they are floating in space as the Force flows through them. Battle droids have overfilled the streets rather than the Vashkians themselves. They must all be gathered up in one place like how the Separatists had once done to the planet of Ryloth and its citizens. The streets no longer resemble the hologram that shows up when one searches for Vashka; it is all filled with quietness and a dull sensation.

Having landed on an area far from the battle droid’s view, the four members of the Bad Batch alongside Obi-Wan Kenobi find themselves on foot to the communications base. Tech is the one who has been leading all of them toward their destination with his technology all around him. Obi-Wan seems to finally understand what Cody means when he tells him to take a break from writing many reports for a long period of time. Though, this is Tech. He has not been around the Bad Batch for long, but their names truly do have meaning to them.

Hunter makes sense with his enhanced abilities making him a sort of hunter considering they are rather aware and observant. Crosshair has his cross on his eye, but it emphasizes on his great aim and vision he bears. Wrecker enjoys wrecking items; though, Obi-Wan witnessed him hug a tooka plush named Lula and it was well-taken care of (he had seen it be placed in a sitting position right on top of a gonk droid named ‘gonky’).

”There are trees and buildings to help us sneak by with,” Tech informs, standing by one of the building’s side. He glances back at his teammates and the Jedi, own created visor being worn making it unavailable to show the rest of them. Though, they all trusted his source so it was not truly a problem.

Hunter stares out to the buildings before glancing at the sniper of the group. “Crosshair,” he whispers, earning an inclined head in return. “Climb up the building and tell us if we should follow you along.”

Crosshair does not say anything, but he does as told. With his sniper on his back, the clone trooper forces himself up impressively and then reaches the top, ducking slightly to be hidden from view but still have sight on the area. He brings down his rangefinder to gain a closer look on his surroundings before bringing it back up. With two words of affirmation, the rest of his brothers begin to follow lead.

The headband man turns toward the Jedi. “Going through the top of buildings may be the best way to sneak by,” Hunter tells General Kenobi. Despite being said as a statement, there was still some confirmation needed to be given. All Obi-Wan does is wave his hand and follows the rest of the team. He waits for them to head forward first, wanting to stay in the back of them in case they have any misleading footing or are caught off guard.

The Force provides what it wills, or so all the Jedi love to claim. Obi-Wan lets an amused smile rest on his place at the spluttering sound Tech makes when Wrecker places his footing on his shoulder rather than the side of the building. Fortunately, Hunter has a strong hold on the genius considering he holds quick reflexes. Truly, it does remind Obi-Wan of his own abilities. None of them are force-sensitive, of course, but they have the same bright energy within the Force as his 212th men. Different, obviously, but eerily similar.

When they reach the top alongside Crosshair, Wrecker lets out a small whine and groan all in one. “I hate heights,” he exclaims, slowly opening his eyes to take a quick peak at the ground before instantly shutting them again.

”Just look forward! Don’t close your eyes, Wrecker,” Tech hurries to say, smacking his brother’s face to get him to see. Obi-Wan simply stares at them with a raised eyebrow, lips twitching in a familiar motion he does when Anakin and Ahsoka begin to banter. He, of course, usually sides with his grandpadawan or else he would not be the best grandmaster. Then again, he cannot do worst than Dooku.

”Are you boys done playing?” Crosshair drawls out, annoyance wavering off despite the helmet worn. Though, he also sounds exasperated as if this is something that always occurs. Obi-Wan glances at Hunter’s expression and figures it most likely does.

They truly are an interesting team.

Hunter claps Crosshair’s back and carefully steps forward, bending down slightly before jumping onto another building. While the rest aim to do the same, Obi-Wan keeps himself on top of the one he is in and closes his eyes, searching and reaching out for a familiar energy. Finding it is considerably easy, and he reopens his eyes with his head faced to the direction of the Jedi Temple. Knowing what to do, the Jedi waits for Wrecker to regain a hold of himself and land on the building like the rest of his brothers before he Force jumps smoothly behind him.

He hears Wrecker let out a small ‘wow’ at him, but does not pay much attention to it as he heads toward Hunter knowing what he says or does tends to make his brothers’ follow. With steps he knows the man can hear, Obi-Wan reaches Hunter’s side. He is unsurprised to see him already glancing at him through his peripheral vision. That is what Obi-Wan intended to do. While usually quiet which causes his own men to sometimes appear startled by his appearance, he knows not to do that here since the Bad Batch does not have a reason to trust him. They are better off alert and he does not wish to be in the end of their blaster.

”General, sir?” Hunter speaks up quietly, most likely raising an eyebrow behind that helmet of his. He cannot read them like he can with his own men. Not that he goes through their heads without permission. He simply refers to the expression they tend to make when they have their helmets off, or because he knows them better than any other.

”We must head to the temple,” Obi-Wan tells him surely, stroking his beard while in thought. Hunter glances back at his teammates before asking another question. “I have a feeling... and if needed, the temple can become a base for now,” he adds.

”As you say, sir,” Hunter agrees, nodding firmly and waiting for Obi-Wan to head first. The Jedi does, and he leads the rest of them over a few buildings and trees. It reminds him of Master Yoda and his mysterious ways to make people freeze their minds when they spot him jumping from tree to another. It makes the younglings giggle, and it once made Anakin stand dumbly with his mouth wide open. Then he had ran to Obi-Wan in the middle of the night saying he had nightmares about Master Yoda swinging in the night.

Upon noticing that Hunter has agreed with him without appearing upset or disgruntled, Obi-Wan takes that as another win on his part. Clone Force 99 seems to slightly respect him which offers a tad bigger insight to giving suggestions to Hunter. Hopefully, however, Hunter listens because he agrees and not simply to follow orders. Obi-Wan appreciates the loyalty given, but sometimes that includes switching plans and decisions to head in a better pathway.

”Uh, General Kenobi?” Tech taps some codes into his datapad, gathering the Jedi’s attention. Obi-Wan turns his head toward the clone with circled glasses in his helmet. He raises an eyebrow, waiting patiently for the man to voice his thoughts. “How exactly are we to enter the temple?”

Obi-Wan pauses and thinks over the question. “Excellent question, Tech... Truthfully, I do not know,” he admits, offering a wry smile.

It is a valid one, considering the doors to the Jedi Temple are not visible at all. Obi-Wan theorizes that with two Jedi Knights gone missing from their posts, this made for the Jedi Temple to close itself off momentarily. Hide from plain sight more than before. There lies no visible entrance. Well, not unless it is similar to the one on Lothal... he has heard that sometimes to open the Temple it requires the use of the Force.

So, maybe...

The Jedi holds out hand and closes his eyes, reaching out toward the Force and putting it all focused to the Temple in front of them. He hears Wrecker ask something to Tech, but their voices slightly fade away in the moment of clarity to center on an entrance they can go through. The Force embraces him warmly, taking in his request at heart with patience and curiosity before the wind shifts around him. As usual, Obi-Wan asks, and the Force complies.

”It’s moving!” Wrecker gasps, nudging Crosshair’s side. The sniper grunts in surprise, his foot slightly shifting to the side but thankfully does not fall off as Wrecker holds onto him. It was a good thing too because then Crosshair would have found a way to get him back one way or another.

Tech watches the temple with awe, fixing the position of his glasses while recording the way the temple rumbles and a few specks of rocks fall, but an entrance appears through the top of the ceiling, the top cylinder having shift slightly to the side. Hunter varies between glancing at General Kenobi and the temple, head tilting to the side at the calmness surrounding the Jedi despite the great work. It was interesting to watch, to say the least.

Once the movement of the hidden entrance stops, the Jedi opens his eyes and glances down at the temple. A short but triumphant smile appears on his face for a total of two seconds before it returns to the calm facade he has been wearing. His eyes wander toward the Bad Batch and he motions forward with his head.

”Well, come on,” Obi-Wan smiles, smoothly passing by Tech and Wrecker before jumping through the entrance made. His feet touch the ground in a gracious manner, all thanks to the Force, and his Jedi robes flaunter in a way that reminds him of his former Padawan saying, ‘it’s like you’re the center of attention and on the Holonet as a model, Master’. It was an interesting way to see it, but despite winning countless of arguments with him, Anakin keeps bringing it up. One simply cannot actually win against a man that does not intend to win but rather annoy instead.

He gazes upwards only to see Wrecker gaping openly toward his direction. His head tilts before he asks, “Would you like some help?”

Before Wrecker can either agree or disagree, Crosshair briefly glances down inside the temple and then pushes Wrecker in. Obi-Wan raises his eyebrows at the tactic, but makes sure to soften the landing as Wrecker’s reaches the ground with imbalance. He stumbles a few steps, but he does not fall forward.

Tech leans forward from up the roof of the temple. “I think we’ve got it, sir,” he responds back for the rest of them. He shrugs uncaringly at Crosshair before fixing his glasses, glancing down at the ground, and then forcing himself to go inside with a slight push. Unlike Wrecker, considering he prepared himself, Tech lands on his feet within a crouch position and then stands up affirmatively.

Crosshair goes next leaving Hunter to be last; though, he takes slightly longer because of his quick analysis around the outside area (to check if there was any unwanted visuals) before he finally gets inside.

Silence lingers around them, but not without cause. Each one of them seems to render themselves speechless, some more than others. Obi-Wan lets himself surround the tranquillity the Force provides within the temple. It is eerily quiet and abandoned, but still kept clean. He had not realized that with the Jedi Knights having been gone, that would mean the Temple Guards would be as well. They are likely to be with the civilians as well. He knows not many reside here like in the Coruscant Temple, but a couple of five of them would still have been beneficiary in normal circumstances.

Normal being the key word. The Clone Wars is not exactly something to back that up.

Still, despite the missing Knights, the temple appears beautiful and ancient. Detailed architecture telling stories, ceilings truly having art inspired by the night skies. Open space in case... mmh, maybe Obi-Wan knows why the Force pushed him to head to the temple. He eyes the batch of clones momentarily, noting their own awed expression (well, for men who determinedly hide their expressions well— except for Wrecker) before he walks around trying to find the cafeteria (or the mess hall, as his men call it aboard the Negotiator).

It does not take long to find the kitchens, and Obi-Wan cannot help but let out a relieved sigh upon noticing piles of boxes containing ration bars. Truly, they likely taste bland and flavorless, but food is food.

”Ooh, food!” Wrecker exclaims, appearing behind the Jedi.

A hand on Wrecker’s arm stops him from continuing any further. Then, another is smacking a single ration bar toward his chest. One that comes from Hunter’s bag rather than the temple’s. Hunter gives his brother a firm look. Wrecker stops what he is doing just to slowly eat the bar given. It earns him a few eye rolls from his brothers.

”The food is not for us, right, General?” Hunter declares, momentarily turning his attention toward Obi-Wan.

The Jedi Master gives him a curious eye before nodding in agreement. “Not exactly. We still have some,” Obi-Wan answers, slightly lying since while he does has some, it most likely will not be enough to have those three meals a day that his men keep a careful look at. But, still. He knows the Bad Batch do have enough for themselves and he will be fine with the Force beside him. “I assume you know what I am thinking, Hunter,” he decides to say.

Hunter crosses his arms before replying slowly, “Considering our mission is to free the civilians, we will have to lead them somewhere safe. They’ll likely be hungry, thirsty, and restless and this place provides what they need.”

Obi-Wan stares at him with an impressed smile. “Yes, exactly—” he starts to agree, ready to devolve into further depth.

Before anything more can be said, his comm begins to flicker alerting him of an incoming call. The Jedi frowns momentarily having feared the worst (like Cody calling him to inform that his men are being deployed to engage General Grievous without him there to try and protect many of them, or a disturbance leading to them being taken out of their temporary free time) before spotting the number coded. Instead of fear or worry taking over, an exasperated sigh escapes him. He holds up his index finger toward his companions before moving to the side and accepting the call.

”— swear I’m going to hunt you down myself,” Anakin Skywalker’s, his former Padawan, voice is heard clearly through the transmission. While he has his hologram on, Obi-Wan does not. They are currently in a safe area, but his former Padawan truly is something else to be reckon with.

Choosing to ignore the words Anakin spoke beforehand, Obi-Wan clears his throat and responds dryly, “Anakin, I do hope you have a perfectly good reason for contacting me. I was led to believe Cody would answer any of your questions.”

His former Padawan’s position loses his stance briefly before he is back to appearing professional. A guilty smile rises on his lips leaving Obi-Wan to internally roll his eyes. Truly, he does not know why he expected otherwise.

”In my defense, Master, Cody isn’t too fond of me so I thought he was just making excuses to get rid of me,” Anakin replies, giving him a sheepish grin.

”I would not blame him,” Obi-Wan sighs, crossing his arms firmly. It was a joke, of course. Kind of. Cody respects Anakin to a certain level, but Obi-Wan has noticed the way he tends to get annoyed sometimes (now that he truthfully cannot blame since he has been with Anakin for eleven years). Anakin gapes at him with an insulted expression before grumbling to himself. “Is there a specific reason you called, Anakin? Are my men okay? Are you?”

Maybe he should have started off with that first... then again, who knows if he would be able to do something. His mission is to help these civilians escape and if they had a problem on Coruscant then— He cannot afford to think such way. Attachments are forbidden for this reason (that is, choosing to ignore the overall objective just to do anything for their loved one). Obi-Wan loves easily, he knows, but he does have some control over himself. Careful to not cross the line over attachment, a different type of love that lies on obsession instead.

“Oh, no. We’re all good, but I was just... confused. You’re on a mission. Without me. Or your men,” Anakin reveals, the distaste of the idea clear on his face.

Times like these reminds Obi-Wan how much attention Anakin used to give him as his former Padawan. He should be able to understand that he has a padawan under his care that would have had to come with them, but also be likely in danger if their plan were to go wrong.

”Well, you were not here, padawan-mine. And I’m not alone. I’d appreciate if you allow me to continue the mission without interruptions,” Obi-Wan declares. It was said in a firm, but gentle way to underline the importance of what he is doing. Anakin seems to understand at the sharp nod given. After a short goodbye between the two, the Jedi Master shakes his head with exasperation before putting away his comm device.

He turns back to the Bad Batch, noticing the way Hunter swipes his hand over the dusty doors and smelling it likely to receive a better sense with his mutations. Tech does not even bother to hide his interest on the temple. Im fact, all of them do seem rather curious about it. Obi-Wan furrows his brows thoughtfully, eyes trailing after the four of them.

”Have you ever been inside a Jedi Temple?” Obi-Wan cannot help but ask, curiosity written all over his usual facade.

Hunter glances back at him and shakes his head in denial. Tech is the one to say, “Not at all, General Kenobi. I had believed only a few troopers were located to guard the area?”

The Jedi Master blinks more than once within five seconds. Although he heard Tech, the words simply did not make sense. A frown touches his lips.

”Just as this one, the temple in Coruscant is open to anyone,” Obi-Wan responds slowly, as if saying it another way will scare off the men. Maybe it is because it reminds him of the time he had to explain it to his men. Earlier on in the war when they found themselves unsure and wary of the Jedi. It was Commander Cody that was first invited in so the two could report to the Council, and then it was Halo as the medic needing his General to be tended, but after Obi-Wan noticed that his other men did not go after them, he made the connections. Waxer and Boil had been one of the first to actually take up on the offer and paved the path for others. It wasn’t too surprising. 

Obi-Wan holds out his arms toward the temple. “Technically, there are no troopers in the Jedi Temple, but that is partially because we have our own temple guards. Only the Coruscant Guards are likely to be in Coruscant at all times... But any who, everyone is welcomed. Well, unless it interferes with safety protocols since we do not want Separatists to simply walk inside the door. Moreover, considering we have younglings to take care of, any visitors are prohibited from being near them unless they are attended with another Jedi Knight. I tend to accompany Waxer and Boil when given the chance; they truly do adore the young ones,” he explains, and a warm smile reaches his lips.

Wrecker widens his eyes and stares at Obi-Wan with clarity. “I want to meet the younglings,” he declares.

Hunter clears his throat, giving a firm look at his strengthened brother. Wrecker ignores it while Obi-Wan keeps the same smile on his lips.

”If you— all of you included— wish to see them and tour around the temple, I’ll be glad to be of assistance,” Obi-Wan offers, an eyebrow raising in response. He notices his own deliberate warmth escaping a little too much causing him to lower his shoulders and be less relaxed in case the four brothers do not share his sentiment. A doubtful look flashes on his eyes. “Unless you’d prefer another Jedi you are acquainted with?”

He had to remind himself of Cody’s words. The Bad Batch do not necessarily work with Jedi, so they might not like his interference and are likely to want to finish the mission already. It would be cruel of him to keep them in an unwanted position.

Hunter inclines his head. “That...” he eyes his brothers briefly before continuing, “I believe we would be glad to take up the offer on your assistance, if we truly are allowed. Our mutations are reasonable explanations to why we cannot, however.”

Obi-Wan hides away the look of horror that threatens to appear on his face. Instead, he lets out a short deep breath before assuring, “You are welcome to come at any given chance. Your mutations does not take away that fact.”

They do not seem to know how to respond, and so they don’t. Not that Obi-Wan minds considering he understands the situation they are in is difficult. Rather than continuing the conversation that will likely result in a bundle of awkwardness between them and the Jedi, Obi-Wan begins to explore further on the temple searching in similar places to items like medical kits, water, and beddings. He figures the temples wouldn’t be completely different when utilizing their items.

The temple truly is a beauty to be caught in sight for.

Windows portrayed a clear view of the towns set below, and he finds it quite beautiful the way the outside has them tinted darkly, but from the inside... clear as day. Plants surrounding the corners of the walls and placed diligently around the circular shapes visible; the life-sensitivity in them easy to detect despite the longing of being taken care for. Though, unlike the temple at Coruscant, this one seems more lonesome. It likely has to do with the fact that all the people of the city has been taken, along with the minimum Jedi visits.

Everyone has been far too busy with the war. All of their attention no longer only resides on the good and peace for the people, but on bloodshed and dirty battles. Jedi Knights, known sentients belonging to being peacekeepers, and now being known as Generals instead.

Though, Obi-Wan has to admit, the Jedi have it easier than the men assigned to them. They are given them choice to leave the Order, thus leaving the war. The clone troopers on the other hand... if they were to leave, they would be called ‘traitors’, ‘deserters’, ‘cowards’. It was not like they were even given a choice to do so. Each day, every time he lets himself think of such fact, Obi-Wan struggles to bite down his disgust.

”We should start heading to destroy the communicator center,” Tech breaks Obi-Wan out of thought, standing affirmatively beside his brothers.

Obi-Wan hums to himself, thinking over the unhinged plan created. Overall, it was basic planning that would cause his commander to lose his usual self-taught patience. Arrive, destroy center, invade droids, and release civilians. Vague, but the overall goal stands firmly.

Noticing the rest of the men fixing their armors, Hunter stares at the quiet and overly calm Jedi. He pauses on doing his own armor. While the General seems to be thinking over something, likely the words Tech said, Hunter wonders what the other man could be thinking to not be entirely in with the plan. After some thought, Hunter clenches his jaw in understanding (or at least, he hopes they have come to the same conclusion).

Hunter takes a step forward and interrupts his brothers, “How about an observation to start it off? Three of us to investigate the surroundings around the center while the other two stay here and prepare the temple for rescue.”

An odd sense of pleasure fills him for a couple of seconds upon the sight of the Jedi’s curious and glistening twinkle on his blue-grey eyes. The rest of his team is staring at him in surprise before Tech nods slowly.

”Yes, I suppose that lets our chances be greater at not being caught,” Tech murmurs thoughtfully.

Hunter takes a brief glance at the Jedi, noticing the way he is being gazed at with wonder before his lips quirk upwards.

”A great idea, Sergeant,” General Kenobi praises. Hunter finds himself about to say, ‘it isn’t something you have not thought of’ despite not truly knowing if he had thought the same. Still, something about the look on the Jedi’s eyes tells him he likely did.

Instead, he voices, “Well, sir. You were right. If we can avoid any unnecessary casualties, then we should.” Hunter cannot help but stare at his brothers, keeping a calm expression on him. All of them tend to listen to him, and while he has pondered about the chance of losing his teammates in one of their battles, General Kenobi has been more open to switching ideas even if it takes longer to complete the mission.

With all eyes on him, Hunter clears his throat and continues, “Crosshair, you’ll go on up high to receive a better view. Tech, if you are able to, you may be able to get a close view and x-ray of the center’s structure to make it easier for us to find the easier and destroyable area. General Kenobi, you go as we—”

Hunter cuts himself off abruptly, his teeth almost biting off his tongue at the sudden movement. His brothers had widened their eyes at him clearly shocked at his slipped words; though, General Kenobi seems to be raising an eyebrow with amusement (or so he truly hopes).

”General, I must apologize for—”

”Sergeant, it is alr—”

“—having ordered you around and removing you from your duty to the temple. It was a slip of the tongue, sir,” Hunter straightens himself over, becoming the stoic representation of a clone trooper, one similar to the regs.

Kenobi frowns slightly before gently responding, “It is alright, dear one. I agree with your assessment.” The older man appears as if he wants to place a warm touch on his shoulder, but thankfully he does not. Instead, he gazes at him sadly before saying, “I trust Wrecker and yourself to not just prepare around the area, but to protect the temple. And fear not, before becoming generals, Jedi were assigned on missions; some of which required for us to do these types of movements.”

Hunter simply blinks at him in silence. There is too much to unwrap from all of what has been said. The very first one, and seriously questionable, are the words the Jedi used to call Hunter. Never before has he heard the words ‘dear one’ be referred to him. That... was certainly something that surprised even Crosshair along the others. If the General talks like that to his men all the time, then it is no wonder why Commander Cody practically throws him heart eyes at any chance given. Well, that and the addition of General Kenobi being a very attractive man.

Moving on, the other surprising thing was the fact that Kenobi does not appear insulted by Hunter ordering him about, nor of his plan. If anything, he rather appears to hopefully make the batch relax. He is being patient and understanding. Really, incredibly different from General Vos.

(Then again, Vos seems indifferent when it comes to the troopers. Except for the Coruscant Guard, last Hunter heard from Cody).

”Why can’t I go?” Wrecker groans, crossing his arms with a forced upset expression.

Hunter had thought on sending Wrecker to be the muscles, but…

”Well, probably because this is more of a stealth mission and you are anything but stealthy,” Tech brings up knowingly, arching an eyebrow as if daring Wrecker to disagree.

Wrecker furrows his brows in surprise before his nose scrunches. “Oh,” he realizes with defeat. His gaze heads toward Hunter. “Then what about you?”

“My skills aren’t needed right now. Crosshair has a clear perspective whether day or night, Tech can gain better information, and General Kenobi has his lightsaber, just in case,” Hunter supplies, though, he sounds a little unsure when involving the Jedi.

The older man himself smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling slightly, before adding, “And the Force is with me.”

All of them share a look; one thing that will never change for the Jedi Generals is their excuse of the so-called Force.

”Of course, sir,” Hunter says dryly. Somehow, that makes General Kenobi chuckle amusingly. Clearly seeing their raised eyebrows, Kenobi shakes his head gently.

”Apologies, you just reminded me of my Commander,” he excuses himself, humor dancing in his eyes. “Good man,” Kenobi murmurs thoughtfully.

Hunter glances at Crosshair, sharing a knowing look between them. Well, almost. The sniper seems more stuck between exasperated and unamused. Mostly because it was obvious the Marshal Commander seems to be a little more than protective of his General.

Now that surely is something to tease the man about. If only because they like Cody in the first place.

“When do we leave?” Kenobi wonders, staring at each of them individually.

Crosshair crosses his arms firmly and responds roughly, “Best to go now while it is getting dark. Less noticeable.”

But more vulnerable to tricks of our own imagination, Obi-Wan cannot help but think. Still, this time does sound like the best choice to continue at a stable pace. In response to Crosshair’s firm suggestion, Obi-Wan nods.

After an agreement that wearing their armor (and Obi-Wan’s Jedi robes) will create noticeable visibility (in the case of the Jedi) and possible noise (for the other two), the other two strip off their pieces. Well, some of it any way. The two mutated clones kept their helmet, for obvious reasons, and shoulder pads. They would have kept their torso piece as well, but if they need to lay among a building or ground, it will create unwanted noise or so is the claim of Crosshair considering he is the sharpshooter.

On the other hand, Obi-Wan fixes the blacks Cody had given him. It fits a little loose proving that his commander is more muscled. Though, Obi-Wan makes it work somehow. He ignores the way that despite it being clean, the clothing still finds a way to remind him of its original owner. His face begins to flush just the slightest on his pale skin when he heads to meet the Bad Batch; they are staring at him unsurprised but also in an eyeing manner.

It is slightly intimidating, but he has seen it countless of times even back with his own men so somewhat normal at that point.

”Ready?” Obi-Wan brings back attention to the manner at hand.

Sharply, they all nod their head in agreement. Wrecker bares him a grinning expression. “You look good in blacks, sir,” he boasts.

Hunter coughs, “Wrecker.” 

The Jedi offers the two of them a smile. “Oh, it’s fine, Hunter. And I assume the same can be said to you, Wrecker.”

For the rest of the time being, Wrecker kept the same twinkle on his eyes unknowingly alerting the rest of his teammates that High General Obi-Wan Kenobi has won over their muscle of the group.

*

The world, as expected, sounds quiet. Most specifically, the air around them has loss its heat with the dark skies growing upon them. This type of weather reminds Obi-Wan that he cannot handle freezing weather. At the moment, it is average, of course. Only the fresh breeze makes him shudder slightly, but he would have been fine with his robes.

Unfortunately, he currently does not have them on. While knowing that the vode tend to exert more heat than anyone else, Obi-Wan does not hold the same relief. Cody’s blacks might have been enough to keep him good, but since the person itself is missing from said cloth, he suffers with little breaths escaping him every once and a while when the wind brushes over.

”I will need to get closer in order to receive the building’s data structure,” Tech whispers, a hard look of determination on his face. He holds the datapad close to his chest as if it is his most precious item. Considering he has a great deal of knowledge, Obi-Wan can see why. He lets himself chuckle lightly.

Crosshair glances up at one of the taller buildings, likely handing him a better view than any other. The sniper turns back to his brother, hand motioning some codes Obi-Wan does not know considering it is between the two men, before heading to leave.

Fortunately, someone had noticed his confusion.

”Crosshair,” Tech hisses, and he offers the Jedi an apologetic look.

The gray-haired man pauses right where he stands, hand clutching onto his bared side. Considering his face is covered, Obi-Wan cannot see his expression, but he senses his apprehension. Truthfully, he can see why. He is not Hunter. To them, Hunter is their leader despite being ‘order-less’. Maybe they will not admit it, but they always turn to the half-skull faced man when wanting to follow up on their mission.

As he said, he is not Hunter.

”Going up will help take out any droids we see and has more ground visible,” Crosshair says stiffly, feet glued to the ground. 

Obi-Wan frowns, stroking his beard while taking in the words being said. It makes sense, of course. Crosshair has great aim and a skill of being in heights, but something does not feel quite right about it. An itch appearing on the inside of his mind as if he needs to be more than wary, more watchful than normal. A warning, more like it.

”Yes, but…” he starts to say, trying to refute the man’s idea. However, through the Force, he senses Crosshair’s growing distrust, and so he stops himself from continuing. A sigh escapes him knowing that he would not be able to explain his own reasonings and with the batch being knowing to have their own orders, Obi-Wan’s words would have no effect. “Of course,” he agrees hesitantly.

Not even one second later, Crosshair starts up his own mission again. Obi-Wan watches him leave before glancing back at Tech. The goggles-wearing clone already has his eyes on him, curious and slightly apologetic.

”Well, sir,” Tech clears his throat, “I’ll get that intel as soon as possible.”

The awkwardness insults the Jedi, but he lets it slide. These troopers are not the same as his, none of them are. However, he was still easy to adapt in different situations no matter the circumstance. While raising his hand in a movement of agreement, Tech heads his own way leaving Obi-Wan by himself.

In order to ignore the wind making him shiver, Obi-Wan sneaks by forward and ducks down. A few battle droids are out keeping watch, entertained by their own boredom. Three of them are right in front of his view, but he knows they are not the only ones. His eyes wander toward Tech, watching quietly as he takes small and silent steps toward the communication center. His helmet covers his face, but Obi-Wan imagines he does not find the situation appealing. They need to be taken care of.

The Jedi lets his eyes wander around his surroundings before noticing a barrel nearby. Wanting to bring attention out of Tech’s position, Obi-Wan raises his hand and pulls onto the imaginary string. The barrel topples over and rolls a little farther to the side, opposite of where Tech is sneaking by and closer to Crosshair’s view.

”Did you hear that?” One of the battle droid asks another one of its companions.

The other droid, if possible, appears a little shaken. “It was just the wind,” it excuses.

Obi-Wan moves the barrel once more causing for the three droids to look at each other.

”Should we go check it out?”

”We do need to, but I do not want to.”

”It’s this or we lose our promotion,” another replies.

Quite honestly, Obi-Wan pities them for their programming. They would have been interesting droids— annoying, yes— to interact with. Luckily, for him, the three droids head toward the noise and when in sight, all three of them end up in the ground faster than one can say ‘incoming attack!’. Their mechanical parts land with a thud alerting more to come.

Well, that was not ideal, but at least Tech was able to sneak by without problem.

Crosshair seems to be handling well at his own terms. Though, Obi-Wan still senses something bad. He would love to say the words ‘I’ve got a bad feeling about this’, but he can practically hear Cody’s exasperated sigh as he would claim voicing such words give them bad luck.

Not that Obi-Wan believes much in luck either way.

Up, the Force instructs gently. Obi-Wan pauses in confusion, but he does not disobey. He realizes Crosshair handles the droids well enough on his own, destroying them with quick skill, and so he gazes up at the building. The first one is only a few jumps away from where Crosshair is. It’ll do better to get from one to the other as the beginning of their arrival.

Obi-Wan climbs up through the vines of trees and reaches the rooftop, wishing deeply that he had his robes with him in order to keep himself warm. Though, Cody’s blacks have sleeves sticking onto him which is good. It is not too tight, unfortunately, considering his commander has more visible muscles, but it works. Keeping his breaths quiet and even, Obi-Wan begins to run among the roof. He calculates briefly before jumping to another. Recognizing that he risks being visible being all the way at top, he recalls back to his training while a padawan. Easily enough, Obi-Wan manages to bring himself into a wall run, running against the side of the wall and using the Force to keep himself from falling over. He practically disobeys the basic law of physics that civilians manages to learn at a young age.

Though, it was always fun doing the wall run. Keeps him entertained even in the roughest of missions.

His hand reaches for his lightsaber just in time to see that a battle droid has spot him up in the room. Despite still jumping from one building to another using the help of the Force wall run, he activates the glowing blue saber and deflects a blast, sending it right back at the droid and destroying it. Noticing they have seen a Jedi, Obi-Wan is quick to throw his lightsaber at the droids out in the ground, swinging it carefully and with ease as it hisses through the hair and slices through the droids. Then, with the Force, he calls his saber right back at him.

Once it reaches back to him, Obi-Wan secures his lightsaber and turns it off. The illuminating of his saber and light hisses are likely to cause more problems than not with this supposedly being a sneaking mission. It is anything but discreet. Despite what he thought earlier, Obi-Wan cannot help but whisper out loud:

”I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

He jumps to another building, the one Crosshair is laying down in, and then uses the Force to stop one of the blaster hits to go through them. Crosshair takes out some more droids, but considering a few of them have seem to realize something is up there attacking them (but they are not clearly visible, hidden under the dark light arising and shadows of trees), more than one hit starts to fly for them.

Not wanting to risk their mission by alerting the droids of clones and Jedi being on the way, Obi-Wan places back his lightsaber in his belt and uses both hands to push back the blasts right back at them.

”I have this handled,” Crosshair whispers sharply, ignoring the fact that Obi-Wan is a Jedi (which, is fine, truly).

”I don’t doubt it,” Obi-Wan replies, smirking toward the sniper. He keeps using the Force, flicking back the blasts and making sure his reflexes are quick and unstoppable. Crosshair continues on his own, keeping attention toward the front.

The Jedi slowly begins to frown, sensing a growing ache on his mind. More droids have begun to appear, all of them still left clueless before anything can be done, but enough to get them to act faster. His eyes widen in disbelief as one of the roofs open up from the top, and three droids take their head out first in confusion before quickly acting. Fortunately, Obi-Wan takes care of them before anything can be done.

DANGER.

With his arms held out to fight back against the droids, Obi-Wan was a little preoccupied to find out where it was coming from.

DANGER.

Until the Force practically screamed at him, and within an instant, Obi-Wan knew where the danger was meant to be headed for. He snaps his head toward Crosshair, remembering that he only wears his helmet and shoulder pads which meant if he was hit he’d die if it was straight through the heart and he’s busy destroying the few droids in the side so he does the only thing available.

Obi-Wan pushes himself in front of Crosshair’s back and takes the impact for him, groaning at the immediate pain growing on his shoulder (thank the Force it was only the shoulder). Though, Obi-Wan is not exactly the ‘luckiest’ and his feet stumbles back, throwing him off balance. He senses Crosshair’s growing shock, but he ignores it with realization that if they do not handle all the droids visible to them then they will have ruined their mission. So, with the strength he really should use to save himself from having an awful fall, Obi-Wan clenches his fist and focuses on the droids.

In a matter of seconds, all the droids in their area are crushed completely and utterly without a word to be said.

And Obi-Wan... he falls, landing right on the side of his new-born injury and curses out words in mando’a.