Chapter Text
Cody had felt a sense of foreboding the entire time they had been on Utapau. Something was going to go wrong, he could just feel it. That was why he chose not to return Obi-Wan's lightsaber after he defeated Grievous, finally. He wanted to have an edge if he needed it.
The lightsaber hummed in agreement. What had started as a faint 'is that my imagination' impression had recently become 'no, I definitely can hear the kyber singing. Why? I'm not force sensitive.'
Obi-Wan could only speculate, but was happy enough that they could date and that it was because his lightsaber had liked Cody so much. They had kept the relationship secret, acting oblivious to the others feelings or teasing back depending on their mood.
They had managed to get a hold of the betting pool, and decided to let Mace Windu have this one for how much he had to deal with. He was one of the ones who predicted there was a secret relationship they would only reveal at the end of the war. They had toyed with the idea of letting the tooka out of the bag earlier, but ultimately decided that they wanted Mace to win the pool.
Cody's comm beeped as he watched Obi-Wan take off on Boga to check on other parts of the battlefield. He answered it without a second thought even as his gut was screaming at him that this was what he had been worried about. There was a hooded figure.
“The time has come. Commander Cody, execute Order 66.” His heart stopped, and programming started to take over, but before the chip could fully direct him to follow the Order, a song broke through the control, giving Cody strength to fight it.
He collapsed on the ground clutching his head with his hands- one holding the lightsaber. His head hurt as he fought whatever that thing was in his head, echoes of 'good soldiers follow orders' going and going... Knowledge that had been suppressed flooded his mind.
Then... Obi-Wan was there, pushing it back. Cody took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do. He lifted his comm and sent out a GAR wide message, grateful that he had that ability. “Execute order 33,” he stated, praying he was in time to stop all his brothers from harming their Jedi. Praying that it would work coming from him. He thought it might, from the sudden info dump, but he wasn't entirely certain. Order 33 was one of the orders that disengaged the control, though it also came with the knowledge that whoever issued the last order is a traitor to the Republic.
Cody looked up at Obi-Wan, who had removed his helmet. His face was full of worry, a hand on his head. “There's something in my head. Get it out, get it out. I...” He tried to take a few deep breaths, but to his horror ended up bursting into tears instead. At least he had managed to control himself to issue a counter order, somehow. The lightsaber had saved him, apparently.
Obi-Wan pulled Cody into his lap, and closed his eyes, looking for the source of the malevolent feeling he had felt spreading through Cody, that he had felt Cody fighting. He found it, a source of darkness, a bit of metal tied up with the brain matter. They could remove it, though he imagined that came with risks. He reached out with the Force, poking at it to get an idea of what he was dealing with.
He glanced up at the approach of Helix and Bones. “One moment, let me deal with something, then I will explain what I can.” He wrapped the Force around the metal, smothering the darkness with his Light and forced the chip to crumple. He could tell the moment that it worked because there was a pause in Cody's sobs as he clung to Obi-Wan, and the pain he had been radiating dimmed.
Obi-Wan breathed. “Okay, who heard what happened?”
“I think everyone in the GAR got both messages,” Boil whispered, bucket off, shell shocked expression as his legs gave out.
“Everyone...” Obi-Wan closed his eyes and reached out, and yes, every single trooper had that same feeling in the Force. “Dammit.” He took another deep breath. He pulled out his comm and typed up an urgent message for the Council about it, and what he had done for Cody. “I think I managed to break Cody's. He was in pain before, and now is not.” He hesitated then sent off a message to Anakin.
Cody nodded, pulling away, but not quite willing to let go of Obi-Wan, recognizing how close he had come to losing both his lover and himself. “I don't feel it anymore. I had to fight it to get out that second order. I only was able to fight it because of your lightsaber,” he added gratefully.
“Of course.” Obi-Wan smiled slightly. His eyes widened and he quickly scrambled to write a message off to Ahsoka, hoping she'd be able to pull it off as well, and she'd be out of the loop because she wasn't a Jedi anymore.
“We almost killed you.” Waxer whispered, staring at his hands. “Order 66- the Jedi are traitors, kill them.”
Obi-Wan stared and wrapped his arms tighter around Cody. “Who?” he growled.
“It... He was wearing a hood.” Cody explained hesitantly, tears done flowing but still drying on his face. “But... there's a list of people we were supposed to take orders from- including any clone higher ranked or the same ranking, that's how I was able to issue an order. But um...” He frowned. “Maul, Tyrannus, Ventress, The Chancellor, Palpatine, Dooku, Sidious... Um... I think some of the Kaminoans are on the list too? It gets fuzzy after that.”
Obi-Wan frowned as Helix started looking over Cody, while Bones went to help any of the vode that he could. Most were sitting in shock, because they had heard the order from Cody then Order 33. It was good the medics were so well trained, or the 212th would not be in good shape.
“Dooku is Tyrannus... And why is both the Chancellor and Palpatine on the list?” he mused. “The chancellor is Palpatine... but if the Sith Lord names need their actual names as well in case... then... could he be Sidious?”
“I don't really care right now,” Cody groaned. “I just want to get off this karking planet and make sure everyone is okay.”
Obi-Wan nodded. “That's fair.” He looked to Helix and waited.
“He seems fine, but I want to run scans to be sure, since there was a chip you destroyed.” Helix glowered at him.
Obi-Wan held up his hands. “It was a bio chip, it's connected to your brains. I understand you want to remove them, but for now, why don't I kill some on a schedule you create to avoid getting exhausted, so that you and the rest of them get some peace of mind. Just be fair to the ones you think need it faster than others.”
Helix stared at him, then nodded. “Fine. We'll do that. I'll still be looking at proper surgeries with the other medics. Now, you should stay with him, make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and someone else can wrap this up.”
“Understood.” Obi-Wan looked over to Waxer. “Are you up for this, or should I get someone else?”
Waxer shook his head and stood up. “No, I can handle it. Someone has to.” He gave Cody a sympathetic look. Even if no one knew they were dating, their feelings for each other were pretty legendary at this point. It was bad enough to them that they almost killed their general, Cody had to feel worse.
Obi-Wan supported Cody over to one of the ships. He paused and commed Wooley to get the ship he had used back to the Negotiator. Wooley was delighted to see him okay, then solemnly agreed to do so.
Just after getting settled on the ship, and waiting for others to join them, Obi-Wan's comm beeped. He answered it. Mace appeared, looking worse for wear (was he missing a hand?), being supported by Anakin, who seemed shell shocked. “The war is over,” he stated. “The Chancellor was the Sith.”
Obi-Wan froze. “It's over, what about the Separatists?”
“Sidious was in charge of that side, remember,” Mace sighed. “So, yes, the war is over. I'm recalling anyone not fighting an active battle. Especially in light of the message you sent about the control chips.”
Obi-Wan nodded absently, turning to Cody. Troopers were filling up the ship, but he wasn't concerned with that. He knew just what Cody needed, and with the war over... He smirked. “Mace, I believe you are about to win a bet.”
A look of confusion crossed the master's face. Obi-Wan pulled Cody to him and kissed hm. There was no hesitation in Cody as he returned it, arms wrapping around familiarly. After a few seconds, they pulled away and rested their foreheads together just to share the quiet moment of relief, sharing strength.
“WHAT THE KRIFF?” Anakin yelled. Any clone on the ship that hadn't noticed the kiss was now looking. Mace looked smug.
Obi-Wan snickered. Cody gave Anakin a Look. “You really think Obi-Wan would never date anyone?”
Anakin sputtered. “But the Code...” Mace smacked his face with his uninjured hand.
Cody sighed. “You do realize that everyone knows about you and Padme, right? You're not as subtle as you think you are. It's fine.”
“Yes, I'll be along later to explain to you and Padme exactly what the Code forbids, and the difference between love and attachment. Which I've given you before. But now maybe with a proper example you might actually get it this time.”
Anakin stared. Then he rubbed the back of his neck with the hand not supporting Mace. “Um, is this a bad time to let you know that Padme, my wife, is pregnant?”
Obi-Wan grinned. “Well, I'm glad I went with Quinlan's bet on this one. I think we can say that Anakin finally admitted to the marriage when he became a father.” He was talking to Mace, who had a sour expression on his face.
“I'm not sure it should count, since the kids aren't even here yet,” Mace argued stubbornly.
“Oh, I'm sure we can work something out. You look like you need to see a healer.”
Anakin paled. “Right, Master, we'll get going right away.” He ended the call without even saying good bye.
Obi-Wan shook his head as Cody scooted closer. He wrapped an arm around Cody. “Well, at least the war is over now. I can't believe Anakin is going to be a father.” He shook his head.
“What the kriff...” Crys stared at them with shock. “You two, just kissed, and act like it's nothing?”
“Well, I did say Mace was about to win a bet.”
“You knew about that? Then... wait if he won then...” A good amount of the troopers groaned.
Cody cackled. “Oh I can't wait to tell Rex... and Fox... and Wolffe... This is going to be glorious.”
Obi-Wan nodded and grinned. “It's going to be amazing, but first we have to deal with the aftermath of the war, we should check in with everyone.”
Cody blinked then checked his comm and winced. Several missed messages. He should not have been surprised.
Meanwhile Obi-Wan sighed at the messages. Quite a few Jedi were lost before Cody was able to counteract the order. But, the number might never reach a hundred, instead of the genocide it could have been. He frowned when he got to one frantic message from Padawan Dume- his master had been hit almost immediately (and died), and then the clones stopped going after him and were now absolutely refusing to be near him, aside from the Bad Batch who hadn't been affected as far as they could tell. He sighed and started typing out a message.
“You need to let Commander Grey know that he needs to get himself together. He has a panicky padawan on his hands. He can't avoid Padawan Dume the whole trip back to Coruscant, even if Clone Force 99 is there to help,” he told Cody before continuing with the message- reassurances, letting Caleb know that the war was in fact over, giving him a cliff notes version on the chips and a note that it can be destroyed with the Force, but he maybe wouldn't have the control to do it. If the medics were up to it, they could remove them instead.
“Bly nearly killed General Secura, but my message got through before they could do more than shoot her twice,” Cody reported. “He's not happy.”
“Understandable. I think we should recall all forces that have injured, and any that don't need to at least stand down,” Obi-Wan responded absently, now corresponding with Mater Yoda to coordinate the troops, as they were the most readily available of the Council at this time.
“Poor Wolffe,” Cody murmured, staring at his comm.
“Plo?” Obi-Wan asked worriedly.
“My attempt to derail the order came through almost too late, he was able to keep the shot from a direct hit, but it had been too late to avoid hitting General Koon at all. Koon was able to eject himself, and they're looking for him now.”
Obi-Wan grimaced. “That's unfortunate...” He stared at the comm, then sighed. “Looks like we've lost some of your brothers when the Jedi they were serving with protected themselves. I'm not seeing any commanders, yet, but it could happen. Be ready.”
Cody snorted at the most recent comm that came in for him. “Seems Clone Force 99 was not affected, aside from Crosshair getting some of it. They're pretty surprised, and confused about what happened. They've also decided to protect Commander Dume in the meantime. I'm giving them a sitrep then I'm sending out a message to all officers that I am dealing with the after effects here, and with all pertinent information. I will be unavailable for at least twelve hours. That should give me enough time to get some sleep.”
Obi-Wan nodded, pulling Cody closer. “That is a good plan. I have said much the same to Master Yoda, as he is still perfectly fine, though he did nearly kill Commander Gree. Meanwhile, I did just finish off Grievous.”
“That means cuddling time right?” Cody sighed.
“Once we're back on the ship, yes. Hopefully things will settle down once we get everyone on board. I trust the medics to see to the chip situation, and others can run the ship just fine back to Coruscant.”
“We're ready to leave.” The pilot announced.
“Good, then let's go.” Obi-Wan ordered, then rested his head on Cody's and closed his eyes, letting the exhaustion sink in. The last few months had been miserable with sleep hard to come by. Now, he could finally rest. Yoda had practically ordered him to.
They had made it back to the ship when Cody stopped, eyes wide. “I haven't heard anything from Rex yet, have you heard from Ahsoka?”
Obi-Wan stiffened then forced himself to take a breath. “Let's get back to our room, then we'll try calling them.”
“Good plan.”
They did some exhausted coordinating with the men, told the medics they would be up in ten to twelve hours to take care of things, and that would be when Obi-Wan started disabling the chips if they needed him to. Then they headed off to their room, ignoring all the mutterings about how sickeningly cute they were being. How this was somehow worse than the dancing around.
The two of them did some quick post battle clean up and took care of minor injuries (bruises and cuts), then settled on the bed with their comms to attempt their calls. They were leaning on each other for support. At first, neither of them got a response. They stared at each other then looked to their comms and individually debated on if they should try again so soon.
Then Obi-Wan's buzzed. He took a breath in and answered it. Ahsoka flickered to life in his hand. She looked exhausted. She didn't even seem to notice Cody with his head just below Obi-Wan's as they leaned back on the pillows and wall.
“We... we could be better Master, and Rex has asked that I have you let Cody know that he is also okay.”
Cody lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Tell that di'kut he can tell me himself, I'm sure he's still around.”
Ahsoka jumped and then gaped. “C-Cody! What are you doing with Master Kenobi?”
Obi-Wan chuckled and ran his hand through Cody's hair. “It's Obi-Wan, remember, and Mace won that bet you all had going.”
Rex moved into view suddenly. “What?! You two knew!” he pointed at them angrily. Then he deflated. “How long?”
“Oh, since Obi-Wan talked me into teasing you back with all the mocking I got when everyone learned I'd learned to use his lightsaber.” Cody smiled innocently. Then he sighed. “Was Order 33 fast enough for you? I know it wasn't fast enough for many.”
“I don't know how you did it, but it helped, a lot,” Rex admitted. “I was already fighting it, which gave Ahsoka time to escape. We... still lost some of the men, about twenty, but it could have been a lot worse.”
“I was considering releasing Maul,” Ahsoka added in. “What can you tell me about everyone else?”
“I know some of the Masters were already arresting the Chancellor and were injured, though I only know that Mace lost a hand, and Anakin was there as well. We lost some Jedi, mostly masters and knights, but a couple of padawans as well. It could have been a lot worse.” Obi-Wan grimaced, remembering some of the messages he had been fielding. “For now, we just wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I have a massive migraine from fighting off the chip long enough to get that order out, and we're both exhausted, so we're going to sleep now.”
“Sleep well then, we'll be in touch.” Ahsoka promised.
.
They had made it back to Coruscant as soon as they could. Obi-Wan, once he'd gotten sleep, had been fielding near constant messages, much like the available members of the Council. Two had died during the confrontation of Palpatine, Kit was in a bacta tank and it was uncertain on if he'd live, and Depa and one other were dead from Order 66. Mace was available half the time, since he was still waiting on a prosthetic.
Anakin was barely a Council member; he hadn't gotten used to their duties yet (and was in a weird place being the odd thirteenth member as they hadn't actually needed another Council member). That left Plo Koon, who was recovering from his injuries and couldn't dedicate much more time than Mace, Obi-Wan, Stass Allie, Shaak Ti, Yoda (who seemed rather out of it and never did as much of the communication side as the rest), and Ki-Adi Mundi.
It still took a full day before he touched down on the planet's surface. Obi-Wan had Cody accompany him while their men remained in orbit, since their fate was a bit on the balance. Obi-Wan knew that the clones had plans on evacuating, plans to get their brothers on Coruscant out. Plans on helping out the Jed if they needed it.
Obi-Wan didn't think they'd need help, and he thought that with the turmoil of the Chancellor being revealed as the mastermind behind the war (Fox had gleefully shown everyone all the hiding spots the Chancellor used), there would be a lot in support of giving the clones rights, and even if not, the Jedi did have paperwork that showed the clones as part of the Order anyways.
Regardless, Obi-Wan just wanted Cody by his side for the upcoming meeting. It was going to be insane. They had to regroup, discuss what to do next, discuss replacements for the Council (and he knew Anakin wanted to resign now that he had finally acknowledged that he wasn't ready to be a master), sort out what to do with any remaining battles, and all of the clones, and most importantly, figure out who was going to represent the Order to the Senate and what they were going to say.
He let out a breath when he saw the message on his comm. “Change of plans, Cody, let's go find some food. Plo Koon will be here in two hours, and Stass Allie will arrive in one. The meeting has been postponed until they're able to make it to the meeting. No point in having them be there by holo when they're going to be here so soon.”
“Well, food would be nice,” Cody agreed. “Anything else you were thinking of doing?”
“Well, I'd like to go replace my robe, and get you a set of casual clothes.”
“I don't-”
“Cody.” Obi-Wan interrupted. “We want the you and your brothers to feel comfortable and like you're a part of the Order. Because on paper, you are. It wasn't hard, seeing as the contract was specifically that you were for the Order, and if it weren't for some contracts we signed for the Senate years ago, you would've never been a part of the war. So, you are a Jedi, and deserve to try normal clothes for once.”
“And if I'm more comfortable in armor?”
Obi-Wan grimaced. “I suppose we can make do. You wouldn't be the only ones in the galaxy to wear armor most of the time. I still want you to have that option, though, and maybe we can come up with some sort of compromise on style. After all... You no longer will have to worry about GAR restrictions.”
“Are you sure we won't need to be fighting a war anymore? How will you get us out of that?”
“Shouldn't be too hard, I have some plans, don't you worry. I know the others-particularly Plo- have their own plans to propose as well. Between all of us, and with your input, and likely at least Wolffe's as well, I think we can come up with an iron clad way to get you out of the clutches of the Senate.” At Cody's raised eyebrow, he sighed. “The most basic idea I have is the contract with the Senate that requires us to serve in their forces when there is a war. There is no more war, the Separatists have surrendered. Therefore, we are all released from fighting.”
Cody blinked. “Huh. But what stops them from doing that again?”
“Renewing our agreement with the Senate,” Obi-Wan replied. “The last agreement signed was over a century ago. Sure we've been restricted a lot more than we realized, but those were rules forced on us by the Senate, but nothing completely binding. We didn't want to draw their attention to that, so some of us have been biding our time. Now come on, we should go enjoy getting food.”
“Sure, sure. You just want an excuse to do something date like in the open.”
Obi-Wan grinned. “Maybe. Just a little. Besides, seeing us will reassure those who are here- especially the padawans and initiates if they are also getting food.”
“Well, what about the thing about our relationship getting approved?”
“Started the paperwork months ago, and officially sent it in when we woke from our nap.”
“Oh, good. So there's going to be a lot of hoops to jump through, right? What about missions?”
“Honestly, I have no idea. It could go either way. They don't usually approve missions, but this isn't normal times. They don't even always approve of the relationship; sometimes it never makes it past the initial paperwork. I think there's going to be some debate though- Yoda is pretty much always against relationships from what I've seen, and Ki-Adi Mundi generally doesn't agree with taking risks, if it wasn't for the survival of his species, I'm not sure he'd ever have considered a relationship. But... there's going to be bigger issues for a while, so I'm not terribly concerned with it right now.”
“You mean they're not about to kick two Councilors out especially when both of them are the poster boys of the Order have a lot of accomplishments behind them?”
Obi-Wan laughed. “Precisely.” They got their food and looked around. Obi-Wan brightened when he saw a group of initiates. “Let's go sit with them.” He led the way over.
Cody blinked in surprise but followed uncertainly, not used to dealing with younglings. He memorized their names, but otherwise let Obi-Wan direct the conversation. He enjoyed watching his cyare interact with them, talking about the war, and their classes, and their progress. Then they started asking him questions and he had to engage in conversation, no matter how awkward that felt.
It felt like ages before Obi-Wan rescued him and told the initiates they had some other things they had to get to, fielding their disappointment like a champ and promising to visit as soon as he could manage. Cody blinked at his own empty tray, wondering how he had finished while fielding all the questions.
It was as they were walking down the hall to the Quartermasters that Obi-Wan finally spoke. “So... what did you think of the initiates?” he sounded almost shy.
Cody tilted his head. “Well, a few of them have sense, and they're pretty cute... I'm glad none of them will really know about war, except for the five that ran into trouble with Ahsoka. Why?”
Obi-Wan did not answer right away. “Which ones did you like the most?”
Cody had a feeling he was being led somewhere but couldn't quite figure out the angle. “That Nautolan boy, Zatt was it? He reminded me a bit of you and Skywalker at the same time. There was that twi'lek, she seemed to have a good head on her shoulders.” He shrugged. “The others... too bossy, or too shy, or too... much. Excitable? Bouncy?” He made a face.
Obi-Wan laughed. “Initiate Zatt is one I've had my eye on for a while, even when I thought I was going to get Ahsoka. I'm glad you like him. What would you say if I chose to take him as a padawan?”
Cody's mind short circuited. He had known it would be possible that Obi-Wan would take a padawan again, but hadn't really considered fully what that would mean for them. That it would mean bringing a youngling into their lives, to raise. He took a deep breath. “Are you asking me to coparent?”
“Essentially, yes.” Obi-Wan chuckled.
“I... it might be a bit too soon, but, I would love that.” Cody smiled. “Initiate Zatt would be fun to help you raise and train. I'll probably need some materials on what's age appropriate, but I think we can do it. When?”
Obi-Wan half-shrugged. “Soon. I'll put in my interest so that it's on record if something comes up, but I need to help with some of the recovery before I can put in the time with a padawan. I might be able to do so within a month, but it depends on what they have me doing, and if it's feasible to have a eleven year old hanging around, or if you and I can alternate who's with him and teaching him.”
“Will that be allowed? Me doing a lot of his training?”
“Yes, there is precedence. Of course, I need to be doing most of the work or delegating according to what's best for him, and he will have a training bond with me. Mostly, it doesn't matter who does parts of the train, so long as someone does it, and I do the choosing of who, and later on, allow him greater freedom to choose what to train in. Because masters are expected to ask for help as needed with padawans; they are not their students, and therefore, of course can't meet all needs. Since we're together, and will be married one day, your help will be more expected than not.”
Cody grinned. “I can deal with that.”
“Ah here we are.”
Obi-Wan opened the door to the Quartermaster and got his cloak squared away quickly while Cody searched around for some clothes to try that wouldn't make him too uncomfortable.
He ended up with an ensemble in a gold close to 212th gold with silverish and blue accents. Obi-Wan helped him try it on, and he looked at all angles before agreeing to it. They had to make a quick stop to drop off his armor (though he insisted on keeping his vambraces on at least). It was taking a little bit of getting used to, but the robes weren't too bad. He hadn't realized that not having clothes cling to him could feel so nice, almost better in a way.
“How much time is left before the meeting?” Cody asked.
Obi-Wan checked and sighed. “Less than half an hour. We better start making our way there.”
Cody nodded. “So, what will the men be doing if there's no fighting?”
“Hopefully, running relief missions. I'll join where I can, and if I take on Initiate Zatt, he will join us as well. Although, junior padawans are on a quarterly schedule normally where they take classes one quarter, the next is missions, then classes again. That way there's no need to worry about classes while on missions. And they don't get too many long missions. The only times I was out of Temple longer than the three months was when missions went wrong, and it was certainly not planned.”
“They'll be thrilled to have a little commander running around.” Cody grinned. “I know they were jealous of other units.”
“I know. I wasn't very willing to bring a young padawan into war. Ahsoka was an exception because she was running out of time, and Plo actually asked me to consider it. I was, without telling anyone, on the list to take a padawan on if they lost their master during the war, though. It could've happened, but it did not. A lot of padawans without masters were snapped up quickly, and others refused to get a new master so soon.”
“That's too bad. But, it opens the way for us to have a padawan now, so I can't complain.” Cody tilted his head at Obi-Wan. “Although, I am wondering why you needed my input. Doesn't the Force communicate these things?”
Obi-Wan grimaced. “Unfortunately, sometimes the Force can draw me in multiple directions, and I felt like several of the initiates could have been my padawan. Initiate Katooni was one of them, and I was heavily considering her, but I also could feel that Zatt and I were rather compatible. And they weren't the only ones.
“You were right about the traits many have, including Katooni, she is rather bossy, and I am not sure that being my padawan would help that trait of hers. One day she'll be a good leader, but I think she'd do better under a Knight who wasn't already a leader.” He sighed. “But I could not put that feeling aside until you said something.”
“So, it's not an instant, 'this is my padawan?'” Cody inquired in surprise.
“Oh, it can be. I actually felt a bit like Anakin was mine to train when I met him. I don't like how it happened, and I think the Council would've been better off putting him with the initiates for two years, to give him the chance to integrate better, and give me a chance to grow into a Knight, but...” Obi-Wan shrugged.
“It did not work out that way. Quinlan knew from the moment he met Aayla when she was a toddler that he would train her one day. He was still a padawan at the time. But others... it can be pushed and ignored, sometimes it depends on the path you want to take. Sometimes it can be hard to read the Force and it's warnings. And sometimes... there can be an amount of good and negative about a potential initiate that's equal to another, so there's no good way to make the decision.”
“So the Force was pushing you several different directions, but you had to make the decision on which one was the best one for you and the initiate on your own. You could've worked with Initiate Katooni on her bossiness, and it would've worked out fine. But equally, Initiate Zatt has some insecurity issues and likes to rely on technology.”
“That is a good summary, yes. A little more to it but I think as good as you'll get it without learning Force theory. And now time to shift focus to the meeting at hand.”
Cody merely nodded as they entered the Council room. It looked like they weren't the first ones there, but they weren't the last either. Mace was in his seat with Padawan Dume clinging to him and Commander Grey was standing behind them, looking uncomfortable in robes a similar style to the padawan's. Yoda was in place, as was Ki-Adi Mundi. Shaak Ti would be calling in, but hadn't appeared yet.
Obi-Wan got settled in his chair and pulled out his holopad to put in his interest in for Zatt through the appropriate channels. Then he turned to Mace and the padawan. “How are you two doing?” he asked gently.
“Better, thank you,” Caleb responded quietly. “Talking to you right after helped.” Grey flinched.
“I'm as well as I can be considering,” Mace stated. He looked Obi-Wan up and down. “It seems that a lot of shatterpoints have either disappeared or shattered as a result of the events. With all those different outcomes... I'm glad it turned out to be as minor as it did.” He looked to Cody. “And thank you for your quick thinking. How did you fight the Order?”
Cody managed not to make a face. “I would prefer to share the details with the Council when it has gathered, sir.”
“I understand.” Mace nodded.
Anakin walked in, looking very exhausted. He immediately walked over to Obi-Wan. “Padme is in labor,” he whispered. “She said since her water hasn't broke,” here he looked very confused by his own words, “it could still be hours and hours yet, so as long as I leave as soon as she calls, or this meeting doesn't last more than three or four hours I'm good. But. Um. What do I do?”
Obi-Wan sighed, placed his hand on Anakin's shoulder and looked him in the eye. “It's time to come clean. You have my support.”
Anakin flinched. “But... what if they ask me to leave?”
“If they ask you to leave, I'll probably be leaving too,” Obi-Wan admitted. “Because for all that you did something questionable, you still did your duty reasonably well most of the time. And very rarely was it because of your relationship that you failed badly.”
“I suppose...” Anakin looked nervous. “But when do I bring it up? Right away? I mean, I might have to rush out.”
“Wait for it. I was planning on bringing it up, anyways. Besides, I don't think there will be a strong push to remove us from even the Council for it.”
“Okay, okay. Right, I forgot about that.” He glanced up at Cody and did a double take. He grinned. “Rex is going to love that.”
Cody grimaced a little at the teasing coming his way. “He's not here yet, so I don't have to worry about it yet. Besides, look at Grey. And Wolffe,” he added, seeing Wolffe grumpily walk in.
Wolffe was supporting Plo, and they clearly had made a few stops already. It seemed that Plo had also convinced his commander to wear Jedi robes, and Wolffe was not very pleased about it. The brown, red, and gray combination did rather work for him, though. He relaxed minutely when he noticed that he was not the only clone dressed that way, though he remained glued to Plo's side. Cody knew that Wolffe had hit the wing of Plo's plane as Order 33 had come through just as he was pulling the trigger, but it was better than him hitting the plane head on, even if the Jedi Master was dealing with injuries from being ejected from his plane.
Finally, Stass Allie walked in at the same time Shaak Ti started her holocall. Everyone looked over to Mace who still had the young padawn clinging to him and sitting on his lap. All of them recognized Caleb Dume, and had seen his master on the list of the dead, but they weren't sure why he was there at the meeting. Aside from Mace being his grandmaster.
Mace cleared his throat. “I have decided to take Caleb as my padawan in place of his master.”
“What about your injuries?”
“That will be an obstacle in the future, but Caleb is still young, and I have a few years to figure out how much of my abilities I have retained. In the meantime, I was going to ask for help from those without padawans. Particularly Anakin,” he nodded in Anakin's direction. “Since he did volunteer to help me with anything I needed as a result of his hesitancy when I was fighting the Sith.”
Anakin winced, then looked at Caleb, looking quite a bit surprised and uncertain. Caleb smiled shyly at him and waved.
Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “I assume that mostly means that Anakin would be assisting in lightsaber lessons, some other physical lessons, and maybe taking missions with young Caleb then?”
Mace nodded. “Depending on the circumstances, of course.”
Anakin looked a bit more alarmed, but nodded once, offering Caleb a return smile.
“Approve, I do,” Yoda nodded. “Good, this will be. For the both of you.”
Mace smiled a rare smile and ran his head over Caleb. He whispered to Caleb, and the padawan hesitated then nodded and hugged his grandmaster before leaving the room.
“We are four members down,” Ki-Adi spoke up gravely. “Our first order of business should be at least considering replacements.”
“Now, remember that Kit might still pull through,” Obi-Wan cautioned. “So while we should have several names for the empty seats, we should still only nominate three, and wait until we know more about Kit's condition. Who is arranging the funerals?”
“I have been taking care of that,” Ki-Adi responded. “I will send the information out once it is all arranged.”
“Which returns us to the question,” Shaak Ti stated, “who will we nominate to replace those who have fallen?”
“I believe Master Cin Drallig would be a good choice,” Obi-Wan spoke first. “He is already in charge of a lot, yes, but it is time he started training others to take up some of the duties that can be delegated. He can bring a good perspective to this Council.”
Mace nodded in approval. “I agree. Now that the war is over, we need to worry about other things, and he has a perspective as Battlemaster that most do not, and that can be useful.”
A few other names were suggested, but no one was really into the conversation, so it stalled out a few suggestions in. There was too much else to worry about and get out of the way before they could make that final decision.
“I think,” Stass Allie stated, “that it is time to discuss the bigger issues. What happened to the clones and why did they stop? We have heard from Obi-Wan some of the details but I think we need to hear the report in full.”
Cody stepped forward. “I can report what I can remember.” He took a deep breath. “General Kenobi had just checked in with me on the state of the battle, gave orders, and left to take care of something else. I got a sudden call over my comm. I was not sure why, but I felt... compelled to answer it.” He barely suppressed as shudder.
Grey was studiously staring at the door Caleb had left through, face twitching. Wolffe had his hands on his general's chair, grip tightening though his expression didn't change as he stared at Cody. The rest of the Council was listening intently.
“A hooded figure was there. From nowhere, I recognized him as Darth Sidious. He said 'the time has come. Execute Order 66.'” Cody paused to collect his thoughts, staring out the window at the speeders going by as if nothing had happened. “My mind went blank. I didn't have any time to react. I had no control. But before I could... carry out the order, something broke through. I heard singing.” He kept a straight face even at the incredulous looks his own brothers were giving him.
“I managed to fight it then, processing all the information that was suddenly at the forefront of my mind as if I had already known. I came across the knowledge of all of the other Orders, discovered Order 33, and issued it as quickly as I could, with Obi-Wan helping push it back further. I later found out this process took less than a minute, though it felt like far longer to me. After issuing the order, I was on the ground from pain thanks to fighting the control chip. As I was the one who issued Order 33, it did not affect me, I was still under Order 66 until General Kenobi was able to use the Force to stop the control chip.”
“What, specifically, were Order 66 and Order 33? Can you remember any of the other Orders?”
“Order 66: The Jedi are traitors. They are to be executed. Order 33: The one who issued the previous order is a traitor, stand down and remember.” Cody made a slight face. “Order 33 basically allowed anyone who heard it to remember anything they experienced while under the control of the chip. There are other stand down orders, but those ones did not include a remember clause.
“Other specific orders included: Order 1, execute yourself. Order 6: throw away your communicators. Order 60: There are traitors in the Senate; Find and execute them; stand by for more information. Order 39: Capture the Jedi and bring to Lord Sidious. Order 35: Execute hostages taken by the enemy.” Cody paused. “They don't get much better, and it's hard to translate some of the ones that are more... subconscious than conscious.”
“Would you be willing to submit yourself to get that chip removed and examined?” Ki-Adi asked.
“I would, sir, but the medics insisted on removing mine as soon as they could due to the side effects I had experienced. They have saved every chip they have removed.”
“I would be willing sirs,” Grey spoke up.
“As would I,” Wolffe said gruffly.
“Very well, I would suggest that be done after this meeting.”
Everyone agreed.
“Do you know what the singing was?” Shaak asked, intrigued.
Cody glanced at Obi-Wan, hoping for a rescue. Obi-Wan flashed him a smile. “He had my lightsaber and had forgotten to return it. My crystal has been particularly fond of him since we met, and tends to find its way to his hands.”
Almost everyone stared at him or at Cody. It took a bit before anyone was able to speak.
“So, it was the lightsaber, more specifically, the kyber, that broke the control of the chip on you, then?” Plo asked Cody.
Cody nodded. “That's what it seems to be, sir.”
“Intriguing. Do you have any theories?”
“I think it might have been responding to the erasing of the man it liked, as well as the darkness in the chip,” Obi-Wan responded promptly.
“That could be.” Plo nodded in agreement and let it drop. Everyone else sat in contemplative silence.