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The whoops of the varactyl alerted him to General Kenobi's return before anything else.
He turned just in time to see him swooping forward, the rhythmic, sideways movement of the varactyl nearly hypnotizing as it bounded towards him. General Kenobi sat atop it, moving easily with its motions and looking perfectly at home on the back of such a large and… vigorous creature.
Heh. They'd never get him on the back of one of those.
General Kenobi's varactyl came to a halt just before him, puffing up dust and dirt from the power of its sudden stop, but never for a moment ceasing to possess the fluid grace that defined those movements. Much like its rider. He made fun of the shinies for being awed by the Jedi, and well, not without reason. They were just people, same as any of them. But he wasn't denying they pulled off some damn impressive things sometimes, even so casually. Maybe especially.
Cody took his helmet off to address the General, flipping it idly, waiting.
"Commander," Kenobi said without much preamble, an order already on his lips. "Contact your troops. Tell them to move to the higher levels."
He filed the information immediately. "Very good, sir," he responded and turned to do just that--and then remembered. A small smirk came to his lips.
He began to turn back. "Oh, by the way," he said, unclipping the lightsaber from his belt, hoping the General could hear the humor in his tone despite the urgency of the battle--he always did. Very few things were so dire that the General couldn't appreciate a little dry wit or sarcasm.
General Kenobi turned automatically, looking attentive. Ready to listen to what his Commander imparted.
He held out the lightsaber that had fallen earlier--when the General had given him another tiny heart attack that maybe this time was one Grievous got lucky. Relief to see the man in one piece made his voice fond, gently sarcastic when he said, "I think you'll be needing this."
General Kenobi took it with an amused expression of his own and a thanks, and then his face schooled back to business--they had a battle to win, after all.
But Cody's comm beeped before he could speak his farewell.
They both looked to it. Cody recognized the frequency.
"Hold on," he said, grabbing it. He put a hand up to indicate it would only be a second--just a second. That was all. "This might be important."
The General only nodded. Cody could sense him tensed, geared up for battle, but he waited for his second-in-command to finish.
He pressed the button to okay the transmission, turning his back out of courtesy for privacy. A robed visage immediately flickered to life.
"Commander Cody," the hoarse voice greeted. It was… darkly amused. Victorious, almost. "The time has come. Execute Order 66."
Order 66.
Execute.
Good soldiers follow orders.
Ah.
"Yes, my lord."
He took a moment, putting his helmet back on before pressing a button, initiating the internal headset so the Jedi wouldn't overhear.
"I need some men over here," he ordered tersely. Many of his men were heading out, or fighting already, but several affirmatives reached his ears. "Order 66 is in effect."
A pause, then a dozen yes, sir 's came through the speaker.
He turned back to the Jedi, vividly aware of the tension in the man's shoulders, the antsy energy coming off his waves--the varactyl seemed to agree, in constant motion under him, apparently unable to keep still. Kenobi was eager to get where he needed to be, and staring at where Cody had put away his comm, brow furrowed. "Was it important?"
Cody kept his hands carefully by his sides, giving nothing away. "Yes. Something's come up. From the top." Technically it wasn't a lie. He remembered once Kenobi telling him offhandedly with a smile that the best lies were those that came from the truth.
Of course he'd know about lies. Traitor scum.
"Well, what is it?" He was starting to sound worried. Or irritated. In the middle of the battlefield, those two emotions tended to come across the same in Kenobi's tone. Cody knew from experience.
Cody watched as several troopers made their way towards the two of them, trying to look casual. As casual as one could while holding a gun--which was pretty damn casual for the clones. They'd been doing this all their life. Would be for the rest of them too.
He didn't signal. Kenobi would know the signs as well as each of Cody's men. But he stayed facing the Jedi, making a pointer of his own body towards him. It wasn't necessary--they knew how to follow their orders--but he wanted them to know, for sure: not yet.
He'd given Kenobi back his lightsaber. That was a mistake. Cody knew how dangerous the Jedi was with it, and if they got this wrong, it'd be all the more harder to kill him. There was a reason he'd survived this long. They couldn't risk it.
His men moved in slowly, looking like they weren't, and Kenobi didn't give them a second glance. But he did eyeball Cody.
"Sir--" Cody said, and oh, how it grated. But he had to play along for a moment. Catch the man unawares. It was the only way this would work. "Can we talk? In private?" He leaned into an anxious tone, hoping the Jedi would hear it and automatically trust him, follow him. At least get off that damn varactyl.
Kenobi looked up and around, a displeased look on his face. "Now really isn't the best time--can't you just say it?" He looked back down, hands tightening on the reins as his mount twisted back and forth.
He hesitated. The troopers weren't close enough, weren't in position for a surefire shot. And he didn't want to alert Kenobi by pushing too hard. The man breathed deception. He'd figure it out.
"Yes--sir." If Kenobi heard his hitch, he didn't show it. "I--there's been a message from the Chancellor." Truth was the best lie. "Apparently something horrible has happened." The Jedi had deceived them all, betrayed them all. “I’m to inform you.” I’m to kill you.
Kenobi's eyes widened, and Cody knew instantly where his thoughts went--the other one, Skywalker. At least he properly turned his body towards Cody now. "What? What is it?"
He hesitated again. The troopers were closer, and it was getting harder to pretend to be casual.
Luckily, Kenobi seemed to misunderstand his hesitation, and it seemed a good enough distraction. "Is it--is there news of Anakin?" Seeming to realize his own emotional assumption, he dialled back a second later to more practical options. "Or the Council? Have the Separatists done something?"
Cody wondered for a moment if Kenobi was going over Grievous's death in his head, trying to figure out if his actions today had played any part in whatever big, bad news he was about to receive. "I'm… not sure exactly. But the Chancellor said you must return immediately."
It was a mistake. "Immediately ?" Kenobi demanded, looking incredulous, not moving at all. "We're in the middle of--what's going on? Surely he gave some word?"
Cody ground his teeth. The troopers nearby were almost there. Just a second. He just needed a second. "That's the thing… sir. He wouldn't say."
"For the love of--I don't believe this." His tone was irritated, but again, Cody heard worry in it as well. This time it was not a mere coincidence, but a truth hidden behind another one. But at least he stepped down, dismounting. "Let me see that--I should talk to him myself--"
Cody flinched back from him, not expecting the sudden familiar closeness and hand already poised to reach out for his comm. He recovered quickly, but it didn't stop Kenobi from noticing. He immediately straightened, face going clean and observant in the way Cody knew meant he was wary. He cursed internally.
"Of course. Sir," Cody tried to cover, but of course it didn't work; Kenobi's eyes drifted and flicked, catching a few clones around them that weren't there before.
"Cody…" Kenobi said in warning, slowly. "What's going on?"
His throat went dry. Kenobi's hand didn't twitch towards his lightsaber, but Cody knew it could in an instant.
A trooper nearby got twitchy, put his finger over the trigger. It was small. It was nearly unnoticeable. But it was unforgivable weapon etiquette with a loaded blaster in a zone that wasn't hot. And Kenobi's eyes zoomed.
"A-as I said. Something's happened. It's not a big deal but--"
"Not a big deal?" Kenobi repeated skeptically, looking more alarmed by the second.
Aw, hell.
"Now !" Cody shouted, drawing his blaster in an instant and aiming it at Kenobi. His men did the same--he'd wanted them closer, wanted several different nearly close range lines of fire to make sure the job was done--but it couldn't be helped. He needed to cut his losses.
They all fired at the same time, and damn him, Kenobi leaped up, out of the way in time. But only barely, and his varactyl was spooked by the blasterfire and took off, running jaggedly and not stopping, Kenobi was left to land in open air while still under attack.
He was quick--but they still had the element of surprise, despite his unsettlement. He landed, crouching in the dirt, and it was the shock and surreality, Cody was sure, that kept him from moving and preparing as he usually did.
It was a split second of hesitation, of instinct overriding conscious assumption, but it was all he needed.
Cody was a very good shot.
Blasterfire hit Kenobi in the meat of his thigh, right before he sprung back up, probably to land to a better area. A cry rang out in the air, familiar to Cody as any of his men's. He shot again.
Kenobi dodged again, but this time his leap was off--getting shot in the leg at the same instant as one took off was not very good for aiming said jump well. He went airborne, and Cody didn't bother shooting along with his men during it--Jedi were too quick and he was prepared, for that next moment, when feet met earth again and fire would taste flesh once more.
Apparently Kenobi was prepared too, this time, because when he landed--far closer to the edge of the platform they made they base on than he surely meant, it was never a good idea to willingly cut off one's directions of retreat in a bad situation, Jedi or not--his lightsaber was ignited.
"Hold!" Cody shouted above the blasterfire.
It ceased immediately.
Kenobi was looking a little wild, and now with the pretense ended, troopers were closing in--keeping their distance but clearly blocking the Jedi from further escape. He favored one leg, a bloody, burnt, not at all small mark on the other. His hair was messed up. His eyes searched back and forth over the clones before him, the men who wore the familiar yellow of the 212th.
"What are you doing?" he shouted at them all.
Cody zoned in, walking ahead of his men with his gun drawn. Kenobi tensed in response, but Cody went no further than just past the line of the semicircle enclosure they’d created around him. He lifted his head. "Killing the Jedi," he answered clearly, calmly, firmly. The only reason he hadn't already was the damn lightsaber--he knew what Kenobi could do with it, had seen a million droids be their own death at the other end of their own fire, redirected by a righteous and swift plasma blade. He didn't want that to be them, and he didn't think Kenobi did either, but he knew the man well enough to know that if cornered, he'd do a helluva lot.
Kenobi's whole face spasmed in a way that would be entertaining if it wasn't a little infuriating. He looked so baffled. So frantic. So betrayed.
Why right did he have to feel betrayed?
"You--what ?"
Cody ignored him. They were at a stalemate. Kenobi wouldn't make the first move, but they couldn't move in without giving him an opportunity to leap clean above them and run off, scared, just like his varactyl, and they couldn't shoot without giving him an opening to turn their own weapons against them with his own. He had to rectify this.
"Cody--" Kenobi implored. "It's me. Obi-Wan. Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi. Why are you doing this?"
Of course he knew who Kenobi was. That's why he was firing on him. "A Jedi, yes, but a General? No. Traitors to the Republic are stripped of their rank, and sentenced to death." He recited the decree in a strong, capable voice.
"What in the hell are you talking about ?!" the Jedi yelled. The confusion had given way to something that sounded like true anger--and much like the irritation before it, Cody knew that anger and fear went hand in hand for Kenobi on the battlefield.
Of course he didn't see his own hubris. His own crimes. It didn't matter. Cody was thinking--and thinking fast. He needed to get that lightsaber out of Kenobi's hands. Somehow.
Kenobi did see the determination in the men before him, though. "Cody, you're a good man--you're all good men," he said, passing his gaze along each and every one of the blank helmets that surrounded him, looking some shade of desperate. "You don't have to do this,” he appealed.
Cody almost snorted. Ah, the Negotiator. He was about to tell Kenobi exactly why he did, again, when he remembered--the cannon. Kenobi could reflect their blasterfire back at them, but could he redirect cannonfire? Doubtful, even for a Jedi. They had him pinned, he was injured, he was reluctant to move first, it would only take a single order from Cody--
Kenobi looked up, and that was when the damn varactyl came back. Its skittering somehow offset the noise it should've made, and he didn't notice until it was nearly on top of them--or on top of them for a given acknowledgement of how fast the thing moved. He and several other troopers had to jump back, lest they be overrun as it ran straight at them--past them-- to the Jedi--and dammit, had he called it? Did they have a Force bond? Cody realized he didn't know. But he knew the Jedi was particularly good with animals. He should’ve seen that coming.
It didn't matter. It was a mistake. It was a coward's move. It broke the stalemate first.
"Fire!" he shouted as the Jedi moved in time with the varactyl and leapt astride the beast just as it was upon him, despite his injured leg. Cody knew the Jedi couldn't cover the whole thing--if he couldn't shoot Kenobi, he'd get the next best strategic target: his mount.
Blasterfire rained down on the Jedi and the creature he rode on, and Kenobi blocked all that came anywhere close to him--and redirected it aimlessly, not back to its owner, Cody noticed--but he, indeed, could not block it all.
Blasterfire struck the varactyl in more than one place, and Cody didn't know if it was fatal, didn't know its weak spots, but the pain and fear certainly had its effect--it reared back and that was a bad move--more blasterfire hit it in response directly in its raised chest--Kenobi cried out once more as his rescue turned into his doom as the panic and shooting drew the varactyl back and back and back --and over the edge of the platform.
There was another cry as the final overbalancing movement took effect, the varactyl wavering over with a kind of uneasy finality you rarely saw in real life, and then there was silence but for the braying of the beast as it fell down the long, long sinkhole, down to the very bottom with a landing so loud it could not, in honesty, be called a splash.
They rushed to the side of the platform, despite knowing already what they would see. Nothing.
Cody's chest tightened. This was not how he'd wanted this to go.
"I want men down there immediately!" he shouted as he turned, pointing to the bottom of the sinkhole. "Find him before he gets away!"
"But, sir--" one of the troopers started, and stopped as soon as Cody swivelled--smart, for the mood he was in.
"No one could've survived that fall!" another finished, unwisely.
Cody's teeth clenched. He knew differently. He knew what Kenobi was capable of. "That's an order," he said in lieu of explanation.
The two who'd spoken up straightened, along with all those who hadn't. A chorus of "Yes, sir!" met his ears.
Men rushed to do just that, despite the battle. This was top priority--straight from the top, as he’d said.
Cody gave his orders, organized his men, directed the flow of traffic around them, and the knot in his stomach grew with every second they waited, every minute of necessary action that preceded finding the Jedi.
If he had been thinking clearly, he would’ve been thinking it felt unreal. How everything had changed so quickly. How things could turn at a moment’s notice.
But he was thinking about Kenobi’s last words to him. They drifted in his mind, floating aimlessly, and repeating, over and over again, for some reason.
Of course they had to do this. This was their job. This was their purpose. They followed their orders.
Cody, you’re a good man.
He'd said that before. Cody knew. Cody remembered it. Sometimes it was said teasingly, with humor and affection. Sometimes sincerely, with admiration and respect. Sometimes frankly, simply a fact, an admission of spoken truth.
Cody immediately waved away the thought. He dismissed the memories. Kenobi was a liar--a traitor. Traitor to them all. To the Republic. To his former men. To Cody himself.
Good man, he thought mockingly.
It was another lie.
Cody was a good soldier.