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If he was being completely honest, Cody... Did not like the Chancellor.
Not even remotely, no.
Sure- at the beginning of the war, he'd respected him well-enough, as any loyal trooper would respect the leader of the Republic. And his opinions on the man's ability to lead never changed, but-
Well... As the war went on, he began to see his General as a friend. And there, right there. That was the reason why Cody hated the Chancellor.
Chancellor Palpatine was bizarre when it came to Obi-Wan. In Cody's humble opinion, he was an obsessive, manipulative, creep- and Obi-Wan returned from his meetings with him acting strange more often than not. Shit, Cody hadn't been raised or trained to recognize when someone's behavior was inappropriate, and even he could see it, clear as day.
Force- even before he'd begun to consider Obi-Wan his friend he'd already been disturbed by it- disturbed, and worried for his General.
That distrust- it only got worse as he got closer to his General, as he got to see more details. It only ever seemed less and less unsavory- and he hated it. He hated him. Most of all, though, he hated when Obi-Wan went to visit him.
How had nobody ever raised concerns about this? Wasn't the Jedi Order all-for supporting and protecting their members? Didn't Obi-Wan have a former Master out there, somewhere?
...Then again, did Obi-Wan really have any friends other than Cody and, oh yeah- the Chancellor.
Force- that seclusion made it so much worse. The more he thought about it- it always became so much worse.
It wasn't like there was a way he could report... Whatever this was, though. If there had been, he would've done it by now. The only people who cared about Cody's opinions were his brothers and Obi-Wan. The former held even less power than he did- since he was Marshal Commander. The latter- well. That was the whole point of this situation, wasn't it?
Whatever.
The point stood:
Cody took serious issue with the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic that he was created to die for. And still, all the same-
He was... Beyond surprised when the man personally denied the transfer request for Rex.
It did not fit into any of his past behavior. Chancellor Palpatine was always quick to offer Obi-Wan what he wanted- or at least what he thought he wanted- on a silver platter. The 212th was always the first legion to receive the shiniest, newest technologies. They were the legion who rarely saw supply shortages, no matter how far they were from the Core. The legion that always had only the most important missions.
Obi-Wan, for his part, was often invited to banquets and galas and shows whenever he was on leave, always treated to to delicacies that Cody couldn't have even dreamed of- up until Obi-Wan decided to try sneaking treats in little paper boxes back to the Negotiator and then the Vigilance for his troopers.
And- oh yes, there was the matter of himself.
It wasn't that Cody hated his General, the opposite, really. He just couldn't help that feel that it was interesting- that the Commander with the best scores, who had the highest praises sung about him, would end up under the command of the newest, youngest member of the Council, and not General Yoda, or General Windu, or... Anyone else, really. But the Chancellor had been the one to choose which Jedi headed which battalion and, well.
Which led to why this took him by surprise.
For the Chancellor to disapprove of the transfer of a single Captain, against the express, stated wishes of his favorite Jedi- it was unusual for him.
Cody would call it suspicious, but, well- The Chancellor's relationship with his General had never been anything but.
Obi-Wan said that he was going to go talk to him about it- which, alright. Cody had never approved of any of his General's private meetings with the Chancellor- but he'd deal with it this one time, and this one time only- if this was what it took.
No doubt, after Obi-Wan went to wheedle to the Chancellor personally, he'd give in, and remove the block on the transfer. Then, he'd have Rex out of the Guard. Then, maybe whatever kind of debacle this was turning into could finally convince Obi-Wan that the Chancellor wasn't worth it. Then, finally- he could have both of his personal idiots far, far away from Coruscant.
It was... Probably not a good plan.
As certain as he was that Chancellor Palpatine would approve the transfer request if Obi-Wan appealed to him directly- well. He still didn't like it. He'd never liked it.
Alright, maybe it was definitely not a good plan.
But- most of their plans weren't good, really, but they always worked out, in the end. This one would, too. It had to.
He told himself that much, at least- even if he didn't have a good feeling about it- even if it opened a pit in his stomach.
At long, long last- his comm chimed- and he let himself hope, anyway.
Cody could feel his heart racing when he saw the caller ID- this was it. "General?"
This was the moment. Obi-Wan had won the Chancellor over, and he was comming him to tell him. Now- it would just be a matter of making sure that Rex's transfer went smoothly- or, at least as smoothly as anything could go when Rex was involved- and then he could convince Rex that he didn't need to fear the Jedi, and he could convince Obi-Wan to stay away from Chancellor Palpatine, and-
"...We need to talk."
"I'm a High General, if I request a specific trooper, I don't think they'll even look at his file. We'll still take him, Cody. I'll still take him. I can't remember the last time I was this certain about something."
Fat lot of good that had meant.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he should err on the side of 'I shouldn't have made a promise that I couldn't keep', or that he just should have done more. Maybe if he hadn't been so short with the Chancellor? Maybe if he had asked Senator Skywalker for help- since he did seem to get along with his bodyguard, Dogma, well enough? Maybe if he'd gone to Commander Fox, first? Maybe if he'd gone to one of his fellow Generals-
All the same- he hadn't. He'd been impulsive and reckless and stupid- as he so often was- and now he'd failed.
Cody would be furious with him.
Cody was his friend- his only friend, and this was the only thing that he'd ever asked of him- and he'd failed. He'd failed Cody, and he'd failed his brother, and he'd broken his promises, and he'd failed in his duty as a Jedi and a General and a decent human being-
What other recourse was there, now? A veto from the Chancellor himself- there was no getting around that. There was no way to circumvent it. His transfer request would remain denied and Captain Rex would remain in the station that was killing him and-
Peace, he needed- he needed to maintain inner peace. His mind was going in circles, again. Being upset, being standoffish- that wouldn't help anyone, now. He had no right to it, anyway. It wasn't like he was the one slighted, after all.
Cody, of course, would have every right to be angry with him- he didn't have the right to be angry at anything.
Obi-Wan quelled the turbulence in his mind- pushing it into an imaginary box in the back of his consciousness and locking it up tight.
Yes- it wouldn't do to let his emotions rule him. He'd made enough stupid, terrible, emotional decisions in the past few days- he could not afford to make any more.
He needed to meet with Cody- somewhere... Private? And there wasn't much privacy on Coruscant, of course. The Vigilance had to do.
For the entire ride up to his flagship, and for the entire walk to his quarters, Obi-Wan could feel his heart pound, despite his best efforts.
From the moment that Cody had gotten the comm, he knew that it hadn't worked.
That much was obvious- if they had succeeded, his General would have just told him so. For him to request to speak to him in-person, in private-
It couldn't have worked.
There was a bottomless well of despair in Cody's chest.
He would always remember Rex as the little advanced CT struggling to keep up with CCs decanted several months before him. He'd always remember trying to shield him from aggressive trainers and Kaminoans who disagreed with Nala Se's decision to spare one member of the defective batch. He would always remember how Rex had always been just an inch shorter than him, until they were six and they both finished growing taller.
He would always remember having to bid his vod'ika goodbye because the Kaminoans didn't want to give the Jedi faulty product. He would always remember being relieved that he had been sent to the Guard- because it was supposed to be a safe assignment. He remembered Fox promising to protect him, anyway
Well- Cody sure as shit didn't think serial killers were safe- and there wasn't much that Fox could do when the Chancellor himself had chosen Rex for the mission.
Force- weren't there natborns for this? He'd always thought that this was the one thing that they had to do that his vode did not- that he had been made to fight and die in their wars, but that they could handle their own criminals.
Apparently, he was wrong.
Cody had gotten to the foyer of his General's quarters before Obi-Wan himself did- since he had been at the Barracks, while Obi-Wan had to make the trek from the Senate.
When he got there, Obi-Wan would not meet his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Cody." His General seemed very interested in their boots. "I'm- I wasn't able to talk him out of it. I'm sorry."
Cody sighed through his teeth and turned to pace the length of the small room. "It's not your fault. It's that kriffing bastard."
Curiously, Obi-Wan did not jump to his friend's defense. He stayed silent for several seconds- dead-still by the door, still looking at the ground.
When he spoke again, Obi-Wan was quietly furious. "I won't make the mistake of trusting him again."
Cody stopped. "What?"
"The Chancellor." He sounded bitter- his voice rough. "He's a bad person. I shouldn't have trusted him."
Well- Cody could have seen that coming from a klick away- but for his General to agree with him? Cody huffed. "You've got that right."
Obi-Wan sighed. "The way that he treats the Guard- it isn't right."
And, oh.
Cody... Was not expecting for him to say that.
He had always been acutely aware of the Chancellor's unhealthy fascination with his General. It was always something that he hated to contend with- but the Guard? He'd never so much as heard a word from Fox about how the Chancellor treated them, and back on Kamino, Fox had always been a snide bastard- and one that so loved to bitch about things.
But... when was the last time that he had spoken to Fox?
It was- it was when he'd asked after Rex, wasn't it? And when had he spoken to him before that?
Cody- he couldn't remember.
Once upon a time, Fox had been the batchmate he was closest to. Once upon a time, it was the three of them- Rex and Cody and Fox- while Ponds and Wolffe and Bly went off on their own business. Fox had always been there with a quick jab or a comment, had always had the edge to balance out Cody's recklessness and Rex's paranoia.
And now- all the times they'd been on leave, he hadn't spoken to him unless in passing. They'd never commed, never took time to catch up-
They'd grown apart, and he hadn't even noticed. How couldn't he have noticed?
"Are you alright, Cody?" His General sounded... Unusually timid. Cody shook himself back into the present.
"Just lost in thought, sir." Cody turned on his heel. Obi-Wan still wasn't looking at him. Fuck- he could figure out what was up with him, later. They wouldn't be on Coruscant for much longer, he was running out of time. "I need to talk to someone."
"Of course." Obi-Wan was quick to reply, quicker still to step to the side.
Cody hesitated in the doorway, before turning back to his General. "I'll be back soon, alright? Don't go wandering off."
Obi-Wan looked surprised, blinking and finally glancing up at him. He didn't answer, mutely opening and closing his mouth. Cody should've known that he'd come back acting weird- he did most of the time, whenever the Chancellor was involved.
Force, how he hated that fucker. With Obi-Wan, and now the whole situation with Rex's transfer-
Shit, at this point, he'd be surprised if he could hate him any more than he already did. Physically, it couldn't be possible.
"Alright?" He asked, again.
Obi-Wan's jaw clicked shut, then he ducked his head. "Okay, Cody."
Alright, alright- this was beyond abnormal, even for his General- but.
Shit- he never had enough time for anything anymore, did he? He'd have to talk to Obi-Wan when he got back. He could only hope that he'd do as he asked and wouldn't get himself into more trouble, before then. Force knew that was asking a lot of him.
Cody left Obi-Wan to his awkward floundering and got a shuttle back down to the Barracks, before hailing a cab to take him to the Guard's Headquarters. They had less than twenty-four hours left on Coruscant- and, normally, by now he'd like to have already been settled back onboard the Vigilance, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
-And Cody had a brother to find.