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"Are you kidding me?" Cody didn't believe his ears. Crys just shrugged.
"That's what the software spit out, Sir. According to standard republican translation, that inscription reads: Only the ones true of heart shall pass. Prove your love and enter."
"What does that even mean?"
"I don't know! Probably some force-ossic. Maybe the gate will open with a true love's kiss or something?"
"How would that even work?!?!"
"I don't know!"
"And nobody thought to tell us about that in advance?"
"Well, I suppose the council didn't know. And the natives who showed us the way probably just thought you and the General were married anyway. Wouldn't have been the first time."
Cody blushed furiously, and his eyes quickly darted over to General Kenobi, who, however, didn't seem to be following their conversation. He was busy examining the door himself.
"Well, just for your information, we are not!" Cody snapped, probably a bit more harshly than Crys deserved.
The Technician raised his arms defensively. "I know."
Cody let out an exasperated sigh and drove his hand over his face. Well, that was definitely a situation. How were they supposed to reach their position in time if they couldn't use this tunnel? Helpless, he turned back to Obi Wan.
His General was standing motionlessly in front of the closed entrance, one hand resting on the stone archway with his eyes closed in deep concentration.
A few moments went by, then he sighed, opened his eyes and returned to Cody and Crys.
"Unfortunately, the translations seem to be correct. These walls are practically vibrating in the force. They seem like some old relic of some sort, ancient magic. Maybe they once belonged to a temple. Not necessarily a Jedi one, all sorts of magic exist in this galaxy. It's petty that Quinlan isn't here. He would love that sort of puzzle."
The sparkle in Obi Wan's eyes and the tone of his voice told Cody that his general himself found this matter much more fascinating than he let it seem. If the situation hadn't been so damn inconvenient, Cody would have found it cute.
Well, at least this time, the other problems outweighed the ones created by his inappropriate feelings towards his general. That didn't really lift his mood, though.
Still, he hoped he didn't sound too annoyed when he answered:
"Well, he's not here. Any ideas of your own on how to get through this thing?"
For a moment, it seemed like Obi Wan hesitated, his eyes resting on Cody for a split second too long. But then he just sighed helplessly.
"I'm sorry. It seems I'm just as clueless as you."
Exhausted, Cody drove a hand over his face.
"And we're sure we can't just blast them open?"
Crys shook his head. "These are massive stone walls. Even if we managed to blow them up, the whole mountain would probably come down on us."
"Great."
A brief moment of silence followed when nobody really knew what to say.
Finally, Obi Wan spoke up.
"Well, I guess we won't find a solution this way. I propose we set up camp and tell the men what the problem is. If nobody has found a way to open these doors until tomorrow morning, we go back to the village and try to find someone who can help us with this."
"But, sir," Crys protested, "that will take several days! And the 501st is waiting for us. They need reinforcements!"
"I know. That's why I hope we can find another way and won't need to march all the way back."
His general looked at Cody, waiting for his approval. Cody sighed again.
"You're right. I don't see another option. Alright, I will tell the men."
Obi Wan thanked him with a nod. Then he looked back up to study the stone archway. "I will stay here and meditate some more. Maybe the force will reveal a solution for this."
Cody frowned. "This is enemy territory."
Obi Wan gave him a smile. "I will be fine."
"I'm getting two men to stay with you."
"That's really not necessary, I..."
"The detonation specialists should have a look at this anyway. Just to be completely sure, there's no way to just blow this whole thing up."
Obi Wan didn't really seem happy with that arrangement. But Cody wasn't going to leave him alone here.
"Come on," he teased gently, "You can tell them to be quiet."
Obi Wan huffed. "Tell Morl to be quiet? Sure, tell a Bantha to tiptoe."
Cody laughed. "What about Trapper and Woolley, huh? They can be quiet. And you know they won't disturb you."
It was a cheap move to bring Woolley into this, but Cody wasn't hesitating to use his strategic advantages. He knew Obi Wan wouldn't want their baby shiny to feel rejected. And Trapper was probably just as capable an expert as Morl, only less vocal about it.
Of course, he was right. "All right," Obi Wan sighed.
Cody beamed and gave his general a last nod. Then he left to organize his men.
About two standard hours later, camp was as good as set up, and Cody was pacing around in the command tent in front of the holo-map and racking his brains to come up with any way to catch up to the 501st in time. They hadn't been able to contact them for about two days. The separatists were most likely blocking their comm signal. He didn't know if they were in any trouble, but this plan had been made with a riskily small buffer of men, supplies and time, so even if they weren't in any more trouble than anticipated now, they definitely would be should the 212th be delayed. And several days... It could mean the deaths of many good men and brothers, not to mention endangering their mission and the whole campaign. If he could at least tell Rex what was going on and ask them if they were alright...
He was yanked out of his thoughts by somebody entering the tent.
"Trapper," he greeted the trooper eagerly. "Good to have you back. Any news?"
"Unfortunately not, sir. The walls are far too strong to be brought down with the material we can spare. And there's a huge hollow space behind them. Even if we managed to blast them open, the cave would probably collapse and block the entrance to the tunnel anyway."
Cody sighed. "That's what I expected. Thank you anyway."
Trapper saluted dutifully.
"Alright, you're dismissed, trouper. Maybe see to it that the men are really discussing the problem. Somebody has to have an idea on how to get through these bloody doors. Or at least what that pompous inscription is supposed to mean."
"Understood." Trapper saluted again but didn't make any moves to leave. "I also have a message from General Kenobi, sir."
"What does he want?"
"He said you should come to him as soon as you have time."
Cody frowned. "Did he say what for?"
"No, sir. I didn't ask. Maybe he has an idea?"
"I sure hope so," Cody answered hesitantly. "Alright, I'll be there. Would you mind getting Captain Kivic for me?"
Trapper nodded, saluted one last time, and then left the tent.
As soon as his replacement arrived, Cody followed him.
The camp was a good ten minutes down the mountain from where the entrance to the tunnel was supposed to be. Now, Cody climbed back up to find his General still meditating in front of the stubbornly closed doors and Woolley sitting on a nearby rock, throwing pebbles at the grass.
He stopped, of course, when he saw Cody approaching and straightened up in a salute. Cody just waved his hand to tell him 'at ease' and settled next to him on the rock, facing Obi Wan.
"I thought he was finished?"
"Hm?"
"Meditating," Cody specified.
"Oh, he was," Woolley assured him. It took about 90 minutes, the whole floaty thing and everything. Then he was back and told us he might have an idea and to get you. When Trapper left, I tried to get him to tell me about his idea. Must have annoyed him, because he hardly responded, and then told me that he would meditate some more until you're here."
Cody huffed. That didn't sound like Obi Wan at all. What kind of idea was that that concerned him so much?
"Alright, now that I'm here, I think you can go." If Obi Wan didn't want Woolley to know about his idea earlier, then he wouldn't want so now.
"Did I do anything wrong?" Woolley asked anxiously.
Cody smiled soothingly. "No, no, I'm sure you didn't. Some ideas are just better discussed privately first."
"But, you know, enemy territory..."
"We'll be fine. Thanks, Woolley."
When the shiny still didn't move, Cody tilted his head and expectedly raised his eyebrow. "Dismissed."
Even Woolley knew when his time for arguing was up. He saluted and then swiftly hopped off towards the camp.
Cody watched him until he was around the corner, with a small smile on his face and a slight shake of his head. Such a capable young man, and yet he managed to stay their baby shiny even though he had been with them for multiple campaigns now.
He turned back to Obi Wan. But even now, with Woolley gone, he didn't break from his meditation. Cody had a bad feeling about this. Whatever this idea was, his General was clearly not having an easy time thinking about it.
Yet, with his Jedi looking so peaceful and calm, it was hard for Cody to stay concerned. He knew he should probably go over and make himself known, but... He liked watching Obi Wan meditate. He always looked so graceful. Like he was back in his element. Like he belonged. A small breeze ruffled Obi Wan's robes and hair, and a small strand of his gold shimmering hair fell into his face. It looked so soft. Cody's heart ached painfully. Ah, shit.
Luckily, his general opened his eyes before Cody's thoughts could drift any further in this inappropriate direction. Their gazes met instantly, and Cody couldn't help but give him a far too warm smile.
Obi Wan smiled back, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Instead, they were full of sadness and grief. It made Cody's stomach twist. Something was incredibly wrong here.
He rushed over to help Obi Wan get up from his meditation pose. His general gave him that fake smile again. "Thank you for coming, Cody."
"My pleasure, what's going on?"
Obi Wan let go of his hand, which Cody hadn't even realized he was still holding, and took a step back. Immediately, Cody missed his warmth, even though he hadn't even realized how close they were standing. Even his eyes left Cody's and wandered back up to the inscriptions on the archway.
"I..." Obi Wan's voice broke off, he swallowed, took a deep breath, and started again. "I thought about what Crys said. I think he's right. This place and these stones bear memories. Memories drenched in love, happiness, and... relief. I don't have psychometry, but if I had to guess, I would say that this temple was once used to officiate weddings. If the grooms and brides were not really in love, the doors wouldn't open for them, so they wouldn't... well, get married. The tunnel must have been added later, and the doors were kept as a practical security system."
That did indeed make sense. It still didn't explain why nobody had told them about the doors, though. And still left them just as closed.
"So, they'll open with a 'true love's kiss'?"
Obi Wan kept his eyes fixed on the archway. "I believe so."
"Oh, great," Cody groaned. "Now we have to find someone who can open these doors for us! We will never catch up to the 501st in time." He started pacing again.
"I know." Obi Wan's voice was strangely quiet. "If we don't get this door open, many will die."
Cody stopped in his tracks. His tone told him that there was more Obi Wan wanted to say. He had an idea. But he didn't like it.
"What is it?" he asked.
Obi Wan closed his eyes again. "There are also the feelings of disappointment or betrayal, fear and grief. They are nearly overshadowed by all the happy memories, but still there."
"Well, those will probably be the times when the door didn't open."
"Yes, but they are layered differently on both sides. It's subtle, and I could be wrong, but I think one person would stand on this side and the other in front of the other leaf of the gate. And then only the gate in front of the person who has true feelings would open. I can sense a difference between the two sides. When the memories are the same age, there's always more betrayal and grief on one side and more fear and disappointment on the other. I... It's hard to explain, but I think that's what happened."
Cody pressed his eyes shut for a short moment. He didn't really understand, but he was willing to accept it.
"So?" he asked. Knowing what happened at this gate hundreds of years ago didn't really help them with their present problem.
"So, if I'm right, the door will open a sufficient amount, even if the love is only one-sided."
"Yes?" Cody still didn't understand the relevance of this to their current situation.
Obi Wan swallowed one last time and then finally turned back to him.
"That means I can open it. If you would allow me to kiss you, Cody."
Cody's whole world suddenly stopped. He misheard that, right? Surely, his General, a Jedi, who he had had a crush on forever, had not just asked to kiss him. That... No, never, he was just a clone, just one of so many. Obi Wan knew so many other people so much greater, so much better, and so much more special than him. He would never... There was no way...
He hardly registered Obi Wan starting to ramble.
"I mean, only if you're comfortable with that, of course. It's just for the door and... I'm so sorry, Cody. I never wanted to put you in this situation, but if we can't open this gate, many will probably die, I... I can't let that happen. Even if it means that I will lose you. I... I really enjoyed getting to know you, Cody. I know it's stupid and unprofessional and unprofessional and inappropriate, but... I still fell in love with you sometime between the loads of paperwork and the many times I saw you comfort your brothers and work so hard to keep them alive, and I...It's just this one time. After that, you're free to go. I mean, it would probably always be awkward if you stayed, but I can get you redeployed, you'll never have to see me again. And if you don't want to kiss me, that's also okay. I mean.... Please don't take this as an order; it isn't, in no way, I just... I'm sorry, who am I to even ask this of you, I'm your superior officer, I... It's a stupid crush anyway; I have nothing to offer to you; I'm a Jedi, I can never have a fully committed relationship, you deserve so much more, you deserve..."
Cody didn't know where he picked up the courage, but suddenly he just decided FUCK IT. Whatever this was—maybe a dream, a prank, or some weird vision—he would not just let it pass. And he would certainly not just let Obi Wan babble this bullshit about being unworthy of him.
With two steps, he had reached Obi Wan, grabbed his tunic, and kissed him so hard that it slammed them against the rigid stone gate.
For a moment, Obi Wan was frozen in disbelief, but then he just melted against Cody and kissed him back just as fiercely. Not even the deafening rumble behind them as the massive stone walls begin to retract and reveal a wide entrance.
When they finally parted, they just stared into each other's eyes for a few seconds.
"Oh," Obi Wan just says.
"You don't know how long I have been wanting to do this," Cody confessed, still a bit breathless.
"You have?"
A helpless smile flickered across Cody's face, followed by a small laugh, as he still couldn't believe this was actually happening. "Of course."
Obi Wan smiled as well and raised a hand to brush a loose strand of hair out of Cody's face. Cody leaned into his touch like it was the most precious thing in the world. In this moment, to him, it was. Nothing had ever felt so exciting and yet so right, so wonderfully good to Cody.
"Well, then I suppose we have both been kind of stupid," Obi Wan joked.
They both laughed.
"I suppose we were," Cody agreed. "We could have been doing this all along."
When they kissed again, through their smiles, the inscription in the door frame glowed a familiar blue, and the doors vanished into the walls as if they had never existed.
The official version, the 212th got to hear, was that Obi Wan found a different way to activate the opening mechanism with the force. But unofficially... well, it wasn't hard to connect the dots. Everybody agreed it had been about time anyway. This obvious pining had become unbearable in the last few months.
There's even the theory that this was why the Jedi Council sent them this way in the first place. But that will probably never be proven.