Chapter Text
Cody opened his eyes. Muffled shouting, flashing lights, thunder, rain, darkness—
Something had just exploded. Had he been exploded? He tried to push himself up, but couldn’t, falling back down in the thick wet mud, rocks half on top of him. On his back. Stuck. Sitting target.
No, no, no, one more time, soldier.
This time he managed to roll over and pull up onto his knees. His hand slipped on something cylindrical half buried in muck.
He grabbed it, the pelting rain washing away the mud from the object. Cody froze. He recognised it. A lightsaber.
He tried to look around. It had to be Lord Vader’s. He took a firm grip of it and felt his vision white out.
“Take cover!”
Cody found himself underneath someone else as the bolts whizzed over his head.
“Shit.”
“Come on!” The body on top of his shifted off and pulled him to his feet urgently. He expected one of the shiny stormtroopers who didn’t know he was a clone, but it wasn’t. It was a civilian in a brown cloak that was plastered to his body by the rain.
“Wait–”
But Cody was still rocked by the chaos of the battlefield and the blasterfire flying on all sides. His rescuer took his wrist firmly and pulled him off towards the rocky craigs they had been fighting near. The Rebels had been holed up–right, right they were smoking them out, but there were more than expected. Lord Vader had–Lord Vader had caused the avalanche. He hadn’t waited for everyone to get clear. Cody was too slow. His squad had left him.
His adrenaline was waning and he became aware of how badly his arm and leg and ribs were hurting. His vision blurred and blackened and when he focused up again he was somewhere dark.
“Breath, just breath,” the quiet voice ordered. Cody thought maybe he had been whispering that to him for a while. His bucket was off his head.
“Are you one of them?” Cody asked nonsensically. Had he been stupid enough to get himself captured by a rebel that wasn’t even wearing any armour?
It was dark, but if they realised he was a clone they would probably shoot him. Imperials weren’t about to trade anything for a clone. Especially a second gen who was starting to get grey in his hair.
He tried to strike out, tried to hit the figure that he had been sure was right in front of his face, but he caught air. It only managed to make his arm hurt more.
“Don’t move,” his rescuer chastised, “You’re not in any danger from me. Quite the opposite in fact.”
He sounded Coruscanti. So not a local, not a trooper, definitely not a broth–a clone.
“Who are you?” Cody asked, voice rough and dry.
A pause. Uncertainty, and then: “Kenobi.”
“Kenobi,” Cody repeated.
“Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
Another pause, perhaps he expected Cody to recognise the name, but he didn’t.
“And you?”
Now it was Cody’s turn to hesitate. If this was a rebel which was the most likely case …
Well… it wasn’t like he was going anywhere anytime soon. His adrenaline was officially done. His leg was aching and arm was probably broken and his ribs most likely bruised. Might as well make it quick.
“CC-2224.”
“CC-2224?” Kenobi sounded confused.
“I’m a clone.” Maybe he wasn’t a rebel. Maybe he was a civi that just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Clone?”
“That’s right.”
A deep silence.
“That’s your name?” He sounded so gentle. “CC-2224?”
The underlying pity in the soft question felt like poison in Cody’s stomach. No, that wasn’t his name.
Yes, that was his name.
“Cody works too,” he said begrudgingly. He didn’t want a nat-born civi ordering him around by his number.
“Cody. A pleasure to meet you.”
Too dark to see, but he could hear his rescuer’s smile. He sounded sincere.
Cody couldn’t remember the last time anyone had been glad to see an Imperial Clone Trooper, aside from other Imperial Clone Troopers.
Although those were getting rarer and rarer these days.
“Who are you affiliated with?” Cody finally asked.
A beat.
“With you.”
Was that a joke?
“What does that mean? You’re Empire?”
“Empire? No.” There was a hint of disgust when Kenobi said Empire.
“Well that’s who I’m affiliated with.”
“Ah,” Kenobi said. He sounded disappointed. “Well… even so. I’m with you, Cody.”
This man really didn’t want to make things clearer.
“Where are we? I don’t hear blasters?” Cody asked.
“A cave system. Not too far in. The fighting lessened not long ago.”
“And I’m screwed,” Cody muttered. A clone going missing on the battlefield. Maybe it wasn’t too late to join up with his squad, but his snot-nosed lieutenant had been looking for a reason to have him court martialed, and there was only one ending to a court martialling a clone got. “I need to get back.” Then he realised he still had a tight grip around the lightsaber. It was a miracle he hadn’t dropped it.
“Stand back for a moment,” Cody ordered.
“Alright.”
Cody felt the lightsaber very carefully. He worked out which end was probably the top. He pressed the power button and a blast of blue plasma made his eyes sting.
Blue… that was strange. Vader’s lightsaber was red.
Across from him was the blue outlined Kenobi. He sat cross legged leaning on the other wall of the small cave watching Cody curiously. His hood was down and it was obvious he was soaking wet from the rain, his hair plastered to his head. Cody wasn’t bad off. His undersuit was well insulated and had waterproofing. Most of the mud was off his armour, the heavy rain must have washed it away on their run to the caves.
Cody stared at the blue blade and it occurred to him. Vader had two lightsabers. The one he always used was bulkier than this one, but this one was the one that perpetually hung from his belt. Back when it was more clones than nats the boys used to gossip that it was a trophy of some sort. He would touch it at times when he was thinking, but never used it.
This could be his ticket out of a major reprimand or worse if played his cards right. It was dangerous. Everything involving Darth Vader was dangerous, but Cody didn’t have much to lose at this point.
He let himself relax with the thought. Just for a moment. Then focused back on Kenobi.
Seeing him didn’t shed any light on who he was and why he helped him. From what he could see in the blue light he was a natborn that was probably fifteen standard—no nats you double it? Thirty standard then. Maybe a bit younger or older. The beard made it hard to tell and the light wasn’t very good and he wasn’t good at natborn ages to begin with.
Kenobi smiled at him.
It was weird.
Natborns as a rule didn’t smile at him, or when they did it was curved with cruelty, superiority, or greed.
This smile was pleasant and hopeful and kind. Compassionate eyes reflecting the blue of the lightsaber.
Cody took a deep breath. It hurt a little but not as much as it should have.
Kenobi frowned. The pain must have shown on his face.
“Your injuries.”
“Yeah, not great,” Cody admitted, although not as bad as he first thought.
Kenobi scooted closer, then hesitated. “May I?”
“You have med training? Please?”
“Hmm, well, first aid isn’t really my area of expertise, but I’ve seen enough combat to know how to do basics.”
A soldier or fighter of some kind then.
“I have a medkit on my belt,” Cody said. He unclipped it and passed it over. It wasn’t much. The items in it were a few years off. Clones didn’t get issued medkids anymore. This was from two campaigns ago that he had hung on to.
“Bacta’s probably off.”
Kenobi opened the gel pack sniffing. He scrunched his nose thoughtfully.
“Should still help to at least numb the injury and promote repair. It’s still alive.”
“Bacta is alive?” He filed that information away. It wasn’t something he had to know so no one ever bothered to inform him. He wondered if he could grow some of his own.
“Mhmm,” Kenobi hummed. He carefully started helping Cody remove pieces of armour. Cody held the lightsaber wide and away from them so that he wouldn’t accidentally take off Kenobi’s head.
Kenobi’s hands gently pressed against tender areas. He applied the slightly off bacta to his bruised ribs.
Cody flinched.
Kenobi pulled back.
“Your hands are cold. It’s fine.”
Kenobi nodded apologetically and continued his ministrations. He wrapped Cody’s bad arm with a bandage. Secure, firm, and neat.
“Bruised badly and you’ve sprained your wrist, but it’s not broken,” Kenobi said with certainty. Expertise or not he was pretty good.
“Don’t waste bacta then.”
“There’s not much you have to waste,” Kenobi replied. He went down to his leg and started feeling along it. Cody had always been stoic and sensible and yet the touches made him feel jumpy.
He couldn’t even remember the last time a medic touched him much less anyone else. A fistbump from Wolfe?
He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to react too much as Kenobi wrapped his leg.
Kriff it couldn’t be that long since another sentient had made physical contact with him, right?
But he had been one of the first to be pulled from a clone unit to a stormtrooper unit. It was because of his competency and high accuracy rate. He had been so proud of himself at the time. Thought it was some sort of acknowledgement. He didn’t realise what a belittling misery his next two years would be.
Seventeen was rolling his eyes at him in his mind and Cody took another deep breath agreeing with his older brother’s assessment.
Get out of your head. Don’t be an idiot.
“There now. How’s that?”
Still throbbing but a lot better.
“Good, thanks.”
“My pleasure.”
Kenobi didn’t move away. Instead he shifted over to sit beside Cody this time, their shoulders slightly brushing against each other. His good arm was getting tired of holding the lightsaber.
“What did you do with my bucket?”
“Bucket? Oh the helmet, yes.” Kenobi reached and passed it over. Cody flicked on the outer lights which were a lot better and didn’t burn when touched and extinguished the lightsaber’s blade. He hefted the strange weapon in his hand. It was heavier than he imagined it would be. He felt… powerful when he held it.
He had seen the damage Lord Vader could do with his. That was probably why.
“So why are you here?” Cody asked.
“I am here because you are here,” Kenobi chuckled at a private joke.
“I’m serious,” Cody hardened. Saviour or not he wasn’t about to play mind games with some stranger in the mountains.
“So am I,” Kenobi said, although his cheekiness faded quickly. “The lightsaber,” he said. “What are you going to do with it?”
“What am I going to do with it?” Cody repeated. Was he about to be robbed? Was that what Kenobi wanted?
But Kenobi could have taken it off him at any time and left him for dead.
“Will you keep it?” And there was a strange thread of hopefulness that Cody didn’t understand.
“Of course not. This belongs to Lord Vader.”
The cave hadn’t exactly been cosy and warm, but it felt cold now. Kenobi’s shoulder moved away from his.
“Oh.”
“So you know about Lord Vader, but not clones?”
“Yes—I—well… I suppose it doesn’t matter.”
“What doesn’t matter?”
“Any of this,” Kenobi whispered sadly.
“Listen. I’m grateful for your help, but I need to leave before I’m marked as AWOL.”
Cody waited. He expected Kenobi to try and stop him. Reveal that this was some sort of weird hostage situation, but he didn’t. He just continued to sit where he was.
There was such a poignant grief in his posture that Cody didn’t know what to do with it. He picked up his bucket and put it back on along with the rest of his armour.
He thought about poking more. Asking more questions…
But the man had saved his life. Any answers that weren’t some shade of Imperial would mean Cody would have to deal with him.
So he didn’t ask anymore.
But then Kenobi opened his mouth.
“You shouldn’t tell Vader about me,” Kenobi said.
“So you are a rebel?” Shit.
“Rebel? Are there rebels now? No matter. I’m not one. I’m powerless. All the same, if he knows we bonded he’ll kill you.”
“Bonded is a strong word,” Cody arched his brows even though Kenobi couldn’t see it.
“No, it’s the right word,” Kenobi stood up. He put his hand on Cody’s chest. He was fully lit in the light of Cody’s helmet. His eyes were the same blue as the lightsaber. Beautiful eyes. “May the Force be with you, Cody.”
Kenobi leaned forward and gently pressed his forehead against his helmet.
And then he was gone.
“What the–” Cody jerked. He looked around but there was no sign of Kenobi. It was as if he had disappeared.
Shit.
Had he blacked out again?
It didn’t feel like coming to. It just felt like Kenobi had been there and was gone.
But enhanced genetics or not he wasn’t immune to combat stress.
Cody sighed. He clipped the lightsaber to his belt and limped towards what he hoped was the exit of the cave.
It just meant he wouldn’t have to try to kill the man that saved his life. Silver linings of battle trauma.