Chapter Text
Christophsis certainly hasn’t been an easy battle. They’ve been fighting from one building to the next and still seem to be having a hard time holding their positions. Cody knows he should probably take a moment to get some rest while he has the chance but he pauses to check their defenses a few more times first.
He’s just heading back towards an area in one of the buildings that they’ve converted to a sleeping spot. He hears laughter and voices drifting in from the room and when he gets close enough, Cody sees General Skywalker sitting in the middle of a group of 212th, talking to them.
“You survived a rancor pit?” one of the boys is asking. “When you were three?”
Cody pauses in the doorway. All the others are so taken up with General Skywalker’s story, they don’t even notice him standing there. It’s strange to see a Jedi interacting on such a personal level with all of them. Jedi don’t do that. Natborns never do that, certainly not superiors. But General Skywalker seems very different. Christophsis is the first real extended mission Cody’s ever been with him on. He’s still getting used to it.
“I did,” General Skywalker replies, “I didn’t know what I did at the time and I don’t really remember it but… I know I petted it and then it just didn’t eat me.”
“That’s so cool,” one of the others – Chopper – says.
“You did something with your weird powers?” Jester asks.
“Yeah,” General Skywalker agrees, “We can tame animals as Jedi. We connect with their minds. I’ve never been very good at it but I guess things come naturally when you’re about to get eaten.”
A few of the boys laugh.
Cody doesn’t fully see how this story is that amusing. It’s weirder to actually hear a natborn in charge of them admitting that he’s not always perfect at everything.
“How did you get into that rancor pit?” The words are said a bit roughly and dubiously. It’s Slick talking. He’s leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Doesn’t exactly seem to be enjoying the story quite as much at the others. Maybe he just wants to go to bed.
“Oh,” General Skywalker says, “I was thrown into it to be the rancor’s meal. Gardulla was mad at my mother for something and she was trying to make a point.”
Cody blinks, just staring.
The General nearly got fed to rancor because – what?
“How could she do that?” Cody objects, taking a step into the room.
They all look up. “We were her slaves,” General Skywalker answers flippantly, as though he didn’t just make Cody’s mind screech to a dead halt, “Do you want to join us here?”
“Sure,” he concedes, coming to take a seat near them, with his ration bar.
“Jedi can be slaves?” Slick asks, dubiously.
“I’ve never met another one who was, at least not one who remembers,” General Skywalker replies, “But they can be. It’s now unlike how I know you… have often been treated.”
Cody twitches. “We aren’t slaves, sir.”
“But you aren’t free either.” General Skywalker’s eyes flit over to Slick, though the clone in question says nothing.
“We serve the Republic. It’s our duty,” Cody points out.
“Maybe,” General Skywalker concedes, “But you should still get a choice, to be something else if you want it.”
“I don’t know,” Jester replies, “Blasting droids every day seems good enough to me. Why’d I want to do something else?”
“Not to bring the spirit down,” General Skywalker responds, “But is seeing your brothers die every day something you want? I don’t think it is – even if there will always be a sacrifice in war. I’m just saying that if you want a different life, you should be able to choose it – and you can’t. I wasn’t able to choose either, until another Jedi came to Tatooine to free me. I just want to offer any of you the same if you want it.”
The General, Cody decides, is very weird. Even if he… can understand on some level, the point he’s trying to make. But it’s different with the clones because this is what they exist for. “That would be deserting,” Cody points out, “If we just left.”
“I know. But that doesn’t make it all fair when you never had a choice.”
“I’ve… never known a Jedi to say that before,” Cody can’t help venturing carefully. It’s not something he could ever imagine doing but it’s… Well, that General Skywalker cares about them enough to say that isn’t a meaning that’s lost on him.
“I know.” General Skywalker’s face is shadowed now.
“How did you get out of the rancor pit?” Punch asks, out of literally nowhere.
“Oh, that.” The General looks amused again. “Well, I think I spent like a night there befriending the rancor and eventually they came to get me out because I guess Gardulla decided it would be a waste since the rancor didn’t eat me on sight.” He looks up, out at the darkening sky outside the windows. “But I think you’d all better take some rest before it’s too late There’s a collective groan from nearly everyone present. Apparently, none of them are too happy at story time being interrupted.
“I’d stay,” the General promises, as though he has any reason to even be spending time with them – but he is and that means a lot, “But I need to talk to the Commandeer, so…”
There’s a few grumbled “yes sir”s and the boys go back to finish their ration bars.
The General’s expression is a lot more serious, as they leave the room. “Something wrong, sir?” Cody asks, frowning.
“Well, yes,” he replies, “I think you should keep an eye on daily transmission logs. Just to see if anything is ever out of the ordinary.”
His frown grows. “Why?”
“We don’t want any security breaches.”
But checking daily transmissions implies… a traitor? Or someone somehow sneaking into their base and sending out information or something. “I’ll have it done, sir,” Cody replies. “But may I ask what prompted this? You think there’s an infiltrator?” The thought is more than a little unsettling. It’s also not something he even knows how it could be possible. Most of the people around are clones or Jedi. There’s a few other natborns here too, but…
“It’s always something to check for,” General Skywalker replies, “And it’s… a feeling.”
Jedi things that won’t make sense to him. He decides not to question it. He’s just grateful they have the ability to know these things, even if it’s a little unnerving sometimes.
***
Cody’s in the middle of checking over the transmission log, along with Rex, when General Skywalker suddenly comes into the room again, expression tight.
“Do we have all positions guarded?” he asks.
“Yes, sir,” Rex replies immediately.
“Add a few for extra security,” he says, frowning, “And don’t record it or let anyone else know.”
Rex very slowly side-eyes Cody. “Yes, sir,” he says again anyway and is quick to head off.
“Is something wrong?” Cody asks, again.
“A feeling,” the General replies.
Seriously, if he suspects here’s something wrong with their ranks, why isn’t he saying more? Coody doesn’t understand.
Rex comes back not long later, rejoining him.
“So, this is what you meant about the General being a bit different?” Cody asks.
Rex nods. “He always seems to know these things, things it shouldn’t be possible for anyone to know. I think it’s just a Jedi thing but sometimes… I don’t know.”
“You think it’s more than that?” Cody guesses.
Rex shrugs a little. “I wouldn’t know. But it was like he already knew who I was from the moment we first met. He’s made comments about things when I was a cadet – things I never told him. I don’t know how he knows.”
“Jedi can read minds,” Cody offers. At least, he’s heard things about that before.
Rex huffs out a breath. “Yes, but it just seems like a lot sometimes. I think you’ll know what I mean eventually.”
Well, Cody’s beginning to think he already might. It just makes him even more intrigued about General Skywalker, though. No Jedi, no natborn, has ever just acted like he’s one of them. But he does.
***
Cody’s just checking security when a voice suddenly crackles over his comm. “We have droids incoming – ”
A blaster shot cuts his brother’s voice off right there over the distant sound of shooting.
It’s just like General Skywalker warned, isn’t it? The droids somehow know about their positions and they come bursting through the door into the room Cody’s in seconds later. At least they actually had a tiny bit of warning, from the additional clones he had posted on guard.
He draws his blaster, shooting back. But still, they’re doing badly. The droids keep on coming, spilling out of every entrance available.
Or at least they are until glass shatters behind them and Cody spins around, but it’s just General Skywalker and a bunch of the 501st, coming in through the window on their cables. He has to admire the creativity.
“How did you get here?” General Kenobi calls breathlessly, over the shooting.
“I can fly now,” General Skywalker snips back, slashing through the droids.
General Kenobi huffs, turning back to the battle.
More and more keep coming but at least they were somewhat prepared. Gunships come in quickly to pick them up and they get out of that position, flying to a nearby one that’s still unpenetrated.
“That was a close one,” Rex says with a frown, arms crossed. He, Cody, and the Generals have gathered together in the new command center of the building they went to.
“And it definitely confirms we have an infiltrator,” Cody has to agree.
“Perhaps it’s time we take a little trip behind enemy lines to see what’s going on,” General Kenobi proposes.
“I don’t think that would help,” General Skywalker argues, “If there’s a traitor, they’re here at base, not behind enemy lines.”
General Kenobi sighs. “If there is evidence, we might be able to find it there.”
“Or we’ll walk right into a trap.”
“When have we ever not sprung a trap that was set for us?”
General Skywalker shrugs and the sheer lack of military protocol-professionalness makes Cody want to cringe but they are Jedi, so maybe the fact that General Kenobi is technically General Skywalker’s superior doesn’t affect that much for Jedi. “Maybe this time we should try a new plan? Instead of going to get beat up by Ventress?”
General Kenobi’s eyebrows raise. “What makes you think Ventress is there?”
“The droids are too stupid to pull off something like this. Besides, I can sense the Dark Side.”
Cody shares a side-long look with Rex. They’ll… just both stay quiet until the other two stop squabbling about this.
“So, what’s your new plan then?” General Kenobi asks dubiously.
General Skywalker turns sharply for the communication table. He picks up a comm and flips it off. “Oh, look,” he says with far too much cheer, “The traitor left their comm link in. They’re probably nearby, listening to us. We should probably go find them before they take off.”
How did no one notice that?
Cody turns and makes for the door, Rex and General Skywalker close behind. The doors slide open, revealing an empty hall, but there’s a sudden movement at the end of it. And Cody can very clearly hear footsteps of someone running.
They break into a run after him. General Skywalker moves past them and he’s rapidly gaining ground but then they come to a turn in the hall and have to split off. Cody goes the opposite way, just in case he can catch something the General doesn’t, but he runs around the corner, only to come face to face with the Generals and Rex again.
The only other entrance is the mess hall.
“I saw who it was,” General Skywalker says, arms crossed, “It was Slick.”
Cody freezes. “Are you… certain, sir?”
“He was moving fast but I saw the number,” the General confirms.
Cody has no idea how to feel about this. He’s heard of traitors to the Republic before, yes, but he’s never been confronted with the knowledge that one of his brothers is actually a traitor. It’s… How? How could one of them who shares the same blood, who was raised the same, and trained and fought for the same thing ever do this? The clones always blindly trust each other because that’s just what they do. They’re brothers and they never have a reason to doubt that all their brothers will have their backs whenever they need it the most. He doesn’t understand how any one of them could do this.
“Then I doubt Slick’s going to be sticking around for long,” Rex points out, “He must know we’re on to him.”
“This is his only doorway out,” Cody says, eyes narrowed, “If we going an confront him now – “
“Wait,” General Skywalker objects, “If he sold out our positions to the Separatist’s, I doubt that’s the only thing he’s done.”
“What are you saying?” General Kenobi asks.
“I think we should probably check the base for explosives where they aren’t supposed to be. And be real quiet about it. If Slick doesn’t think we know who he is yet, he will not make his move right away.”
It’s… clever. Really, clever actually.
Cody still doesn’t quite know how to feel that one of his own brothers is willing to do something like this, though. “We’ll keep it quiet,” he promises.
General Skywalker nods. “Good. And I’ll keep eyes on Slick without being obvious about it. And… we should probably be preparing for a Separatist attack.”
“Why?” General Kenobi objects.
“Because Slick already sold us out once. He’s probably already done it again but this time, I’m sure the Separatists are planning to hit us much harder. Let’s see if we can make the first move.”
“I’ll warn the 501st,” Rex offers, “That way, we don’t need to take the chance that someone in the 212th will mention something to Slick until we’ve got the situation under control.”
The General nods, and he and Cody take off together.
***
It takes a while of searching, but they do end up locating explosives, all set in the weapons’ area. They’re hidden so no one would even notice them unless they were looking and it would have destroyed the entire place if they hadn’t found it.
Slick would have left them completely unarmed. He would’ve gotten hundreds of them killed, if not all of them.
They disarm all the bombs and, before going to meet up with the Generals again.
“I believe it’s time for us to go confront this clone,” General Kenobi decides.
General Skywalker nods, gaze sharp.
They head to the barracks where all the boys should be.
“The General is here to speak with you,” Cody tells him, standing in the doorway.
“I’ll be right out there,” Slick replies.
“It’s urgent,” Cody replies smoothly, though he expects Slick already suspects that something’s up, “You can come with me.”
Slick nods, coming over to him.
They’ve made it a few steps towards the door when The clone suddenly turns sharply, fist slamming into the side of Cody’s head. If he hadn’t half been expecting it, it probably would’ve actually knocked him out. Cody still stumbles anyway and then Slick’s running. He runs back into the barracks and swinging up onto his bunk to get into the vent.
“Hey!” Cody yells, trying to shake the stars from his vision to get back up.
Slick’s trying to clamor up into the vent when the door flies open and General Skywalker runs in, Rex close behind.
The General lifts a hand, jerking slick down from the vent grate. He pulls out some kind of device, pushing it.
It looks like a bomb trigger.
Nothing happens.
Slick freezes. “What?”
“Your explosives are disarmed, traitor,” Rex says fiercely, stepping towards him.
Slick goes for his blaster.
The General pulls it away with the Force and Cody tackles Slick. Rex is quick to join him and it’s not hard to get him restrained from there. General Kenobi has since made it into the room, standing near General Skywalker.
“How could you do this?” Rex demands, “Sell out your own brothers?”
Slick twists around to glare at him. “I did this for my brothers.”
Rex scoffs. “I bet you did it for some shiny coins.”
“The Separatist may have offered me money – ” when did that even happen? When did he know to talk to her? “- but that wasn’t why I did it. It was for something you’d never understand.”
“You wanted to be free, didn’t you?” General Skywalker speaks up. He’s definitely angry but his tone is still far more controlled.
Slick glares at him. “Yes,” he spits, “If you were really a slave, you should know that the Jedi are no different to the clones. We serve at your whim. We never get to make our own choices.”
“I know,” General Skywalker tells him and it makes Cody’s brain freeze that he’s actually agreeing with this but then he thinks about how the General was saying exactly that only hours ago, “And I’m sorry there’s not more I can do for you and your brothers. But… killing hundreds of them isn’t any less wrong.”
“I was striking a deal for all clones!” Slick yells back.
“Well, I think your deal and your freedom will have to wait,” Cody tells him flatly, as they lead Slick away.
***
When Rex and Cody come back from taking Slick to the brig, General Skywalker is alone. He’s looking out a window at the command post, looking lost in thought.
“He’s secured,” Rex says, helmet under his arm, “I still can’t believe one of our own brothers was willing to do that.”
“I can’t either,” Cody admits. He can understand maybe a little, some of what Slick was saying about not being free. But that doesn’t excuse what he chose to do about it.
“No one is wrong for wanting to be free,” General Skywalker says quietly, something distantly haunted in his eyes, He gets that look sometimes. It’s weird. Cody doesn’t remember any of their trainers being that openly emotional. “But that doesn’t excuse what he did to all of you. I expect Ventress manipulated on his desire a lot. I… knew that he was struggling. I was trying to offer him another way out.”
“You would have helped him desert?” Rex asks and he sounds a little bit incredulous.
“If he doesn’t want to fight, he shouldn’t be forced too,” the General replies, “I don’t know what it is that made him so upset with the Republic and Jedi but I know there are times the Generals don’t always… take live into consideration as much as they should. Not that it changes what he’s done now but…” He sighs.
“I know there’s been some hard battles under General Kenobi,” Cody replies, “But he was only trying to get the mission done. But right now…. Are we prepared for the Separatists attack?”
“Yes,” Rex confirms.
“If we launch an attack before they make a move, they’ll be taken by surprise,” General Skywalker muses, “And there’s a chance that they’ve going to bring new weapons in like a shield generator –”
Cody frowns. “What makes you think that, sir?”
“They’re preparing for something big. And if our tanks can’t penetrate through the shield generator, we’ll… have a problem. We need to keep an eye out for those and destroy it before they can fire it up.”
This sounds like an awful lot of assumptions, not that Cody is going to tell him so. He doesn’t understand how the General is able to guess at all these things, even though they make a terrifying amount of sense when he says it.
Rex leaves to give the orders.
Cody lingers a moment longer, near the General.
“How are things with General Kenobi?” General Skywalker asks.
“Fine, sir,” Cody replies slowly, blinking in surprise, “Why?”
“I know you’ve had… problems with him before.”
He does? How does he know that?
“He’s a good general,” Cody objects. Even if he’s can be grumpy sometimes. He never hits any of the clones, though, so he’s better than any of the trainers they ever had. Yes, he’s grumpy sometimes and it can be a little hard to deal with but…
“Yeah,” the General agrees, turning to look at him. His expression softens and it’s also full of longing at once. “But I know what it’s like to want more than you’re… being given.”
Does he sometimes see the way General Kenobi treats General Skywalker and wonder what it would be like for… someone to be more of a parent figure to him? Yes.
But the clones don’t have that. All they have is their brothers and their superiors and that’s all they need. Even if – Well, it doesn’t matter.
“It’s not important, sir.”
General Skywalker pats him on the shoulder. “Alright. But just so you know, if you ever want to talk to me about anything – and I don’t mean military matters – you can.”
Cody blinks, totally baffled but grateful. “Thank you, sir,” he tells him quietly.
He really does need to tell Rex that he’s right about how different he is. All Cody knows is that he… likes it.
He still thinks something’s off about his sheer brilliance, though. He’s positive he’s missing something.
***
They win the battle on Christophsis. Rex has long since learned to stop how exactly his General’s wild plans always work. All he knows is that he’s glad the Jedi assigned to him was General Skywalker – he actually remembers hearing that the General asked for him specifically. He still doesn’t understand why. His general had just cracked some joke with a grin and not really answered, when Rex had first asked about it.
“How did you know they would have s shield generator?” Rex queries, as General Skywalker finishes slashing the thing to pieces with his lightsaber.
“Educated guess,” he offers, cheerfully.
“But how did you know it would be right here?”
“A feeling.”
Rex really thinks he’s missing something. “If you say so, sir.”
The general shrugs, patting Rex on the shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get back to command and tell General Kenobi that this is over with. If we catch any more reports of where Ventress’ has taken off too, look. But she might have already snuck off-planet.”
Rex nods slowly. “Yes, sir.”
The sound of a ship flying overhead catches Rex’s attention and he looks up at the sky, to see a shuttle coming in. “We didn’t call for reinforcements, did we?” Rex objects, frowning.
General Skywalker is momentarily frozen, eyes on the shuttle. Hit’s one of those times he has an odd look on face, something between eagerness and longing and… grief – Rex has felt that himself and seen it enough of his brothers to know but he doesn’t know why his General gets like that sometimes.
And certainly not about some random ship.
“Sir?” Rex asks, frowning.
General Skywalker blinks, tearing his gaze away from it. “We didn’t.” He grins. How does he smile so much? Not that Rex minds. His superiors never used to be like that. It’s just… not very by the book. “Why don’t we go greet whoever these guests might be?”
Actually, why does he sound like he’s about to laugh?
He takes off before Rex can ask any more questions, and actually, he seems in a strangely big hurry to get out there.
The shuttle is landing when they arrive. Rex lingers back, watching as the two Jedi move to the front, The ramp descends and a tiny Togruta walks down, a lightsaber on her belt. A Jedi… cadet, then? Rex only recognizes the species because of Shaak Ti, back on Kamino.
Rex doesn’t know what to make of the way the General’s expression falters, his eyes haunted but also so happy at once. It’s almost like he knows how this random youngling is. Maybe he does – he was raised as a Jedi, after all.
“A youngling?” General Kenobi asks, confused.
“I’m Ahsoka,” she chirps, “Master Yoda sent me.”
“You’re smaller than I remembered,” General Skywalker blurts out.
Ahsoka blinks up at him, eyemarkings raising slightly. “You’ve never even seen me before.”
Her voice is so high-pitched. She’s so… cute. How old is she? He’d guess seven maybe but that’s clone terms. She’s probably older than him already, reasonably.
“I meant for most fourteen-year-old Torgura’s I’ve seen,” the General replies smoothly.
“Why are you here?” General Kenobi interjects.
“There’s been an emergency,” she explains, “Master Yoda sent me to deliver the message since he couldn’t get ahold of you.”
“Good thing we just finished up here,” General Skywalker replies, “What’s the problem?”
“Jabba the Hutt’s son has been kidnapped and he wants you sent on the mission to rescue him. Master Kenobi is to go negotiate with the Hutt,” Ahsoka replies.
General Skywalker looks resigned. “Well, even if this really isn’t a mission for Jedi, we should get ready to go.”
General Kenobi eyes him with a slightly worried frown. “Whatever the situation is, the Council wouldn’t ask you to get involved if it weren’t critical.”
“I know.” He still doesn’t look happy.
Rex makes a mental note to ask him about it later. He’s almost certain he’s heard the name Jabba before.
“Cody should be able to handle cleaning up here. You take the 501st with you,” General Kenobi decides and General Skywalker nods.
“Wait,” Ahsoka objects, looking between them, “I’m supposed to be going with you. I’m to be Master Skywalker’s new padawan.”
General Skywalker looks like he’s trying to hide a grin. Rex is just baffled. The General has always reacted weirdly about getting a padawan, but he never actually mentioned he would try taking one. “I thought Obi-Wan was the one who wanted a padawan.”
“No,” Ahsoka insists, “Master Yoda was very specific. I was assigned to Knight Skywalker and he is to supervise my Jedi training.” She smirks lightly as she looks up at the Jedi.
“You’ll have to take her until this gets cleared up,” General Kenobi insists.
“Oh, no problem,” General Skywalker replies, and his grin is somewhere between feral and downright gleeful, “I’m most honored to take you as my padawan, Ahsoka.”
Rex is getting an instant headache.
He doesn’t know why he has the feeling General Kenobi feels the same.