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79s was packed. Multiple battalions had returned to Coruscant, and the boys were making the most of it. Cody watched over his vode as they enjoyed the very much overdue break, and all around him they were talking, drinking, laughing. On one side of the bar, Waxer and Boil were challenging Boost and Sinker to some kind of competition Cody was too sober to really get, but it was a hit judging by the crowd that had gathered around them to watch.
Beside him, Wolffe huffed a laugh at his vode as the crowd cried out in outrage at something Boost did, taking another drink from a serving droid. Cody shook his head with a smile.
“I don’t know how you can tell what’s going on over there.”
Wolffe snorted into his drink. “I’m pretty sure it’s meant to be one of those games we made up as cadets, the one I always beat you at.”
Cody scoffed. “You sure you haven’t had too much? I don’t remember there being a game like that.”
Wolffe just rolled his eyes and took another long drink. They stood there amicably by a table, watching as Sinker said something to Boil, causing the other clone to jump at him in an attempt to get him into a headlock. The crowd cheered when he successfully locked him down.
Cody spent a few more minutes watching the game before he asked Wolffe, “So, how’s the General been?”
“‘e’s grea’. Helped pain’ some sh’nies.” Cody frowned at Wolffe’s slurring and turned back to look at him.
Wolffe was swaying on the spot as he watched the game across the bar, a loose smile on his face. Cody frowned. Wolffe had always been able to handle his alcohol, and he knew he’d only had a few drinks so far and should only be lightly buzzed like he himself was. He put a hand on his shoulder to steady him and get his attention.
“You alright, Wolffe? How much have you had to drink?”
Wolffe just chuckled and shrugged. “Feel f’ne.”
Cody caught his arm when he reached for another drink from a droid, slinging it over his shoulder. Wolffe leaned heavily into him with another laugh. “Woah! Wha’chu doin’?”
“Getting you back home, you’ve had enough for tonight.”
He pulled Wolffe along a few tentative steps, making sure he could keep his balance. Once he was steady enough, he led him outside. As they passed, he met the eyes of a young trooper from the Wolfpack. Comet, he was pretty sure.
“You need a hand, Commander? I can help get him back.”
Cody shook his head. “Enjoy your night off, trooper. I’ve got him.”
Comet nodded and watched as they left. At least someone from the Pack knew where their Commander was, Cody just hoped he could keep the rest of the battalion under control with Wolffe gone. He could always just call their Buir to get them if he couldn’t, it’s happened before.
When they stepped out into the lights and sounds and fresh air, Wolffe sagged a little with a low groan. Cody hefted him up to keep them both on their feet.
“What’s wrong?”
Wolffe rested his head on his shoulder, eyes closed. “D’zzy.”
Cody looked to the taxi bay for a ride, but considering how busy it was, there weren’t any available. Instead, he pulled Wolffe around to the side of the building, where it was a bit quieter and darker. “Alright, let’s get you sitting down and I’ll find us a way out of here.”
Wolffe didn’t even try to look put together for the troopers they passed, instead just staggering along, pulling Cody off balance as much as Cody was pulling him away from the crowds. At the sound of his name being called, Wolffe opened his eyes again and grinned dopily at a group of shinies. He laughed as they gave drunken salutes to their Commanders, straightening to return a sloppy salute of his own. Cody swore when it almost pulled them both to the ground.
“Come on, Wolffe, help me out a little here.” He straightened them both back up and pulled Wolffe around the corner.
Wolffe’s laughter was cut off by a low groan, his shoulders tensing. Cody swore and helped him lean against the wall without falling over right before Commander Wolffe of the 104th battalion threw up just outside of 79s. Cody wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Wolffe throw up from drinking any earlier than the day after a particularly wild night out. He caught his brother when his knees buckled, helping him slowly shuffle along the wall away from the mess, then lower himself down to sit against it.
Cody crouched down in front of him, a hand on his shoulder to keep him upright. “Hey, Wolffe, you feeling okay?”
Wolffe’s good eye was glazed when he looked up at him, his gaze constantly drifting before sluggishly snapping back to him. Now that he was sitting, Cody could really get a proper look at him, and he didn’t look great. “Fee’ li’ os’k.” He groaned, letting his eyes close against the world spinning around him.
Cody patted his shoulder. “Alright, I’ll get us a ride, and we’ll get you to bed.”
Wolffe cracked his eyes open. “Buir?”
Cody huffed a small laugh and nodded. “Yeah, I’ll call your Buir and get him to meet us there.”
Wolffe gave him a small smile, closing his eyes again and leaning back against the wall, swallowing thickly. Once he knew he wasn’t going to topple over as soon as he let go, Cody stood and activated his comm as he scanned the area for a ride. General Plo picked up quickly, and as soon as Cody informed him of the situation, he agreed to wait for their arrival and look after Wolffe.
The call ended right as a taxi glided in front of him. The driver rolled down the window and called out. “Hey, your friend doesn’t look too good. Need a ride?”
Cody thanked the driver and made his way back over to Wolffe. A hand on his shoulder had him blinking blearily up at him.
“Hey, got a ride for us, and Plo’s waiting. I’ll get you back and he’ll look after you, yeah?”
Wolffe slurred something unintelligible as he let Cody hoist him back to his feet. There was a moment where it seemed like he was going to hurl again, but he managed to swallow it back, letting himself be guided into the back of the taxi, Cody sliding in after him.
“Thanks for the ride.” Cody offered the driver as they took off. “Not sure what’s going on with him, he’s usually got a better handle on this.”
The driver chuckled. “My brother’s the same, knows his limits till he doesn’t. I was about to hop into the taxi lane, but looked like you guys needed a ride more.”
Cody felt a twist in his stomach at the impromptu explanation. It did seem convenient, especially for clones, to receive such timely kindness from a natborn stranger, but not impossible, especially among regular drivers for 79s runs. He was pretty sure the 327th had basically adopted one of them. But he’d never met this one before.
His attention was pulled from his thoughts when Wolffe groaned next to him. He looked over to see his brother sitting with his eyes screwed shut, swallowing compulsively. He called up to the driver, “You got any-”
“In the bag on the back of the seat. Can’t be doing late runs without them.”
He ignored the joke as he pulled out a bag and held it out for Wolffe right as he began heaving again. He rubbed his brother’s back as the movement of the taxi made him groan, his stomach twisting nauseatingly. Cody watched with concern. Wolffe had never been one to get motion sick, even when hurt or sick or drunk. He could hold his drinks and knew his limits. He was never the first one out. Something was very wrong.
He looked out the window and frowned. They were not taking the usual taxi route to the clone troopers’ barracks. They instead seemed to be heading even deeper into Coruscant, towards one of the highways down into the lower levels.
“Where are you taking us?” He demanded.
The driver glanced back at them in the mirror; Wolffe slumped in his seat, not quite passed out, and Cody glaring next to him, his hand resting protectively on his brother’s shoulder. They smirked. “Got word of a bounty for a high-ranking clone officer. Now, we’re going to get me paid.”
Cody scowled. “So, you decided to target the place where every clone goes on a night it’s packed and dozens of people saw us leave?”
The driver rolled their eyes and looked back to the highway. “By the time they do anything, I’ll be long gone and a few thousand credits richer. All I needed was to get a droid, and a busy night just meant less taxis to steal my mark. Didn’t need him to bring a friend, but hopefully that just means I get double the pay.”
Cody thought back to the drinks Wolffe had gotten from that server droid and swore. He’d be putting in a request to check every droid they use there once he got back.
He scanned the inside of the taxi. The whole thing was way too clean to be mid evening shift, even the bag he’d opened had been untouched. He couldn’t tell if the driver was armed, but if he caught them by surprise, it hopefully wouldn’t matter. He shot one more glance over at Wolffe, who was now slumped against the window, before he sprang into action.
Sure, it was stupidly reckless, but he couldn’t let this person take his vod, and he knew that as soon as they left the surface of Coruscant, getting back would only get much harder. He heard Wolffe groan as the leap into the front seat caused the driver to jerk on the wheel in surprise, veering the taxi wildly before hurridly steadying it.
Cody took hold of the wheel with one hand and aimed an elbow at the face of the driver with the other. The driver caught his arm and wrenched it back, forcing Cody to let go of the wheel to move with it. As he recovered, they pulled out a small blade and stabbed at him. He leaned away, the tip of the blade just scraping the plastoid of his armour. While their arm was outstretched, he aimed a kick for their exposed ribs. As they recoiled from the kick, he grabbed their wrist, digging his fingers into the pressure point there, forcing the driver to let go of the blade with a cry.
He threw the blade to the ground, letting it slide under the passenger seat. Still holding their arm, he pulled on it, pulling them into another kick to their ribs, feeling them crack at the impact. Twisting their arm into a hold behind their back, forcing them to lean over the wheel, he grabbed the back of their head and slammed it against it twice.
He kept a hold on them with one hand, making sure they were out, while catching the wheel with the other, holding it steady as their own hands slid from it. He let out a long sigh when they didn’t move, beginning the awkward procedure of swapping places.
Leaving the bounty hunter lying haphazardly in the passenger seat, Cody settled in and turned the taxi back towards the barracks. He checked on Wolffe in the mirror. It looked like he’d passed out at some point during the fight, lying slumped across the backseat where the wild movements of the vehicle must have thrown him. He seemed unharmed from the wild driving.
Just a few minutes later, Cody pulled into the barracks speeder parking. When he got out, he called over a couple of Corries to arrest the bounty hunter and take them in for questioning.
Wolffe stirred as he carefully pulled him out of the taxi. He let out an unintelligible slurred grumble when Cody slung his arm back over his shoulders and began dragging him inside. He passed out again halfway to his bunk, Cody opting to just pick him up and carry him the rest of the way.
Plo greeted them at Wolffe’s room. “Koh-to-yah, Commander Cody. It seems Wolffe has had quite the night.”
Cody huffed in amusement and let the General help him get Wolffe settled on his bunk. “You could say that. Turns out someone wants to get their hands on a high-ranking clone officer for some reason. The bounty hunter who got him didn’t count on another, pissed off high-ranking clone officer going with him.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m going to get a proper investigation started as soon as I get back. The Corries have the bounty hunter.”
Plo hummed. “Thank you for getting him back safe, Commander. I’m sorry that happened. Please, let me know if there is any way I can help. I have my ways of making people listen to you boys.”
Cody thought to Wolffe’s prosthetic eye. Plo had been instrumental in getting Wolffe that eye and saving him from being decommissioned. If there was anyone he could trust to be on the clones’ side, it was Jedi Master Plo Koon. He nodded. “Thank you, sir. I’ll be sure to keep you updated.”
Plo bowed his head in return. “Thank you, son.” He looked down at Wolffe who was now snoring lightly on the bunk, brushing his claws gently through his hair. “Now, did you wish to stay with him? I do not mind.”
Cody watched his brother sleep and sighed. “Sorry, sir. I’d love to but I should go back and check on the boys, make sure they’re not getting into too much trouble. I don’t think Comet will be able to wrangle the Pack on his own.”
Plo chuckled warmly. “No, I suppose that would be a daunting task for him. Do not worry, I will keep a close eye on Wolffe. He is safe here.”
Cody smiled at the Jedi. He could see how Wolffe so easily let the man adopt him. He was sure if he was able to, Plo would have adopted every clone in the GAR by now. “I know he is, sir. Thank you.” He gave him a polite nod, which Plo returned, and left his brother in his Buir’s capable hands.