Chapter Text
Cody signed the last after-action report before leaning back in his chair with a sigh. You’d think that the three days they’d spent in hyperspace would be enough to get all of the data work done, but it always seemed to multiply when he wasn’t looking. Boil and Waxer’s latest prank war with Chrys wasn’t helping matters, either.
He reached for the next pile of pads, all requisition forms, only to freeze when a knock sounded on the door to his small office.
Before dealing with whatever haran was about to be unleashed, Cody pulled out a hypo from the bottom drawer of his desk. Thus prepared, he called out, “Come in, General.”
The jedi at least had the decency to look sheepish at bothering his commander in the middle of the night cycle. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that you were force-sensitive.”
Cody raised an eyebrow. “Don’t need to be force-sensitive to know that you’re the only person on this ship who knocks.”
“Well, that probably helps.” Uncharacteristically, Kenobi shifted his weight before sitting in the rickety old chair on the other side of the desk. There was also a set to his general’s shoulders that Cody didn’t like. That stance always meant trouble; usually the kind that resulted in a mountain of data work.
He raised the hypo. “Am I going to need this?”
There was a wince. “I’m afraid so, Commander.”
With another sigh, Cody depressed the hypo into his neck, letting the pain killer drive away the little headache that had been forming for the past couple of hours. Hopefully it’d be enough to keep away the headache that his general was about to bring on, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t. Even modern medicine couldn’t grant miracles, after all.
He threw the empty hypo into his waste basket and turned his full attention to Kenobi. “Alright, sir, on a scale from Skywalker shenanigans to zillo beast, how bad is it?”
“Honestly, Cody, I’m not sure.” Kenobi stroked his beard while leaning further back in the chair, the old thing creaking ominously. Not that he seemed to care. You could drop Kenobi on the most inhospitable planet in the galaxy and the man wouldn’t even blink. “My friend seems to think that it’s worth looking into, though.”
Although he felt he already knew the answer, Cody had to ask, “And this friend would be?”
“Quinlan Vos.”
Of kriffing course it was. “If you don’t mind me asking, General, what does this have to do with me?” Usually, if General Vos thought something was suspicious, he’d jump into it head-first on his own. If he didn’t do that, he’d drag General Kenobi along.
“Well, this has something to do with one of your batchmates.” The general pulled a comm from his pocket, not noticing how still his commander had gone. “He’s tried his usual methods, but they haven’t worked.”
Cody didn’t hear what the rest of Kenobi said, he was too busy trying to figure out who it could be. They had just seen Rex a few days ago, and Wolffe was on a relief mission somewhere in the Outer Rim. Bly was too busy making googly eyes at his general to get into any trouble. Ponds was…Ponds was gone. That left only one person. “It’s Fox, isn’t it?”
“It is.” There was understanding in Kenobi’s eyes. “You could say that Quinlan is like my batchmate, and when he says that something needs to be looked into, it usually does. I wouldn’t be bothering you with this if I didn’t think it was serious.”
“If it involves Fox, it is. He doesn’t do anything by halves.” Hopefully Cody would be able to pull him out of whatever mess he’d gotten himself into this time. They weren’t on Kamino anymore, but he’d figure something out. “What do I need to do?”
Somehow, the jedi looked more sheepish then when he came in. “I think I’ll let Quin explain.”
The door to his office opened again, this time revealing one of the most trouble-making jedi he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing. “How’s it going, Commander?”
Cody looked between the two force-sensitives. “How and when did he get on my ship?”
“Yesterday,” Vos said, shamelessly sitting on the edge of the desk, nudging the nearest pile of datapads out of his way. “Don’t worry, though, we’ll be gone before morning.”
“We?” The look he gave the jedi scared most shinies, but Vos just laughed.
“We,” he repeated. Then, he crossed his arms, looking like he didn’t have a single problem in the galaxy. “I need you to go undercover.”
His tone was bordering on insubordinate, but it’s not like Vos would care. He never did. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, sir, but I’m a little busy right now. You know, running the war and all.”
“We’ve been able to get you reassigned for thirty days, Cody. I’m sure that Waxer and Boil can step up while you’re gone.” Kenobi gave him a smile that showed he knew exactly was he was suggesting and not regretting a word of it.
Something that Cody would have to remedy. He wanted to help his brother, but he couldn’t risk the lives of the entire 3rd systems army to do so. “I should remind you, General, that they don’t have the clearance to approve a majority of my data work, and the forms that would grant them that power take at least 20 days to file.”
“Good thing I filed them 21 days ago, then.” A lazy smirk was growing on Vos’s face as he handed over a datapad that he got from somewhere. “You’re free to go.”
Cody looked through the forms. “Well, everything seems to be in order. I can’t say that Waxer and Boil will keep it that way, but that’ll be your problem, General.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine. It’s only a month, after all.”
Thinking back to how he’d had to play mediator between the duo and Crys, who was currently sporting purple hair, he shook his head. “Hopefully there’ll be something to come back to.”
He turned his attention back to Vos. “So, you have my attention. Just what has my vod’ika gotten himself into?”
“That’s the trouble,” Vos answered, “I don’t know.”
Before Cody could interrupt, he continued. “I’ve tried to get close to Fox, see if he’d let me know what’s going on, but the man’s more paranoid than a tooka in a room full of massifs. I can’t get past the front lobby anymore.” The jedi shook his head. “I don’t know how he does it, but I can’t even sneak in. Someone’s always there waiting for me, whether it’s at a back door or a third-story window.”
“But what’s wrong? You wouldn’t be dragging me away from the 212th unless there was an actual reason. Fox’s anti-Vos protocols seem more like a ‘you’ problem.”
“You’ve been spending too much time with Obes.” He frowned and tugged at his gloves. “What do you know about psychometry?”
Cody thought back to the various jedi things he’d learned from his general. “You can learn about what’s gone on around an object, right?”
“Close enough. I’ve only been able to touch the commander’s armor once, but what I saw was enough to make me willingly go to a mind healer. It was dark, Cody, and not the usual senate-kind of darkness.” He sent a glance to Kenobi. “Count Dooku told Obi-wan that a sith was in control of the senate.”
A flash of anger went through him. “Fox would never work with a sith.”
“I’m not saying he is,” Vos quickly conceded, hands held in surrender, “but I’m afraid that they’ve been around him, hurting him. Commander Fox might not even know he’s been in contact with them, and I can’t know for sure unless he let’s me get a look at him in the force.”
“Which he can’t do if the commander doesn’t even let him get close,” Obi-wan finished.
Cody took a breath and forced his fists to unclench. Fox was probably in trouble with a sith, because of course he was. “He hasn’t responded to our comms in months, but I can try and get through to him.”
Now that Cody was more or less on board with helping, Vos relaxed a bit. “Although I’m sure that you could, Commander, what I had in mind is a little more…discreet.”
From what he knew of the man, Vos didn’t have a discreet bone in his body. He may be a jedi shadow, but he did it by being flashy, by making people think that he was a harmless crazy person when in reality he was anything but. No, discreet wasn’t his style. “What did you have in mind?”
This time, General Kenobi answered. “Do you remember my brief stint undercover as Rako Hardeen?”
Of course he remembered. Those were some of the worst weeks in his short life. Thinking his general was dead, not knowing who would take his place, trying to keep the men together while it seemed like everything was falling apart. “What does that have to do with anything?”
No doubt feeling his emotions in the force, Kenobi frowned and tugged at his beard. Cody quickly threw up a few more mental shields like he’d been taught, but he had no idea if they were effective or not. Not when he was worried about his vod’ika, his general, and his men. “There was a…process I went through to prepare for the mission, one that made me look like Rako Hardeen.”
“So what? Do you want me to take Fox’s place? Because his men would figure out that I’m not him before I even get a chance to sit at the desk.” Cody hoped to the force that wasn’t the plan, because it was a terrible one.
Fortunately, Vos seemed to think so as well, considering his loud laugh. “Of course not. No, we have something else planned for you.”
There was a beat of silence. “So…are you going to tell me this plan or not?”
“On the ship, Commander.” Slapping his shoulder, Vos stood up and made his way to the door. “There’ll be plenty of time for us to go over everything on the way to Kamino.”
“Kamino?” This plan seemed more and more insane by the minute. “But Fox’s on Coruscant.”
“Oh, you will be, too, don’t worry.” With a slightly-feral grin, he opened the door. “Don’t worry about packing any gear, you won’t need it. Actually, leave your armor here, too. I’m gonna get you some new stuff. It’ll be great.”
Then, before he could get a word in, the shadow disappeared into the halls of the Negotiator, leaving a confused Cody and Obi-wan in his wake. “Do you have any idea what he’s planned, General?”
“Honestly, Commander, I was afraid to ask.” He put a hand on Cody’s shoulder. “Quin may be…eccentric, but he’s an extremely capable shadow. I’ve trusted him with my life more times than I can count. If he has a plan, it’s probably a good one.”
“I hope you’re right, sir.” With a sigh, he quickly rearranged the pads on his desk. “I had better get going. The sooner I leave, the sooner I’ll get back.”
As he reached to door, Kenobi’s voice made him pause. “Commander.” Turning, he saw the jedi standing alone in front of his desk, the dingy and cramped office making him look smaller for some reason, more alone. “May the force be with you.”
He gave the jedi a smile, trying to make it as genuine as possible. “You’re the one that’ll be going into an active warzone, General. Coruscant will be a vacation compared to that.”
“I hope you’re right.” After a moment, Kenobi added, “Cody, if you need my help, just comm. I’ll come.”
Trying to not think of how ominous that sounded, Cody nodded. “I will. Try not to lose your lightsaber, sir. I won’t be around to pick it up.”
“I’ll endeavor,” the general said with a pinched smile.
Before he could change his mind, Cody let the door close behind him and marched towards his quarters. He’d take off his armor and then get to the hangars. There was no reason to keep his little brother waiting, after all.