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Cody learned that Fox’s silence is not empty.
It is a tactical weapon.
People see the Chief of Defense sitting motionless at the head of a conference table and begin filling the quiet for him. They offer explanations nobody requested, make promises they can’t keep, and occasionally confess to crimes that weren’t yet under investigation.
Saw Gerrera has been yapping for six minutes. Uninterrupted at that.
He is currently losing a battle against himself.
“The people support us,” Saw insists. “They want King Dendup restored.”
Fox says nothing.
The central briefing chamber aboard the Sentinel is built around a circular tactical table. Onderon rotates above it in green and blue, its major cities marked alongside Separatist fortifications, civilian population centers, and suspected insurgent positions.
Fox sits with his helmet on the table beside him. His red-and-black ARC armor absorbs most of the chamber’s low light, leaving only the Guard markings and ammunition cartridges visible.
General Kenobi sits to his right. General Skywalker sits next to Kenobi, visibly engaged in a private struggle not to interrupt everyone. For once.
Cody stands behind them.
Lux Bonteri and Saw occupy the opposite side of the table, both dressed in civilian clothes and carrying enough desperate conviction to start three additional wars.
Fox still hasn’t spoken.
Saw leans forward.
“Onderon’s legitimate king is imprisoned. The Separatists placed Rash on the throne and installed droid forces throughout Iziz. What more does the Republic need?”
“A legally uncomplicated planet,” Cody says.
Saw turns toward him. “There’s nothing complicated about occupation.”
“Onderon was already in a civil conflict before the Separatists arrived.”
“That doesn’t make Rash legitimate.”
“It means this war didn’t begin with the Confederacy,” Cody says. “If the Republic intervenes, every faction we don’t support will claim we’re using the current war to choose Onderon’s government.”
Lux’s jaw tightens.
“The people should choose their government.”
Fox finally speaks.
“Which people?”
Two words.
Saw’s momentum hits a wall.
“The people of Onderon.”
“Those supporting Dendup?”
“Yes.”
“What about those supporting Rash?”
“They’re collaborators.”
“All of them?”
Saw hesitates.
Cody almost feels sorry for him.
Almost.
Fox reaches toward the display and enlarges a map of Iziz. Political districts appear in layers, each marked with recent demonstrations, arrests, infrastructure failures, and reported civilian loyalties.
“Republic Intelligence estimates Rash maintains support in three urban districts,” Fox says. “Dendup holds stronger support outside the capital. Separatist forces control military infrastructure. Local security remains divided. At least four armed groups operate independently of either of you.”
Saw looks at the display as though it has personally betrayed him.
“Our group is the only one capable of fighting back.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Lux steps in before Saw can make the situation worse.
“We aren’t asking the Republic to invade.”
“You’re asking us to train an insurgency.”
“A resistance,” Lux says.
Fox’s expression doesn’t shift.
“The distinction depends on who wins.”
General Skywalker leans forward.
“They came to the Council because they need help.”
“And the Council referred them to the Chancellor,” Fox says.
“The Chancellor referred them to you,” Obi-Wan adds mildly.
Fox looks at him.
Kenobi smiles.
Cody knows that smile. It means the General is about to present a terrible idea as though everyone else has already agreed.
“Onderon’s political circumstances prevent formal intervention,” Kenobi says. “But refusing all assistance would leave its population under Separatist military occupation.”
“The population was already shooting at itself.”
“Parts of it,” Lux says.
Fox looks back to him.
“Your mother served in the Separatist Senate.”
Lux stiffens. “She opposed Dooku before she died.”
“I know.”
Something changes in Lux’s face.
Fox has read Mina Bonteri’s file. Of course he has. He probably read it before agreeing to let the boy aboard the Sentinel. And Bonteri is a boy, potentially younger than even Commander Tano. He sure acts like it.
“She believed the Republic and Confederacy could negotiate,” Lux says. “Dooku had her killed for it.”
“You believe training an armed movement honors that position?”
Lux opens his mouth.
Nothing comes out.
Cody almost winces.
Saw does not.
“We’ve tried peaceful resistance,” Saw says. “Rash arrests anyone who speaks against him. The droids fire on demonstrations. We can’t negotiate with that.”
“Then what happens after you win?” Fox asks.
Saw answers immediately. “We restore Dendup.”
“And the factions that reject him?”
“We’ll handle them.”
“How?”
Saw’s certainty falters.
Fox doesn’t press.
He simply waits.
The silence returns, sharper than before.
Cody watches the Onderon map rotate.
He understands Fox’s hesitation. This is not a simple liberation campaign. There is no clean line between invaded government and occupying army. Onderon’s conflict has roots older than the Confederacy, and sending Republic troops to train one faction could turn a civil war into an official proxy war before lunch.
Still, doing nothing leaves the Separatists entrenched.
Cody clears his throat.
“We don’t need to send troops.”
Fox’s gaze shifts toward him.
It is remarkable how much suspicion one man can communicate through a slight movement of his eyes.
Cody continues anyway.
“A small training unit. No Republic armor in the field. No direct participation in combat operations. We teach them small-unit tactics, sabotage prevention, communications discipline, and civilian evacuation procedures.”
Saw’s expression brightens.
Fox’s does not.
“Who?” Fox asks.
“Captain Rex.”
General Skywalker looks toward Cody.
Cody ignores him.
“Rex has trained local militias before,” Cody says. “He knows how to build a unit without turning it into a smaller version of the GAR. He’s good at adjusting doctrine around whatever equipment they actually have.”
“He’s also currently assigned to the 501st,” Fox says.
“I’m aware.”
Skywalker folds his arms.
“Rex can handle it.”
Fox looks at him.
“You volunteered him quickly.”
“He’d volunteer himself.”
“That isn’t the same thing.”
Cody steps in before Skywalker can explain military consent to the Chief of Defense.
“Commander Tano should accompany him.”
Lux Bonteri’s entire face changes.
It isn’t dramatic.
The boy doesn’t gasp or smile or announce that he has suddenly become extremely interested in the proposal. He merely straightens, and some of the desperation around his eyes gives way to something warmer.
Cody notices.
Of course he notices.
He spent years standing next to Obi-Wan Kenobi while the General and Duchess Satine perform an elaborate theatrical production titled We Are Absolutely Not in Love and Everyone Else Is Imagining Things.
Cody knows a crush when one walks into a command briefing and lights up at a name.
Wonderful.
The kid has developed feelings for possibly the one being in the GAR most likely to steamroll him without noticing. The Jedi Code may be the only thing keeping Lux’s dignity alive.
Beside Cody, Skywalker’s expression tightens.
Apparently he notices too.
That could become entertaining later.
Fox looks at Cody.
“Tano is a frontline commander.”
“And the best forward scout in the GAR,” Cody says. “She has experience in infiltration, reconnaissance, counter-surveillance, and irregular operations. Her unit’s already assisted with several intelligence missions.”
“She’s 16,” Fox says.
Saw glances between them.
Cody keeps his expression neutral.
“She’s been a commander for two years.”
“That wasn’t an answer.”
“No,” Cody agrees. “It’s the reason she’s qualified despite the answer.”
Fox’s mouth flattens.
Cody knows better than to pretend the situation is reasonable. They are discussing sending a 16-year-old into a civil war because she already has more combat and espionage experience than most planetary officers twice her age.
The GAR ran out of reasonable years ago.
General Kenobi gestures toward Lux.
“Ahsoka is also familiar with Senator Bonteri’s son.”
Lux begins, “We’ve worked together before.”
Cody very carefully does not look at him.
Skywalker does.
Lux seems to feel the inspection and remembers his survival instincts.
“In a professional capacity,” he adds.
Kenobi’s beard twitches.
Cody looks at the ceiling.
Fox’s attention returns to the tactical display.
“Tano’s familiarity creates a security risk.”
“It creates trust,” Lux says.
“It creates divided loyalties.”
“Ahsoka would never compromise a mission.”
Fox looks at Lux.
The boy has enough sense not to flinch, though Cody can see the effort.
“You’re confident.”
“I know her.”
Skywalker shifts in his chair.
Cody decides somebody should remove him before he starts asking Lux exactly how well.
Obi-Wan places one hand over his mouth, either thinking deeply or hiding a smile.
Cody suspects the second.
“Tano is still an active GAR commander,” Cody says, drawing the meeting back toward useful territory. “She follows military orders. Her relationship with Bonteri gives the trainers a point of contact who already understands her methods.”
Fox’s gaze narrows.
“And Rex?”
Cody could list Rex’s qualifications.
ARC certified. Experienced field commander. Exceptional instructor. Skilled with unconventional forces. Capable of maintaining discipline without strangling initiative. Trusted by both Skywalker and Tano.
All of that is true.
It is not the complete answer.
Rex is Tano’s.
Not in the way natborns would hear it. Not yet, and possibly not in any way either of them is willing to examine.
But Rex moves around her as though every battlefield has two centers, the mission and Ahsoka. She trusts his judgment when she is too angry to trust her own. He notices when she hasn’t eaten, when her left lek is hurting, when she is pretending not to be afraid.
Ahsoka can talk Rex into jumping from a moving gunship.
Rex can talk Ahsoka into waiting ten seconds before she does something worse.
Cody has watched this for years.
He would never admit that part of him wants to place them on an extended assignment together until one of them finally acknowledges whatever lives in the space between them.
That would be interfering.
Cody prefers strategic encouragement.
“Rex balances her,” he says.
Skywalker’s eyes flick toward him.
Kenobi lowers his hand, openly interested now.
Fox’s expression remains unreadable.
“How?”
“Tano’s instinct is to move first when she sees an opening,” Cody says. “Rex makes sure she sees the second and third consequences. Rex can become overcautious when the people under his command are at risk. Tano keeps him from mistaking caution for inaction.”
Fox looks from Cody to Skywalker.
“Is that accurate?”
Skywalker takes too long to answer.
“Yes.”
The reluctance in his voice is interesting.
Possibly, Cody thinks, Skywalker also knows exactly what is between his Padawan and his Captain. Possibly he's decided not to look directly at it because that would require considering several things about attachment, command structures, and his own life.
Kenobi’s expression suggests the same thought has occurred to him.
Fox turns back to the Onderon representatives.
“What can your people already do?”
Saw answers, “We know the city.”
“That isn’t a military capability.”
“We can shoot.”
“Can you maintain the weapons?”
“Some of us.”
“Encrypted communications?”
Lux shakes his head.
“Demolitions?”
“A few.”
“Medical evacuation?”
Neither answers.
“Command hierarchy?”
Saw and Lux speak at the same time.
“We have one.”
“We’re still organizing it.”
They stop.
Fox says nothing.
Saw glares at Lux.
Lux glares back.
Cody begins to understand why the Council sent them elsewhere.
Obi-Wan leans toward the table.
“They’re inexperienced, not incapable.”
“They’re politically divided, operationally untested, and asking for weapons training inside a civilian population center,” Fox says.
That is the longest sentence he has spoken since the meeting began.
Saw pounces on it.
“We aren’t asking you to fight for us.”
“You’re asking me to teach you how to fight more effectively.”
“Yes.”
“And when one of your trainees uses Republic instruction to assassinate a political rival?”
“They won’t.”
Fox looks at Saw until the certainty collapses under its own weight.
Lux speaks more carefully.
“Then give us conditions.”
Fox’s eyes shift toward him.
“Set rules,” Lux says. “Choose the trainers. Observe us. Withdraw support if we violate them.”
“You believe Gerrera will follow rules?”
Saw bristles. “I’m sitting right here.”
“I’m aware,” Lux says.
Cody likes him slightly more.
Fox folds his hands on the table.
“No attacks on civilian infrastructure. No targeted killings. No use of Republic personnel in combat. No Republic weapons transferred without serial documentation. Your trainees submit to background screening.”
Saw shakes his head. “We can’t hand the Republic a list of everyone involved.”
“Then there’s no mission.”
“The Separatists could intercept it.”
“Ghost will hold the records.”
Saw looks at Cody. Fair. Very few outside the GAR knows who Guard Special Operations Commander CT-7719 Callsign Ghost is. And Cody has no interest in explaining that to the man who looks like he's offended at the concept of subtlety.
No one steals names from Ghost. If someone somehow manages it, the list is no longer their largest problem. She is.
Fox continues.
“The trainers maintain independent communications with the Sentinel. They can terminate the operation at any time. You will establish a civilian command structure separate from field leadership before training begins.”
Saw opens his mouth.
Lux cuts him off.
“Agreed.”
“We haven’t discussed that,” Saw says.
“We’re discussing it now.”
“We need fighters, not committees.”
“You need someone deciding what happens after the fighting,” Fox says.
Saw looks ready to argue.
Lux places one hand on his arm.
For once, Saw stops.
Fox turns to Cody.
“Rex and Tano.”
Cody nods.
“Two Guard instructors,” Fox says. “One intelligence. One demolitions.”
“Ghost?” Cody asks.
“No. She’d scare the insurgents.”
Saw frowns. “We aren’t easily scared.”
Fox ignores him. Cody should also mention that Ghost is Fox's favorite Guard Commander.
“Hound will select personnel,” he says. “Your recommendation is entered under your authorization.”
There it is.
Cody keeps his face carefully blank.
“My authorization?”
“You recommended the team.”
“I recommended Rex and Tano.”
“You recommended the mission structure.”
“You designed the conditions.”
“I barely talked.”
That is, infuriatingly, true.
Kenobi looks delighted.
Skywalker looks suspicious.
Cody looks at Fox.
Fox looks back.
“You’re sending me the logistics reports, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“How many?”
“All of them.”
Cody should have stayed quiet.
Saw exhales in relief.
“So you’ll help us?”
Fox’s gaze returns to him.
“I’m authorizing a training assessment.”
“That means yes?”
“It means Captain Rex and Commander Tano will determine whether your people can be trained without creating a larger catastrophe.”
Saw smiles.
Lux does too, though his begins the moment Ahsoka’s name is repeated.
Cody notices Skywalker noticing.
This assignment may produce several useful things.
An organized Onderon resistance.
A test-bed for insurgency tactics against Separatist occupation.
A practical doctrine the Republic can reuse on other occupied worlds without committing entire armies.
And, with luck, Rex and Ahsoka trapped in close proximity long enough to have one honest conversation.
Cody would never admit the last objective exists.
Good luck prying it out of him.
Fox deactivates the Onderon display.
“Commander Cody will brief the selected personnel.”
Cody blinks.
“I will?”
“You’re the mission’s recommending officer.”
“I thought you were authorizing it.”
“I did.”
“And now?”
“Now you do the paperwork.”
Fox rises and collects his helmet.
The meeting is apparently over.
Cody watches the Chief leave the chamber after speaking fewer than 50 sentences and somehow assigning Cody responsibility for an unofficial insurgency, four instructors, a classified test program, and every corresponding logistics report.
Kenobi stands beside him.
“A productive meeting.”
Cody looks at him.
“You knew he’d do that.”
“I suspected.”
Skywalker points across the table at Lux.
“You and Ahsoka worked together in what professional capacity?”
Lux’s newly improved mood dies instantly.
Saw looks between them, confused.
Kenobi’s smile widens.
Cody decides the Onderon mission may become productive much sooner than expected.