"War isn't hell. War is war and Hell is hell, and between the two, war is a lot worse." "How do you figure that, Hawkeye?" "Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell?" "Sinners, I believe." "Exactly. There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. But war is chock full of them. Little kids, cripples, old ladies. In fact, except for a few of the brass, almost everybody involved is an innocent bystander." -M.A.S.H.
There were several hellish missions that Cody had been on in his short existence, and Ryloth was one of those that was one he would never like to repeat again, thank you very much. Trying to take the entire planet back from a Separatist invasion designed to starve the civilians into submission had been a massive headache on all sides and a longshot he hadn't been sure they would have been able to pull off.
Thank the Force that they had been successful. The campaign had cost many lives, both civilian and clone, but it had been worth it in the end to see Ryloth liberated.
There had been no resistance and all Separatist units had been subdued, making Cody's life infinitely easier than it had been two days ago. Most of the main clone forces had already been pulled off planet when Wat Tambor unconditionally surrendered, but some were staying behind to try and help get the Twi'leks back on their feet. The promise General Windu had made to Cham Syndulla was to be honored, and the soldiers would stay no longer than this.
Cody and some of his men had volunteered to stay behind and help find survivors, or recover the bodies of the dead, and it was in the aftermath of the battles, as they patrolled through the ruins, that Cody found himself with a handful. Literally.
Commander Cody, officially known as CC-2224 in the Kaminoan records, was not a man known for his kindness and empathy. He wasn't a cruel commander by any means, but he was firm and unyielding, which made him so good at being the marshal commander for the Republic forces. He could handle nearly anything thrown at him and still look textbook presentable after coming out of warzone. It was baffling and mysterious and also slightly terrifying.
But, despite his tough commander image, Cody had a kind heart. He would never abandon anyone, brother, civilian or otherwise, if he could help it and when he had the time, he made it a point to visit the wounded in the 212nd division as soon as he had time after the campaigns. He worked hard to not forget the sacrifices his brothers made and to not abuse the power being marshal commander gave him by distancing himself from fighting.
When he found the little girl in the ruins of a liberated village, bleeding massively from a head wound in the rubble, he had immediately called in medical support. He privately had his doubts about her chances of survival, considering how much copper blood was spilling onto the ground and how starved her body was from the blockade, but she had surprised him when the medics reported that she had pulled through. The tenacity of the children on this planet surprised him; first the little girl who had helped them pull through in the first village they liberated, and now her.
As soon as Cody had a chance to take a break, he had found his way down to the shelters were the sick and wounded Twi'leks of the local areas were being taken care of. His Twi'lek aid had informed him that the little girl he had rescued had been taken there.
"There is, however, one problem we cannot seem to solve." The medic, Nisik Yluta, explained. He cast a worried glance out over the stretchers and beds filled with sick and wounded Twi'leks. It was far from the pristine standards of Inner Rim hospitals, but it was enough to help them.
"What's the matter?" Cody asked, years of experience in high-intensity battlefields allowing his voice to stay steady and even in the face of the healer's anxiety.
"The girl you recovered, Outeena, she can't sleep. We have given her painkillers and found no source of pain other than her head wound, but still she tosses and turns and moans. The lack of sleep is aggravating her wounds and slowing her recovery. Some of others believe that the ghosts of her family have not been laid to rest and plague her."
His instincts argued that wasn't the case, but multiple campaigns in multiple parts of the galaxy had led him into contact with a variety of cultures, and many believed that the dead would haunt the living until they were properly taken care of. Cody didn't personally believe it, but he wasn't about to bash the cultures of others. "Were there no survivors from her family?"
Nisik shook his head, green head-tails flapping. "None. She alone lives."
An orphan, at such a young age... "What will become of her?"
"I'm not sure. Perhaps one of the families in her village will be willing to take care of her until she is of age."
Good, at least she would be taken care of. It wasn't his responsibility, but he at least wanted to make sure something was in place for her.
"May I see her?" He asked.
The healer smiled. "Come with me, Commander. I will take you to her." And with that, the healer wove his way through the aisles of people, Cody following behind. His gaze skirted over the many victims of the blockade and his heart ached for them. Yes, he had seen plenty of death and suffering, most often on the faces and bodies of his brothers, but it never made it easier to see it. Far too many of them were just skin and bones, their starvation impeding their recoveries.
Outeena was located near the back of the large shelter, where many of the adolescents and children had been placed. He found her among them, pink and yellow skin standing out among the blues and greens and tans. She was turned away from them, bandages wrapped carefully around her lekku to protect her vulnerable wound from the outside world. She was shaking on the makeshift cot she was laying on, and as they neared her, Cody could hear whimpering and moaning coming from her. Her eyes were screwed shut in pain.
Nisik stepped around to face her, speaking softly in his native tongue to her. Cody knew necessary and important phrases from the major languages outside of Basic, but he had never had enough time to actually learn a language due to the war. All he got from listening to Nisik was "friend", "soldier,", "help" and what he assumed was his name, "Co-dee".
He could hear a small voice responding, presumably Outeena's, and watched as the girl tried to maneuver herself into a sitting position. Immediately, Nisik placed a quelling hand on her shoulder and said something to her, but the girl continued to try and get up. The healer's eyes flicked up to him and then back to the girl, mouth pinched in thought.
Cody watched in confusion as very gently, Nisik pulled Outeena into his arms and carried her over to him.
"Ah…" At a loss for words and understanding, Cody automatically opened his arms to receive the girl. "Nisik, you shouldn't move her…" He tried to protest, automatically shifting his weight to balance Outeena in his arms. She was older, but due to the starvation her people had endured, she was far lighter than she should have been. It shouldn't have been this easy to hold her.
"It's alright, Commander. She wishes to see you." Nisik assured him as Outeena cracked open her eyes. It looked like a mammoth effort just to open them, and Cody could sympathize. Receiving wounds like hers took far too much out of a person.
The blue eyes widened upon recognizing him. He had removed his mask to speak to her when he had first found her; they found that the citizens responded better to their care if they could see the faces of the men helping them, rather than the impersonal masks they wore. She recognized him, even when her head had been bleeding out onto the streets.
He was impressed; she was a tenacious little bugger.
"Uh, hello again." He said, for lack of anything better coming to mind. If only his clones could see the great Commander Cody at a loss for words; no one would believe it otherwise.
She spoke something, so softly and weakly he almost didn't hear it. One of her hands reached up to touch the scar on his face, or tried to. She lacked the strength to follow through with the action and it flopped back down onto her chest. The movement jarred her slightly and she let out a soft cry of pain. Nisik immediately murmured something comfortingly, reaching into one of his waist pouches and pulling out a small vial of painkillers to put into her bloodstream.
The pinched expression of pain on her face disappeared as the drugs hit her bloodstream and she gave a soft sigh, burrowing deeper into his arms. "Co-dee," she murmured, and a few moments later, her breathing began to even out in a pattern he recognized as sleep.
Neither man moved, one very perplexed and the other disbelieving.
"This is the first time she has slept." Nisik told Cody, eyes wide as he stared at Outeena. "How did you do it, Commander?"
"I…I don't know…" Cody stammered, staring down at the sleeping girl in surprise.
"Amazing." Nisik murmured, speaking a few more words Cody didn't catch. His fingers skimmed over the bandaging on her head, checking to make sure it hadn't been dislodged.
Cody didn't speak, trying to understand why she had decided to fall asleep in his arms of all places instead of one of her own people. He was not a particularly touchy person, preferring to keep his physical contact to touches on shoulders, handshakes or other simple forms of contact, and he found himself at a loss for what to do with an armful of child.
He had come to visit her and check up on her. Mission accomplished; now it was time to return and help Kenobi and the other generals clear out, to return to back to something that was familiar and what he understood.
"Here," Cody finally said, shifting his arms to give Outeena back to Nisik. "She needs to lay down and I need to return back to base." Well, he didn't need to considering Kenobi had given him (or rather, ordered) some downtime, but Nisik didn't know that. The Twi'lek nodded, reaching out his arms to take her back.
Blue eyes suddenly flew open at the movement and Outeena began to struggle and moan, struggling to reach back to Cody as Nisik took her.
"Outeena," Cody tried to say. He was much stronger than her, especially in her starved form, but he found himself unable to truly counter her weak attempts to reach him. "You need to rest. You'll hurt yourself if you keep moving." Nisik was also speaking, most likely saying the same things as him in her native language.
The girl would have none of it; she began to thrash and cry and fight to get out of Nisik's arms. The healer looked imploringly at Cody.
"Sir, would you be willing to hold her again? She needs to rest…"
Cody hesitated. Strictly, he had no urgent business calling him back to base for a few hours now, but…he had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know how to help a child.
But she needed him, apparently.
He sighed. "Yes." Why me, kid?
Nisik was quick to shift the moaning child back into his arms. As soon as Outeena came back into contact with Cody, her moans fell quiet. Wide eyes stared back at him and little hands, given strength through adrenaline or whatever was the Twi'lek equivalent was, grasped his armor as tightly as she could manage.
The message was clear: don't let her go again.
"Hey, it's okay now." Force, he sounded so awkward. Commander Cody didn't do awkward; he needed to be strong and capable and calm under any situation. It was making him extremely uncomfortable just feeling this way. "It's okay, I'm not leaving."
Outeena didn't seem to believe him, judging by the way she refused to let go of his armor like she was magnetized to it.
"Here, Commander, come sit." Nisik gestured to a chair. "She will get heavy after a while." Cody nodded, pausing when Outeena whimpered at his movements.
"It's okay, I'm just going to sit." He assured her. "I can't hold you standing up forever."
Outeena showed no outward understanding of what he was saying, whimpering and clasping as tightly as she could to his armor. It wasn't until he became still that she finally relaxed.
Outeena took far longer to drop off to sleep this time, cautious about letting her guard drop in case Cody left again. But exhaustion wore down on her tiny body and eventually, the eyes slipped close and her breathing evened out again.
Looks like he was going to be here for the long haul.
"Commander," Nisik said. "I have others who need my aid. By your leave…?"
"Yes. I'll be here with her." Cody assured him. It's not like I can go anywhere right now, he thought ruefully to himself.
Nisik nodded, smiling faintly at the commander, before he turned and disappeared into the sea of injured and sick.
Cody contained the sigh he wanted to let out. The urge to do something productive itched at him, but he stubbornly suppressed it. This girl needed sleep, and somehow, if she could only find it with him, then he could be patient enough to make sure that she got the sleep she needed.
His mind began to wander as he looked down at her. Not for the first time he wondered why it had come to this, to using the natives of the planet as living shields and hostages against the Republic. These were the very people that needed to be out of harm's way the most, instead of directly in its path.
Clones were meant to be shot at, meant to be the focus of attack. It protected the civilians and the innocents from getting hurt, but as Cody had learned, it very rarely was the case. The civilian casualties in some cases outstripped the clone casualties, like here on Ryloth.
Cody pushed that line of thinking elsewhere in his mind. Waxing philosophical on the fairness of life wasn't productive and led to his thoughts around in circles until he was exhausted. He would let General Kenobi and the other Jedi be the ones to ponder the great mysteries of the universe while he helped lead the clones into battle.
He led his head fall back, exhaustion pulling at his muscles and bones now that he was finally sitting still for longer than five minutes. He may be an enhanced clone warrior created from the template of one of the galaxy's finest bounty hunters and soldiers, but even he had his limits and Ryloth had pushed him to his. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept more than a few hours at a time.
Maybe Outeena had the right idea about catching some sleep. Part of him hesitated to drop his guard and fall asleep, but another part, quiet persuasively, was arguing that it would only be for a short amount of time and he would be alerted by the commlink if anyone needed him.
It would only be for a short amount of time…
Nisik returned some time later, smiling softly to himself when he spotted a peacefully sleeping clone commander with a small, equally peaceful Twi'lek girl in his arms among a sea of injured and sick.
He would return later, he decided, when they had just a little more shut-eye.
Whooo, I have such an original title: obsequium is service in Latin. But no title jumped out at me for this story and my sister suggested it, so I'm going for it. Anyway, this story poked me between the eyes over Christmas break after watching the Force Awakens, and since I have a lot of clone feels going on right now, I went for it. I couldn't get the story to come out the way I wanted it to, but hopefully this is enjoyable to read.
This story is based off of the story of the Chief Master Gebhardt who slept four nights in the hospital so that a little girl who had survived an execution of her family in the Middle East could sleep, since she wouldn't sleep unless he was holding her. This is also my first Star Wars fanfic, so I apologize for any errors or problems.
And, as always, if you have any questions, come drop by my Tumblr! I would love to walk with you guys!
May the Force be with you.