Chapter 1: Gone

Cody lay on his bed. It had been eight years since Order 66 had been passed. He took another drink of his secret stash of alcohol. How he wished he could go back to that day. That he could change everything. That he could have said no to Palpatine and warned Obi-Wan, to have saved her. Most of all he wished that he could apologize to Obi-Wan. His friend. When he was a shiny, the Jedi had taken him under his wing. He had been young, but Obi-Wan helped him climb the ranks.

But..

How he wished he could have saved her. His beautiful wife. Her beautiful pale green skin, and her tattooes across her nose that looked like freckles. He smiled at the memory, but it quickly faded. She was gone. And he couldn't save her. She was dead. And with her, their child. He had lost everything. He had murdered his friend and teacher, he was helpless to save his wife and child. His friend Rex had abandoned him to take Ahsoka to safety. He frowned. He, CC-2224, had been unable to save his wife and child, but Rex had been able to save the woman he loved.

Cody sighed. His memory flashing before him.

*He had rushed back to the temple as quickly as he could, trying to raise his wife over their private comm link. She hadn't answered. There had been static, but he still prayed that he would be able to make it in time. He had gotten there several hours after the order had first been passed.

He could still hear gunfire over the comm links of the 501st troopers. Hear their voices as they called out each Jedi that met their death. He hadn't heard her name yet. Maybe...

He searched for her everywhere. He found the younglings dead. A shame. So young and innocent. They hadn't done a single thing wrong, yet they were slaughtered. He quickly left. There was nothing he could do for them. But he was still wondering why their wounds seemed to be lightsaber wounds... not blaster.

Cody shook his head and entered the medical bay. He was passing one of the doors when a clone smashed out a door, falling to his hands and knees, his right arm wrapped around something as he got up and disappeared down a hall. Cody looked into the room and slowly stepped inside. There she was. Barriss Offee. His beautiful
wife, clutching her chest where there was a blaster wound. The bodies of three dead clones lay around her, their markings of the 501st.

It was strange, Cody thought, detached from the world. That their death wounds were blaster. Not lightsaber or damage done by the force. They had not been killed by his wife. She had been defenseless. She was trying to give birth to their child. Barriss insisted that it would be a boy, and they would name it Cody, but Cody had been sure that it would be a girl, and he would name it barrica, after Barriss. She had laughed at that.

Cody came back to the world as his wife rasped a breath. His heart jumped. She was still alive.

"Barriss?!" He cried, dropping his gun and running to her side. "Barriss! Oh no." He cried desperately, ripping his helmet from his head and dropping both the helmet and his gun to the ground.

"Barriss!" He put a gloved hand to her face.

She opened her eyes. "Cody?" She asked weakly.

"Shhhh." Cody ordered, gently pulling her hands away from her chest. "It's alright. I'm going to get you out of here."

"No." He grabbed his arm. "No, Cody. It is my time. It is not yours, however, and you must live. Remember how much I love you..." She struggled to breath, and seemed to realize that she would soon die, for she hurried to speak.

"The...Clone." She gasped, and Cody grabbed her hand.

"Shhh, Barriss. They're dead." He whispered.

"Cody... You must...listen." She coughed, a small trickle of blood leaking out of her mouth. "Rex..." She drew in one more shuddering breath. "He...Rex..." The breath was gone, and Barriss died.

"Barriss? Barriss! No!" Cody cried, pulling her into his lap and kissing her lips gently. "No, Barriss, please!" He cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.

My Cody. A voice rang in his mind. You must listen. It is not your time. You must live...Rex

Cody felt hate fill his heart. It was Rex's fault! That must have been what Barriss was trying to tell him! Rex had killed Cody's lover, but run off with his own! Rex would pay...Cody swore it.*

Cody jerked out of his memory. Yes, Rex would pay. He had asked Lord Vader if he could work alone to find Clone deserters and Jedi that lived out the purge. Vader had "humoured" him, so to speak, and he was on the trail of Rex and Ahsoka. They were good at evading pursuits, constantly moving, and he had been a couple of years
behind, but Cody knew that he was closing in. And soon, he would have his revenge over Rex. He had no quarrel with Ahsoka, but if she got in the way, he would take care of her too. If he died, then he would meet Barriss and find out if he had a son or daughter. He had nothing to live for besides revenge, but he had something to die for.

"Watch out, Rex. I'm coming." He whispered, looking out the window to the planet of Tattooine.