Obi-Wan exhaled sharply. General… he was a damn General in the 'Grand Army of the Republic'. Leading the men, he would never call them just Clones as some other councillers - and even his own Padawan – did, it just served to further dehumanise them, in battle, no… into war.
He was not a general. Well, he had some experience, Melida/Daan, the Stark Hyperspace War, that extended mission to Mandalore, his friendship with Scogar and his mercenary clan, and a few dozen other circumstances where he, as a Padawan or newly minted Knight (although without Anakin in some missions, as Force knows he needed to catch up on some more basic studies early on) would observe or take part in skirmishes or battles. But strategy of relatively small battles and planning a war was like comparing an initiate to a Master. Yes they were both classified as the same thing, (War and Jedi res[e), and broadly, very broadly, possessed the same attributes. But that was where any similarities ended.
If he'd learnt anything while teaching Anakin, it was that what you didn't know was not a failing, as long as you filled in those gaps as soon as possible. And preferably do it the next day if you were to keep the image of Oh so perfect Jedi... damn Council.
To the Archives it is then, mused the fresh 'General' Kenobi. The 'Battle of Light' may have occurred over a thousand years ago, but it didn't mean that nothing could be learned from its strategy. Tactics and logistics of the final battle or campaign leading up to it would be useful, and there was an old saying on Obi Wan's home planet Cyrene; Knowledge is Power, no more so would this be true than in the upcoming war.
Moving through the highest echelons of the temple, where only Masters were permitted, and thankfully there were few of those, and even fewer used these parts of the temple as a … brooding ground. Obi-Wan had… he had NOT almost fled from the council like some berated Padawan upon being told by said council that he was now a General. No, that was completely unlike one of the Old Guard…
Ah kriff it. The aruetyc di'kut assigning him a Generalship over the ... 212th. With a commander … CC-2224. Those facts took longer to come back to him than he would like to admit... yes it was most likely his disgust at being assigned numbers, cold and clinical, just like those men waiting in line for their helmets on kammino. That wouldn't do. He needed karking names not shabla alphanumeric designations, he needed to remember and know the men, not designations. And that was probably what was keeping him from accepting it.
It was funny how, whenever he became angry, he slipped into Mando'a. Well almost funny, every time he cursed in Mando'a, he remembered Satine, and meeting her in Melinda/Daan, a young bounty hunter, extremely young. Mandalorians considered 13 as a coming of age, but even then most would have considered 16 as a more appropriate time. Still, 10 years of messaging and the odd few days of running into each other, notwithstanding that year long … mission to mandalore to protect what turned out to be a corrupt senator, well… it left more than a few memories. And that promise…
He nearly froze, a single wayward thought brining everything to a halt, including locomotion. Oh Force, we have an army of men, unpaid, growing up to expect nothing but commands and orders. And who will willingly forgo better sense than disobey. – the horrific casualty toll on Geonosis stood testament to that. There was a reason Jedi were connected closer to Diplomatic Corps rather than Military Corps on Coruscant. Although th eMilitary Corps on Coruscant was now replaced with the GAR. It would take some getting used to.
But those men, not clones, never just clones, were effectively slaves, and Anakin. That would be the single most hypocritical mayen, or strangely the one time the order stuck by its principles of not freeing slaves en masse.
Kriff it, this oisk'la shabla hut'uun…
Breathe Kenobi, he sternly commanded himself. He was a Master, one of the Old Guard, a specialist of Soresu. He did NOT get emotional or throw tantrums that may break walls (not anymore atleast).
Anakin would hate it, Satine would hate him, and he… Well, the universe had a terrific sense of irony. After so many years of Mandos killing Jedi, now the Jedi would lead millions upon millions of Mandos to their deaths. Gra'tua indeed, he thought.
If Obi-Wan had paid any attention to where his feet were taking him, he may have chuckled. The small, attic was far to grand a term, but it was more than a loft. He usually came here early in his Mastership, to, well, brood.
This was, well… if he needed a place to brood, this was it, but frankly, he needed to meet his men.
