Cody walked quietly down the ship's corridors. He hardly made a sound – most everyone would be asleep by this point. Though, he was sure there were others still awake. The man wore grey fatigues, and he would admit to himself it felt… off, now. But he didn't care so much that he would put on his armor in the middle of the night, when he would most likely end up back in his quarters to attempt sleep again.
A bang sounded and he spun around, heart beat thundering in his ears. He was met by only the air. Someone must have knocked something against their wall – these hallways were lined with the officers quarters. He turned back around, continuing on. When had he become so anxious? There were only brothers and Jedi on this ship.
Trust had been shattered by a brother.
That wasn't a comfort.
He couldn't seem to get a good night's sleep anymore. He knew lives depended on him being sane, and fully functioning. He needed… The man sighed. He couldn't even force himself to think the word; it was as if it were against his programming. Help.
The clone didn't know why he found himself going this direction – he could have gone to the med bay for drugs, or Obi-Wan – a friend, and the only one that knew the whole story. But he didn't go to either of those. He didn't even go to Rex, a trusted brother.
Instead he found himself outside the door of another's room, a woman that he'd barely spoken to.
He tightly shut brown eyes before raising his hand, lightly knocking on the door. "Commander Tano?"
Ahsoka shifted in her bunk, turning over and opening blue eyes. She blinked through the darkness. At first she'd thought she'd imagined it... but she sensed someone at the door. "Hmm?" she mumbled through sleep as she sat up. Rubbing one hand over her eyes, she stood, wrapping the stickery grey blanket around her shoulders as she headed to the door. Pushing the button to open it, she stared for a moment. "Cody?"
"I'm sorry to wake you, sir -" he took a short breath, "I need..." He rubbed a hand over his eyes, "I need to talk, sir."
Ahsoka seemed to take a moment to process the words. She stepped out of the way and nodded, "It's all right..." Smiling, Ahsoka covered her mouth and yawned. "...I don't mind."
Cody stepped past her, nodding once. He stopped in the middle of the room, crossing his arms and frowning in thought.
Ahsoka shook her head trying to clear her fuzzy thoughts. "Is everything all right?" She didn't know what time it was, but it felt late.
"I've been having trouble with dreams, sir."
Ahsoka frowned in concern, stepping toward him. "How long?"
"Since, ah-" Cody turned to face her, "Just since Slick."
"Oh... Well, I'm glad you're telling me." She moved closer. "Sit?" She followed her own instructions, sitting on one side of her bed, and motioning for him to sit across from her.
Cody sat, leaning forward and clasping his hands. "I can't remember most of it." He took a breath and looked at the wall across from them, "I don't want to be a hindrance on a mission."
Ahsoka nodded. "You won't be." She continued on, not waiting for him to speak again. "If you want, I can teach you to meditate; clear your mind?" Ahsoka leaned forward, arms resting loosely on her folded legs. "Or if you want to talk about it...?"
"I'm still not sure about this Jedi meditation," Cody said with a slight laugh, scratching the back of his head in discomfort. "I'm not used to this kind of interaction, sir. Just statistics and battle. Not used to any of this."
Ahsoka smiled. "I admit, it takes some getting used to. Even for Jedi, it's strange at first. But with time and practice, it'll become natural; just like firing a blaster, or wearing armor-not that I would know about that, but..." she shrugged. "And..." she paused, "...while you're not on duty, call me Ahsoka." After all, in her mind, they'd always been equals.
"Yes-sir. Ahsoka." Cody gave a nod. "Have you ever thought about a brother - a friend, turning to the Dark side?"
Ahsoka shifted slightly, her gaze falling to the empty space between them. "I've thought about it... yes. My master says not to dwell on it, but if it's a real problem, I've always thought-isn't it right to try to find a solution?"
"In my book, there's a fine line between keeping the right mind-set and ignoring a problem; and it's better to deal with it." Cody leaned back. "But I'm not a peacekeeper. Clones enforce the Republic laws."
"I agree with you there." Ahsoka paused. "Well, in my point of view, clones are peacemakers. I think, at this point... you're both peacekeeper, and peacemaker-whatever it means to be both, only you will know for sure, but I'll help when I can." The young Jedi smiled.
"That sounds... daunting," Cody said, moving a hand forward and smiling slightly.
Ahsoka shrugged. "Eh... We've both been through worse! You can do it-if anyone can, you can."
"Thanks." Cody began to stand, "I should leave you to your rest."
"Wait a minute, you!" Ahsoka snorted. "I'm up now, we may as well do something!"
"Ah - what do you have in mind, sir?" Cody paused a moment before correcting himself, "Ahsoka."
The Togruta grinned. "How about this; you teach me something, I teach you something?"
"Seems... fair. What do you want to learn?"
Ahsoka shrugged. "Teach me to shoot a blaster! We've got a shooting range on board, and I've never fired one. It'll be something new." She sat up straighter and looked proud of her choice.
Cody couldn't help but smile - a genuine smile. "All right."
Ahsoka stood up on the bed, dropping the blanket in the process. Gracefully, she hopped to the floor. Using the Force, she pulled her light-sabers from the desk next to her bed, and clipped them on her belt. Though she wouldn't be needing them, it was habit to bring them everywhere. "Ready when you are."
Cody led the way only to the door - pressing the button to open the door - then motioned for her to take the lead.
Ahsoka stepped out into the hall, looked both ways, then turned and headed in the direction that would eventually take them to the shooting range. "I can't remember a time before the war. I was very young when it started. Sometimes... I wonder what I will do when it's over..." she whispered, so as not to be too loud.
"Do you have any ideas?"
"No. I mean, I'll still be a Jedi... but, I don't really know what it's like to be a peacekeeper..."
"You will do well at it, Ahsoka." Cody looked into blue eyes. Yes; she was often something of a peacekeeper, even in wartime.
"Thanks... but..." she stopped. She probably shouldn't voice thoughts like the one that just crossed her mind.
"You can tell me, sir." Habit. Ahsoka. Cody moved on, "Hiding a thought inside won't banish it; sometimes we must question everything we know before we truly believe."
"Huh... you sure you haven't always been a Jedi?" Ahsoka smiled up at him. "And... What I mean is... sometimes, I wonder if the order hasn't been tainted by war. I sometimes wonder if the Jedi are doing the right thing. I know I shouldn't question it..."
"Always do what you know is right. You can't change the way others think, but you can inspire others to become better."
"You surprise me sometimes," Ahsoka said, smiling softly.
"Here it is," Cody motioned towards another door - the one to the shooting range. "Surprise you?"
"Ah..." Ahsoka turned, opening the door, and stepping into the large metallic grey room. "What I mean is... you have a point of view that sometimes, I don't expect soldiers would share..."
Cody followed after her. "All right." He took it at face value.
Ahsoka headed into the room, and looked around. "All right... so," She paused behind a concrete wall and looked at Cody. "What from here?"
Cody headed to a locker on the far side of the main half of the room, unlocking it and pulling out one of the blaster pistols. He returned to her side, doing a quick safety check of the weapon. He handed it to her, and gave her the magazine separately. "Slide the magazine in here and tap it with your palm..."
Ahsoka grabbed the gun, taking the magazine in the other hand. She held it and slid the metal in, tapping it with her palm and looking at Cody to see if she'd done it right. "Like that?"
"Yes, very good." Cody moved and looked over the concrete wall, gaging the distance of the targets. It was set quite far out; he moved away, looking for the panel. He touched the screen, one of the targets moving forward as the floor moved, bringing it closer.
Ahsoka held the weapon in one hand, waiting for the target to get closer. She stared at it, closing one eye as she looked through the sight.
"You want to keep both eyes open - may I?" Cody paused, waiting for permission before helping her with stance.
"Oh, okay..." Ahsoka opened both eyes, and then nodded, "Yeah."
The clone reached around her, moving her arms slightly - "Look through the first sight, and focus on aligning the second up with the target."
"Okay..." Ahsoka did as she was told, aiming the weapon toward the target after aligning her eyes with the first sight.
Cody took a step back. "Widen your stance, and bend your knees..."
Ahsoka did as she was told, but made a face as she did. "This feels awkward."
"You get used to it, Commander Tano." Cody crossed his arms over his chest, looking between her and the target, "All right, Ahsoka. The recoil can be surprising at first, but try not to think about it."
Ahsoka nodded, and pulled the trigger. (Perhaps a little too quickly) The blaster jerked in her hand, and she flinched. "That's definitely surprising," she agreed with a laugh.
"It's not so bad after some practice," Cody spoke with a more enthusiastic tone.
Ahsoka grinned back at him and then took aim at the target. She took a deep breath and fixed her stance, then aimed. She focused on the Force around her, hoping it would distract her from the recoil. Pulling the trigger slower this time, she didn't let herself think about the recoil. This time, she didn't flinch, and hit the target. (Not in the center, but she hit it this time.)
"Good." Cody watched, staying back for the time being.
"So... is there any way to make it... less re-coily?" Ahsoka scrunched up her face at her made-up word.
"No," Cody said. For a moment, he kept a straight face. He could always be stoic - but the comment seemed so odd, when one was used to being around a clone army born and trained for... Recoil. Among many other things. Maybe it was the lack of sleep over the past few days.
He laughed - and it seemed harder to stop the quiet, gruff sounds than it was to start.
Ahsoka grinned. "What?" The word was drawn out and strange, but she couldn't help laughing as well.
He raised a hand to his face, pressing his fingers against now-closed eyes. Shaking his head, he managed to stop the laughter - "Sorry, sir." The man still continued to grin.
"No need to be sorry." She turned, aimed again, and fired, breathing evenly and not flinching. This time, she hit about four inches outside the center.
Cody watched in silence, looking between the Padawan and the target over the concrete wall.
Ahsoka took another shot, and this time, she hit the center. (Not dead center, but it was definitely very close.) "I did it! Sort of..."
"Excellent, Ahsoka."
"Thank you, Cody." She bowed slightly, removed the magazine, then handed him the blaster. "Now, I teach you something. What do YOU want to learn?"
Cody put the blaster in the locker with the magazine before turning again. "Eh... What would you suggest?"
"I don't know... actually. I learned it all by what the Masters chose for me to do." Ahsoka pondered Cody's question.
"Would meditation be a good a place as any to start?"
"Yes, it would." Ahsoka smiled. "For meditation, it's best to start in a place you're comfortable-or... a place with few distractions."
A/N: Pretty much a plot-less chapter, but fun to write...