Revised: 7/17/19

Chapter 12

General Windu arrived enforce with two dozen troop transports and an equal amount of medical shuttles. The ships settled gracefully in the hangar. There would've been room for dozens more in the spacious warbird, but it still seemed like an impressive showing. The Jedi General emerged from a transport, his robes flowing after him as he walked. Standing by his side Ko provided a running narrative as troopers from Lighting Squadron emerged. "There's Ponds. Oh. Lucky us. Fekkin' Captain Nash is here, too. You know, he could've left him behind."

Every squad or battle group had a few of those clones. The ones which didn't fit the mold. Cody 'hmmphed' under his breath and studied Nash as he walked off his transport. The Captain caught his look and glared over at Cody from under his visor, before barking orders at his troopers.

"Still no love lost between you two," Ko said.

"We had an altercation once," Cody said.

"I was there," Ko said. "Maybe he's forgotten."

Cody shook his head. "Doubt it. Doesn't matter. We don't work together much."

Ko shrugged. "And... there's Captain Rome. Looks like the General brought most of Lightning with him," Ko whistled as the final ship opened and they watched more troops disembarked."You think he just wanted to welcome us home?"

Cody folded his arms across his chest, but didn't comment. No. Cody didn't think it was that at all. And, he was sure Ko didn't think that either.

He was certain it had something to do with his hard-handed tactics during his previous communication with Windu. But, Ko was content to carry on a conversation by himself. He didn't chatter as much as Trapper, but put the two of them together and it was deafening. Still, the chatter was soothing on some level and it helped to have Ko here for this meeting with Windu. He wished Kenobi were here to back him up, as well, and deal with his fellow Jedi Master.

During their long campaigns, Kenobi often talked to him about "the art of negotiations." Sometimes too much so. He knew why they always sent Kenobi out to do negotiations. His General could talk as much as Ko. When exhausted, he'd spark the two of them into a conversation so he could be left alone with his thoughts. Often worked too well. In this moment, though, Cody wished he had Kenobi back in his usual place on his left. He felt his absence keenly. Kenobi could talk the ears off a gundark. If anyone could smooth over the little matter of Cody being AWOL and Rex not being a dead clone as he's supposed to be, it would be Kenobi.

The Jedi General approached with his two Captains and a small honor guard from Lighting. The Jedi General looked... displeased.

More than displeased.

Cody forced himself to remain relaxed, set his feet at parade rest and locked his arms behind his back. Ko ceased his chatter, and assumed the same formal position. The activity in the hangar bay dropped to an unnatural quiet as troopers paused to watch the honor guard and General approach. This was something of a historic moment. The long lost clones were returning home having rescued themselves when the Republic failed to find them. And, of course, clones were notoriously curious by nature.

General Windu as an impressive Jedi. He was different from Kenobi in so many aspects. He kept his eyes fixed on Cody as he approached on the massive hangar deck. He was tall, his height making even taller than a fully kitted clone. But, it was the natural intensity of the man which made him unnerving. Cody had sensed it before when the 212th had worked alongside the 91st. There was something unsettling brewing in this man which seemed as dark as his amber skin. He'd mentioned it to Ponds and the 91st Commander assured him his General was fair and went out of his way to take care out of their men. Cody wondered if he'd misjudged the General.

I've got my men home. What happens to me now doesn't matter.

Cody took several deep breaths to calm his nerves.

Windu continued to lock his eyes directly on Cody.

Why do I feel like I am taking on the Kazzies all over again?

"You see the kit some of those troopers from Lighting are carrying?" Ko said on their internal comms, breaking the silence.

He titled his chin slightly to indicate some of the troopers still waiting by the back. Lightning Squadron was armed to the hilt. In addition to carrying a trooper standard DC15A and DC15s, many of the troopers were also armed with single or duel DC17s on their belts, and the troopers in the back were carrying blast-resistant shields. "Notice the shields? Fekkin' impressive. We could use more of those. Maybe we could ask the General-"

"Ko," Cody taking a deep breath so he didn't curse at his second, "not now."

"Shutting it, sir," Ko said.

Cody counted down the steps until Windu was upon them. 20. 19. 18.

Gah. Why did it feel like he was counting down the steps to his doom?

He wasn't ready. He needed more time. He wanted to be away from here. With his men. With Barriss-

And, then the Jedi General was upon them. Both troopers straightened their spines even more. Cody thought his spine would snap.

"General Windu, sir, welcome onboard the-" Cody paused. Captain Leon had told him the Kaz'harian name for the ship. It was impossibly hard to pronounce. All harsh syllables that sounded like a terrible Hutt curse. He started trying to repeat the name and saw Windu's eyes narrowing even further with anger.

Just his luck. Windu spoke Huttese.

Cody abandoned his efforts to pronounce the Kaz'harian name of the ship, "-our ship, sir."

"Your ship?" the Jedi Council's members clipped syllables could have flash-frozen Orto Plutonia.

Wrong answer, obviously.

Behind him, he could see Ponds, Rome and Nash regarding him with slightly tilted heads.

Cody was fond of Ponds. And, Captain Rome was a solid trooper.

But, there was a reason why he and Ko always referred to Nash as 'fekkin Nash.

Last time they'd worked with Lighting, Cody had clashed with the Captain about the appropriate use of force in dealing with civvies. More accurately, inappropriate use. Nash had a heavy hand. He and Cody had almost come to blows on the matter before Ponds had interfered. Cody thought the clone should be court-martialed or at the very least demoted to a rank where he could do less harm. He was told not to interfere. It was an internal matter for the 91st. Yet, fekkin' Nash was still around. And, still a Captain. Every once in a while, a clone came about who mentally didn't have the right stuff to be out there. If ever there was a clone who should have been sent back to Kamino, it was Nash. Maybe not terminated. No clone deserved that fate. But, maybe reset with whatever process the Kaminoans used. Nash was rotten.

"Your ship?" Windu repeated again.

Cody groaned inwardly. This was not going well.

He tried another tack with the Jedi General, trying to channel his inner Kenobi. "We seized this ship from the Separatists, sir, all of us clones, sir, working together. It belongs to the Republic now."

Windu continued to stare Cody down and didn't respond.

Ko thankfully jumped in and launched into an excessively detailed explanation. "The Kazzies had an entire fleet of these. Of course, sir, we blew them all up. Made for an impressive sight, General. Explosions everywhere. We could see them from orbit. Beautiful!" Ko was so enthusiastic he rocked back slightly on his heels. His second's enthusiasm was always contagious. Cody could practically see the explosions again as he heard Ko's description.

"It's all in our report, General," Cody said, handing over the datapad.

"We collected a wealth of vid-cam feeds and scans as we went through their fortress," Ko added in. "Should add greatly to our knowledge of the Kaz'harians. It's all in the report. Oh, and I added in the explosions, too. Just in case we needed those, too. For strategic purposes, of course."

Cody smiled inwardly. He wasn't sure he believed in any sort of divine being or any higher powers of anything in the universe, but every once in a while he did think there was a "master plan." And, the master plan balanced out assholes like Nash with good vod like Ko. Clones who admired weapons and explosions and talked too much. And didn't shoot civilians.

"Everything is in your report?" Windu asked, he scrolled quickly through the datapad and then stared into Cody's eyes as if he daring him to lie.

"Yes, General," Cody kept his mind blank.

"Take care of the reports," Windu said signaling to Nash. Cody nodded to Ko, and the two Captains stepped away to handle the flimsi-work.

"I wish to see the injured Jedi immediately," Windu said. "Ponds, you are with me."

"This way, General," Cody said, inclining his chin toward the exit doors of the hangar bay.

Windu, Ponds and the honor guard from Lighting fell into step with him.

Windu didn't seem inclined to speak to him on the walk through the long corridors of the ship and Cody had run out of things to say. He didn't fancy playing tour guide on the features of the Kazzie ship.

Cody opened up a private channel to Ponds as they walked.

"I see your general is in a good mood, as always," said Cody.

"Cody," Ponds' voice was full of warning. "You can't push a Jedi General and not expect consequences." The commander's voice was clipped with tension.

Cody didn't care for Nash. OK, he couldn't stand him. But, he'd always gotten along with Ponds. The 91st commander had a great head for strategy and loved a good game of sabacc. Granted, the Nash incident had strained their relationship. But, he still considered them friends.

"Ponds," Cody asked curiously, "why did you bring so many troops for a simple medical retrieval?"

The commander didn't answer immediately. "General's Orders."

"Does that order include arresting me?" Cody prompted.

Ponds was silent and this was chilling in itself.

"Alright, then, thank you for the heads up," Cody said.

"Cody-" Ponds started tentatively in the voice clones used when confiding to each other as brothers.

Their private conversation was interrupted mid-sentence by the Jedi General. "What are the natures of the injuries to Skywalker, Kenobi and Unduli?"

The Jedi General's voice startled Cody slightly and he turned his attention back to the Jedi walking beside him. Had he sensed they were having a private conversation? Unlikely. Usually, Jedi were clueless about such things and clones were very good about keeping their private communications under wraps. But, then again, Windu was not your average Jedi.

Cody paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. The General was already displeased. It wouldn't do to give him anything less than the best answer possible. "General Unduli's injuries are different from the others. She sustained a head injury. Skywalker and Kenobi? Dehydration. Malnutrition. Blood loss. Electrocution. In short, the Separatists were experimenting in cloning."

"Cloning?!"

"Yes, sir, we don't think they were successful," Cody said, "and we blew up all of their labs."

"This is very disturbing news."

"General Unduli escaped captivity with the help of the commando, Captain Leon. She suffered blunt force trauma to the skull during the initial assault to the dungeons. A team of medics relieved the pressure on her skull and placed her in bacta. Skywalker and Kenobi are in healing trances and under the care of Commander Offee," Cody finished.

Windu made a low sound deep in his throat as he listened to Cody's description of the Jedi's injuries.

"And, your clone injured?" he asked.

"Also some malnutrition and dehydration. But, also battle injuries from the recent fight to free themselves so add in injuries from alterations with the guards and slugthrower wounds-"

"Slughthrowers?" Rome asked curiously, in the way clones did when they were intrigued by weapons.

"Yes," Cody continued on, "the Kazzies favor projectile weapons, flamethrowers and poison gas. Cryseefa. Burns the eyes and the throat." He tried to remain impassive, but it still brought up a slow roil of anger that all of this had been used on his men.

There was a short silence as Windu took in all of this information. "Our medics will take the Jedi first, and then the clone injured."

Cody stopped in his tracks. "But, sir, we have an ARC trooper who needs immediate transport to ArmyMed. His condition is critical."

"We will determine the transport order, Commander," Windu said, cutting him off.

"But, sir, the Jedi are all currently stable," Cody argued. "Our ARC trooper is critical."

"That is not your decision to make."

"You're right, sir. It is a medic decision. And, medical priority says the ARC trooper will take first priority."

"Are you arguing with me, commander?"

"Cody!" Ponds hissed to him warningly over their private link. "Don't push him any further."

It was too late. Windu whirled on him in the corridor. "Do you have difficulties understanding me, Commander?"

"No," Cody managed, although he didn't understand. Not at all.

Windu continued to stare at him and even though it was only seconds, it felt as if they were frozen there for hours.

They continued on to medbay.

Windu turned and signaled to one of the troopers in the Honor Guard. Cody had noticed one of the troopers was actually a medic. Digger and Glitch greeted the medic and the three immediately sank into a deep discussion of medical matters, settling in by Echo's bunk to discuss the case.

Kix and Coric waved the Jedi General over. "Welcome, sir. We have ARC Trooper Echo ready for transport to ArmyMed-"

"They're taking the Jedi first," Cody said, shaking his head.

Coric commed Cody on private channel. "They can't. Echo is critical. I've learned when you can't pull rank, pull medical code." He sent Cody the relevant medic code to reference.

"With respect, General, sir, my medics are standing by me on this one. ARC Trooper Echo has higher priority due to Article 82, Subsection 12. A medic's authority supersedes everyone in matters such as these, even yours, General, sir."

There was absolute silence in the medbay, a rare occurrence except for the slight whoosh of life support back from Echo's medbay bunk.

"Take the trooper first," Windu said, his voice deep, low. "CodeRed to ArmyMed. Provide him a military escort. "Then bring the transports back in case they are needed to transport others."

Kix and Coric hurried to load Echo onto a hoverstretcher, as if worried the General might change his mind. They took off out of the medbay. accompanied by a medic from lone of the medics from Lightning.

Cody signaled to Digger and Glitch. "Take us back to see Skywalker and Kenobi. We'd like a full update on their condition."

As they walked deeper into the medbay, he turned to Windu. "Thank you, sir. And, for what's it worth, I'm sorry I had to pull medical code on you."

"As am I, commander. We will speak of this another time. Kenobi thinks highly of you. One hopes that trust is not misplaced."

Wait. What? Was that a compliment or a threat?

Cody let the comment go and focused instead on his General.

Even unconscious, it was always good to see Kenobi.

It was dark and quiet in the back of the medbay where Skywalker and Kenobi were resting. Cody had gone back to visit his General whenever possible and had spoken quietly to Kenobi, updating them on their progress. He told him often the men from the 212th were doing well and recovering, and they were getting closer to Coruscant. He'd also tell him that General Skywalker was looking better, even though he wasn't sure if this last part was true. But, he'd seen the Jedi healers work some miracles. Hopefully, they could undo the damage of prolonged imprisonment and see both Jedi back to health.

The 91st Battalion General visited briefly with each of the Jedi, touching them lightly on the shoulder. Cody wondered if he could communicate with them even when they were unconscious. Windu's fierce expression didn't change, although he nodded slightly as if something had been confirmed. "Prepare the Jedi for immediate transport to the Temple."

The medic nodded and started issuing orders to have Kenobi and Skywalker moved, as well as drain the bacta tank for General Unduli.

As they were leaving medbay, Barriss rushed in and barreled nearly face first with Cody. "I'm here to help with-"

The words died on her lips and she stared at Cody, not even noticing the Jedi standing next to him. He cleared his throat loudly. She started and bowed deeply. "Master Windu, sir... I'm here to help with the medical evacuation."

She bowed again to the Jedi Master and rushed off. The Jedi General turned to Cody. "You two know each other?" His words came across as a challenge.

"She was the Jedi who treated me on Ord Cestus."

"Of course."

You knew that already.

"I will walk back to the hangar bay, sir."

"No, I think I will have a talk with Commander Offee."

A chill went down Cody's spine.

"Of course, sir." He nodded and left the medbay with Ponds and Ko.

"What was that all about?" Ponds demanded as they headed back to the hangar bay.

"Who can understand Jedi," Cody muttered. But, he was distracted and thinking about Barriss. Fek it all.

Ko and Nash rejoined them on the hangar bay having completed their business of transferring mission reports. Ko stood by Cody and they both watched the shuttle with the Jedi disappear out the force shield headed toward Coruscant.

General Kenobi. He's out of my hands now.

Cody turned to Ko to give orders with regards to getting the clone injured loaded onto transports. But, the orders never left his lips. As soon as the Jedi Transport was away, Windu signaled to Lightning Squadron. They were aptly named because they struck fast and without warning.

One moment Cody was watching the ship pass through the forcefield and the next he was being restrained with his arms pulled behind his back.

"Fek!" he protested, as his recently dislocated shoulder started objecting from being pulled back, "easy on the shoulders."

"Resisting are you, Commander Cody?" Nash said, his voice a barely concealed taunt. He forced Cody to kneel. Signaling to other troopers from Lightning to move in.

"Fek it, Nash!" Ko protested. "You can't do this. We were promised full amnesty."

Ponds shook his head sadly. "We have orders to place Commander Cody under arrest. He is to come back with us." He looked at Ko. "They're holding Cody accountable for the actions of the men under his command."

"I understand," Cody gritted out, still in terrible pain from where Nash was tugging on his arm.

"Fek, Nash, let up on him," Ko insisted. Ponds gave a curt signal to Nash and they released Cody's arms. "Let him up." Ponds pushed Nash back. He seemed to be the only one in Lightning Squadron with any sense. He reached down and hauled Cody up by the shoulder. Unfortunately, he grabbed Cody by his dislocated shoulder.

Cody couldn't help yelping with pain as he was pulled to his feet by the injured joint. His cry diverted all eyes toward him, but it worked out.

"Hold!" he shouted again hoarsely, his voice ragged with pain, grasping at his shoulder. He now had the attention of all the men in the hangar. "I'm headed to Coruscant with General Windu to answer for my actions," Cody said. He dipped his chin toward Ko since his hands were bound. "The 212th is yours now."

# # #

Revision notes:
7/19/19 Knocked back Windu's role in the scene and left him in medbay for a while to have a conversation with Barriss. Hmmm... what are they talking about and why?

7/15/19 Windu is a Jedi with a dark side and a strong temper but, he's also good to his men. In these revisions, I tried to balance out all of these qualities both in his actions and the dialogue.Revised: 6/11/15. Revised the interaction between Cody and Ko to define their relationship further and expand upon Ko's character since he will be coming up more in Rex II as the 212th goes into battle. (Always found it odd that we were introduced to so few characters in the 212th and saw so little of its command structure in the series.) I revised Cody's interactions with Windu as I revised feedback the Jedi General seemed too one-dimensional.

Revised: 1/14/15. Revised this chapter again as there were things I liked in this chapter and things I didn't. Ko and Cody are awesome together. Definitely need more of Ko later on this story. But, I didn't feel I quite captured Windu. I wanted to leave room for him and Cody to develop more of a relationship later on, but I think I overdid it on the 'Windu is being a jerk to Cody' front, so I went back to revise a bit.