"Home sweet home" Canlan gestured to the small cargo transport he had booked a charter on. "These merchants are making a drop to the refugee camp on Cholganna. If we're willing to help as some armed escorts, we'll get free passage. How is Ben with a blaster?"
Cody laughed as he took the two blaster rifles, looking over to Obi-Wan as he helped Tann with the last of their luggage, one arm still wrapped firmly around Una as he propped her up on his hip. "He was a private bodyguard for the ruling family of Mandalore, he's pretty good."
"Good" Canlan said, clapping him on the shoulder with a smile and then walked over to chat with the merchant pilot. Cody walked over to Obi-Wan and put a hand on his back, leaning to press a kiss on Una's forehead.
"Wheels up in 15 minutes. Canlan wants us armed to help with escorting the ship" he said in Mando'a, shouldering the second rifle as Tal came up to pull him by the hand into the transport, making their way through the crates and sacks to a small sleeping area set in the rear of the ship.
Two sleeping rolls had been pushed together with a thick fur covering both, and their bag of meagre possessions indicated that Tal had set this up for him and his 'husband'. He patted the kid on the shoulder as Obi-Wan entered with Canlan and Tann in tow. Tann relieved Obi-Wan of Una, and the Jedi immediately moved his side, undoing his cloak and rolling it up as a pillow before taking his blaster and shouldering it.
"Thank you my dear. If you have a moment, I need your help with something." Cody nodded and Obi-Wan smiled, pulling out a small cloth bag and taking his hand. He lead Cody to the rear of the ship and into the small washroom with a chuckle, locking the door behind him.
"Whatever will Canlan think" Cody said as Obi-Wan began to unwrap the face coverings he still had in place from their crash. "You, locking your husband away in a small area after we're on our road to freedom?" he helped Obi-Wan untie the fine-weave cloth as the Jedi pulled a small packet of a powdered substance and a few silver utensils and placed them on the sink counter.
"Nothing is more deceptive than an obvious fact" Obi-Wan smiled, taking the cloth from his hands and wrapped it around Cody's wrist. "People like to feel smart, let them believe what they want. Now, dear husband, I am in need of a shave."
He looked down at the silver razor that Obi-Wan held out to him. "You can't be serious Ben?" he said while taking the razor, chuckling as his 'husband' lent over to wet his beard and apply a sweet-smelling soap, turning back to let Cody pull his cheek taught. "You seriously can't do this yourself?"
Obi-Wan just laughed. "I'll explain later."
Once his beard was trimmed, he took the scissors and started trimming his hair, rounding the harsh lines until it no longer resembled his usual style but something much shorter and more even – similar to the new clones out on their first rotation. He tipped the packet into a small bowl of water, letting it settle as he and Cody both put on gloves.
"Stain?" Cody asked, dipping his fingers in the liquid and rubbing it through the back of Obi-Wan's head while the Jedi took care of the front. The dark liquid turned the Jedi's normally sandy blonde hair into a deep dark brown, and combined with the lack of beard, Obi-Wan was looking like a different person already.
They cleaned up and headed back to the bedrolls, earning a low whistle from Canlan. "Looking good Ben! Didn't know you had a face under all that cloth"
"Yes well," Obi-Wan said, not dropping his arm that was curled around Cody's bicep. "Forgive me for wanting to keep some things private, until I was sure." Canlan waved a dismissive hand and pulled Tann into a side-hug.
"We're about to get going. You guys had a rough day so get some sleep, Tann and I can take the first watch". Tann nodded and picked up her blaster, pulling Jela up onto her hip and made her way towards the front of the ship, leaving Canlan to throw them some rough pillows and soon he left to join Tann with a quick scruff of Nima's lekku.
"Come on" Obi-Wan said, leading Cody to the bedrolls and lent down to slip his boots off. "I don't know about you but I could sleep for an eon." He proved his point quickly, falling asleep almost as soon as his head touched the rough canvas bag that was his pillow. Cody chuckled and watched as Nima crawled her way over after looking to him for permission, curling herself against the Jedi's side and called for Una to join her. Cody quickly shed his outer layers and joined the slumber party, making sure the rough blankets covered everyone.
"Are you comfortable, little ones?" Una instantly snuggled into his chest and Nima nodded sleepily. "Get some rest." He lay his own head down and stretched his arm out, one hand under his own head and the other laying across both girls as it rested against Obi-Wan's arm, letting the sound of the spaceport wash over him and the weariness pull him into a deep slumber.
The smell of hot caf drew Cody from his deep sleep, groaning as he rolled over contentedly in the warmth of the makeshift bed. A small laugh echoed above him, belonging to Canlan. "Up and at 'em soldier. Your turn". He felt a small being latch themselves onto his shoulder and climbed rather roughly over him, chuckling as he reached a sleepy hand out to tickle Una's chin.
"Thanks. Anything exciting happen?" He accepted the cup of caf gratefully and stretched with a groan, feeling his spine pop satisfyingly as he rolled his shoulders a few times.
Canlan set his blaster down and began to remove his boots, rearranging the blanket on their own bedroll to get Jela to settle down. "Nothing much. We're travelling through a minor asteroid field so they have us on the pulse cannons." Jela turned over and made a fussy noise, sucking gently on the end of his lekku.
"What are your plans once we reach Cholganna?" he asked, sensing Obi-Wan rolling over and going through his own motions of waking up.
"Get processed, get some land, find a job, make a home" he said heavily. "Probably something in security honestly but I wouldn't mind getting an outpost position. I've heard they like getting ex-soldiers to help protect the settlement"
Cody nodded, drinking deeply from the tin mug and moved to put his boots on, slinging the blaster rifle over his shoulder and pulling Obi-Wan to his feet. They made their way to the cannon hub on top of the ship and took up their positions.
The intercom crackled. "You boys all sorted up there? Send out pulses per our order so we can pass safely. Shouldn't be in this belt for much longer." Cody replied the affirmative and he set the cannon calibration, leaning back into the seat as Obi-Wan did the same to his left.
"What's the plan once we reach Cholganna?"
Obi-Wan mused quietly for a moment, fiddling with one of the sensor dials. "Similar to what Canlan said. Get processed, land a job. I'm trying to get my foot in the door for security admin or the like – set up some hidden monitoring to see if we can discover anything. You are free to do as you wish my dear"
Cody couldn't help blushing at the sweet epithet, to which Obi-Wan only laughed at. "Get used to it. You're my husband."
"I think I might take Canlan's lead and get into outpost security. That way I could monitor external threats while you deal with the internal ones. Do you think we can trust him?"
Obi-Wan nodded warily.
"I think in time, he may prove to be a useful ally. As far as I am aware – we are totally solo on this. I'll explain a little more when we are in absolute privacy"
The intercom crackled again with a bearing and Cody lazily set the asteroid in sight, blasting it to space dust with ease.
"I wonder how the boys are doing?" he mused, looking out among the pinky purple hues of the belt they were travelling through. "I have a feeling Rex is going to kill me when I return. Are you able to sense the General though your voodoo magic from this distance?"
"That 'voodoo magic' as you so kind put it is a complex thing Peshk. The General and I do have a bond which means that if I allowed myself, I would be able to feel his essence through the Force."
Cody paused, giving Obi-Wan a long look as the Jedi lined up a shot. "If you allowed yourself?" The physical act of restraining himself from using the usual honorifics was a struggle, but then again so was having to be affectionate with his CO… no matter how pleased his heart is deep deep deep down.
"It's for the best. If he was really dedicated – he could track me and jeopardise the mission. I've closed myself off from him." Obi-Wan's voice cracked imperceptibly, his grip tightening on the joystick. "The boys will receive a report once the VIN on the ship we crashed matches up with the maintenance record. The report will be inconclusive on whether the two occupants survived the crash, and upon investigation, the two occupants were nowhere to be found on Lantilles"
Cody stiffened as his heart lurched. His 212th, unsure if he and their beloved general survived – presumed dead. He could see Rex, staring with hollow eyes at the datapad, how his friends in other units would react to the news. Wolffe, Hardcase, Fox, Bly, Commander Tano, Gree…
"This is the Way, Peshk. We shall make it right in the future, but for now; this is our path"