I know I've said this many times before, but sorry for the late update! I just blame it on the fact that I had to see the new Kenobi series first, hehe ;)
Chapter 57 – What is Left
A few hours later
His fingers tightened and loosened again from the edge of the holotable he was leaning over, intently eyeing the map of Coruscant. They had all gathered on the bridge of the Negotiator and were trying to develop a plan. Anakin, Satine, Padme, Ahsoka, and Cody were also standing around the table, their expressions matching his own.
Obi-Wan's eyes briefly flicked over to his commander. The man had not said a word since their conversation in the medbay. His eyes were blank, devoid of even the slightest hint of emotion, and Obi-Wan wasn't sure if the chip had taken more of his friend than they realized. It made him angry, this inability to help. Obi-Wan felt the need to kill Sidious again.
His anger must have been palpable in the Force, because he noticed both Anakin and Ahsoka concerned turning their attention to him. He straightened for a moment and rubbed his hand across his face, taking a deep breath and released his anger into the Force.
Anakin tapped gently against his shields. It was unusual to feel their connection again. Sometimes it hurt. Restoring a torn bond never completely took away the pain that the actual loss had caused. Still, Obi-Wan was glad to have Anakin by his side again. Slowly, he lowered his shields a bit and let his former student inside. Unlike before, he was not blinded by his friend's supernova. Anakin held back, aware that their bond was still fragile.
What's wrong? Anakin's voice echoed in his head.
Obi-Wan looked over at his friend. It's Cody. I'm worried.
His friend seemed to understand what he meant. Do you know if he spoke to anyone?
No. He hasn't talked to anyone since he left the medbay.
An air of uneasiness settled around them. Maybe you should give him some time, Obi-Wan. Anakin did not seem to be really confident with his own words.
And Obi-Wan would be lying to himself if he pretended to be consoled by these words.
A shiver ran down his spine and he tore his eyes away from Cody. "Coruscant's ports are probably closed," he noted, focusing on the map of the planet, "So we need a way we can get into the atmosphere undetected."
"Didn't you and Ahsoka smuggle yourselves to Alderaan with a Separatist cruiser?" interjected Anakin, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes," Obi-Wan rubbed a hand through his beard, "But we only managed that with more luck than good sense." Thinking back on it, he realized again how much could have actually gone wrong in the process.
"What are the chances that it is already known that this ship is no longer under Imperial control?" Satine suddenly chimed in.
And with that, all eyes turned to Anakin, who was pacing a little uneasily. "Well," he began, thoughtfully, "The information that the Emperor has left the planet was kept under wraps from the beginning... So it's possible that it was never on record that the Negotiator was dispatched."
"What are you aiming for?" asked Obi-Wan, still not quite seeing how that was going to get them anywhere.
"Well," Satine crossed her arms, "if it's not known that the Emperor has moved out with this ship, we could pretend we're returning from a mission. No one would stop an Imperial ship."
"Not so much returning from a mission but replenishing supplies. No one would believe if a ship returned with less than 40 men, unless it was just passing through to restock and intends to pick up the troops later on," Obi-Wan voiced his thoughts.
"That might work," Anakin agreed, "We could hide in the cargo crates and the men will get us off the ship at the cargo port."
"What if they are scanning the crates for lifeforms?"
"They will not," his former student supplied, "The handling of cargo is mostly done by droids. They won't inspect the crates closer except someone asks them to."
"This all sounds very risky," Obi-Wan murmured, "Are you sure there could be no one on Coruscant who might know of the Emperor's plans?"
Anakin pursed his lips and shook his head. "Sidious hasn't told me much. But the only person I could imagine being privy to it would be Tarkin. And he's overseeing the construction of some project."
"Tarkin?" asked Ahsoka in surprise.
"Mhm," her master confirmed, "I'm afraid the serpent has finally turned his back on us."
"Alright," Obi-Wan finally let go of the holotable and straightened his back, "Does everyone agree to this plan?"
He let his gaze roam over the assembled group and received a silent nod of approval from everyone.
"Then it is settled," Obi-Wan stepped back from the table, "We have 30 minutes left, use the time for preparation."
The men began to leave the room and knew he still had still one important thing left to do.
"I'll meet you when I'm ready," he let his other comrades know and left the bridge just as quickly, without waiting for an answer.
In a few minutes he had reached his quarters. The door swooshed open, shedding light on the item he was here for.
As unassuming as the bag seemed from the outside, it still gave him pause when Obi-Wan laid his eyes on it. Ever since they had recovered the Negotiator, he had consistently ignored its existence. Even though he knew it was not his place to keep it. His heart was heavy as he finally picked up the backpack and then settled on his bunk. His hand shook a little as he pulled out the first piece.
Cody's helmet. The sight gave him another stab in the heart. His finger brushed over an abrasion on the back of the helmet. The gold paint had chipped off, revealing the white material underneath. It was different from the other marks and scratches on the helmet. For this one was new. And Obi-Wan had caused it when he had ignited the EMP grenade and fallen. He knew that for the men their armor was something sacred. Each of them had left a little bit of personality on the white plastoid. Be it only a few additional markings to small drawings.
That he had taken Cody's armor just like that didn't sit right with him. Already he felt like he had lost his friend, and he wasn't sure if he would do any better with this.
Sighing, he lowered the helmet to his knees. Did Cody hate him? Just for not treating him with disgust and fear?
Obi-Wan mulled whether he could have done more. For all his men. He knew that in the time he had spent in the temple healing, that he had neglected his duties as their general. Over a year. For so long he had allowed other generals to command his units without him knowing who was protecting his men. Or if anyone was doing it at all. Not every Jedi held the same opinion about the clones. For some, they were nothing more than expendable soldiers. It pained him. Perhaps he had forfeited his right to a place among his men.
The hiss of the door alerted him to a new presence. Satine. She stopped in the doorway, eyeing him with a concerned look before entering. "We've been looking for you."
Obi-Wan met her gaze briefly before returning it to the helmet in his hands. "Sorry."
"What's wrong?" she asked, stepping over to him and gently releasing the helmet from his fingers. The loss of almost familiar weight gave him pause. "It's nothing," he said finally, shaking his head as if that might dispel the dark thoughts.
Satine, of course, wasn't convinced. "It's about Cody, isn't it?" she inquired, inspecting the helmet in her hands.
"Maybe," he finally grumbled, running a hand over his eyes.
The bed dipped a little as Satine settled down beside him, holding out the helmet again. "Cody almost seems like he's been replaced."
Obi-Wan bit his lips. "That's what worries me... I know he's traumatized… force we all are... But I get the feeling he can't even stand to be around me anymore."
"Do you think he's blaming you?"
"No," Obi-Wan faltered, setting the helmet down beside him, no longer able to bear to look at it, "No, I don't think it's about me personally... more about what I am."
A Jedi.
A slender hand grasped his. "You did nothing wrong, Obi-Wan," she tried to reassure him.
Oh dear, loving Satine, always trying to see the good in people.
Obi-Wan put on a half-hearted smile, though even that was difficult for him. "I'd be careful about that, my dear."
Satine was about to reply something when his commlink started beeping. A quick glance at the device told him it was Anakin. He rejected the call, already knowing what his friend wanted.
Sighing, Obi-Wan stood up and quickly put the helmet back in the bag. "I'm afraid it's about time... And I should give this back to Cody."
"Obi-Wan..." continued Satine again, but he crouched down in front of her so he could look her in the eye and grabbed her hands.
"Later, okay?" he whispered, "I… I can't do this right now."
She pursed her lips and looked for a moment as if she wanted to protest, but nodded in the end. Wordlessly, she stood up, pulling him up with her and released his hands, only to place them against his cheeks.
"Don't beat yourself up over things you have no control over, Obi."
If only it were that simple. That was the thing about guilt, once it took root you rarely got rid of it. You can only fight it as long as it hasn't completely eaten away at you inside. And Obi-Wan wasn't sure if he still could or if the hard, thorny tendrils had already sunk deep into his flesh.
"I love you," he murmured, kissing her gently on the forehead, "I'll join you as soon as I find Cody."
With that, he swung the backpack on his back, which weighed on his shoulders like a heavy burden, and left his small quarters.
His heart was hammering so fast in his chest that it almost hurt again as much as after he had been knocked out by the electric shock. Frowning, he rubbed a hand over his chest as he walked along, though it did little to ease the pain. When he finally arrived at the commander's door, he still didn't know what to say.
Taking a deep breath, he finally knocked on the door. "Cody? It's me... I have something I want to give back to you."
No answer. But Obi-Wan sensed the man was there.
"... I'll leave your things at the door then. I don't want to disturb you."
Saddened, he let the bag off his shoulders and was about to set it down when the door suddenly opened and Cody stared out at him, his brown eyes lacking the warmth he was used to.
Obi-Wan set the bag down and unconsciously took a step back. "Cody... I- I just wanted to give you back your armor. I had been using it as a disguise... I'm sorry."
It seemed like his silver tongue had finally failed him. Both of them seemed to be only shadows of their former selves.
Cody seemed to ponder his words for a moment until he finally picked up the bag. "It's fine... is there anything else?"
Obi-Wan should have given the armor to one of the other men. "Oh, no...," he shifted uncomfortably on his feet, "Don't let me stop you."
Cody blinked at him emotionlessly, standing rooted to the spot for a moment. Then he began to turn around. "...Very well... sir."
Obi-Wan couldn't let him go like that. A little hesitantly, the great Negotiator barely recognizable, he stopped him. "Cody...," the words caught in his throat briefly as his friend gave that calculating look again, "...is there anything I can do for you?"
The man turned his back on him again. "No," he responded quietly and slipped into his room, the door swishing shut in front of Obi-Wan.
He was left staring at the blank metal, unsure of what to do. It was a clear dismissal. Cody did not want him being near him.
His thoughts screaming that he should do something, he stepped back from the door and headed towards the rest of the group. He knew from experience when it was time to accept defeat and this was clearly the case here.
When Obi-Wan finally reached the hangar, Ahsoka, Satine, and Anakin were already waiting by the cargo crates that would take them off the ship.
"I don't think I can convince you to stay aboard, can I?" he asked with little prospect, giving Satine a look.
She crossed her arms in response. "Definitely not."
Obi-Wan only raised his hands defensively. "Very well. Let's not argue." Then he let his eyes wander over the crates. "Are these enough crates to accommodate everyone?"
"At least we hope so," Anakin replied to him, "You said they were close to 20 people, right?"
"At least they were at first," Obi-Wan solemnly confirmed, still blocking out the scenario in which they would be too late to save anyone at all.
"We can do this," Anakin assured him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Obi-Wan forced a smile onto his face, even though he didn't feel like it.
"What about Rex?" asked Ahsoka, sitting on one of the crates and nervously tapping her legs, "I heard he got hurt."
That was another thing he was worried about.
"Well, I'm told that his spine is broken," he let his gaze wander over the group, each of them wearing a shocked expression, "Master Che is doing what she can, but...," Obi-Wan knew of no other way to say it, "... You shouldn't get your hopes up."
The pain that now showed on Ahsoka's face hurt him all the more and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her, but he had no words of encouragement left either.
Anakin screwed up his face. "If his condition is really that bad, we can't possibly transport him in one of the crates here."
"No," Obi-Wan agreed with him, "In that case, we'll inform our men and they'll take Rex to the ship."
"A lot of things could go wrong," Satine murmured, sporting a concerned expression.
Obi-Wan caught her gaze and shrugged. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about it."
It was evident that she was not content with his choice of words but right now he could not really care about it.
A group of troopers approached them, and Obi-Wan immediately recognized Waxer and Boil walking ahead. The memory of Alderaan threatened to overwhelm him again, but he forced himself to swallow his emotions and straighten his back instead.
They greeted each other with a wordless tap of the head. "We are be ready to begin," Waxer said, "The ship is about to land on Coruscant. Cody has already made contact with the ground forces. We're cleared to land at one of the cargo ports."
"Very good," Obi-Wan replied, relieved that at least this hurdle had been cleared for now. He turned to Anakin, Ahsoka and Satine. "I think it's time we took up our positions, then."
They split into two groups, Anakin and Ahsoka hiding in one crate and Satine and him in one of the others. And then it was time to wait.
Inside the crates it was relatively dark, only through the slits between the plates a little light fell in. Obi-Wan glanced at Satine, only now noticing the blaster on her hip. Surprised, he raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Nevertheless, Satine seemed to recognize his expression. "It's set to stun."
He let his gaze wander up from the blaster to her face. "I didn't say anything."
She snorted and gave him an incredulous look. "You were going to, though," she said bitingly.
"No, actually, I didn't," he calmly replied back, even though this accusation angered him a bit, "Did I do something wrong?"
It was unusual to see Satine in such a mood. Even though he could more than understand it in this situation, it worried him.
She sat up a little straighter as far as she could in this cramped space and brushed a blond strand out of her face. "I'm sorry," she sighed, "It's just... I've been thinking."
"About what?" Obi-Wan tilted his head, trying to read her face in the dark.
He watched as she pursed her lips thoughtfully, then lowered her head and the strand she had just brushed back slipped back into her face. For a moment he saw again the young woman he had learned to love an eternity ago. It had been evenings that had been spent far too often out in the wilderness, with nothing that brought them a little protection and security but the trees that surrounded them and the campfire that warmed them. It had been those moments of peace when Satine wore that very expression on her face, when worries overcame her.
"Hey," Obi-Wan leaned forward and now brushed the strand from her face, then put his hand under her chin to lift her head again, "what were you thinking about?"
Satine's answer was almost lost in the knocking that sounded when the box suddenly started to move. That was the signal. In a few minutes they had arrived at the cargo port of Coruscant.
But still Obi-Wan had heard the whispered answer.
Home.
Somehow that stung his heart.
"Soon, Satine," he whispered as confidently as he could, and withdrew his hand.
Soon you will be home.
Whether he would also find a home on Mandalore, he was not yet so sure of.
It took a moment for the box to come to a stop with a jolt. Obi-Wan stretched out his senses. There were no troops around, except for their own men.
"Ready?" he asked, looking at Satine and placing his hands under the lid of the crate.
Concern still showed on her face, but she settled into a crouch and tipped her head in acknowledgement.
He then carefully began to move the lid aside so that they could slip out. Anakin and Ahsoka were already waiting for them, hidden among the other crates.
"You know where we have to go?" his former Padawan finally asked when they had caught up to them.
Obi-Wan nodded stiffly in response. "I hope so, at least." There had been radio silence between Quinlan and him since the last call. He could only hope that nothing had happened since then. "Come," he whispered, and started to move.
Fortunately, they had arrived on Coruscant during dusk, so the shadows offered them some protection. Carefully, they made it out of the port undetected, then stepped onto the streets of the lower levels. The group pressed along a wall to avoid the gaze of a patrol as Obi-Wan tried to turn a corner, only to come to an abrupt halt. Anakin smacked into his back with a grunt. "What is it?" he asked, irritated.
"Search droids," Obi-Wan growled, his eyes fixed on the large, flying droid blocking their path.
Anakin cursed and took a step back. "I completely forgot about those damn things."
Snorting, Obi-Wan turned to face the rest of the group. "Anyway, we can't get past here."
"What about the rooftops?" suggested Ahsoka, pointing to a ledge of one of the houses.
With time running out as the droid approached, they had no choice. Anakin and Ahsoka jumped purposefully to the roof using the Force, where they took cover.
"Okay, I need to lift you up," Obi-Wan whispered to Satine, checking if they were still in the clear. Then, glancing over at Satine, he noticed her looking up at the roof a little incredulously. "Don't worry, they'll catch you," he assured her.
Satine shook her head in response. "I'm not worried about that. I just have a bad feeling about the whole thing."
"Now you're starting to sound like me," he replied, joking briefly before turning serious again, "Ready?"
Eyes still up, she gave him only a curt nod in response. Concentrating, Obi-Wan then let her fly up to the roof, where she was met, as expected, by Anakin and Ahsoka.
Not hesitating for long, he jumped after her.
Under their feet, the droid came around the corner as expected, scanning the now empty alley. They stopped for a second, waiting for it to pass.
"Come on, let's keep moving," Anakin whispered, already pushing himself further along the ledge. They made slower progress than planned, but after a few detours, they finally reached their destination.
"This is where it's supposed to be," Obi-Wan breathed, eyeing the run-down, long-abandoned apartment block suspiciously.
"Then what are we waiting for?" asked Satine, looking around nervously. On the way here, they had spotted at least a few troops.
Anakin and Obi-Wan then began to push open the door, which was barricaded from the inside. With a creak, the heavy metal shelf that was propped against the door from the inside gave way. His friend caught the piece of furniture with his power before it could crash to the floor and set it gently against one of the walls.
In front of them was a similarly crumbling staircase, and Obi-Wan didn't want to know how sturdy the steps really were. Cautiously he took a step on the stairs, inwardly expecting them to collapse, but to his surprise they held.
Together they advanced to the top floor, always having to clear small barricades to the side.
When they finally reached it, Obi-Wan could already sense the children's signatures.
"Back there," he gestured and began to move down the hallway when Anakin suddenly stopped him.
"Wait," his friend stopped him hesitantly, and he knew directly what was on Anakin's mind even without it being said, "I think... I'd better wait here for now."
I can't face the children.
Obi-Wan searched Anakin's face and the fear reflected on it was so uncharacteristic of the man he knew. "Sure," he said gently, "But you can't put it off much longer."
Anakin nodded and swallowed hard. "I know... I just need a moment."
He briefly placed a hand on his friend's shoulder in encouragement before finally starting to move again, Ahsoka and Satine close on his heels.
He then came to a stop in front of the last door, listening. Inside the apartment it had become deadly quiet. They must have sensed that someone had come.
No longer hesitating, he knocked on the door. "Quin?" he called softly.
For a moment nothing happened until the door suddenly swung open, revealing the old familiar face of the Kiffar. "I thought you'd never come," the latter grinned at him, a mix of relief and joy on his face.
Just a few more chapters and it's done! Hope you still having as much fun as I do :)