Hey!
This is my first Star Wars fanfiction and my first fanfiction written in English. Since it's my second language, I apologize for any possible mistakes. If you spot any, please let me know!
I also have a great beta reader: glitter_glitch, she also writes awesome Star Wars fanfiction.
I reference some of fialleril's Tatooine slave culture in this fanfic. I might change some things a bit, so don't be surprised if it's slightly different. I love their headcanon and can only recommend it. Sadly, I can't post any links here, but you can easily find their , Tumblr and AO3 account by googling their name.
Anakin Skywalker stood in front of a battalion. Over a hundred men, all clad in white armor, with helmets on their heads. In front of the army stood two clone troopers. One with yellow markings on his armor, identifying him as a Commander, and the other with red ones, which identified him as a Captain. Next to Anakin stood his Master, with his hand on Anakin's shoulder.
In another universe, Anakin would be older, maybe nineteen, and Obi-Wan would have to reach up to do this. But in this universe, Anakin was eleven years old and still much smaller than his Master.
"Are these the clones?" Anakin asked, looking up to his Master.
Obi-Wan nodded. "They're the clones of the Grand Army of the Republic," he explained. He could see how nervous Anakin was, so he nudged him a little bit forward and said, "Introduce yourself."
Anakin looked aghast at his Master, who only smiled reassuringly. Anakin swallowed and nodded. He looked at the clones and said as clearly and loudly as he could, "I'm Anakin Skywalker, Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi." He faltered shortly, then added, "It's nice to meet you. I hope we can get along as long as I accompany you." He bowed a little bit at the end.
Obi-Wan could feel the bewilderment and bafflement of the clones. They weren't used to being greeted so nicely, let alone to seeing someone bow down to them. He smiled, feeling the happy humming in the Force. He still didn't like taking a child to a warzone, but he could feel that it would be a good influence on the clones.
"With all due respect, General Kenobi, I don't think it would be wise to take a child with us," said the clone wearing the yellow markings of a Commander. Unlike the Captain, he had a visor and an antenna on his helmet.
"I know, Commander, but I have to teach him. And I can't train him if I'm on the battlefield and he's in the Temple. Besides, I don't intend to take him to the battlefield. He will stay on the ship or at the base. He must also follow your orders. Understood?"
The Commander saluted and Anakin, who also felt addressed, bowed slightly. "Yes, Master."
"Now, we have wasted enough time," Obi-Wan said in a lighthearted tone. They headed towards the ships, which would bring them to their fleet. On their way to the cruisers, Anakin looked curiously at the Commander and the Captain. Both noticed it and exchanged looks.
"I'm CC-2224, Clone Marshal Commander and this is CT-7567, our Clone Captain," the Commander said.
As Anakin heard their numbers, he froze, but managed to break free and blinked. "Don't… don't you have names?" he asked timidly.
Again, the two clone troopers exchanged looks. "The men call us Cody and Rex," the Commander answered warily. At this, Obi-Wan looked at them, like he heard it for the first time.
"Can I also call you by your names?" Anakin asked and looked at the ground. "I don't like numbers," he admitted.
Both clones and Obi-Wan frowned. This was a strange statement, especially to Obi-Wan, who knew that Anakin was in fact extremely talented at math and mechanics. He could even understand binary.
"I don't have a problem with that, Commander Skywalker. You, Cody?" Rex answered. As a Padawan, Anakin had the rank of a Commander, although he still had to follow Cody's and Rex's orders.
"Me neither," Cody replied.
Anakin happily looked up and smiled. "Thanks, Commander Cody. Captain Rex."
Once they were on board, they immediately headed to the bridge for the briefing.
Anakin didn't understand very much of what was said. Only that they were heading to Jedha, where a Jedi Master had disappeared after contact with troops of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, and that they would travel for around four days. Maybe he would have noticed and understood more if he hadn't been distracted by the sheer size of the bridge. He'd never been on such a large ship, and despite knowing the ship by heart theoretically, being on it was still incredible for him. His Master noticed this for sure, but he let it go this time.
"Trooper," Obi-Wan beckoned one of the clones over.
The clone saluted and approached them. "What can I do for you, General?"
"Do you have time to show my Padawan the bridge and maybe the most important places like the mess hall, the medbay and the hangar?" Obi-Wan requested.
"Of course." The clone trooper saluted. "Come along, Commander…" he trailed off, looking at Anakin.
"Anakin Skywalker," Anakin introduced himself.
"You know my name, but what do I call you?" Anakin asked while they were walking through the corridors.
"I'm CT-5986," was the clone's answer.
"And what do the others call you? I'd like to call you by your name, rather than your number," Anakin said.
"I… I don't have a name," CT-5986 answered uneasily.
"Oh… I'm sorry," Anakin apologized.
"I'm a soldier of the GAR. I don't need a name. I only need to do my duty," the trooper explained.
Anakin swallowed. Since he met the clones, everything about them reminded him of slavery and his own slave past. His gaze went to the ground and he followed CT-5986 silently.
CT-5986 guided him through the corridors to the mess hall, the medbay and the huge hangar. They finished the tour by visiting the other bridge. It was used for starfighter operations and had a large panoramic window. Anakin loved the view.
They spent some time at the secondary bridge, looking out of the window. Finally, CT-5986 led Anakin back to the primary bridge, just in time to hear the last parts of the briefing.
"Captain Rex, you will stay with your Torrent Company and my Padawan at the base," Obi-Wan was saying. "Cody, the 212th and I will search for our missing Jedi. If we find the Separatists, we have to find out what they want on Jedha. We won't attack until we know what's going on. Understood?"
Everybody except for Anakin saluted and said, "Sir, yes, sir!"
"Then we only have one last problem," Obi-Wan said, a little bit dramatically.
The clones exchanged worried looks. At least the Jedi thought that, since they could feel their worry and confusion, but couldn't see the clones' faces. Anakin only rolled his eyes. He knew his Master's tone, and that he only wanted to make a little bit fun of the others.
"Master, I know that you want to loosen up the mood, but I don't think that you'll be successful," he said dryly.
Obi-Wan sighed. "I think you're right, my young Padawan. But we have a problem nonetheless, because I don't know where you're going to sleep."
The clones relaxed a little bit as they realized that it wasn't a big problem.
"Erm… sir," Rex said, a little bit unsure. Normally, a soldier had to wait until his superior spoke to him, unless it was something very important or he had a message to deliver.
"Yes, Captain Rex?" Obi-Wan asked, not feeling offended as Rex had feared.
"He can have my room. I don't use it. I sleep with my brothers… with the other clones in the sleeping cabins," he answered.
Obi-Wan's eyes went wide as he heard Rex's unfortunately phrased answer. He knew that he should get his mind out of the gutter, but now he had that mental image in his head. The others didn't notice the Jedi's train of thought and continued to discuss where Anakin should sleep.
"There's a problem," Cody said. "We use your room as a storage room."
"Right, I forgot," Rex answered.
Anakin looked from one to the other and then uttered quietly, "I don't need a room all for myself. I can sleep anywhere."
Obi-wan shook his head, trying to erase the mental image of what Rex said from his mind.
"General Kenobi is right, sir," Rex said, mistaking the shake of Obi-Wan's head for a sign of his denial.
"No, no. I just... had the wrong picture in my head," Obi-Wan said. "It would be too much work to clear out your room, Captain. We must find somewhere else for him to sleep, but as far as I know, we have no room we could use."
Anakin snickered a bit. Cody and Rex exchanged looks, not knowing what Obi-Wan meant by the 'picture', but shrugged and continued.
"Then where should he sleep?" Cody asked.
"With your boys in the sleeping quarters, if this is no problem," Obi-Wan answered.
The clone troopers were shocked. A Jedi with them in the sleeping cabins? No one has ever heard of something like that. The Jedi were their superiors, and superiors didn't sleep in the same room as their subordinates.
"It's not a problem, sir," Cody answered, after he recovered from the shock.
"Then that's cleared up," Obi-Wan said, satisfied. "Now come, Padawan mine. We have a meditation session to catch up on."
"I'm surprised, Padawan," Obi-Wan said, after the meditation. "I expected you to want to come with me to help with the search, rather than be left behind."
"Last night…" Anakin started hesitantly.
"Your vision?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin nodded. "It wasn't quite the same as the last time, but it still was about this mission. This time, however, you weren't there. I was with people who all had the same face, the clones, and Rex was there, too. I don't know what's going to happen, but I know that I'm needed at the base," he explained.
Obi-Wan nodded and pensively stroked the beard he was starting to grow. "I'll tell Rex to be alert while we're down there, and to listen if you have a feeling that something's wrong. But you still have to do what he says," Obi-Wan said.
Anakin nodded. "Yes, Master."
"Good. Then will you go sparring before we eat dinner?" Obi-Wan asked.
Anakin's face lit up. "Of course, Master," he said, and jumped to his feet.
They weren't the only ones in the training rooms. Some troopers were there sparring, while some others were watching Rex and Cody spar. They cheered and bet on who would win. As the two Jedi entered, everything stopped to greet their superiors.
"Keep going. Don't let us bother you," Obi-Wan said, and headed to an empty corner along with his Padawan. They began to spar, not noticing the glances the clones threw at them.
"Your concentration is lacking," Obi-Wan observed after Anakin stumbled again.
"Sorry, Master. I'll do better," Anakin answered, and clenched his teeth as he blocked a powerful strike of his Master.
"You seem uneasy, why?" Obi-Wan asked, pushing his Padawan further on the defensive.
"It's… the clones,'' Anakin admitted.
Obi-Wan frowned. "I know it's a matter of getting used to the same faces, but there's no reason to be afraid. They're humans, and I hope you won't think less…" Obi-Wan started but was interrupted by Anakin, whose training lightsaber fell out of his hands and he stumbled back. Obi-Wan stopped his strike just in time. He wouldn't have killed his Padawan, because his lightsaber was on the lowest setting, but it still could have hurt him.
"What…" he began, but stopped as he saw Anakin's face. There was anger, but most of it was disappointment and frustration.
"How can you think that of me? How could you think that I'd treat them as something less? How could you think that, knowing my past?" Anakin asked, incensed, and stormed towards the door.
"Commander!" Rex and Cody shouted as he rushed past them.
Anakin spun around. "Don't call me that. I did nothing to deserve this rank. I… I wish that you don't call me that until you think I deserve it. Clear?" he asked.
The clones exchanged looks, then saluted.
"Of course, kid," Rex said. Anakin could hear the bewilderment in his voice. It was clear that they were both baffled, but also glad that there was someone who didn't think that they were something less, and wanted to earn their respect rather than get it for nothing.
Anakin left. The room was silent.
"General?" Cody asked hesitantly as he looked at Obi-Wan, who picked up Anakin's training lightsaber.
"Yes, Commander Cody?" Obi-Wan asked.
"I know it's not my place, but I thought that you Jedi grew up in the Temple. Did something happen there while he grew up?" the Commander asked.
"Anakin is a special case. He came to the Temple rather late. His childhood wasn't easy, but it's not my place to tell you more," Obi-Wan explained, lost in thought.
Cody nodded. "Of course."
