Trigger warnings: brief mentions of blood
The thought alone feels like a betrayal.
He has to tell Kenobi – about the chips, about the Chancellor's treason: all of it. They'll have to confront Palpatine if they're going to arrest him and Cody doesn't like to think about how many of them will die if they try it alone and the Chancellor refuses to go.
I won't bury you too, Rex. Not when I can help it.
Cody keeps his breathing steady and even; Kenobi can detect his anxiety through the bond, he knows, but the last thing he needs to do is send a surging spike of it straight into his jetii's brain before he's ready to raise the subject of its source.
If he's ever ready.
Just do it already.
Cody slaps his datapad down onto the table with a decisive thwap. Kenobi jolts slightly.
"I need to tell you something," Cody blurts.
Obi-Wan frowns and sets his own datapad aside. "Of course," he says, folding his hands on the table between them. Cody gets a muted flash of concern, then a tidal wave of serenity. "What is it, Commander?"
The Chancellor is a traitor. Too blunt. Too unsupported. He doubts Obi-Wan would ship him off to the psychiatric ward for one wayward comment, but it certainly wouldn't help him build his case.
"I'll be honest with you," Cody says slowly. "It's going to sound – well, insane."
Kenobi's smile is warm. "Perhaps you forget," he says, "that Anakin was my padawan. If you can manage to top one of his stories, I will be very surprised."
Cody coughs something like a laugh and tries to say Fives was right, but the words never break the open air. There's smoke in his eyes and dust in his mouth and his ears are ringing and he's on the ground, slapping around blindly for his helmet so he can see.
"Kenobi," he croaks. Even with the bond, time and training demand a vocal response. There's a gust of wind; he realizes dimly that the wall is gone. The data center is on fire.
His ears aren't ringing: those are alarms.
Cody heaves a rattling breath. No answer. No answer. Can't see. Remember to breathe.
"Kenobi!"
"I'm here, Cody," Obi-Wan calls back. It's muffled, but it's there and it's strong. Kenobi's boots appear in his line of vision and then he's being hauled to his feet. Kenobi hands him his helmet; he tugs it on. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," Cody snaps, kicking through the rubble until he finds his DC-15. "What was that?"
Kenobi leans out the jagged hole in the wall and Cody resists the urge to yank him back away from the edge. "Stray droid starfighter," Obi-Wan says dryly. "Or what was left of one by the time it made it to the building."
"Droid starfighter?" Cody demands.
There are no droid ships here. He must have hit his head; he must be concussed and hallucinating. Cody lifts his eyes; his breath catches in his throat. The sky is burning.
It's a Separatist invasion force.
"Coruscant is under attack." Kenobi's voice is tense. He steps back away from the window and slaps at his commlink until it shines a faint green. "Anakin! Anakin, can you hear me?"
"Just barely," Anakin says. "The Chancellor is secure in his office. Some of the Guard just reported that General Grievous is making his way to the Senate complex. I'm on my way to stop him."
"We'll rendezvous with you," Kenobi shoots back. "Wait for us."
"No time. Master Windu contacted me. The Council believes the Chancellor is the primary target. The main body of the Separatist force is headed this way. Get ready to repel them. I'll take care of Grievous."
"Understood," Kenobi bites out. The line goes dead. He looks to Cody. "We need to get up there."
Cody's heart is pounding. If the Chancellor is the primary target, then it's because he set himself up to be. He'll have a plan to get back, and then, when he's safe and it's all over and the Republic is looking for someone to blame the security breach on, he'll have his execution block for Echo and the Bad Batch and the immunity to deflect any accusation – maybe frame it as a Jedi lie. Then he activates the chips.
And everyone dies.
No time. Kenobi's already in the hall. Cody sprints after him.
They're halfway to the turbolift when the pods hit, boring into the side of the building and loosing their hordes: line after line of battle droids. Kenobi's lightsaber is in his hand and humming a cutting blue. He charges. Cody follows him.
Just keep firing.
Just keep firing.
"Cody," Rex barks over his comm; he's on the line they set up for their own communication, not the one available to their squads. Treason business, then. "Tell me you're not dead."
"Little busy, Rex," Cody snarls, twisting a droid's head from its body and slamming his rifle's barrel into the next. Fire. Fire. Down.
"The main invasion force is heading for Palpatine."
"I know, Rex."
"We have to get there first."
"I know, Rex."
"I got in contact with Echo. Ninety-Nine is on their way. So is Fives." Rex is quiet for a moment; there's not much background noise, save for the occasional distant explosion. He must be on a gunship. "We'll get one shot at this."
"Worse comes to worse," Cody snaps, "you know the plan."
"I told Jesse and Dogma."
He doesn't have the time or the breath to ask how they took it; at this point, it doesn't matter – just like Rex contacting Clone Force Ninety-Nine while everyone is gunning for their heads.
They need the reinforcements.
Cody drops his shoulder and slams his body into a super battle droid. It stumbles. He puts one blast in its central processor.
It drops.
Kenobi's cleared the hostiles further down. The hallway is a graveyard of droid parts. A few of them are on fire. Kenobi's hair is mussed; there's a streak of blood on his cheek. He's breathing hard.
Cody jolts.
Half a B1 on the floor is raising its rifle toward Kenobi. Cody stretches out a hand and snaps it into a fist. The droid's head crumples.
The rifle drops.
Kenobi glances over his shoulder. "Nicely done," he says. "I think I owe you one."
"I think I owe you a few more than one, General."
Obi-Wan shrugs.
"We're dropping in now. Rendezvous on the Chancellor's level. We'll take him together."
Cody knows the hard note in his voice: Rex is driven by desperation, bleakly clawing at hope. He has no shabla plan for the Sith.
No one does.
"Cody, we need to go. Now. Before they dispatch more pods to this level or knock out the turbolift." Kenobi's hand is firm on his shoulder. "Cody?"
He can't watch any more of his brothers die.
"Fives was right," Cody says, before he can make himself think twice. He rips off his helmet and drops it. "Fives was right about everything."
There's a pulse of vivid confusion through the bond. "What?"
"The chips. The Chancellor. All of it. Fives was right," Cody hisses.
"Cody, slow down, you're not making any—"
"Palpatine's a shabla Sith."
"Cody!" Obi-Wan snaps, but Cody doesn't stop – can't stop. Too close. So far. Fives' fall. Rex's cry. Echo's hell. Waxer, choking on his own blood while Boil clutched him and cried. Every man in his command he ever lost for this woven war. Every scream. Every sobbing breath. Every hand he held. Every you're gonna be okay he said while the truth of the lie pressed at the corners of his eyes.
No one else dies.
"The Chancellor is a traitor," Cody snarls. "To the Republic, to the Jedi, and to every clone. He had us made so he could use us like fodder in a war he engineered."
Kenobi's staring at him in wide-eyed shock. Maybe worry. Cody's too full of fire to care which it is. Their bond is an inferno. "There is a chip in my head," he says, "and if it activates, I will turn this blaster on you and I will kill you."
"The chip Fives was looking into," Obi-Wan says slowly. "It's not an aggression inhibitor."
"No," Cody says. "Fives wasn't crazy. It wasn't a virus. It's not an inhibitor. It was a cover-up. Palpatine is planning to wipe out the Jedi and he's going to use the clones to do it."
Kenobi doesn't look convinced – just concerned. Troubled. His unease rolls off him in dark waves. Cody heaves a strangled breath.
It haunts him late at night, a specter of a fear he's afraid to give a name. He's at Kenobi's side, pressing toward the enemy lines. Then he hears the mission like a dream – Execute Order Sixty-Six – and he's raising his weapon and blowing blast after blast into Kenobi's back. There are tears on his cheeks but his eyes are dry; there's grief in his voice but it's all just deafening silence. He can't speak. He can't move. He can't even cry.
He can only fire.
Kenobi's lightsaber is deactivated but still in his hand. Cody takes careful hold of his wrist and guides it so the live end of the hilt is pressed against his chestplate.
"If you don't believe me, then end it now, Obi-Wan," Cody says hoarsely, wrapping both his hands around Kenobi's wrist. "Because I would rather die than betray the man who has stood as a brother at my side."
Kenobi searches his face for a long moment. Then a wave of cooling serenity flows through the bond; Cody doesn't know if Kenobi did it for his own benefit or for Cody's but he lets it seep into his chest and soothe the screaming ache in his soul.
"All right," Obi-Wan says, gently prying his lightsaber from Cody's grip. It's all right. "We will arrest the Chancellor before Grievous' forces can reach him. Once we've repelled the invasion, we can deal with the fallout."
"He's a Sith," Cody says, replacing his helmet. "He won't come quietly."
Obi-Wan's face is grim. "I know," he says, and Cody remembers the recording. Remembers the phantom menace.
For all the chaos raging outside, the lift ride is silent.
Rex, Jesse, and Dogma are just emerging from the lift opposite them. A shadow shifts to Cody's right. He jumps.
Fives.
No, not just Fives. He's not alone. There's a woman in Mandalorian kit at his side – and a shiny that has smudged red medic symbols slashed onto each of his shoulder pauldrons; it look like he drew them on with a marker.
"Fives," Cody says, and nods at the others. "Who's the shiny?"
The shiny tugs his helmet off. "It's Kix," he grumbles, and waves a hand to the armor. "I borrowed this from a medical transport. It's temporary."
"Ventress," Obi-Wan says. "What an unexpected pleasure."
In an instant every blaster except Kix's and Fives' is trained on her. Fives reaches out and pushes Rex's pistols down. "She's on our side," he says, annoyed. "Just trust me on this."
"Why are you working with Ventress?" Jesse demands. "You can't work with Ventress."
"That's what I told him," Kix says. Jesse snorts and crosses his arms. Dogma stiffens.
"Leave it," Rex says. "We can use the help."
As if he hadn't just had Ventress in his sights. Cody glances at Obi-Wan; Kenobi gives him a small smile and quirks a brow. There's a burst of confusion.
Fives. Alive?
There'll be plenty of time for explanations when all of this is over.
It's Rex who starts down the hall first. Cody steps up beside him and ignores the way Ventress mutters, "Finally." Fives takes up a position to Rex's right.
They move as one.
It's not a long corridor but with the emergency lighting flickering overhead and the way his heart is pounding in his chest, it seems eternal. Cody tightens his grip on his blaster and feels another wave of calm flood the bond. It's different than before, a familiar prelude instead of pacification.
When he feels the electric focus, it's not a surprise.
"Get out of my head," Fives hisses at the same time Ventress asks, "When did you become so adept at battle meditation, Kenobi?"
The web fades away. "I'm sorry, Fives," Obi-Wan says softly. "I didn't mean—"
"Just stay out of my head, General," Fives says shortly. Rex tilts his helmet toward him slightly. Fives rests a hand on his shoulder.
"Something you need to tell us, Fives?" Cody asks.
"You first, Commander."
"Please tell me you have a plan for confronting the most powerful Sith of the current era," Ventress interrupts. "We're not just going to walk in there and say 'you're under arrest.'"
There's a dead silence.
"Oh, we are," she says. "Wonderful. I'm sure that will go over stunningly."
"We have a fair chance," Obi-Wan points out. "If we take him together."
Ventress snorts.
"He wanted you dead, right?" Fives says. "That must have been for a reason."
"Because you, of course, would know all about that."
"I don't have to know the Force to know fear when I see it."
They round the curve and nearly run over a Guard patrol. There are three of them; Cody recognizes them as Rys, Jek, and Thire.
"Sir," Thire says slowly, "what are you doing on this level? There's an invasion happening outside. We're on full lockdown."
"We've been assigned to protect the Chancellor," Cody says briskly. "Stand aside."
The three Guardsmen shift uncomfortably. Their eyes fall on Ventress. For all they know she could be another Jedi behind her helmet. "That wasn't a suggestion," Cody says. "Get down to the ground level and reinforce our defenses. We'll handle security here."
This time, they obey. It's a small relief: it's strange to say they're safer with blaster bolts flying at their heads than standing guard up here, but at least if the fight spills out into the hall they won't be collateral.
No on else dies.
Palpatine's door is large and ornate. Cody's never found it ominous until this moment.
"He'll know we're coming," Obi-Wan says. "Be prepared for anything."
The door swings wide. Palpatine is seated at his desk with his hands folded. There's a knowing smile on his face that sends a chill down Cody's spine.
The air is so still it's deafening.
Fives steps to the front. He reaches for his belt and then holds his right arm forward. There's a telltale click, then an all-too-familiar hiss. A dual blade springs to life, pale, crackling gold.
"Sheev Palpatine," Fives says, "you are under arrest for acts of treason against the Republic."
Palpatine steeples his fingers. Fox is a silent force behind him. Cody's breath catches in his throat. They can set their weapons to stun but there's no guarantee that that'll have any effect on a Sith lord; with all the blaster fire, the odds are not good that Fox will survive.
"That's a very serious accusation," Palpatine says calmly. "I do hope you have some evidence."
"Stand up and put your hands on your head," Fives orders. "We're taking you in."
Palpatine rises slowly. "This is treason," he says lowly. Cody gets a sudden electric surge through the bond, a flood of peace and acuity. Kenobi's lightsaber hums on. Ventress follows suit.
"I'm not going to ask you again," Fives says. Rex moves to stand beside him; his aim is level, unshaking.
The glass shatters in a shower behind Palpatine, strong enough to throw Fox forward. Clone Force Ninety-Nine rappels through the opening.
Palpatine doesn't flinch.
For an instant, there's just the rasp of Cody's own breath in his ears and Kenobi's cool assurance in his chest. For an instant, Fives and Palpatine are locked in silent combat.
For an instant, time itself stands still.
Then Palpatine looses a cry; his twin sabers sing to life, murderous crimson. Cody's on his feet and then the ground is rumbling beneath him like a quake and he's flailing through the air and slamming hard into the floor.
Shab.
Cody scrambles back up, dimly aware the others are doing the same all around him. The Bad Batch came out the worst: Hunter and Crosshair went flying over the side and are clinging to the window's frame for dear life.
"Get them back in here," Cody snaps, and Dogma, Jesse, and Kix rush to cover them.
"We've got incoming!" Rex barks. Cody follows his line of sight to the Separatist gunships rising from the horizon. The troop bays clatter open; the swarm converges. Hunter and Crosshair have just gotten their footing when the super battle droids breach the window.
"Hold them here!" Cody orders.
"What about Fives?" Echo demands. There's fear in his voice, tensely controlled. Rex doesn't turn or stop firing, but Cody knows the same question is on his mind.
Palpatine lunged for Fives first. A glance through the door tells him that Fives has been driven back into the corridor and that Kenobi and Ventress have engaged the Sith alongside him, dancing around one another in a flurry of movement. Palpatine blocks each of their blows with effortless fluidity, as if he knows where each of them is going to land before his opponents have decided themselves.
"No one will be helping Fives if we get outflanked," Cody snaps. "Hold those droids here. I'll run support."
They don't ask him what he's planning and he doesn't volunteer the information. Cody's not sure he knows: what's he going to do, shoot Palpatine in the back?
A silver glint catches his eye. Obi-Wan dropped his shabla lightsaber again. He barely stops to pick it up. He's close now, almost to them – but the sound of clashing sabers is less, less, and then – gone.
He sees it all in the space of a second.
Kenobi's hovering high, grasping at his throat. Ventress is frozen, armor rippling and hissing with the force of the lightning crackling over it. Fives is on the ground, coughing and clawing his way back to his feet – get up, get up, get up.
There, cackling in the center of the chaos, is Palpatine.
The bond is fire and shattering pain. Cody doesn't stop to think. There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no passion; there is only serenity.
Kenobi can't breathe.
Cody skids to a stop, sets his feet, and throws his hands forward and wills the Force into a surging tide. It rises and swells in the blink of an eye, building in his palms until he releases it in a shockwave.
Palpatine staggers.
Kenobi and Ventress drop.
Obi-Wan's lightsaber hisses to life in his hand. Cody lunges. Palpatine whips around to deflect the blow. There's a maniacal sheen to his eyes; he fights with a frenzied fury, driving Cody back toward the central chamber.
Back toward the battle.
Back toward his brothers.
Their blades clash, lock, and suddenly Cody's thrown backward. He lands with a sickening crack he hopes is armor and not bone. Palpatine leaps after him, robes flowing, sabers flashing and held overhead for the kill. Move. Move. Have to move.
Can't move.
Can't see.
Just breathe.
"Cody!"
The hit never lands. There's a sheen of seething gold just above his visor, a barrier to Palpatine's strike.
Fives.
"Move!" Fives snaps, strained, and Cody rolls to the side, clawing at the wall to drag himself upright. There are pounding footsteps pulsing toward them.
Ventress rages into the fray with a ragged scream. Palpatine flings Fives back with a push of the hand and spins to meet the whirlwind.
"Kenobi!" Cody barks, still half doubled over, and throws his saber.
Obi-Wan catches it mid-stride; then he's at Ventress' side. They offset one another: one-two, swing, step, back, one-two. Palpatine stumbles and flips away, propelling himself over their heads and landing near the end of the corridor.
"Fools," Palpatine hisses, spinning to face them with sabers crossed. "You think y—"
Palpatine chokes a gasp. It takes Cody a second to register the snap of a blaster's discharge.
Fox is clinging to the doorframe to stay upright. His helmet is gone. His eyes are desperate and wide. He has one hand outstretched, clutching one of his pistols.
"Aruetii," he manages, and collapses.
Palpatine's struggling for breath. He looses a long, strangled screech. "Fools," he says. His lightsabers fall from his hands. He drops to his knees and coughs, coughs, screams. "Fools. I am Sidious, I will not be—"
Fives whips out his pistol and fires: one shot, head-on.
Palpatine slumps.
"That was for Tup," Fives says. He twirls his pistol and replaces it in its holster.
Cody eases to stand. Fives kneels beside Fox and helps him to his feet. The battle has died down in the Chancellor's office. There're a few final shots and what sounds like Wrecker stomping on a droid – then nothing at all.
The room is a disaster, but as far as he can see, there are no bodies.
"Status report," Cody says. "Sound off."
"No casualties," Crosshair volunteers mildly. "Is that good enough for you, Commander?"
"Where's Palpatine?" Echo demands.
"Dead," Ventress says. She sounds satisfied.
Echo stiffens. He turns his gaze to Fives. "That's your contact?" he asks slowly.
"Not you too," Fives says, easing Fox to the floor. Kix is beside him immediately. "C'mon, Echo. Just trust me."
Cody shakes his head and kicks at one of the droids Wrecker must have stepped on. His heart's pounding.
Breathe.
There's a sudden rush of warmth and compassion through the bond. Kenobi materializes at his side. "Are you all right?" Obi-Wan asks quietly.
"Stop losing your shabla lightsaber," Cody says.
Kenobi chuffs a laugh, but there's no mirth to it. For a beat, his eyes are dark and faraway.
"We still have an invasion to stop," Rex says. "We should get in contact with General Skywalker and reinforce the effort to repel Grievous' forces."
"I'll contact the Council," Kenobi says. "They'll direct us."
He doesn't sound enthused. Cody tilts his head at him. Obi-Wan sighs and looks back toward the door.
"This," he says, "is going to be quite the conversation."