Commander Cody understood war. He understood that it was necessary, that for the right virtues and values to triumph over evil ones, defending them was sometimes the only course of action. Cody understood because he was bred for it, he and his vode. He knew the chaos that the Galaxy would descend into if they didn't win.

Cody understood that he and his fellow clones were necessary for the Republic's victories, and he knew that if it weren't so then the Jedi would never have agreed to fight alongside them. His General had gone to great lengths to remind him that he was human; that he was unique despite his origins, and he appreciated it. He also understood why not many thought that way.

He understood, yes.

But Cody didn't like it.

It was with a growl that he threw a grenade into the enemy forces, scattering and knocking them down while he and his troopers advanced. The forest was thick, and many trees had already suffered and fallen, caught between the warring factions.

Ships whizzed and screamed over their heads, with the 501st laying down a healthy covering fire that kept the droids from really coming out en masse. They hadn't been expecting this attack at all.

Riaj would soon be under Republic control, mainly due to the fact that the Separatists had no real leaders here to defend it from the GAR as they advanced. Cody thanked the stars that it was so; it made their victory inevitable and dropped the death-rate significantly though that unfortunately didn't exempt everyone from death.

It was with ferocity that he led his men, downing every droid and transport that they came across. There were explosions and shrapnel on all sides, with a snapping tree every now and then.

The battle had started badly, with two of their transports being shot down almost immediately. That was two squads down—potentially 18 dead men—and the remains of the transports had yet to be found.

Cody knew that there was a chance that the men from the transports survived, but he always prepared for the worst. It made it easier to accept it when it came. The Shadow Squadron had already called in from above to inform him that one of the transports had exploded on impact, and the other had followed shortly after.

The droids were falling before his men as he led the way through the forest, knowing that his general was flanking them with the other two platoons in the north.

His General.

Kenobi had been out of sorts for almost two weeks now, and Cody still hadn't been able to discover why. Unfortunately, General Skywalker was still holding a grudge from some falling out that had happened almost a whole month earlier between the two Jedi.

According to Rex it was a big deal, though the captain couldn't really give Cody the details. It worried the commander, especially since his superior tended to fight more recklessly when he was distracted. The last thing Cody needed was for Kenobi to lose his lightsaber, or get hit by a stray shot.

As a simple clone, he wasn't really up to the task of fixing the ever-growing rift between Skywalker and Kenobi.

The Team.

The Negotiator and the Hero with no Fear. Together they were unbeatable, and yet for a month they had seemed awfully tense with one another.

Even more so than usual.

Cody grimaced as he lobbed another grenade, leading his men farther into the forest as the droids continued their futile advance. He'd rather take on an army of clankers any day than attempt to breach the great wall of emotionless serenity that supposedly made up the Jedi Order.

More like the wall of suppressed trauma and mental health issues.

He respected the Jedi, certainly, but he couldn't understand that attachment rule. His vode were his backbone, keeping him sane through the never-ending blaze of death and war. Without them, he would have stopped fighting for the Republic long ago. His love for his brothers drove him and inspired him in ways that couldn't be replicated if he were on his own.

Yet for some reason the Jedi couldn't have that. It was obvious to anyone with eyes that Generals Kenobi and Skywalker were brothers in all but blood, and yet they could never tell each other. Expressing it was forbidden (not that they didn't do it anyway, depending on the situation).

But wasn't that where the whole problem came from? It was an impossible rule for anyone with feelings to keep, and so when the Jedi would have liked to express themselves to one another, they often … didn't. It tended to give the impression that they didn't care, or just disregarded emotions in general.

And that's where the misunderstandings happened. Right on that fine line between emotions and attachment, which were blending together more and more every day.

At this point, Cody could only hope that General Skywalker was willing to overlook whatever Kenobi had done to him, because Kenobi needed his brother just as much as Cody needed his own family.

The droids were going down in waves before his platoons, and he was relieved when he saw the advancement of the rest of their battalion.

Cody could see the panic amongst the droids as they were properly flanked by the rest of the 212th, and gave his men the signal to really run the clankers down. It was with grim satisfaction that he observed the beginning of the enemy's retreat.

He would take his vode over the Force in every circumstance, but he couldn't help but admire the grace with which his general led their advancement. The blue lightsaber was a beacon that drew all attention, and yet simultaneously protected against every shot that the Seppies fired.

From this distance all Cody could see of his general was an impenetrable force of power, solid and unyielding (no cloak, though. He'd probably lost it again). Yet as the four platoons came together to take out the fleeing enemy, bringing him closer to Kenobi, Cody could see the exhaustion that had recently defined his superior officer.

It was there in the slight slump of his shoulders, along with the tense lines of his face. Cody would have to talk to Rex; see if they could get their Jedi to communicate with one another.

"Cody!" Kenobi called for him as soon as they were within 100 meters of each other, "I need you to drive them back towards their base!"

"And you, sir?" Cody asked it as soon as he was close enough, becoming steadily more worried for his general as he neared.

"I sensed-" The Jedi paused, even as many troopers passed them to continue on toward the enemy. "There is something I must see to. I trust you won't have too much trouble taking care of the factory?"

"No problem, sir." Cody responded immediately, not questioning his leader's change of terms. "The Shadow Squadron called in to report that they might have found where the factory is hidden."

"Anakin told me." Kenobi sounded vaguely amused. "Says it's underground."

"Right, sir. We'll give 'em a proper burial."

"Thank you, Cody."

The Jedi was gone as soon as he'd appeared, his lightsaber disappearing and allowing him to blend into the ranks of clone troopers, effectively barring him from sight. Cody shook his head before jogging forward to advance with his men.

There was work to be done yet.

Anakin was frustrated.

There had been that argument with Obi-Wan this morning—the one where he had demanded to know the details of his old master's mission to Mandalore—which had quickly turned horrendous. Obi-Wan really wasn't acting normally, and it was starting to worry Anakin, not that he was especially surprised at the lack of answers from Obi-Wan. After that whole incident with Rako Hardeen, he doubted he'd ever be surprised again.

He had been forced to ground Ahsoka due to the injuries she'd sustained in their last mission (and he still wasn't convinced that Riaj wasn't just a trap). She had been furious with him for leaving her onboard the Endurance, and he had quickly promised her constant updates on their battle.

So here he was—General Anakin Skywalker—leading the Shadow Squadron as they provided cover fire for Obi-Wan's battalion below. It hadn't taken long for him to discover where the Seperatist Factory had to be located, and it was (annoyingly enough) underground.

So bombing it wasn't really the best option that they had.

Oh, and there was also that mysterious wave in the Force that had almost made him crash his fighter.

"Master! Master, what was- are you okay?!" Ahsoka's voice had fretfully dominated his cockpit, and Artoo had given an indignant whistle at their sudden drop in altitude.

"I'm all right, Snips." He remembered responding shortly as he had reached out his senses, trying to pinpoint exactly what had just happened. "Did you feel that?"

"I- ... I thought maybe I was just imagining it …" His Padawan's voice had been uncertain, "It was like a nudge in the Force."

"Not for me, it wasn't." Anakin had muttered, having felt a Force resonance that resembled the wave from earlier and he flew lower to pinpoint it, getting on his comm. link to the rest of his squadron as he did so. "Keep in formation, boys. I'm going to check something out. Don't let up on them."

"Right, sir." Had been his only response.

"Was it a lot stronger for you?" Ahsoka hadn't sopped talking, her voice rising as she speculated. "Did it come from the moon's surface? Are you going to look for it? Should I come down?"

"Snips."

"Sorry, Master." She'd sounded contrite. "It just … it had to have been huge to reach me all the way out here."

"Or you're just more in tune." Anakin had grinned, then. "Does this mean you're paying more attention to your meditation?"

Artoo had chosen that moment to make a very derogatory comment about the Force, and Anakin had laughed so hard that he nearly took the top off of a particularly tall tree. None of his men had commented on it, and he had to wonder if they would only start worrying about his flying when his ship started on fire.

"I pay attention!" Ahsoka's voice had been huffy over the comm. unit, and Artoo gave the whistling equivalent of rolling his eyes. "I just- … It could be dangerous, Master."

"Ahsoka. I'll be fine." He had spoken firmly, trying to calm his Padawan even as he sent a wave of confidence and comfort through their bond. "I'll tell you what I find."

He had wondered if he ought to comm. Obi-Wan, but his master's side of their bond was as silent and closed off as usual, and after that morning, Anakin had decided to just leave it.

That had been a little over 2 hours earlier, and now he was getting ready to land his fighter, tired of attempting to pinpoint the Force fluctuations from the air. And if Anakin was frustrated, Artoo was twice as bothered, constantly asking him why he didn't just finish off the droid army before going on his small scavenger hunt.

"I'm surprised you aren't excited, Artoo." His smile didn't quite make it to his eyes as he landed his fighter behind their own lines, hopping out to look at the small Astromech. "Normally you like adventures."

Artoo then made it perfectly clear through short bleeps and annoyed blarps that he liked adventures that weren't wild bantha chases, but that was no reason to compare him with Threepio.

Anakin took this to mean that the droid missed his friend, and he sighed. "Watch the ship, Artoo. With any luck, this will be our last mission before they let us go back to Coruscant for a while."

The last thing Anakin heard as he walked away was a sarcastic whistle, and then he was running. The trees were a lot bigger from the ground, which was a dumb thought, but it was all Anakin could really think about as the forest engulfed him.

The Force was swirling between the thick blue tree trunks as he ran towards the battle once again, allowing himself to be led towards whatever had so affected him before. Ahsoka was worried that it could be dangerous, but he hadn't felt that in the Force when it had happened.

The only impressions he'd gotten from it were of power and … importance, strangely enough.

The presence was growing before him, and it was with ease that Anakin turned himself over to the Living Force, letting it flow through him as it led him to exactly where he needed to go. He'd never have imagined as a young Padawan just how powerful meditation could be, but now he did it without even thinking.

He loved the Living Force. It reminded him of Qui-Gon, and it made everything more vibrant. It made him feel free, and he pushed himself faster as he melded with it, leaping and running gracefully toward his goal.

So immersed was he, that he barely had time to skid to a stop when someone stepped in front of him. Their purposefully obscured Force signature left a small black hole in his vision, and had him drawing his weapon immediately, thinking of Ventress.

The sound of lightsabers clashing together brought him out of his meditation, and he was met with the face of his old master, whose mustache twitched with amusement. "Anakin, how many times have I told you to think before striking?"

"Obi-Wan." Anakin sheathed his weapon, tucking it onto his belt again as he regarded the older man. "It would be a lot easier to tell who you were if you didn't hide your Force Signature from me. For all I knew, you could have been Dooku."

"I certainly can't have grown so old." Obi-Wan smiled wryly but didn't address the mild accusation in Anakin's tone, a sure sign that he was tired.

"Master, are you here because-"

"I felt it as well." Obi-Wan cut him off, and Anakin tried to ignore the surge of irritation that immediately followed. "It was rather powerful, after all."

"Even Ahsoka felt it." Anakin followed his old master as they began to pick their way towards the epicenter of the wave. Obi-Wan's eyebrows went up in surprise.

"From the Endurance? I knew you had felt it as well when your fighter disappeared from the sky and you began barreling towards it."

"Because I didn't close off my side of the bond?" Anakin couldn't help the bitter tone that his voice took, and Obi-Wan shook his head.

"Anakin, now's not the time. It could be dangerous, after all. I thought it best to attempt stealth before anything else."

Anakin let it drop, but only because they were very near to whatever it was that had affected them before. They both froze when there came a shuffling sound from before them, and Obi-Wan reacted first, posture loosening just as Anakin recognized it for what it was.

"Sirs!" A clone trooper stumbled out of the underbrush; his white armor smudged with dirt and grime, and his left arm in a sling- … a blue sling. His helmet was on, obscuring his expression, but his voice was earnest. "CT-8882, sir-" The man's head went from Kenobi to Skywalker and back. "Reporting, sir."

"What do you call yourself?" Anakin asked, noting in the Force around the man just how exhausted he had to be.

"Triple-Eight, General Skywalker, sir." A salute was quick to follow. "I was in one of the transports that got hit. Only three of us survived, and the other two are in a bad way."

"Take us to them." Obi-Wan lost no time at all, and moved forward swiftly, spurring the trooper to jump ahead of him, mouth still running.

"They're stabilized for now, General, there was a man; came out of nowhere, he's been helpin' us since the crash."

That caught Anakin's attention just as much as Obi-Wan's, prompting the latter to ask. "Who is he?"

"Says 'e's Lt. Commander Leonard H. McCoy, but he's a doctor too."

"And you said he came out of nowhere?" Anakin was trying his hardest not to sound skeptical, but Triple-Eight shrugged.

"He's not a Seppie, that's for sure."

Anakin glanced towards his old mentor, and found that Obi-Wan was looking right back at him. They shared a look that both of them knew perfectly; a look that meant 'get ready for anything.'

Then they were turning the corner to enter a small open area, Triple-Eight running forward to call out in a soft shout, "Doc! Slip! The Generals are here!"

"'Bout time, too." The man who stood was very thin, and about Obi-Wan's height. His shirt was bright blue, missing one sleeve, and his hair and skin were peppered with ash. His eyes were even bluer than the shirt (if that was even possible), and his smile was strained. "You must be those Jedi I've been hearin' all about."

Okay. What did you think of this chapter? Honest opinions only.

The only reason I got this up is because of the feedback I've gotten for this fic. I honestly wasn't expecting it to be quite so well received, but I'm glad that some of y'all like it enough to comment. Makes my day every time, seriously.

I'll start up on the next chapter, and maybe we'll get to see just what Kirk and Spock are up to, so I can leave you dangling where McCoy is concerned.

Will he get along with them? Won't he? Guess you'll just have to wait an' find out! ;)