And now, the moment we all know we were wanting in Star Wars Rebels! (Admit it, we all wanted Cody and Obi-Wan to run into one another, no matter how angsty it got. Thanks to those who left some lovely reviews. My response is pretty much the same to all of them: you will find out in just a second.
Tatooine was officially the worst planet ever.
Cody wasn't surprised now that General Skywalker always complained about sand. He was so kriffing done with the gritty stuff getting all over him. The clone couldn't imagine living in it for ten years.
He mumbled a curse under his breath again as his foot slid over the dusty sand. This was the 7th time he had nearly tripped, and Cody was determined not to actually trip and fall face first into the hot dusty gritty stuff. That would be really uncomfortable.
Cody wondered why he was out in a desert in the first place! Then he mentally scolded himself for the thought. His General was out there… somewhere…
The clone continued to trudge across another sand dune, hefting his pack higher on his back. It felt like an eternity ago that he had landed in the little spaceport of Mos Eisley. It had taken a while (and a whole lot of associating and snooping around with smugglers and low life scum) to get even an idea of where General Kenobi might be.
He had had to pay nearly 50 credits to get one bit of information from a extremely dubious character in a bar. The alien (Cody couldn't identify what type of alien he was) had whispered to him about a man, always wearing a long robe, who occasionally visited Mos Eisley every few months.
The alien swore that several people had seen glimpses of a silver tube fastened to the man's belt that looked awfully like a lightsaber, weapon of choice of the long dead mystical Order of the Jedi. And, he had whispered conspiringly, the man can make anyone do his binding with a wave of his hand!
Cody wasn't sure about his general using the Force so frivolously, but it was the only lead he had, so he started to prepare for a desert trek.
Turns out, he could have simply waited for another day before having those rumors confirmed for himself.
Cody had been trying to secure a good water supply, when he had the feeling someone was watching him. He casually gripped his blaster and slowly turned his head around. Nothing. He was probably just being paranoid.
The water vendor caught his attention again with grunts and squeals and Cody quickly pulled out the credits. He slung the bag over his shoulder and turned around. When he looked up from his wallet, he found the eyes that he had felt.
A man in a dark brown cloak stood several feet away, his gaze locked on the clone. For a brief second, Cody locked eyes with the stranger and he immediately recognized the gray color. Too shocked to move, Cody watched as General Kenobi quickly turned away and vanished into the crowds.
The clone knew it was pointless to chase him. A Jedi knew how to hide.
But he followed the whispered directions from his previous contact into the desert and to the strange rock formations in the Jundland Wastes. Slipping over the sand again, the clone began walking through the winding passages of red rock, eyes roving over cliffs, watching for any sign of danger- or his general.
He didn't find his General- but he did find a hut. Cody glanced around the valley, but unable to see any other civilization, he began to wander over to the dusty house.
The suns were starting to go down, much to Cody's relief. Nothing was worse than two suns beating down on your back while hiking a desert. When he reached the hut, he looked around at the surroundings.
The inhabitant (or inhabitants) did not appear to be a moisture farmer, as there wasn't any equipment for that type of work. They also had no droid parts lying around, which meant they did not fix or build droids.
Cody got up his courage and knocked on the door. "Excuse me! I was wondering if it would be alright for me to camp out front of your hut tonight."
No answer. Not even a sound.
At least in Cody's perspective.
Inside the hut, an old Jedi was standing in the center of the floor, a hand gripping his lightsaber and praying to the Force that the clone would lose interest and leave. He couldn't stand to hear the voice of a clone. He couldn't allow the soldier- not his men, not his men anymore- to find out who he was. He had no doubt in his mind that if he did, he would be killed on the spot, just like all his fallen brothers and sisters.
That, or Obi-Wan would be forced to kill him- a thought the Jedi couldn't stand. He had already tried to kill another brother- and that had not gone well. In the slightest. He took a shaky breath as the memories rushed back to him. Mustafar. Lava. 'I hate you!' Betrayal.
Outside, Cody knocked again. "Hello? Anyone home?"
Obi-Wan jolted out of his nightmares and backed into another one, hitting a teacup off the table as he reeled back in shock. He knew that voice.
"Hello? I know you're in there. Just a simple yes or no. I'm not going to hurt you."
The Jedi could barely hold himself together at this point. That was Cody. No mistake about it.
He couldn't kill Cody. Not his commander. Not his friend. Not his brother.
Cody shifted outside for a second before speaking again. Call it what you would, intuition or the Force, but he suddenly felt like he knew who lived here. Gently, he asked "General?"
Kriff. Obi-Wan stepped further away from the door, not caring about the noise anymore. He smothered a scream with a tight clasp over his mouth, trying to not fall to the ground and sob.
"General… If that's you I just-" Cody couldn't speak for a moment, unable to believe he had gotten into this situation. "I'm sorry. I-" He couldn't continue, but fell to his knees and hung his head, trying to keep the tears in.
Obi-Wan had to bite his hand from screaming this time, and he fell to the ground, trembling. His lightsaber dropped from nerveless fingers with a thud, and rolled a few feet away from him.
"You… You have to believe me when I say, I didn't want to do it, sir." Cody gasped out, trying to keep himself from shaking with fear. He wasn't afraid of dying. He wasn't even afraid of his general's lightsaber. But he was afraid that Obi-Wan wouldn't believe him. Cody was willing to suffer any punishment deemed worthy by his general- but he would never be able to live with himself if Kenobi thought he had wanted to shoot him.
Inside, Obi-Wan was trying to hold himself together- too shocked at the turn of the situation. His commander- his Cody- was sitting at his door begging for forgiveness. The Jedi couldn't take it. He almost wished the man would try and kill him because he had no idea what to do.
Cody took a shaky breath, "I- I- I- know you will never trust me again… An- and I deserve that. But p-please, sir. Say something…" The commander was unable to keep in his tears any longer. "Shout. Scream. Kriff, kill me! But please, do something!"
Obi-Wan completely collapsed. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't move, he couldn't speak, and he certainly couldn't do as the clone requested- kill Cody?
Outside, Cody stared at the door, now one hundred percent sure it was his General. He waited. And waited. And waited. He didn't know how long he stood there before he finally lost any hope. Unable to stand, he collapsed against the door and began to sob. "General! I-I'm sorry! I'm so so so so sorry!" He was unable to speak again after that, the sobs nearly choking him to death.
Neither knew how long they sat. It felt like days. Like years. Finally, Obi-Wan shifted on the ground and shakily stood. Outside, his commander still sobbed and the Jedi couldn't bear to hear one more second of the pained cries from Cody. He didn't care what happened anymore at that point. He was willing to accept anything, he was willing to accept death if this was all a trick. If he could only know that Cody's cries had been silenced and he had been comforted, Obi-Wan would gladly take whatever came his way.
Cody was sure when the door swished open that he was going to die. He was sure he would hear the familiar whoosh and buzz of a lightsaber, ready to strike. He was sure he would be dead in a matter of seconds. And he was ok with that. He deserved this. So when a person fell to their knees in front of him and tightly wrapped him in an embrace, Cody's mind froze.
He stiffened under the warm familiar arms and cautiously turned his head to see a head buried in his shoulder. The figure- the General, Obi-Wan- was shaking and Cody was slightly alarmed to find that the Jedi was crying. Hands grasped at his tunics, pulling tightly as the fingers worked through the fabric almost anxiously, as if their owner was scared this was all a dream. Cody felt his cries returning as Obi-Wan whispered in a tear stained voice, "Commander...Cody...Cody...Brother…"
He let out a trembling sob, and collapsed against the Jedi, burying his own his face into the rough robe on his general's shoulder. They stayed in the embrace for what the clone was sure was over an hour, sobbing and gently rocking each other, trying to comfort the other. Finally after an eternity, the crying ceased. Each man still held the other tightly in an embrace, but both were silent. Cody broke the silence first.
"Kriff...kriff, General I- I can't say how sorry I am. I-I- just…"
Obi-Wan pulled back from hugging the clone, moving his hands to tightly grasp the shoulders of his commander. "No. None of that, Cody."
"But-"
The Jedi gently but firmly shook the clone, red rimmed grey eyes locking on with the bloodshot hazel eyes steadily. "Commander, you may apologize all you want, but I'm not having any of it."
Cody slumped slightly and hung his head, but Obi-Wan kept talking.
"Cody, you have nothing in the galaxy to apologize for. Nothing. I don't blame you for anything, do you hear? Not one thing. You had no control. You didn't know what you were doing. None of you did. I cannot blame someone for something they had no control over. You did nothing wrong. Nothing. You were used and manipulated by Darth Sidious, and for letting that happen, I am sorry."
The clone's head snapped up at that and he shook his head. "No, no General, it's-it's not your fault."
Obi-Wan sighed, dropping his eyes slightly. "Maybe not directly, but I should have noticed. I should have known. He-he was right under my nose and I didn't notice what was plainly in front of my eyes. I should have known…"
The Jedi took a shaky breath, and Cody knew from being a close friend that there was something else going through the man's head. Something that was far worse than the inhibitor chips implanted in all the clones. But he didn't push. He knew the Jedi was still pretty overwhelmed emotionally, and, if he was being honest, so was he.
Silence filled the air again. Suddenly, Obi-Wan stood up. "Where are my manners? We're sitting out in the cold desert and I have some warm water for tea. Come in, come, come." He disappeared into the hut leaving a very confused clone on his doorstep.
Cody shook his head, trying to get his thoughts straight. 'Well, that was a strange change of subject…' He stood up and followed his general inside.
The hut was not lavishly furnished and not very well lit. One small table was placed in the corner and a fireplace was lit with a pot hanging over the fire. It was in the small living area, Cody finally got a good look at his aged General.
He was quite shocked to see the white hair and wrinkles. The man seemed to have aged dramatically over the past years. And although the Jedi moved slower, Cody had no doubt that he could still fight a thousand battle droids head on.
Obi-Wan poured the water into the teapot and motioned for the clone to sit down. "Cody… It's so good to see you."
"You too, General."
Obi-Wan shook his head, "None of that. I'm not a general anymore. You can call me Ben."
"Ben, sir?" Cody tilted his head slightly confused. His face cleared suddenly and he frowned. "You mean what Tile used to call you over the radio?"
"Is there anything wrong with that, Cody? And just Ben."
The clone watched the Jedi make the tea for a moment, trying to remember if Obi-Wan had ever found out what that name stood for. He slowly responded, "No… and with all due respect, I don't think I can do that, sir."
Ben, apparently, glared at the clone, "Cody, we're not in the army anymore. There is no need for titles."
"But sir-"
"No buts! I insisted throughout the war you call me by my name and gave up after six months. But now we're in my home and I am not going to have you call me General or sir. Got it?"
Cody didn't answer but took a sip of tea from his cup. He knew that he wouldn't be able to call his general by what he had requested for the first couple of months for sure. It would take some time getting used to the 'new' name. The other man's grey eyes narrowed slightly, and he leaned forward.
"Cody, I know what you're thinking." Kriff, he sometimes forgot how perceptive his general was. "I know that you probably won't call me Ben all the time, but please try to break the habit of calling me 'sir' or 'General'. I never did like those titles and I don't think I'm qualified to have them."
"Well, I think you are sir. Any other General I've served under has been-" Cody cut himself off and closed his eyes, trying to block out the bad memories. Working under the Empire had not been a pleasant experience for him, or any of his surviving brothers. He couldn't tell you the number of times he would comfort his brothers in their sleep, all of them unable to cry in their trapped minds.
A warm hand on his knee snapped him out of the bad memories. Ben looked concerned at his old friend. "Was it really that bad?"
"Worse, sir- er, Ben." He tried the name out and found it a little strange in his mouth. Mentally, he shrugged. He'd get used to it.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Cody." Ben gently squeezed the clone's knee and gave him a gentle smile. "It's so nice to see you again."
Cody smiled back. He was relieved his General wasn't angry with him, but… "Sir?"
Ben raised an eyebrow and Cody quickly corrected himself, "I mean… Ben."
"Yes, Cody?"
"...I failed you once, sir."
"Cody, you didn't fail-"
"Please, let me finish." Cody gathered his thoughts again, then launched into his explanation. "I failed you once. I don't want to fail you again… Would you mind if I…?" His question died in his throat and he looked down his hands. His request seemed so childish and immature.
Lucky for him, his general was a Jedi. And Jedi are very good at reading people. "Cody… Would you like to stay with me on Tatooine?"
The clone eagerly jumped on the sentence, "Yes, sir. If that's alright with you, sir."
Ben frowned slightly and thought for a moment. He finally spoke. "Two conditions: the first being no calling me sir. Obi-Wan or Ben, only."
Cody mumbled an apology and looked up eagerly for the second condition.
"Two… I am on a mission of utmost importance, Cody. It is highly classified and nobody, not even the resistance, knows about it. If you wish to stay, you may help me, but you cannot ask any questions. I will tell you what I can, but you must not pry further than that. If you do, I will have no choice but to send you away." Obi-Wan looked as serious as the day he took Cody into battle against General Grievous.
A little miffed, Cody frowned. He put his fingers to his mouth and thought for a moment. The conditions were simple enough, but Cody was curious by nature. It's what kept him alive all these years. To not question orders- the very thing he had been forced to do for almost 20 years- was something Cody hesitated to do.
Yet… This was Obi-Wan. His general. His friend. His brother. And the man had never steered him wrong before. Did Cody trust him enough to not question him?
That answer was a resounding, 'yes'.
"Well then, General. It looks like you have a commander again."
"Obi-Wan, Cody. Obi-Wan."
"Sorry… Obi-Wan…"
It would take some getting used to, but Cody thought he finally found a purpose again. He rather enjoyed it.
Rex received a transmission two months after Cody had left. Rex laughed at the message, much to everyone's confusion. After all, no one quite understood it.
"Found the original pillow user. Very fluffy and still hates when I ruffle his feathers. Detour away from new base. -Vod Pillow"
Ezra read the message three times before finally giving up. "What does it mean, Rex?"
"Nothing, Ezra… Just an old friend sharing a joke."
"That is not a joke."
Hera rolled her eyes, "Let it go, Kai."
"Fine!" Ezra threw his arms in the air. "I was just wondering!"
Aww...Any guesses to what B. E. N. stands for? If you guess it correctly, you get a lot of cookies!