Hey all! So here's the thing: When my Padawan and I were typing Commander Pillow this little plot bunny was involved in it. However, as we typed it turned into a little over twenty pages (aka, about a fourth of the original story) and I said, "Yeah, let's not do this here because: one, it's a fourth of the story and two, it focuses a lot on Obi-Wan. We can make it a side story." So we copied and pasted this thing into a different doc, left it alone to work on Commander Pillow, and forgot about it.

Cut to two months ago and I'm cleaning out my docs and find this thing. Well, I've never liked leaving things unfinished so I thought, "It's more than half-way finished. I'll just upload it after a quick read through/edit and finish it up in a week or so."

And then I started reading through and realized I had to rewrite quite a bit of it. Specifically: the medic. Fun fact: this plot bunny was how Bacta was originally introduced. He wasn't a transferred ex-616th member but originally the medic of the 212th. But to anyone reading General Kanine, you know that isn't how it is anymore.

So I sat down and figured out what the heck to do with this thing. Cutting the medic was impossible because they were such a vital part of the story. But these episodes take place chronologically near the beginning of the Clone Wars, which means Bacta isn't there at the time. I thought about borrowing Corric or Kix from the 501st but ended up just throwing that all away. And thus a new medic of the 212th was born (who you meet at a later date)!

As such, I thought it would be a fair warning to let everyone know that Bacta and the Checkered Light shinies (Tile, Trigger, etc) are not going to be in this side story. But, it's still Commander Pillow so I hope you enjoy it!

Commander Pillow: Slaves of the Republic: Chapter 1: The Call

Cody didn't like the mission from the beginning.

As soon as they landed on Kiros, eerily free of Togrutan colonists, everything inside of him screamed it was a trap. Easily taking out the droids was another testament to that, and then receiving a holo from the Separatist commander, telling General Kenobi to meet him in a tower for negotiations...well, it was just plain obvious now.

And yet, Cody didn't object when his general walked off to the tower, knowing it wouldn't be worth his time to argue with the stubborn man.

Now he wished he had skipped straight over the argument and locked his General in cuffs before sending the entire 212th to bomb the building.

His general had returned with bruises, cuts, and red angry marks on his arms and neck. The commander had nearly had a heart attack when the Jedi collapsed, shaking with exhaustion and pain. Of course, Obi-Wan insisted he was fine, but he didn't object when Stich rushed over with some painkillers.

Cody should have insisted on his General to return to the temple then. But the kriffing Jedi had insisted he could see the rest of the mission through.

And Cody really didn't like the next part.

Rex, General Skywalker, Commander Tano, and General Kenobi went undercover as Zygerrians and a slave. Cody was itching to go along, but Obi-Wan had said that it was his job to command the troops while he was gone (this included the 501st, which was a whole other issue). So Cody, reluctantly, stayed.

He reminded Rex to take extra good care of General Kenobi. His wounds hadn't quite healed from his last encounter with a Zygerrian and there was no need to make it worse. Rex had given his best word (aka, promised he'd try to keep the General from doing something too stupid).

Cody started getting worried when communications suddenly ceased only a few days later. The silence turned into weeks. Right when Cody's patience was about to break at the two-week mark, General Skywalker contacted him.

He informed the clone they would be coming back with the Togrutans and should be there in three hours. Relief swelled inside and word quickly spread through the two units.

The moment he received word that The Twilight docked in The Resolution, Cody (currently on The Negotiator) activated his communicator to General Kenobi.

Imagine his surprise when Rex answered. His brother smiled gently, giving a little wave, "Hey Cody."

"Rex. I wasn't expecting you…" Cody trailed off, his panic level starting to rise.

The captain gave a tired smile. "Well, General Kenobi is...occupied at the moment, and I figured it was you calling, so I answered. Don't want you to get too wound up about him."

Cody nodded slowly, not liking where this was going. "Ah." He noted his out-of-uniform brother, who appeared to be sitting down somewhere rather loud. "Where are you, Rex?"

The captain sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Medical bay," he answered, eyes shining with tiredness.

"Are you alright?" Cody asked, concern lacing his voice.

Rex shrugged. "Mostly. It could have been worse, really…" He trailed off, leaving Cody wishing to be on the 501st's flagship, so he could hug his younger brother. Force looked like he could use one.

A terrifying thought popped into his head, leaving Cody suddenly cold. "Where's General Kenobi?"

Rex noticed the urgentness in the commander's voice, and he started trying to calm him down. "He's ok, Cody, really. He's in good hands."

Cody clenched his jaw. "Where is he?" the commander asked again, putting some command in his voice.

Rex recognized it, and, knowing better than to argue, sighed. "He's getting checked over by Kix."

"Why?" Cody asked, the panic levels rising. Medics and his general was never a good sign.

"The mission took some...unexpected turns." Rex was avoiding the question, and he knew it.

Cody knew it too because he launched into full commander mode. "Captain, tell me why, or I'll have you put on cleanup for a month."

They both knew Cody couldn't do that, but Rex must have decided it would be better to answer. "He was captured… and enslaved." The captain finally said, quietly.

Cody froze, the panic now taking complete control.

"After General Skywalker and I attempted a rescue, we all were captured. General Kenobi and I were enslaved and sent to Kavado. It was two weeks, maybe more before General Skywalker got the Togrutans and us out."

Cody couldn't move, talk, anything. He wished he was on the other flagship for the hundredth time, there for Rex and there for his general. They had been slaves. Probably beaten, starved for weeks, living in unspeakable conditions, surrounded by despair and pain. It must have been awful for them. To see all the Togrutans suffering and not be able to do anything about it.

The commander was brought back to the present by Rex. "Kix said he wanted to keep General Kenobi here, but I don't think he's going to win that fight."

The older clone gave a weak, half-hearted smile, "At least he's still stubborn as a bantha." Maybe he was over-reacting. If his General was winning arguments, that was a good sign.

Rex glanced off to the side. "General Kenobi's back. Want to see him?"

Cody nodded before the comm was passed over.

The commander sucked in a quiet breath as he saw his general's state. Obi-Wan was obviously in a great deal of pain if the way he moved said anything about it. Slow and careful, with a little help from Rex to sit down. He was tired and pale, making the bruises on his face pop out. The Jedi looked much too thin for Cody's liking and looked almost defeated.

Obi-Wan smiled slightly, lips quirking up in a shadow of his usual wry grin. "Hello, Cody."

Maybe he hadn't overreacted enough. The commander had to blink hard to keep rage at the Zygerrians from completely overcoming him. How dare they-

Cody tried to smile back but found he couldn't. "General." He barely choked out as a greeting. There was no way he could deal with this situation as a brother. Ranks allowed a semblance of separation and it was the only thing that prevented Cody from snapping.

The Jedi noted. He switched to his 'commanding voice', continuing in a formal tone. "How are the men, Commander?"

"Good sir. They are ready to have you back, though. I think they're missing the excitement, sir." That made the Jedi smile a bit more strongly this time.

A sigh of relief slipped out. Good. He's not completely broken...just really close…

That thought made the clone want to tell all the funny stories of Waxer getting bored and pranking several clones while they waited for Obi-Wan's return. He opened his mouth to do so but stopped himself at the exhaustion that started to show on the General's face. Sleep was needed more than a smile.

"I'll let you rest, General." The commander said.

The Jedi nodded slowly before responding with another shadowed smile, "Don't let the men get too rowdy, Commander."

"I won't sir."

Obi-Wan softly signed off, and the comm blinked out leaving Cody to rage at all the Zygerrians who had hurt his general. He had never seen the Jedi so broken and lost looking. The clone was sure it would be several weeks, perhaps even months before his general would fully recover. And even then, the Jedi would be mentally scarred for the rest of his life.

All Cody could do now was hope his general would look a little better after a good night's sleep.

That and plot out a bombing run on the nearest slave-runner planet- a hypothetical bombing run, of course.

This side story is going to be about six to eight chapters long. I'm not quite done with the entire story but I thought it would be a good idea to see if there is any interest in seeing where this goes before putting in more hours of rewriting. If it doesn't happen, this isn't too bad of a cliff-hanger to just call it good.

So please, leave a comment in the reviews, PM me, or favorite/follow to let me know that, Yes. More, please.

May the Force be with you all!