Author's Notes: (slow blink) Okay … I'm not entirely sure where this came from. While it's true that I wanted to do something more with Cody in the Force afterlife … and it's also true that I had a little something from the Clone Wars tv series that I wanted to deal with, they threw me a curve ball with this ... or rather, Cody threw the curve ball. This time, at least ... they take turns doing that. I did finally work out why it is that Cody is remembering the new timeline faster than Obi-Wan is … that's what makes the most sense, at least. I want to get back to Aidan and Ami in the next chapter, as they have a very important meeting with the Jedi High Council (which also deals with the clones), but heaven only knows when that will get written, because they've been extremely stubborn about telling me how that meeting takes place. Remember, while most of the chapters have been in chronological order thus far, these are snippets before we get to Attack of the Clones and then Revenge of the Sith, so they will be going back and forth in the new timeline (when we're not checking in at the great blue glowy-beyond). There are additional author notes at the bottom, just in case.
Chapter Eight
Past or Future
"How far out are we, Commander?"
"About another klick, sir. We'll make it," Cody reassured his general, scooping another exhausted child up into his arms. For the last ten-day, they'd been helping to evacuate the people of this world as it died around them. These were the last survivors … the last hundred people remaining on the planet. The cities were evacuated first, naturally. This small village would have been passed over for the final time, were it not for the sharp eyes of a new vod, just assigned to the 212th … hadn't even chosen a name yet. When Ruusaan heard about it, she observed, 'might want to suggest Eagle to him.' Cody intended to do just that, assuming the shiny survived this mission. He'd sent the youngster ahead with the first set of evacuees (the elderly), and Ruusaan reported that group arrived without issue, so he should be fine.
"Oh, of that, I have no doubt. I was merely estimating how much I'll owe Merit once we arrive back on the Negotiator," the general observed wryly. Cody made an inquiring noise, and the general explained, "A wager with my lovely partner … I was certain that evacuating this particular village would take only a few hours. Merit, however, was convinced that it would take the better part of a day. And, since she is the granddaughter of a smuggler, she decided to make our wager even more interesting … the more I went over my estimate, the more I owe her. Unfortunately, I have no idea how she'll collect. It could be something as simple as credits or kisses, or as complicated as … well, there are little ears listening."
Righhhhhht. And leave it at that. Except Cody couldn't, not really. He gently teased, "Oh, I'm sure Ruusaan can get quite … creative when it comes to debts being paid," and snickered at the general's muttered, 'that's part of what concerns me.' He would have said more, but found himself flat on his face in the mud. He had just enough time to tuck the two children he'd been carrying close to his body before all hell broke loose. He heard his general behind him swearing in several different languages, including Hutteese and Mando.
Ruusaan's voice crackled in his ear, "Cody, I'm not liking what I'm hearing from your position, much less what I'm sensing in the Force. Just say one word, and I'll be there to help. I just need one word to lock down your position." He gave her several, in nearly as many languages as the general had used. Ruusaan added breathlessly, "Got it, on my way. I think something knocked out Obi-Wan's comm. I'll be there soon, brother. Ruusaan, out."
By now, Cody knew better than to question Force stuff. He raised his head slightly and growled under his breath to see his general risking his life to buy them time to get these last few kids to safety. His brothers who weren't carrying children were firing back, covering the children running for the ship that would take them back to the Negotiator … a repurposed Trident surveyor ship which Ruusaan claimed and modified to her own specifications. Meanwhile, the general continued to fight defensively, deflecting the shots away from Cody, his brothers, and the children. And that's when he realized … the general was the one who Force-pushed him to the ground, the one who ensured that Cody wasn't shot in the back. Typical of him.
Equally typical? Ruusaan roaring in on the detachable she favored whenever there were stragglers. A small vessel with the capacity to carry thirty fully-grown people, it sat atop the Trident. Ruusaan called it the Raven, always with a sad smile. Cody allowed himself a feral smile after she opened fire on the Seppies. The cargo door slid open, revealing Rex. Then Ruusaan was still at the controls. Good. Cody gained his feet and raced for safety, the two children clinging to him. Neither made a noise, not even a whimper. As he reached the skimmer, he all but tossed the younglings into Rex's arms, growling, "Take care of them, I'm going after Kenobi." Rex just grinned, because of course he knew that Cody wouldn't be alone.
As Cody raced back to his slowly (too slowly) retreating general, trailed by three of his brothers, Ruusaan's voice echoed around them, "Attention all Separatist personnel! This is Flight Commander and Jedi Knight Merit Solo, assigned to the Negotiator. I am giving you the opportunity to put down your weapons and walk away. If you continue to fire at my people, I will take … necessary actions."
Which meant, Cody mentally translated, she would blow them clear to the lowest level of Sith Hell, assuming that was how it worked. And, not surprisingly, as they reached their exhausted general and the three children he was protecting, the blaster fire grew heavier. Each of the brothers who accompanied him grabbed a youngling, Cody grabbed his general, and hissed into his comm, 'do it now, Ruusaan!' They'd reached the minimum safety level when Ruusaan did just that, unleashing the full battery on the enemy position. Their brothers already aboard pulled them aboard, the general collapsing even as the cargo door closed. Even so, Cody knew they weren't out of the woods yet … literally or metaphorically speaking.
Using the ship intercom, Ruusaan told them, "I need everyone not a Jedi or a trooper … or a commander, Cody, I see you rolling your eyes at me." Inside the safety of his bucket, he did just that … smiling at the same time, especially when he heard the nervous giggles of the children and equally nervous laughter from their parents. Ruusaan continued, "There are still Seppies in the area, so I need everyone sitting down. Of course, to my fellow Jedi, if you're already on the floor, feel free to stay there. It'll make my life easier. Everyone else, hold onto whatever is available!" She'd no sooner spoken than an explosion rocked the skimmer. The children screamed, and Ruusaan swore in Huttese. She probably hadn't realized she left the intercom on. Or maybe she just didn't care. That was equally likely.
And then they were moving. Not just lifting up or moving forward, but flying, as if they were in the atmosphere, the vibrations under Cody's feet telling him that Ruusaan was returning fire. He seemed to remember hearing that the smuggler grandfather she mentioned was also a damn fine pilot … a damn fine pilot, who taught her to fly. Right now, he could believe it as the tiny craft swooped and dodged, the guns beneath him blasting away. The civilians huddled on the ground clung to each other, although on occasion, he could hear a child cheering at a particularly thrilling drop. And then, there was silence. Ruusaan said a bit breathlessly, "All clear, heading back to the ship now. Thank you for flying with me today."
Oddball, standing to his right, called forward, "Didn't have much choice, Commander!" R3, who often flew with Ruusaan, responded with an electronic raspberry that left everyone laughing. Only moments later, they were setting down on the still-unnamed Trident. The center of the floor opened up, and the general dropped down into the surveyor ship below them, holding his arms out for the children to come down first. There were two such entrances on the Raven …the one the general just utilized and the one in the cockpit. Cody stepped forward into the aforementioned cockpit, to find Ruusaan shakily unstrapping herself from her harness.
She opened her mouth and Cody forestalled her, saying, "The general is taking care of the civilians, and we can take care of him later. Right now, my job is to look after you. Can you even walk without your legs shaking?" Ruusaan tried to rise to her feet, but her legs immediately gave way and she collapsed back into the pilot seat, trembling. She bowed her head, hair falling into her face, her very body language telling him that she felt ashamed of what she saw as her weakness. Cody only shook his head in exasperation and scooped her up into his arms, nodding to R3 at the same time. They descended into the cockpit of the surveyor ship, the three of them together. It really was no wonder she and the General were together. They had the same foolish notion that they always had to be strong.
Cody, however, understood where Ruusaan's misinformation came from … the way she grew up, always on the run, always having to be a step ahead of her father. Cody was created in a tube and was engineered to fight for the Republic, but he had to think that his maturing process (as short as it was) was far more ideal than hers was. And the general's … Cody didn't know much about his general as a child, aside from stray comments made over the course of the war. He knew that his general's Jedi Master died at the beginning of the war, and that the Jedi Spymaster, General Dooku, was his grandmaster. He also knew that as a thirteen year old, he'd ended up on Melida/Daan, which Cody and his brothers studied. Really, between the Jedi and the clones, none of them had 'normal' upbringings. Maybe that was why they worked so well together.
Right now, though, he had a Jedi Commander to look after, so she could safely return them to the Negotiator. As he told her, later, they would take care of the general together … and he and the general would take care of Ruusaan. He looked forward to that … and tonight would be all the sweeter, for how close they all came to death and how quickly things could go wrong. There were nights when it was Cody in need of comfort and aid … nights when Ruusaan shook and wept … nights when it was the general who lay in the middle. And then there were nights when they all just curled up together and held onto one another.
Cody had no way of knowing it, but such a night was the night Sidious finally perished. It wasn't the end of their problems by any means … there was the matter of the Vong, and everything that entailed. Cody was dying by the time that invasion began. But again, that night was a bit into the future, and Cody didn't remember it, not yet. Right now, he was alone while the Jedi conferred about … something. His brothers were exploring their new afterlife, although Rex came around ever so to watch the past/future with him. He stared at the events that were playing out in the past, when he was still a small shiny cadet: his general and their Ruusaan lying in a bed in the Alderaanian palace, limbs entangled, and Ruusaan's long dark hair spilling across the pillow. So … that was how it began? Some of their brothers occasionally speculated, once it was clear that yes, the general and Ruusaan were partners in every sense of the word, how it began. Not where Ruusaan or their generals could hear them (and definitely not where Rex could hear them), but the question was asked.
But there was another question on his mind. He murmured to himself, mindful as always of not thinking too loud (you never knew who would hear you here in the Force, after all), "Why are you so sad, Ruusaan? Why do you look like you're on the edge of losing everything?" The general's head rested on her chest, her fingers sliding through his hair. He could have thought the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes were tears of joy, but that wouldn't have explained the anguish he saw as clearly as he saw the general.
"She was trying to find a way to tell Obi-Wan about Darth Maul," a quiet voice responded and Cody turned to face General Skywalker, frowning at him curiously. He knew that Ruusaan was General Skywalker's great-granddaughter … she looked enough like the Senator for him to have figured that out without being told. But what about Darth Maul? The general continued, "In the original timeline, Darth Maul caused our forces quite a few headaches, as did Asajj Ventress." Yes, that much Cody remembered. The General went on, "In this timeline, however, Maul stayed dead. After her brother's death, Merit had a vision of Maul causing trouble, and she … disposed of his body so that Sidious couldn't bring him back to hurt Master Obi-Wan or anyone else." Ah. And Ruusaan was trying to find a way to tell the general that … General Skywalker added, "Secrets have a habit of ruining things in our family. Merit's trying to avoid that."
But why would her disposal of that creature's body cause trouble? General Skywalker smiled faintly, explaining, "Merit is afraid that when she tells Obi-Wan about Maul, he'll … you need to understand, Cody. Until the Naboo mission, the Sith hadn't been seen in the galaxy for a thousand years, and for a Jedi padawan, even a senior padawan, to kill a Sith … that is an incredible accomplishment. Merit fears that if Obi-Wan realizes what she did, he'll regard his knighthood as a mistake."
That … was a reach. At least to Cody, and he said so. Anakin Skywalker observed dryly, "You know that. I know that. But right now, Merit isn't thinking clearly. At this point in the timeline, she's wanted Master for quite some time. But every time in the past when she came close to having anything even approaching a romantic relationship, something terrible has happened, usually at the instigation of my idiot grandson. The same was true of her older brother, Thane. She wants to trust that it won't happen this time, but it's a struggle. Since they're safe on Alderaan at the moment, that just leaves things Obi-Wan doesn't know about her. This is really the biggest secret between them." All right, Cody could see that … but it was still a reach. And it seemed that it was coming to a head, because the general was shifting against Ruusaan's body.
"Merit … dear heart, I know something is troubling you. Please tell me," Cody's general murmured, turning his head to press a light kiss to Ruusaan's sternum. Her fingers stilled in his hair briefly, and the general shifted up onto one elbow so he could look into her eyes. He stroked her hair back from her face, murmuring, "There is no reason for you to be afraid. I will not turn on you, whatever it is that you think you've done." Cody felt his blood run cold, and in spite of himself, he looked at General Skywalker, who was staring at this image from the past.
"I … after Thane died, after Maul was dead, before Anakin joined us. I … you know visions are strong in my family. I had a vision then … of Maul, being revived and put back together by the Sith Lord. He wanted you dead, wanted to hurt you, and he didn't care how he did it. He … there was a woman, a woman who meant a lot to you, with blonde hair. It wasn't Siri, I know what Siri looks like, but she mattered to you and maybe she still does, and he killed her to hurt you. I made sure the Sith couldn't put him back together … made sure there wasn't a body left for him to revive," Ruusaan blurted out. It was so unlike the Flight Commander he knew and the young woman he'd seen so far.
The general stilled as he processed what he learned. Ruusaan continued to babble, until the general shifted slightly and lightly covered her mouth with his hand. He murmured, "Merit … I am not angry. Not even upset, not even troubled. I don't know what you saw in your vision, but I know that you were saving many people. Not just me, not just Satine … I believe that's who you saw … but so many others. You even saved Maul. No, don't shake your head at me, Merit Solo … you did save him. The pain he would have experienced in being 'put back together' like that … you spared him all that. Did you really think I would be angry with you for that?"
Personally, Cody didn't care about sparing Maul, not after what he'd done to his general, but that was Obi-Wan Kenobi for you … even this painfully young version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, who seemed like a shiny cadet to him. This wasn't his general, not yet, but he was already showing signs of the man who would lay down his life for Cody or for any of his brothers.
"I was afraid you would feel that you didn't earn your Knighthood. You did, Obi-Wan, you completely did! And … I was afraid I was falling to the Dark Side … I wasn't sure if I did it because he killed my brother or if … Ohhhh," Ruusaan gasped, and then moaned, as the general began trailing kisses down her body. Cody tried to look away from the display of intimacy that wasn't meant for his eyes, and yet he couldn't. This … this wasn't for him to see, but the Force wanted him to see it. Why, he didn't know … but the Force wanted to see his general and their Ruusaan in this most private of moments.
"You listen to me, Merit Leia Solo," the general said softly, Ruusaan trembling as his breath and beard caressed her skin, "you became aware of potential consequences if Maul returned. You took action to ensure that he couldn't be resurrected and used to hurt others. And whether it was your intent or not, you ended his future torment. The fact that you're questioning the reason you did it tells me that you did it for the right reasons, to protect others. And I know you … if you did it to avenge Thane, you would have done it yourself, rather than leaving it to me. Maybe there will be consequences for intervening … and maybe those consequences would be far worse if you hadn't … dealt with Maul's body. But know this … I have faith in you. I have faith that you'll do the right thing, no matter how much it hurts."
Ruusaan reached out a trembling hand to touch the general's cheek and murmured, "And I have faith that you won't sacrifice the galaxy to save me. I would never forgive you if you did that, you know." There was a noise from General Skywalker, but Cody still couldn't look away from this moment that no one else (much less him) had any business witnessing. He was a terrible voyeur, but he couldn't look away. (He wasn't sure what General Skywalker's excuse was, unless it was the fact that Ruusaan was his great-granddaughter).
"I know, dear heart … I know. Now. You will allow me to tend to you, now that you've put down this burden, one that you should have never been carrying in the first place. I still have so much to learn about your body," the general murmured. The window into the past closed, leaving Cody shaken. All right ….what was the purpose of seeing that? To see how their physical relationship began? That was hardly necessary to understand that there was a bond between them. He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud until General Skywalker responded.
"No … you're asking the wrong question, Cody. You shouldn't be asking why the Force showed that to you. You should be asking why you keep remembering things before Obi-Wan does," the younger general told him. Cody frowned at him, and Skywalker added, "Think about it. This is what he remembers, this night. But you? You remember when Merit flew in to rescue you while you were evacuating that planet. The question is, why? Why are you remembering things more quickly than he is?"
"General Windu seems to think because of my shorter lifespan, and the limited time I was actually alive, rather than a meat puppet for that bastard," Cody answered. Skywalker made a gesture roughly equivalent to 'sort of,' and Cody asked, "Is there more to it than that?" Then he remembered where he was and muttered, "Of course there is, this is more Force stuff … literally." Skywalker laughed, before growing sober once more.
"Mace is half-right … something I'd never thought I'd hear myself say. You know the reason why you are here, why you've maintained your consciousness in the Force is because I am a child of the Force, and I want you here. I wanted all of you here, because you're part of my family, just as Obi-Wan is, just as my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren are," General Skywalker answered and Cody nodded slowly. The younger general went on, "You're remembering things more quickly because while you have two sets of memories, there are fewer of them. Obi-Wan … he has the memories of the first timeline, which isn't just the fifty-plus years he was alive, but the years up until we sent the children into the past."
Now Cody was starting to understand … not just Skywalker's assertion that General Windu was half-right, but why he was here. He murmured, "So my purpose in the Force is the same as it was in life … to look after General Kenobi, help him deal with the two sets of memories." General Skywalker nodded with a small smile. Cody straightened his shoulders and asked, "Where should I start?" But even as he was speaking, something else was occurring to him. In the new timeline, he and Ruusaan worked together to look after the general … but Ruusaan wasn't here (and he wondered if there was a way to get a message to his younger self in this new timeline to kiss Ruusaan for ensuring that Darth Maul never had the chance to interfere with Mandalorian affairs).
"He's having a really hard time coming to terms with his feelings with Merit in the new timeline, Cody … and an even harder time with the knowledge that he'll not suffer devastating consequences for those feelings. Just as it's hard for my baby angel to accept this bit of happiness, it's just as hard for Obi-Wan," General Skywalker answered. Cody turned this over in his mind. He thought about the long years of the war, of General Kenobi's exhaustion and kindness, of Ruusaan's tenderness toward the shinies and the times when he found her comforting his younger brothers after their first battle. He thought about Order 66 and Utapau in the original timeline. Then he looked up at General Skywalker and nodded sharply. He would look after his general and his Ruusaan, and anyone who tried to stop him …?
That would be the very last mistake they would make.
TBC
Additional Author's Notes: I have a feeling there are two questions that need to be answered. First, yes, Darth Maul is dead … quite permanently. Sorry to his fans, but I find the 'yes, someone is dead, no they aren't' storylines quite tiresome. They're usually fine at first, but sooner or later, I end up getting bored with them. So. Darth Maul has made his single, solitary entrance. Second, with regard to the relationship between Obi-Wan, Merit, and Cody in the beginning section … if you like, you can regard it as the beginning of a three-way. Or, just three exhausted warriors finding comfort and solace in each other. Meanwhile, Anakin's glaring at me for having him watch his baby angel and former Master in bed together. He'll get over it. Eventually.