AN: So I ended plotting the second act of this story, and then the first act felt… empty. So watch as Cody and Obi-Wan learn similar lessons.
Translations: Verd'ika — little warrior, aliit — family, buir — parent, vode — brothers, ad and adiik — child, ad'ika — young child or endearment, and Ka'ra — I am using this as not just 'stars' but the Force. I've seen people use Manda but that feels too self-centred.
KEYnote: In this story, when the Force speaks to the Mandalorians, there is no mistaking it for anything else. Which is why they think the Jedi are silly for fucking with that kind of power.
Chapter 6 - Still a Child
Mij had Cody sedated before he was ushered out. Silas agreed without asking to stay at the boy's side as Mij dragged Jaster back to his room in the compound.
Jaster felt unreal.
And when the door shut, reality seemed to crash down on him.
"He's gone," Jaster said, numbly.
"Jas," Mij spoke softly.
And that's all it took.
Jaster ripped his helmet off his belt and pitched it at the wall as he let out a guttural scream.
One year and he had failed his son.
Jango was gone.
Dead.
Jaster sank to his knees, the fight going out of him as quickly as it had come.
Mij approached him cautiously. "Jas, the clan will know. If you need help with Kote—"
"No," Jaster said in a harsh voice. "Cody is mine. The Ka'ra gave him to me and I will not lose another child."
"Well," Mij said. "Judging by how he fought, I don't think this one is a farmer."
Jaster smiled, dropping his forehead to rest on Mij's shoulder plate, "Jan'ika would have been a terrible farmer. He had such fire."
Mij ran a hand through Jaster's hair, "And he burned bright to the end. That verd'ika regretted nothing."
Jaster felt his face scrunch up.
He knew Cody needed help, needed Jaster, he was pretty sure Cody had admitted to killing himself in his life Beyond the Stars, but Jaster gave himself tonight.
He had been in denial all this time since he found his adiik on the battlefield, bleeding and unmoving.
Science had kept his body alive, but Jango's spirit had marched on.
Jaster sucked in a breath, nearly gagging on it as he began to tremble.
Mij wrapped his arms around him, "It's okay to cry, Alor."
Jaster's next breath was a sob as he clung to his friend and grieved the ad'ika he had failed.
They would hold a memorial service for Jango.
Everyone knew the story of Tarre Vizsla, the Ka'ra Kissed. A child who had been left for dead by his clan and had then been rescued by the Jetiiese. The man who returned to Mandalore was more than changed, he had been someone else.
There were others, rumours of the dead who stood up, healed but with another warrior's memories. Each instance had changed the course of their people's history.
Cody would be viewed with respect and likely some superstition, but he would be welcomed.
Jaster knew he would love this son as much as he had loved Jango, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to survive the pain that ripped him into pieces now ever again.
He cried until there was nothing left, until he was dry heaving.
Mij stayed with him, laying beside Jaster when he finally fell quiet.
They watched the dawn rise together.
It was a cold morning and a longer day.
Jaster was selfishly glad that Cody remained sedated for the memorial service.
oOo
Cody stared at himself in the mirror.
He was a cadet again.
He was also literally thirteen. It was strange.
Stranger still, that as a clone of Jango Fett, Cody had taken the Prime's place.
Rex would have been amused.
If it had been anyone else, Cody might have felt guilty about taking over someone else's body.
But in a sense, everything the Prime had been, Cody had been made in the image of. And though he may never know if the Prime knew about the mind control chips, there were plenty of other horrors he had known about and hadn't prevented.
So Cody didn't feel guilty, no, he felt… Freed.
His mind was his own and his vode would never be born as they were in Cody's past. They might not be born his siblings but they would be born, not decanted.
Cody was in Jango's room and he was a bit vindicated that the Prime's room was sparse aside from some weapons.
If Jango had grown up with a ton of comfort and possessions, Cody wasn't quite sure what he would have done.
As it was, Cody knew that the things that had broken the Prime, his buir's death, and their clan's fall at the hands of the Jedi would not be what took Cody down.
For one, he wasn't going to let Jaster die. Of the fractions of Mandalorian culture, Jaster had the healthiest variation.
One that the Prime had not followed.
Honour is life, for with no honour one may as well be dead.
Jango Fett had had no honour, and now, from Cody's perspective, he was dead.
Perhaps dead before his crimes, dying as a cadet, but at least he had died with his spirit in tack.
So saving Jaster was his top priority, especially as Jango was nearly nine years older than Obi-Wan, which meant his General was about four years old and while skilled in many things, Cody didn't trust himself not screw that up nor did he wish to deny his General the life of a Jedi.
He wouldn't be Obi-Wan without it.
The thought made Cody grimace, he wouldn't be able to have a relationship with Obi-Wan, not the one that he had wanted, not with a decade-or-two age gap between them. But Cody would be an ally.
And for the first time in his life, Cody had the opportunity to be what all his vode had at some point wanted; to be a Mandalorian in truth.
Not a soldier, but a warrior.
Cody wasn't certain about much but he was pretty certain that whatever the Prime had been, Cody could do it better.
He ran a hand over his freshly exposed scar, his brown eyes a few shades lighter than the Prime's, and maybe he wasn't a blonde like Rex, but he also wasn't a carbon copy of the Prime either.
Cody dug around the cabinets, looking for something to cut his hair with. Like Boba, the Prime at this age had kept his hair in a mop, like it was at all practical for wearing a helmet.
Cody snorted when he found an electro razor intended for shaving facial hair. Cadets could not grow beards this young, Jango's youthful optimism made him smirk as he picked up the device. This would be easier than using a knife.
Turning it on, Cody bent over a towel he laid out as he buzzed the sides of his head to his typical cut, well used to doing this himself. People assumed that as a clone, one of them could never feel alone. But Cody's position as the highest ranked trooper in the GAR had isolated him and the Empire these last few months had kept him as a bit of animal to be trotted out before the politicians to call his General a traitor.
Cody was glad Rex had found, glad that such an existence was over for him now.
The top of his head he was more careful with, deciding to keep it longer on top, allowing his hair to truly curl.
Cleaning up, he continued to search through Jango's room. He found a small pack with credits in it.
Cody looked around the room, windows, door…
All likely monitored.
Then he looked up; and smiled.
Perhaps there were benefits to being a cadet again.
oOo
Obi-Wan woke from such a deep sleep that it was an effort to open his eyes.
He blinked up groggily at Master Dooku's concerned face.
"Master?"
Relief flooded their bond.
Dooku ran a hand through his hair, "Are you alright, little one?"
"Yes?" he answered, still tired.
"You were caught in a vision, and I couldn't wake you."
Obi-Wan pushed up, "What time is it?"
"After mid-day."
Panic swamped him, "My classes—"
"Hush," Dooku said. "I informed your instructors and Quinlan will be around this evening to give you any missed assignments. Do you remember what your vision was about?"
Obi-Wan blinked again and tried to think, he saw flashes, of war, of sorrow, of a man raising a blaster to his head and being embraced by the Force.
"Cody," Obi-Wan said finally. "I dreamed about Cody."
Dooku tilted his head, "Who is Cody?"
Obi-Wan shrugged, "I don't know, but he's home now. He's sad but he's home now."
Dooku pulled Obi-Wan into a sudden hug which Obi-Wan melted into, his Master's worry chasing away the sorrow from the dream.
Pulling back, Dooku said, "I will make us tea as you get ready for the day. I don't suspect that Padawan Vos will give you much time to study."
Obi-Wan grimaced, everyone told him it was important to make friends, but he couldn't really imagine what he could have in common with the Jedi ade.
oOo
Jaster was cursing as he tried to track his adiik through the city of Concord Dawn. They had left the boy alone for twenty minutes and he had managed to escape without anyone the wiser.
Jaster's com chirped and he took the call, "Where is he?"
—East sector, riding traffic.
Jaster activated his jetpack, and after a few minutes of flying he was in location, "I'm in range, where is he now?"
There was a long silence.
"Myles," Jaster demanded.
—Sorry, Alor, we lost him round a side of a building.
"He entered the building or alley dodging?" Jaster asked, lowering his flight path a bit.
Myles sighed, —He jumped off the building, we lost him in traffic.
Jaster was beginning to think that Jango had been the easier one.
oOo
Cody stood, braced on the roof of the train as the wind blew through his hair.
He was free.
Truly bloody free.
No chips.
No Republic.
No Empire.
No brothers who would die and it was decades before the Order would be in major danger.
Cody had acquired a datapad that he would be able to encrypt himself and some sliced star-mangos with Mando Pepper.
Obi-Wan had said it was his favourite Mando desert, the hot with the sour-sweet fruit made it taste like candy, but so much better.
Cody had spotted the lookouts and decided to test his new clan. Again he leapt from the train in a move that would have made Tano grin at him and onto a moving bus, then rolled onto a passing platform. He went to the street level, mixing in with the locals shopping for produce.
Cody bought more starfruit and a tea that Obi-Wan had gushed about.
It was a pity Cody hadn't realized sooner how truly Mandalorian his General had been, though he understood the family aversion.
Unsurprisingly, Cody made it back to the compound without anyone following him.
Cody took a service entry in. No one questioned him as he began helping the staff bring in boxes. From there it was easy to find the kitchen and dining hall.
Cody made himself tea, found a secluded corner near a blaster proof window, his back to the wall, and pulled out his new datapad and began coding.
Once the encryption was done, he contented himself with looking up current events.
Despite his experience, he felt very young as he tried to decipher a timeline of events. He was over thirty years in the past, two decades before he was even decanted, and in a timeline, he was beginning to suspect didn't exactly fit his own universe's timeline.
It just couldn't be straightforward, could it?
And this is why the Jedi were all cryptic bastards, because when it came to the Ka'ra, the Force, nothing was ever exactly as it seemed.
He might owe his General an apology.
It was several hours later, in which Cody snagged a meal and switched to caf did someone spot him and identified him.
The medic, Mij, froze a few yards away, staring at him with open mouthed astonishment.
Cody quirked a brow at the man, and continued drinking his caf.
He had been 'missing' for hours.
Clearly, while the True Mandalorians had a lot of heart and the right vision for the future of their people, they had a lot to learn about war and security organisations.
Lucky for them, those were among Cody's greatest strengths.
He decided to slice into the compound's security system and see how badly their tech security would need to be updated.
oOo
Mij stared at the adiik who had the Mand'alor on the verge of hysterics.
Mij stood in the dining hall, where he had been about to ask for the cook's help in finding the boy, and commed Jas.
—What? Jaster snapped.
"I found him," Mij said, a bit numbly.
—Where is he? Jaster growled.
"Alor, he's at the compound, in the dining hall," Mij answered. "I think he's drinking caf."
There was radio silence for a long expanse of breaths before Jaster asked, —What?
"He's at the compound. I won't let him out of my sight," Mij promised before signing off. He marched to the table.
Cody watched him with amused golden eyes.
"You should not be drinking caf," was Mij's opening line.
Cody rolled those unique eyes of his, "This isn't your wing of the compound."
"I'm the medic," Mij growled. "Every wing is my wing."
"I'll let you know if I break someone," Cody said mildly before taking another sip of caf.
"I told you—" Mij began.
"Pick your battles," Cody cut him off. "I'm not the best at patience in the best of the times and I'm not going to stop drinking caf because you view me as a child. You don't know anything about me."
Mij bit his tongue and slid into the booth across from the boy, "You are a child, adiik."
Cody met his gaze unflinchingly, "Believe what you like, that doesn't change what I am."
"And what are you?" Mij asked.
"Experienced," Cody said flatly, returning his attention to his datapad.
"What are you doing?" Mij asked.
Cody didn't look back up as he answered ominously, "I'm creating a present for the Mand'alor."
Mij sat there, wondering if they had made a mistake in trusting this stranger. Every legend portrayed the Ka'ra Kissed as a force of good in the galaxy, at least for the Mandalorians, but could legends really be counted on?
Mij was a bit too relieved when Jaster arrived.
oOo
Fear made Jaster's anger override his common sense as he stormed into the dining hall.
He marched up to the boy and just barely restrained himself from taking him by the scruff of the neck, "Are you proud of your antics today, ner ad'ika?"
Cody met his gaze steadily, not in the least impressed.
Which was in itself impressive.
All his commandoes who had been on the search were giving Jaster a wide birth, even Mij looked as if he wanted to be elsewhere.
But Cody remained unphased as he responded, "No, I'm disappointed in your security."
Jaster had never wanted to wring a child's neck more than he did now. His voice was low when he said, "Jango's memorial was yesterday."
Cody bowed his head, "My condolences, however, times of vulnerability are when you should be most on guard."
Jaster did not want to shame Cody or give him insecurities, however, Cody clearly needed boundaries to be drawn for him.
Jaster had to fight to keep his voice even, "You may never meet him but you owe Jango—"
"I am sorry you lost your son," Cody cut him off. "It is not something I would wish on any buir, and I do understand he was still a child in this galaxy, but the Jango Fett I knew was not a child and I owe that—" here Cody stopped himself but there was still unmistakable venom in his tone as he finished. "I owe him nothing."
Jaster was taken aback by this, and he realized any assumptions he made about the Ka'ra Kissed he would have to throw out.
"Jango was your enemy?" he asked.
Something dark flashed in Cody's gaze, something like hate or something deeper, "He was my sire, of sorts, and he left my vode and me behind."
"Behind for what?" Mij asked, rightly offended by the idea that anyone from their clan would abandon their ade.
Cody shook his head, "I don't wish to speak ill of the dead, especially not when you're still grieving him. But I won't be guilted by his shadow."
"I'm sure he wouldn't have left you without reason—" Jaster began but Cody was already shaking his head.
"No, the Prime chose vengeance over honour and the only respect I will be showing his memory is not letting his clan be destroyed."
Jaster paled, "What?"
Cody spoke to him as one warrior to another, "Your security is garbage. You may have been staying ahead in skirmishes and a handful of firefights but when the Clan Wars start you will be easy targets."
Jaster gritted his teeth but sat down across from Cody beside Mij.
He told himself this is why the Ka'ra had brought them Cody.
Jango died because of Jaster's failings and Cody was here to help them.
And likely because he needed help.
"Do you have a datapad of the compound's security?" Cody asked.
Jaster sighed and reached back into the compartment behind his jetpack. Jango had called him a nerd for putting a slim storage compartment for a datapad and some flimsies into his armour.
Unlike Cody who looked a bit delighted by this.
Jaster unlocked the pad before passing it over.
Cody began tapping away between the two datapads.
"What are you doing?" Myles asked, having finally approached with a few of the others though most of his search party had gotten themselves late meal and sitting at tables near enough to listen in.
"Transferring security checks over your code so it can't be sliced remotely. We'll have to put in new hardware to truly secure the facility. You will also have to employ a better guard rotation," Cody said.
Myles snorted, "Someone's paranoid."
Cody looked up at him, "Your clan's demise marked the beginning of the Clan Wars, which you personally did not live to see. So I suggest you embrace paranoia because the current future of Mandalore is bleak."
"How far in the future are you from," Mij asked.
"I think thirty years, things aren't exactly the same I don't think but I'm not a historian. I just know that the Watch destroys things and runs away, the ruling clan were pacifists backed by the Republic and I think Mandalore proper got glassed three times over and was conquered by a galactic empire."
There was silence to this statement as they all stared at the boy.
"Well, your future sounds like hell," Silas said.
Cody hit a few more buttons on the datapad before pushing it back to Jaster.
Jaster had many talents, this type of coding wasn't his speciality. He passed his pad to Walon Vau who came from a more prestigious background than the rest of them.
Walon's brows crept up his forehead as he read over the text, "This is good."
"That is basic," Cody said with an authority that Jango had never possessed.
Jaster was beginning to think that Cody wasn't going to remind him of his first son as much as he thought.
The military cut helped, along with his expression that was far too neutral and serious.
It reminded Jaster of Kal, only less prickly. Cody looked as if it would take a lot to truly ruffle him.
While Jango had been a hair trigger.
Speaking of whom, Kal stepped up, "Do you know how Death Watch defeated our clan?"
Cody's expression seemed to cool further as he looked up at the man, but he nodded, "I know the general events. Though, there is room for doubt, things don't exactly match up."
"Tell us," Kal demanded.
Cody stared the man down, "I'll tell the Mand'alor. I don't trust all of you."
Jaster cleared his throat, "Cody this Kal Skirata."
"I know," Cody said. "He taught me how to gut a man."
Jaster blinked and exchanged a look with Kal.
Kal had never trained Jango. The two had never so much as sparred together. Kal was, to put it mildly, brutal, and he did not suffer fools gladly.
He was fully Mando'ad and would doubtless have taught his own children, but Jaster couldn't imagine him volunteering to teach someone younger than thirteen.
Walon grinned, "Hey, Skirata, maybe age mellowed you out a bit."
"No," Cody said flatly. "It didn't."
A chill went up Jaster's spine at that.
"What 'general' advice can you give us about the future?" Kal asked, looking as if he would read into Cody's mind.
Cody, counter wise, looked a bit amused by this, and took a sip of his caf before elaborating. "Don't get trigger happy around the Jedi. I think at some point someone kills a Knight and three of their younglings, all of whom were under the age of four. By which I mean, a Mandalorian tore them bodily apart and sent the pieces back to the Temple. I don't know if that has happened yet, but I still think it would be wiser to assume the Jedi will use lethal force to protect themselves. I don't believe we would be given the benefit of the doubt."
"The Jetiiese can't tell the difference between the Watch and the rest of us, perfect," Kal spat.
Cody shook his head, "If a Dar'Jetii killed three ade and their buir like that would you be able to tell the difference between lightsaber wielders? The hint is typically a red lightsaber but that's not always the case."
"You seem to care an awful lot about the Jetiiese," Kal noted, tone dark.
Cody shrugged, "In thirty some years, the Jetiiese will be near the brink of extinction and any Force sensitive is likely to be executed upon discovery. Any Mandalorian that didn't vow allegiance to the Galactic Empire, also began to be picked off, what was left of us at any rate. The Jetiiese and the Mandalorians will fall and rise together whether anyone acknowledges it or not. Both our peoples are too great a threat and kyber and Beskar are too valuable for us to be left alone."
"Okay," Jaster said. "I think that's enough for one night. Cody, you and I need to talk."
Cody nodded.
"Walon, get a team organised," Jaster told the man as he rose. "I want to know what can be done to improve our security and I would like to know how Cody got in and out."
"We could just ask him," Myles suggested.
Cody didn't respond to this comment.
Jaster sighed. If he thought Jango was going to give him grey hairs, Cody was going to make him go white.
oOo
Obi-Wan sat across from Quinlan as the adults enjoyed tea.
"What homework—" Obi-Wan began to say but Quinlan held up a gloved finger.
"No way," Quinlan said. "My Master said my mission was to ensure you took a break, mister workaholic."
Obi-Wan glared at him, "I take breaks."
"Reading and exercising don't count," Quinlan informed him.
Obi-Wan frowned at him, fighting not to stick out his tongue.
"Come on, Kenobi," Quinlan prodded. "What did you do for fun at home?"
Obi-Wan gritted his teeth, "I trained with my brother and read whatever modules I could get off the holo without paying credits for it."
Quinlan stared at him and stated in a shocked tone, "You're serious."
Obi-Wan shrugged, "Things are better now."
"But you're doing the exact same things," the other Padawan argued.
"No, it isn't the same."
"Yeah, how?" Quinlan challenged.
"No one is trying to harm me here. I don't have to hide from my dar'buire. Also, the archives are insane. The instructors here actually help me, lightsaber training is amazing, and meditation is… life changing, I guess."
Quinlan stared at him, "No wonder Dooku loves you so much."
Obi-Wan flushed, he wasn't used to making his buir proud, much less them actually liking him for him.
"But that doesn't mean he wants you not to be a kid. And you're a Jedi now, community is important."
Obi-Wan huffed, "Yeah, but you were raised here."
Quinlan shook head. "No, I wasn't. Master Tholme found me on Kiffu when I was four. My parents didn't want to give me up, but Master Tholme agreed to stay with me to help train me in the ways of the Force. But my parents were murdered four years later and my…" The Kiffar took a breath. "My aunt set me up. It was… it was bad. I was supposed to be a protector of my people, but by getting rid of my parents and me, my aunt became the leader of our clan. If it wasn't for Master Tholme I would be dead. If it wasn't for the Temple healers, I probably would have lost my sanity."
Obi-Wan blinked, "I'm sorry for your losses."
Quinlan shrugged, "It happened. The point is, I've been with Master Tholme since I was four but I didn't come to the Temple until I was eight. I know how hard it is to fit in here, but aside from a few individuals, you're never going to find a people who are educated enough to be not only tolerant but accepting."
"And how many friends do you have?" Obi-Wan asked.
"Depends."
"Depends on what?"
Quinlan smiled, "Depends whether you lighten up enough to have a bit of fun."
oOo
"Montross betrayed you," Cody said when they got back to his room.
Jaster's breath caught, but he nodded.
"You don't believe me," Cody sighed, disappointed as he sat down on the bed.
Jaster followed him, "I don't want to believe, but I do."
"Why?" Cody asked.
Jaster sat down beside him, "Because you're my aliit, and when the Ka'ra kicks you in the teeth, history has taught us that it is best to listen."
Cody stared at him and was reminded of the first time he met Obi-Wan.
"We are ready for inspection, Sir," Cody had said.
The Jedi General, a young Knight with reddish blonde hair, and bright blue-grey eyes.
Cody didn't know what to think of him, nor did he understand why a mere Knight had been assigned as the General to lead nearly one-third of the GAR.
"That won't be necessary, Marshal Commander. I would rather use this time to speak with you and your lead officers for the upcoming campaigns."
"Sir," Cody said, unable to keep from adding, "The Kaminoans—"
"I know who trained you," the General said, smiling gently. "And I suspect you have a better idea of what it will take to keep you and your men alive during this campaign. I do not mean to panic you, Commander, but it may be wise to inform your brothers that none of the Jedi, or very few of us, know how to wage war, much less direct an army. It will be your responsibility to translate orders. The Jedi are acting as a buffer between your men and the graduates from Corellian Military Academy. Men who are more suited to police work and the archives than active combat."
Cody stared at him, his mind reeling with questions he couldn't ask.
But the General was waiting for him to speak, and finally, Cody asked, "And you, Sir?"
The General smiled, "This will not be my first campaign, nor my second. Gather your lead officers and we will discuss our plans moving forward."
"You trust us?" Cody asked, though what he meant was, Do you trust me?
The General nodded his head, "I trust you, Commander. I trust your honour and I trust your love for your vode. In our worst hours, war is not about victory, it is about the person fighting beside you and those depending on you to carry on. Currently, I trust you more than most of my Jedi siblings."
"Why?" Cody asked before tacking on, "Sir."
"Because the Force is with you, my dear Commander. And when the galaxy is shrouded in darkness, it is only wisdom to follow the stars."
Cody hadn't known what to make of his General's candour, but as the war went on, his General's trust had become more valuable to him than his armour.
"Cody."
He snapped to attention, staring at Jaster. He swallowed hard, "Thank you, Alor."
Jaster's dark eyes were sad, "I don't know what your life was like before this, nor the trials you have been through, but I am here for you, ner adiik."
Cody shook his head, "I'm not a child. I'm only technically thirteen in years lived. But I have been trained since birth to fight and I have been fighting in a galactic war for the last three years."
"You understand that is wrong, correct?" Jaster asked, looking non-too pleased at this discovery.
"That doesn't change that it happened or what I am."
Jaster sighed, "I'll make a deal with you, Cody. I swear to you that I will believe what you tell me, that I will not dismiss your wisdom on the battlefield, nor your —apparently well earned— paranoia. But in exchange, you will heed the medics and allow me my parental worry."
"I am not Jango," Cody said.
Jaster nodded, "No, you are not. And if Jango was your sire, then it is I who owes you for his transgressions. I thought I would raise him better than to allow his little ones to be mistreated so."
Cody couldn't argue that he had been mistreated, too many of his brothers had been decommissioned. "It wasn't all bad."
Mostly bad, especially with the chips that had erased any notion of them being anything but slaves. But that seemed a bit much to put on a grieving father who was offering him a home and family.
"Kal was one of your teachers," Jaster disagreed. "That man has no patience."
"Kal never got any of us killed though," Cody remarked.
He didn't like Kal. He was a hardass and had only adopted the Null-class who were specifically designed to be real people to act as spies, not mere soldiers, but Kal wasn't a bad person. Hells, he probably learned more about Mandalorian culture and language from him than any of the other trainers.
Jaster shook his head, "Please tell me this wasn't a child army?"
Cody winced, "If the instructors hadn't been there, we wouldn't have been anything more than cannon fodder."
Jaster looked angrier at this, "Did you ever have a true parent?"
Cody shook his head, "No, but by the time the war started, I had people just as important to me."
Jaster nodded, "I suppose, if Jango was your sire then I would be your ba'buir, however, I'm a bit young for that. I would rather adopt you as my ad than my bu'ad."
Cody stilled and said a bit numbly, "I'm not a child."
"I understand that your childhood was stolen from you, Cody, and that you were denied a true family. But if my father were alive today he would still be my buir and I his adiik. We would still be aliit. I will not abandon you, Cody, but this is your choice. Arrangements can be made if you wish to leave, you are not a prisoner here and you do not have to escape the compound through the air vents if you need space."
"If that were true," Cody challenged. "Then you wouldn't have had the whole clan chasing me down through the city."
"You are not the only one paranoid here, adiik. The Watch targeted Jango and so they will target you as well. I needed to know that you were safe."
Cody had spent his whole life taking care of other people, something warm flipped in his chest at the idea that someone other than a medic was trying to take care of him.
But he was nothing if not stubborn, "I can take care of myself."
Jaster shook his head and laid a hand on Cody's shoulder, "Would you like to know what my buir told me after the first firefight I got into?"
"Sure," Cody replied.
"He told me that as his adiik that I was his greatest weakness."
Cody winced.
Jaster squeezed his shoulder, holding his gaze as he continued, "And that I was also his greatest strength."
Cody looked away, not sure how to take that.
"I know that you don't need me in the way most children need their buire, but that doesn't mean you don't need aliit, Cody. It does not mean that you do not deserve a family."
Cody felt an odd pressure in his chest, and though he did not feel deserving of all the people in his life that had shown him this sort of compassion, Rex, Waxer, Tano, and Obi-Wan, he answered, "Okay."
Jaster smiled, and moving deliberately, he placed a gentle hand on the back of Cody's neck and brought their foreheads together in a keldabe kiss, "Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad, Cody."
I know your name as my child.
Cody did not mean to cry and he didn't know how much it would matter to him that Jaster held him through pain.
The war was over.
And Cody had lost everything and everyone he ever cared for.
The war was undone.
And still, he had lost everyone who had ever known him.
But he was himself, he was a freeman, and he was not alone.
oOo
AN: Thoughts, cladoselache sharks, or feedback on the chapter, pretty please?