This is part of a series. Please read Chasing a Beacon first.
This is also a multiple part oneshot collection. Everything happening within this story is in the same universe as Chasing a Beacon, but don't necessarily directly follow on from each other. I'll make notes at the top if they ever do. It also might be non-chronological in places. I'll do my best to give an idea at the start of each chapter where they fall.
When he's asked later, by several vod'e worried about him, Cody can't tell them why he looked up.
There'd been nothing, he repeats, over and over, that had gotten him to do it. There'd been no reason. He should have just kept walking.
And instead he'd looked up.
A Kaminoan he vaguely recognised as the Prime Minister had been there, and for a split second, he'd thought that was why. The feeling of eyes on them isn't new, not for any of them. But there is- was- sometimes, the sense that someone new was watching. Someone not the usual.
Then his eyes had slipped sideways, catching sight of a person standing next to him, and stopped.
He was Human, drenched by the rain, but his hair had shimmered under the lights up above and the red alone had been enough to tell him that this person was new. Unfamiliar. Perhaps some new trainer, though why one would be brought in now wasn't something Cody had had time to contemplate, because-
The stranger was wearing robes. Familiar robes, ones Cody had seen again and again in learning modules.
The stranger was a Jedi.
His eyes had widened, and he'd looked away quickly to avoid being caught by the Kaminoans, but that fact had stuck with him through the rest of the day, and spread quickly through the ranks.
The Jedi was here. The Jedi had been looking for Fett. The Jedi had spoken to him, and then asked for a room to stay in for a time. Fett had left. The Kaminoans had obliged, and the Jedi had been on-planet for some time before leaving as quietly as he had arrived.
But the Jedi had been here, on Kamino.
Obi-Wan Kenobi, the General introduces himself as. Obi-Wan Kenobi, he says, and offers Cody his hands before welcoming him- welcoming all of them- into the Jedi Temple. He'd waited for Cody to take his hands before saying anything else, and he'd greeted him by Name when he took the chance that General Windu wasn't trying to trick them and spoken up.
Fox nudges him, very gently, as General Kenobi lets go of his hands and steps back slightly, moving to talk to Ponds on Cody's right. "You ok, vod?"
He shrugs a small amount, the best he can do with so many Jedi watching him- the entry hall of the Temple is piled with them, and even ignoring that both High General Windu and High General Yoda are still nearby, watching as General Kenobi makes his way through the group of Commanders, greeting every one.
"Not what I expected." He finally says back, when it becomes clear his batchmate isn't going to let him get away with not responding. Fox nods, a little.
"Not what I expected either, from the Jedi you spotted." He frowns. "Knights are lower rank, right? Like a Captain to a Commander. Surprised he was on Kamino."
"There's got to be a reason the High Generals sent him."
"Never said there wasn't." Fox shrugs, still watching. "Still. Seems strange."
Fox's wariness isn't new- it's been his defining feature all their lives, and been keeping them alive just as long- but it seems almost heightened when General Kenobi returns to the front and offers his hands to Fox. He doesn't let it stop him introducing himself, taking the General's hands with less hesitation than the rest, but there's a hint of challenge in his voice as he gives his Name.
Fortunately, the Generals don't seem to care. "Fox." General Kenobi smiles, like a sunrise. "A pleasure to meet you, Fox. Welcome home to the Temple."
That welcome, no matter that Cody has heard it twelve times now, sits strangely in his chest. For ten years, Kamino has been home to the vod'e; not always a nice home, not even often, but it was the home they had. To be welcomed into a completely strange place as home feels…
Cody doesn't know.
"Sir." Fox merely replies, ducking his head in lieu of a salute. General Kenobi steps back, letting go of his hands, and folds his arms into his sleeves.
As if that was some sort of signal, the other Jedi start to quiet as well. Not all at once, some of them continuing the conversations they'd started with Cody's vod'e as General Kenobi moved away from them, but once the last of those fades- High General Windu turning away from Ponds with a small smile- the room settles.
"A meeting place has been set for us." General Kenobi says. "If you are all ready, the Temple will lead us there."
Cody is thrown slightly by the phrasing- why would the Temple be leading us?- but nods rather than risk asking, saluting again. "Sirs."
For a moment, no-one moves.
Then the walls of the Temple light up, a faint glow not much brighter than stars past a storm cloud, and Cody understands what the General meant.
The lights start to move, forming long lines on the walls running into a corridor, and General Kenobi begins walking that way. Cody shakes himself enough to follow after a second, the rest of his vod'e falling into formation behind him. The Jedi surround them, like some sort of honour guard, but Cody doesn't get the time to process that before they're in the hallway and he has to keep himself from gaping in awe.
The Temple is beautiful.
It's not just the lights, which have now split from the long lines into dozens of smaller ones in different colours. It's the plants, neatly in pots on little stands, every single one of them different as far as he can tell. It's the statues lining the walls between them, depicting people and objects he has no context for. It's the large tapestries, displaying places he can't even name. It's pieces of brilliant artwork painted directly onto the wall, with carvings placed around them, so high up that he can't even begin to fathom how the Jedi who'd done it must've got up there. The way that even the ceiling hasn't been spared, with paints and carvings and hanging things on it, and points where light comes through coloured glass even though he's certain that the part they're walking through doesn't open to the sky, and-!
It's so beautiful he feels like he's walked into a dream, except nothing he could come up with could ever be this beautiful. From the soft swearing of his vod'e on the comms, he knows they're thinking similarly.
A few of the Jedi laugh softly, which makes Cody wince- maybe this was a test, to make sure they'd react right, and they've just failed?- before an elderly Human woman speaks up. "Ah, I see we're showing off, are we?"
The lights on the wall flicker, and Cody feels a wave of confusion.
"Sir?" Gree asks, apparently before he can stop himself. The General frowns, making Cody wince as she looks over the group, then makes her way between them to stand at Gree's side.
"Jedi Master Jocasta Nu, dear. Chief Archivist and one of the many semi-grounded Jedi in the Temple." She introduces, before gesturing widely at the various decorations they're walking by. "And I mean the Temple. It must have organised this for you- especially since I'm sure I saw that statue in the Archives only this morning."
Her voice slips towards accusatory at the end, which makes Cody wince again and all of them brace, but instead the lights just flicker again as the air shifts.
High General Yoda laughs, from his position on the shoulder of another Jedi. "Excited, our Temple is." He says, with a strange tone in his voice. "Proud of its people, it is. Glad to welcome more of them, it is, and important, a good first impression is."
"But-" Gree starts, before freezing. General Nu arches an eyebrow, and a few of the other Jedi turn to look at him as well, making him shrink back slightly.
"Go on, ask your question." She says, sharply. One of the others, a Nautolan with a wide smile that Cody hasn't caught the Name of at all, coughs.
"Ah, what the lovely Madame Nu means to say is that you're all quite free to ask whatever questions you need." They- possibly he, given the depth of their voice, but Cody isn't sure- says quickly. "After all, you're all new to the Temple, and there's many strange things here even to people that visit us often."
"Yes, that, thank you Kit." General Nu nods, not taking her eyes from Gree.
He shrinks a little more. "I. Was just going to ask. How can a building be doing that, sir?"
High General Windu answers this one, to General Nu's apparent irritation. "The Temple here has housed Jedi for a thousand years now, Commander Gree." He explains. "The Force has very much taken to it just as much as it has to us, and that shows in some… rather unusual ways, on occasion. Like the Temple decorating itself to welcome you."
"You'll often find it quite the guide." General Kenobi adds, while they process this. "If you're ever lost, or unsure where you need to go to find someone, you only need to ask. Normally you'd need to tap on the walls or something to draw its attention, but…" He pauses, giving Cody a long look over, and he stiffens reflexively under the gaze. He smiles, slightly. "I believe you'll likely be able to catch its notice on your own very well."
The air shifts again, and after a brief moment, Cody feels… something. Like a hand tugging his hair slightly and a hand against his back.
He startles, and a faint laugh almost-echoes nearby. There's no-one behind him other than Fox, though, who looks just as shocked.
Fortunately, the Generals give them a minute to recover themselves before leading them further on, though this time at a slightly slower pace. General Nu makes no attempt to extract herself from the middle of the Commander's group, instead pointing out various pieces of art and regaling them with their history in a no-nonsense fashion.
Soon enough, though, they reach the end of the corridor the Temple is apparently leading them down, and General Kenobi tilts his head slightly before putting one hand on the doors.
"Commanders." He says calmly, and Cody straightens. "I suppose we must begin talking logistics."
"Of course, sir." Cody agrees, stepping forward to the front of the group. "We are at your command."
General Kenobi's face twists, slightly, but it falls away into a slight smile, tinged with something strange. "Yes, I suppose you are." He says, before opening the door.
A large meeting room lies on the other side, with a number of plants but none of the beautiful artwork of the halls, and a collection of holoscreens on a circular table.
"The majority of the Jedi Order, however, is not particularly suited to the sort of large scale command battlefield warfare causes." He continues, leading the way in. "So we will need to coordinate how we will handle that."
Cody blinks, and a number of his vod'e behind him swear softly. "I see, sir."
General Kenobi's smile shifts again, and he bows his head. "We have the utmost trust in you and your fellows, of course, but you will need to have some patience with us as we learn the ropes. Please, do not hesitate to call any of us out on poor decision making."
"We'll need it." Someone mutters, before yelping like they've been hit. The General ignores it, merely gesturing at the seats around the table as they all gather around.
"So please, sit, and we'll start working things out."
The air in the Temple seems to grow heavier, somehow, and Cody nods once before taking a seat. His vod'e follow, as do the Jedi, leaving a few of them standing around behind various people. They refuse any offer to move and let them sit, making small comments about the view being better, and Cody quickly signals to stop offering. The Jedi clearly don't want to sit, for whatever reason, and no-one seems offended, so it's likely fine.
As the conversation starts in earnest, Cody finds his gaze being drawn back to General Kenobi, the glow of the Temple lights flickering in his hair, making him almost seem to shine.
(Unnoticed by the clones, but certainly watched by the Jedi, the millions of lights from the small gods flitter around, nervous.
SEE? The Temple says easily. THEY ARE FINE. WE TOLD YOU, THEY ARE HOME HERE. WE SHALL LEARN TO WORK TOGETHER, AND WE WILL KEEP THEM SAFE.
we? The small gods ask.
The Temple laughs, loud and full of a thousand years of voices and joys. THE JEDI, OF COURSE. MY CHILDREN CAN DO NOTHING BUT. THEY WILL SHIELD THEM ON THE BATTLEFIELDS WITH YOU, AND I SHALL SHIELD THEM HERE AT HOME. YOUR PEOPLE WILL BE SAFE WITH US.
...thank you.
WE ARE FAMILY, NOW. IT IS OUR GREATEST JOY.)
Me, earlier; Man it's kinda sad I don't have anything to post for May 4th... guess it's gonna be another year of 'well at least it's May'.
My muse, rising up like the goblin she is while I'm washing dishes at 6pm and contemplating actually going to bed before midnight for once; Hi did you say you needed a Star Wars Day fic?
Related, I'm clearly cursed when it comes to oneshots.
This is unedited aside from a quick reread to check for blatant typos in an attempt to get it out at a decent time. I'll check it over properly tomorrow.
More Jedi lore! More random bits! I didn't realise Chasing a Beacon subscribed to the idea that Cody saw Obi-Wan on Kamino until now but hey, it worked! As you may have guessed from the opening note, I have more of these to come. I don't know when they'll come, but they'll probably show up at an inopportune moment and make me write them immediately. My muse is good at that.
Hey look a glossary! Haven't needed one of those in a while.
vod- sibling (vod'e is the plural) (here it's being used to refer to the clones as a whole, essentially as a species designation rather than being used to actually mean 'sibling' directly)