KEYnote: So the older clones are not going to sound like children, but they've only ever been treated like adults and barely human at that. But later on, you will see their true selves come back.

Chapter 14 - This is the Way

Obi-Wan slept most of the way through hyperspace.

Given he had been planning for this trip for months, he actually brought luggage with him this time. The vode were young, and aside from the Null and Alpha classes, Obi-Wan suspected that their adoration of Jedi would be quite high at this point.

Which meant Obi-Wan had considered his appearance more than he had ever done before. He kept the whites and greys that he had worn on Serreno. He still kept the layers because Kamino was kriffing cold and Obi-Wan found he was —bizarrely— missing Tatooine's heat, but more form fitting than was his preference.

Even with the layers, however, he had requested robes of stiffer and finer materials. He would still look like a Jedi, but it was about as close as a Jedi could get to having a ceremonial uniform.

Typically, Jedi only wore civilian clothing if politicians insisted, but if they didn't insist, most Jedi would go out of their way to wear dull and homely robes. More to irritate the politicians who still had to treat them with respect than as an outward statement of their religion.

If it looked like they were wearing pyjamas to a gala, it was because they essentially were.

But for the vode, Obi-Wan had realized that appearances did in fact matter. Not because the vode were vain, far from it, but because the Jedi were both strangers and legends to them to who they had been raised to follow into hell and give their lives for.

Dressing up was one of the few ways Obi-Wan could show them respect.

He also brought rain gear and a swimsuit.

He wasn't sure what it said about him though that when he saw Kamino for the first time in over a decade —that blue planet cut by spiral clouds— looked like home to him in a way Coruscant no longer did.

Or maybe it was all the familiar lights of the vode.

His heart pounded with the idea that he might fail them again and the conviction that he wouldn't.

Not this time.

Not again.

Obi-Wan made sure he docked well away from Jango's apartment and landing dock, he needed time to handle the Kaminoins on his own.

Surprise of surprise, it was raining.

It was difficult not to pull down his rain hood and let the water soak into him, but knew he wanted to be dry for what he was going to attempt to do.

He recognized Nala Se who was waiting inside after the air lock.

Nala Se dipped her head, "Master Jedi, we were not aware of your arrival."

Obi-Wan nodded, "That was done so purposely, as the GAR is a Jedi funded program, and thus up for Senatorial review."

Nala Se stared at him.

Speechless.

So he went on, "Given that the troopers are currently underaged sentients, the Jedi Council of Education has some concerns and they have sent me as a representative to ensure the Order's educational standards are being met."

Nala Se's large starburst eyes blinked at him once, before she asked, "There is a Jedi Council of Education?"

Obi-Wan smiled, "Yes, I'm pleased to tell you there is. They have review over the Educational Corps as well as any member of the Order who is underaged."

"I thought the High Council was the ultimate power of the Order," she countered as if she could will it to be true.

"No, the High Council are merely the outward face and the ones designated to deal with the High Chancellor and the Senate. They are also responsible for reviewing Knights and Padawans. But as the troopers of the GAR are not members of the Knight Corps, the Educational Corps have a primary claim to them."

Nala Se, who knew damn well she worked for the Sith and not the Jedi, looked completely flummoxed. "Who did you say you were?"

"Oh, my apologies, I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. After a conversation with Master Sifo-Dyas and a rather informative in depth discussion with my Grandmaster, Count Dooku, it was determined that the Order should take a much more active role in the troopers' upbringing and oversee any further developments."

Again Nala Se looked unsettled, "You spoke with Count Dooku?"

"Yes, he is the Jedi equivalent to my being my grandfather, our relationship is rather dear to me."

Dear in the sense that he was all kinds of bitter when it came to matters of his own lineage.

Jedi and familiar as it so happened.

"And he spoke to you about the clones?" she prodded.

"Yes, he seemed ready to wash his hands of the matter. Especially with his growing interests in the Separatist movement. I think you can see where supporting his old friend has become a bit of a conflict of interests."

Nala Se spoke slowly, "Are you saying you will be replacing Masters Sifo-Dyas and Dooku in overseeing this contract?"

"Yes," Obi-Wan said definitively. "I have been stationed here until its conclusion. Now, if you would be so kind as to introduce me to the heads of the operations, I do believe we have a great deal of work to discuss."

"I am the head scientist," she said.

"Excellent, it is a pleasure to meet you, Nala Se."

Some of the wariness melted off of her and she inclined her head, "Right this way, Master Kenobi."

Count Dooku was halfway to believing either his old Padawan was trying to speak to him through the Force, or he was going mad.

Either way, when he received a call from the Prime Minister of Kamino, his only reaction to learning that his Grandpadawan had landed on world claiming to have been appointed the new head of the cloning project, was surprise that Jango had the gumption to involve Obi-Wan in his efforts in reclaiming his spawn so soon.

Given Sidious's radio silence, Dooku was beginning to believe his Sith 'Master' had moved on to different prey.

With pure spite in mind, Dooku gave his full permission for Obi-Wan to take complete control of the GAR.

If Sidious ever did catch wind of it, Dooku could easily blame Jango Fett for it.

"But the ageing process—"

"You said it is a steroid activating a gene in their DNA, so if you stop giving them the steroids, they will revert to normal ageing. Is that correct?"

"Yes, but why would you want that?" Nala Se asked.

"Because the clones will be compensating for the Republic's defences, given how few Jedi exist in these times, and rather than a disposable army, it is in our best interests to retain our assets. The increased ageing takes three decades off of their lives; three decades of active duty, wisdom, and presence in the Order. Why would we want to lose our most loyal and dependable assets?"

Nala Se looked mildly angry, but after a brief interlude with the Prime Minister a few hours ago, she was far more accommodating to Obi-Wan's proposed changes.

"Very well, but this sets us back a decade."

"A decade longer of payment and science, is that not your vested interest? Or are you going to try to tell me Kamino actually cares about the Republic that they themselves are not itself represented in?"

Obi-Wan could feel her anger in the Force.

He was throwing a wrench into her ordered world and he was asking her to change just about everything.

Geneticists were known for their fondness in relinquishing control.

"To take them off the steroids will interfere with their training and we will have to restock their rations. They will have to near-fast for a month and do muscle therapy. And their minds will not deage. The oldest are physically six years old but closer to human seven or eight standard years."
"That is fine," Obi-Wan answered. "So long as the advance ageing ceases and they begin ageing normally and no further harm will be done to them in this regard."

"Very well," Nala Se said. Then clearly ready to be done with him and all the new problems Obi-Wan had given her, she asked, "Would you like to meet them?"

"Yes, I would indeed," Obi-Wan said.

Nala Se seemed relieved as she rose, "The Prime had them moved into more condensed rooms rather than individual pods for their comfort."

"That is how our younglings are housed in the Temple," Obi-Wan affirmed his support.

Nala Se didn't seem enthused by him supporting Jango's assessment. They walked in silence through the sterile halls.

"The oldest generations fit in a single training room," Nala Se said, coming to halt at what appeared to be a training room. "I can wake them—"

"No," Obi-Wan said at once. "I would like the Force's guidance in this matter."

Nala Se looked as if she was beyond down with him, "Very well. In those three rooms down this hall, are housed the younger CT class. Of the other designations, there are two hundred and ninety-seven clones to be exact that are kept in this room."

Cody was among them.

"Thank you."

"We were unaware of your arrival. That being said we can have an apartment set up for you by the end of tomorrow," Nala Se said.

"Could arrangements be made for a suite in this hall?" he asked.

She paused, "Construction would have to be done to make it suitable for long-term use. But yes, it could be arranged within the week."

"I will stay here then until such arrangements can be completed."

Nala Se dipped her head and made a hasty retreat.

Obi-Wan let out a long breath before turning back to the room. Aside from the panels in the door, there were no windows in the dimmed space.

But the ambient light was still enough for Obi-Wan to see the little bodies of children, clumped together in puppy-piles that Obi-Wan had seen during missions where they had been forced to camp in caves or outdoors.

He opened the doors, careful to keep his shields up and augmented his steps with the Force so he made nearly no sound as he stepped around piles of the vode toward the back of the room.

His heart ached with joy as recognized each individual light.

This felt more like a homecoming than the Temple had.

This was real.

He was not surprised by the group he finally found his Cody in.

Cody, Gregor, Waxer, and Boil, all vode who had served directly with Obi-Wan, along with Rex and Appo from Anakin's battalion, then Ponds, who had briefly been Mace's Commander. The only unexpected addition in this group was Alpha-17.

The eight of them were curled around each other.

Slowly, Obi-Wan knelt beside the group. Cody had his back to an empty space, Rex —who was impossibly small, a two or three year old by his appearance— was between Cody and Waxer. Cody and Waxer, who were CCs, were maybe four years old, Alpha-17 was the oldest in this group, he appeared to be five years standard.

Strange that all of them were in reality younger than Boba.

It was all Obi-Wan could do to know that he would have to earn their trust and embed himself in their lives before he could take them away from this place.

Obi-Wan reached out a hand, projecting calm and sleep as he rested his hand on Cody's soft curls. Those black curls were far softer than Jango's and Rex's blonde curls were softer still. He felt their stress in the Force and Obi-Wan eased those fears as he allowed the Light to flow around them, filled with everything Obi-Wan felt for him.

Cody stirred, and Obi-Wan froze, but Cody didn't wake, he just reached out in his sleep, pulling on Obi-Wan's grey cloak.

Obi-Wan let himself smile and acknowledged the love and attachment he had to these little ones.

His little ones.

They wouldn't become the same people they had grown up to be, but each and every one of them would grow up knowing how much they were loved and wanted in this galaxy.

His silent vows to the vode, meaning more than anything ever had done before.

For the first time since the wars had started, a decade ago for him, Obi-Wan felt hopeful for the future he would be a part of.

Cody woke slowly and groggily.

He could not remember ever waking up more comfortably and he had zero desire to surrender the experience. He heard soft voices, it took him only a moment to identify the Prime's voice.

Cody contented himself with remaining curled up the soft fabric. He could feel Rex still sound asleep on his back. It wasn't often that Cody woke with one of his vode on him, usually, it was him who protected the others, but today was fine.

Today he felt safe.

The Prime wouldn't hurt him for sleeping in a bit, no matter how angry he got.

And Cody always followed the rules. Following the rules was how he and Rex got their names after all. From a story, Boba passed along from the Prime about the True Mandalorian Codex, the rules the best Mandalorian warriors lived by.

Code-X.

Code, Codes, became Cody and X became Rex. Rex was much younger than Cody and Cody was one of the few who had a legitimate, from the same decant tube, twin brother in Ponds, but that didn't change the fact that after Rex's batchmates had been decommissioned that Rex spent every waking and sleeping moment at Cody's side.

They were a pair in that way; Cody was always with Rex.

Code-X.

"I will be staying here, Jango. If you want me gone, I'm afraid you will have to execute me."

Cody didn't recognize that voice and it didn't sound like a Longneck. Nor could he think of anyone who used the Prime's first name, not even Boba.

"If you really think I'm your Mand'alor, don't you need to listen to me?" the Prime asked.

That strangely accented voice that was coming from above Cody tisked, "To leave the vode now would only dishonour us both."

The Vode?

Cody finally opened his eyes.

No one aside from each other, excluding Boba, used that word as a term to refer to them. Vode was Mando'a for brothers.

They weren't the Prime's children, they were each other's brothers, belonging to themselves.

Cody saw that the room was half lit, meaning it wasn't yet time for first meal but time enough to be awake and get ready for the day. He saw the Prime's boats and every last brother except Rex who was presumably still asleep on Cody's back, was sitting up and sitting more still than they did on inspection day.

Waxer caught Cody's eyes, his vod looking terrified.

Cody tensed and then forgot how to breathe when a large hand brushed through his hair on a soothing touch.

It was what he imagined the Prime's attention must have been like to Boba if the Prime considered any of them real.

As if any of them could be worthy of being the Prime's son.

"I'm not going to execute you, you kriffing—"

"Language," the accented voice interrupted.

Checking Jango? No one corrected the Prime, not ever.

Again that hand brushed through his curls and he let out a breath, blinking back tears.

It was better than what he imagined, and for half a heartbeat, Cody let himself believe some Buir had come to adopt him, so he and his brothers could be free and real like Boba.

But Cody didn't let himself forget Waxer's fear or the others' tenseness.

Cody nearly had a heart attack when he saw the word he mouthed, "Jedi."

This time Cody tensed so hard it hurt, his hands balling into fists.

Rex woke with a start, trying to stand so quickly he tripped on Cody's legs. Cody pushed himself up only to trip over Rex's feet and then he was falling forward.

He fell onto an adult's chest covered with soft layers of fabric, smelling of something sweet and clean and unlike anything Cody knew but he liked it all the same.

An arm wrapped around his back and Cody found himself engulfed by a hug with Rex caught beside him.

Cody had of course been hugged before, but never by an adult.

He felt smaller than he ever had done before, even compared to when Nala Se held him down effortlessly as she put a needle in his neck for one reason or another.

But never had Cody felt so safe.

Who was hugging hummed, "You're alright, ner ade'ika."

My little ones.

The Mando'a was so unexpected that Cody didn't try to pull away, breathing in that clean and sweet smell.

Rex clung to Cody's side as they stayed held in a hug by a man who Cody hoped was General Kenobi, the Jedi that Boba had told them about.

The Prime sighed, "That's Cody and Rex."

The hug lessened and Cody pulled back to see who he had somehow fallen asleep on, his eyes widened.

It was a bearded man with reddish blonde hair and sea blue eyes, and he was wearing Jedi robes.

The man smiled at them, "Hello, I am General Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Master of Soresu. It is a pleasure to meet you both, Cody, Rex."

Cody gaped at him and Rex was clinging to his arm so hard Cody was beginning to feel pins and needles running up his right hand.

"Hello, Sir," he managed finally.

Rex was silent.

The General's smile was soft and he gently pushed them away.

Which caused Cody to flush and just about die from humiliation until he realized that they were not being pushed away but toward Ponds and the others who caught them and pulled them back into familiar territory.

The General must have seen how terrified the other vode were for Cody and Rex.

The Jedi General remained seated cross-legged on the floor as the Prime glared down at him as he asked, "So what are you going to do, Obi-Wan?"

The General smiled, "Train them to be warriors, naturally."

Warriors.

No soldiers.

But warriors.

Cody must still be dreaming.

The Prime glowered harder, "And the Kaminoans went along with this?"

"Yes."

"Damnit, Kenobi!" the Prime said, throwing up his hands. "You don't know what you've gotten yourself into."

"I know that in order for the Republic to remain a democratic body Mandalore must remain independent from both the Separatist and the Corellian Naval forces."

"The Jedi—"

"The Order do not have enough trained personnel to man the military might you and the Kaminoans have organised. I was sent to raise these younglings into an independent force."

The Prime blinked. "Independent?"

"Self-directed."

The Prime shook his head, "You mean clone generals?"

"Prisesly," the General said easily.

Cody felt his world shake, Clone Generals? The implications of such an idea…

"And what do you think the GAR has to do with Mandalore?"

"The Mandalorians outnumber the Jedi four thousand to one. Combatives on both sides, four hundred to one. Securing Mandalore is essential to stabilising the galaxy."

"Said Tor Vizsla's son," the Prime said bitterly.

Alpha-17 sucked in a breath, Cody looked at him sharply but Alpha's attention was tracked on the Jedi.

"I'm Fett Clan now, Jan'ika," the General countered. "You took my oath. You called me here."

"No, I didn't."

Cody frowned, looking up at the Prime. Why wouldn't the Jedi be here? Why wouldn't the Prime call them here? They had been made for the Jedi.

"Really?" General Kenobi said lightly. "And here I remember you saying—" The Jedi then switched to Mando'a, "I will honour you and your clan. To accept any child or foundling you bring to me as my clan."

Cody exchanged a look with Gregor. They really only knew about Mandalore as far as the training modules went and what little the Prime taught.

He taught him about their language and how to fight like a Mandalorian but not so much about their culture.

They only knew about some of that, like the True Mandalorian Codex, through Boba.

But what General Kenobi said, if the General was clan Fett, and his ade and foundlings were clan Fett, and General Kenobi considered the vode to be his foundlings, claiming him as theirs then…

Then the vode would be clan Fett.

For real.

The Prime looked furious, "You were inside my dreams?"

"I don't think this is the time or place to be discussing who was inside of who, ner Mand'alor," General Kenobi said.

The Prime grimaced, "You—"

"WAN!"

Boba came sprinting into the room running at the General bodily.

Cody tensed.

His twin tensed.

Every vode in the room tensed.

Because one did not approach a General like that.

But General Kenobi did not rebuke Boba, he merely pulled him into a hug.

Boba pulled back to say, "You came!"

The General continued to smile, "Your buir called me."

Boba looked so happy, looking back at the Prime as if had hung the stars in the night sky. Then Boba turned back to the General, "Are you staying?"

"With the vode, yes."

Cody stopped breathing for a moment.

Wolffe asked, "Don't the Jedi live on Coruscant, General, Sir?"

The General nodded, "Yes, but Jedi Knights are sometimes assigned missions that span years and decades. Some missions even become lifelong commitments."

"And how long do you think this commitment will last?" the Prime asked.

"A suspect," General Kenobi began. "Lifelong, but at minimum, I will stay with the vode for at least two decades. Adopting ade is not finished in a few months."

Cody felt his heart twist, lifelong.

He was staying?

Bly spoke up, "General Kenobi, we age faster than that."

The General looked at Bly with those blue-blue eyes that only a few dozen of the vode had anything similar to.

"And you are, ad'ika?"

Bly swallowed hard but said, "CC-5052, Sir."

"Is that what you prefer me to call you?" The General asked kindly, not demanding his name.

Not demanding the one thing that was truly theirs, but asking what Bly wanted for himself.

"No, my name is Bly, Sir."

The General nodded, "Well met, Bly, but I'm afraid my presence here will bring about quite a few changes to your lives and your futures."

Cody's heart fell.

Of course there was a catch, of course the other foot had to drop.

Cody still told himself they could handle it, that he would make it through whatever tests this man would dole out.

"What changes?" the Prime demanded.

"The vode's longevity for starters. The steroid treatments that caused the advanced ageing would have taken off thirty to fifty years off of their natural lives. Those treatments stop today."

"So we will be like Boba now?" Appo asked.

"Precisely, ad—"

"CC-1119, Sir," Appo said, definitively, unwilling to share his name with the stranger yet.

Cody sympathised, he too was waiting for the catch.

"And the Kaminoans just agreed to this?" The Prime asked.

"They did, regrettably, however—"

Here it is, Cody thought, bracing for the heartbreak.

"Most of the rations for meals will need to be thrown out and the remaining stores will have to be stretched out over the next month until a fresh shipment can arrive."

Fasting? That's it? Cody thought exchanging a glance with Ponds.

"What other changes?" The Prime asked.

"I will not ask you to step aside in their training, ner Mand'alor. But they are our future, regimented military training will be put on hold until they come of age. Until then I will raise them as all Jedi younglings are trained."

Cody blinked, not understanding that.

The Prime snorted, "They are not Force sensitive, you can't raise them to be Jedi."

"Neither are they Force nulls, if any of them wished to put the work into they could learn to be sensitive to the Force, but that is not what I was referring to," the General said.

Cody's mind blanked, They could be Jedi Knights if they tried hard enough?

"Then what do you mean?"

"Your definition of 'Jedi' is too narrow. The Knight's Corps actually has the least percentage of members in the Order. All younglings are prepped for possible Padawanships in the Knights Corps because it is based on displaying their skills that can be as dangerous to themselves as to others. But their education is balanced whether they choose to enter the Medicorps, AgriCorps, EducationCorps, or ExplorCorps, they have well rounded knowledge for any of those paths. So yes, as will raise them as Jedi younglings are raised, the Kaminoans technicians are updating the learning modules from those I brought from the Temple as we speak."

Cody was pretty someone could have shot him right there and then and he wouldn't even attempted to move.

Was the General really adopting them? Not as a military leader but as a father?

Their Buir?

The Prime shook his head, "Your Jedi oisk knows nothing about galactic history—"

"Just because our two cultures have clashed in galactic spanning wars for centuries does not mean our texts and teachings are inadequate. Your man fired the first shot on Galidraan and Mandalorians are known to kill Jedi for sport, it was a tragedy, but a predictable one. You may be my Mand'alor but you will not prevent the vode having uninhabited education due to old vendettas."

"You swore to raise them as Mandalorians," the Prime said.

Cody frowned at the man, didn't he just renounce the General a couple of minutes ago?

"And I will, but they are my ade, and I am Jedi-Mandalorian; it is their right to inherit all that I can provide them, not just the parts of me that are most convenient to you."

The Prime took in a deep breath, "You are not the man I thought you were."

"I told you that you could have all of me, I never said I would settle for pieces, you merely assumed that. But short of killing me, Fett, I will always prioritise the vode, ner ade, over you."

Rex hugged Cody and Cody held him tight.

The Kaminoans said that the Jedi owned their loyalty, that they belonged to the Republic.

Cody had never believed a Jedi would try to claim them as members of their Order, as family, as aliit.

But perhaps what was more shocking, was the Prime's response.

"This is the Way."

The General nodded and repeated, "This is the Way."

Cody felt the ground beneath shift in that moment.

Ponds took Cody's hand and for a moment Ponds, Rex, and the words This is the Way were the only real things in the galaxy to him.

AN: Thoughts, cardinal tetras, or feedback on the chapter, pretty pretty please?