General Windu arrived in force with two dozen troop transports and an equal amount of medical shuttles. Cody and Ko watched as the ships settled gracefully in the hangar, like nuna birds coming home to roost.

OK, bad analogy.

Kenobi, in one of his lengthy diatribes, had gone on about how that particular expression usually implied bad things someone has done in the past will come back to bite or haunt the individual.

I wish I could say there'd be no biting today. I'm not sure I'll get that lucky.

Cody was both thrilled and apprehensive at seeing so many ships with the Republic emblem setting down and troops pouring out. The Jedi General emerged from a transport, his robes flowing after him as he walked.

How did they do that? Get their robes to flow so perfectly when there was no wind? Was that something they learned at the Temple- 'The Aesthetics of Robes 101?'

Standing by his side Ko provided a running narrative as troopers from the 187th Battalion emerged. "He brought Lightning Squadron with him. Predictable. There's Ponds. If they're here, they must be on shore leave. I'm sure he was thrilled to be recalled. Oh, check it out. Fekkin' Captain Nash is here, too. You know, he could've left him behind. No one would've missed him."

Cody shuffled slightly closer to Ko so he could elbow him sharply in the vulnerable gap above his chest and below his armpit. Ko barked out a sound halfway between a pained grunt and a laugh, but it didn't stop his running narrative. Ko was a brilliant officer, but he had way too much energy, and there was no shutting him up at times. Still he wasn't wrong about Nash.

Every squad or battle group had someone like Nash. There was an expression among clones: 'You don't fit the mold.' It could be a compliment or an insult depending upon the context. With Nash, it was definitely the latter. Cody 'hmmphed' under his breath and studied Nash as he walked off his transport in crisp, perfect steps. His gaze swept the hangar before finding Cody and Ko. He stared at Cody for much longer than necessary, not offering any sort of nod or greeting. His head retracted back slightly in the way clones did when they were glaring under their buckets. Cody was tempted to return the insult, but he would not stoop to Nash's level. After a long, tense moment, the Captain spun on his heel and started barking orders at his troopers.

"Still no love lost between you two." Ko's tone wavered somewhere between bemusement and concern.

"We had an altercation once."

"Maybe he's forgotten."

Cody turned to look at his second in exasperation. "Does it look like he's forgotten?!" He turned his attention back to watching the disembarking troopers. He made a slight wave of his hand. "It doesn't matter. We don't work with the 187th very often."

"We haven't before, but that doesn't mean we won't be deployed with them in the future-"

"Ko!" Cody hissed, "do I need to send you back to the bridge?"

"No. All the action is down here. Besides, Rex is watching the bridge. We don't need two Captains up there. I'm trying to distract you. You know, so you don't overthink things."

"I don't overthink things."

Ko snorted loudly in disagreement, the sound coming out slightly distorted through the helmet comms.

Do I overthink things? OK, maybe a little. I did what I had to do for the sake of my men. I never broke regs before busting out of Ord Cestus. Which is the charge they're going to send me away on- going AWOL (with a dozen men) or defying a superior officer (on an open channel in front of the fleet)?

Ko quickly started chattering again, likely picking up that Cody's thoughts were spiraling. "And... there's Captain Rome. Looks like the General brought most of Lightning with him. Bit of overkill, if you ask me. Likely emptied out all of 79s. You think he just wanted to welcome us home? You know, like some kind of honor guard?"

Cody folded his arms across his chest and gave Ko a look through his helmet. No. Cody didn't think it was that at all. And, he was sure Ko didn't either.

Ko kept up his narrative as Captains Nash and Rome formed the men into squads. It didn't escape Cody's notice the 187th troopers were fully armed, more appropriate for heading into battle than greeting a group of brothers.

Cody tuned out his second as he studied the situation. Ko was content to continue on the conversation by himself. He didn't chatter as much as Trapper but put the two of them together and it was deafening. He wished Kenobi were here to back him up. The General always had his back.

It was the reason why Cody had been willing to risk everything to rescue him.

But, Kenobi was unconscious in the medbay and Cody was facing these consequences alone. Okay, not alone. He had his very chatty second-in-command beside him.

The Jedi General approached with Ponds by his side, Captains Nash and Maze directly behind them, and a full squad directly behind the two Captains. The second squad stood back by the ships, fully at attention, and observing the proceedings. They almost looked as if they were on high alert. As General Windu approached, Cody could only describe his expression as... displeased.

More than displeased. Disgruntled. No, the type of expression one has before they run their sabre through your middle? He didn't know Windu as well as he knew Kenobi, but this was not a good look.

Cody forced himself to remain relaxed, set his feet at parade rest and locked his arms behind his back. Ko ceased his chatter, and assumed the same formal position. The activity in the hangar bay dropped to an unnatural quiet as troopers paused to watch the General approach.

Cody was wrong. Ko wasn't done speaking. He opened up a private line to Cody again. "This is a historic moment, don't you think? Two Legions of lost clones return home after rescuing themselves. How often does that happen?"

"Never and shut it, Ko." He was tempted to close the channel, but he needed Ko. Despite his relentless chatter, there was something comforting about his second, and his inane comments.

General Windu was an impressive Jedi. He was different from Kenobi in so many aspects. He kept his eyes fixed on Cody as he approached on the massive hangar deck. He was tall, his height making him even taller than a fully kitted clone. But, it was the natural intensity of the man which made him unnerving. Cody had sensed it before when the 212th had worked alongside the 91st. There was something unsettling brewing in this man which seemed as dark as his amber skin. He'd mentioned it to Ponds and the 91st Commander assured him his General was fair and went out of his way to take care of their men. Perhaps that was true, but he was no Kenobi.

Cody took several deep breaths to calm his nerves.

I've got my men home. What happens to me now doesn't matter.

The intensity of General Windu's gaze on him was unnerving.

Why do I feel like I am taking on the Kazzies all over again?

"Check out their kit," Ko muttered through their private connection.

Windu's personal squad of ten troopers were all carrying standard issue standard DC15A and DC15s, but many of them were also armed with single or duel DC17s on their belts. The troopers in the back were also carrying blast-resistant shields. "Nice shields. Fekkin' impressive. We could use more of those. Maybe we could ask the General-"

"Ko," Cody taking a deep breath so he didn't curse at his second, "not now."

"Shutting it, sir," Ko said.

Cody counted down the steps until Windu was upon them. 20. 19. 18.

He wasn't ready. He needed more time. He wanted to be away from here. With his men. With Barriss-

And, then the Jedi General was upon them. Both troopers straightened their spines even more. Cody thought his spine would snap.

"General Windu, sir, welcome onboard the-" Cody paused. Captain Leon had told him the Kaz'harian name for the ship. It was impossibly hard to pronounce. All harsh syllables that sounded like a terrible Hutt curse. He started trying to repeat the name and saw Windu's eyes narrowing even further with anger.

Just his luck. Windu spoke Huttese.

Cody abandoned his efforts to pronounce the Kaz'harian name of the ship and decided to improvise. "...Eh... our...ship, sir."

"Your ship?" the Jedi Council's members clipped syllables could have flash-frozen Orto Plutonia.

Wrong answer, obviously.

Behind Windu, Ponds and Rome regarded him with slightly tilted buckets, the clone equivalent of a bemused expression. Nash flipped him an obscene gesture out of view of his General.

Would it be so wrong if I broke Nash's hand?

Last time they'd worked with Lighting, Cody had clashed with the Captain about the appropriate use of force in dealing with civvies. More accurately, inappropriate use. Nash had a heavy hand. He and Cody had almost come to blows on the matter before Ponds had interfered. Cody thought the clone should be court-martialed or at the very least demoted to a rank where he could do less harm. He was told not to interfere. It was an internal matter for the 91st. Yet, fekkin' Nash was still around. And, still a Captain. Every once in a while, a clone came about who mentally didn't have the right stuff to be out there. If ever there was a clone who should have been sent back to Kamino, it was Nash. Maybe not terminated. No clone deserved that fate. But, maybe reset with whatever process the Kaminoans used. Nash was rotten.

"Your ship?" Windu repeated, obviously not pleased with Cody's lack of response.

Did he have to say it that way? Why couldn't clones have a ship? He said it like it was an insane concept that clones could have a ship of their own.

Cody sucked in a breath and decided to try another tact with the General, channeling his inner Kenobi. "We seized this ship from the Separatists, all of us clones, working together."

"So, it belongs to the Republic now."

Cody had nothing against the Republic, but the way General Windu said those words set his teeth on edge.

Ko jumped in, saving Cody from saying something he likely would've regretted. His Captain's excessive enthusiasm and verbosity gave Cody a chance to regroup. "The Kazzies had an entire fleet of these ships, sir. We seized this ship as an appropriate troop carrier to get our men home and wired the rest so they'd be nothing but scrap." This was a very careful bit of wording. Ko didn't directly say they blew up the rest, as Rex's renegade clones had also commandeered portions of the Kazzie fleet. "We created an impressive chain reaction. Took out their facility- their ships- explosions everywhere! It made for an impressive sight, General. The fireball was so massive we could see it from orbit as we made our exodus." His second's enthusiasm was contagious and Cody could almost see all of those explosions as Ko expounded upon the narrative.

"It's all in our report," Cody handed over his datapad with the careful version of events he and Rex had agreed upon.

Windu made a thoughtful noise as he accepted the datapad. "I wish to see the injured Jedi immediately. Ponds and Rome, you are with me. Captain Nash, stay behind and interview Captain-" he inclined his chin toward Cody's second.

"Ko, sir. We met on Ryloth."

"So, we did. Interview Captain Ko and see if there is any additional data that needs adding to the report."

Cody frowned behind his bucket. Did the General doubt the veracity of his report?

OK, in all fairness, some of that report was...a carefully edited version of events. But, still, this was insulting.

He switched over to his private channel with Ko. "Stick to the script we agreed upon." He flipped his mic back to external audio. "This way, General," Cody inclined his chin toward the hangar exit.

Windu and Ponds flanked him as they left and his personal squad, Lightning, followed closely behind as they walked down the corridor.

Windu didn't seem inclined to speak as they walked the long corridors of the ship. Republic ships were set up so the medbay was in close proximity to the hangar. Either the Kaz'harians didn't get injured often, or fast medevac was not a priority. It was at least a ten-minute walk to the medbay. Cody had nothing more to say to the Jedi General. He didn't fancy playing tour guide on the features of the Kazzie ship. The ship that now belonged to the Republic, as Windu pointed out.

Cody opened up a private channel to Ponds. "I see your general is in a fine mood... as always."

"Cody," Ponds' voice was full of warning. "Stop pushing him. He's a good man, but he doesn't tolerate-"

"Clones thinking for themselves?"

"Cody!" Ponds' voice was filled with exasperation.

"I'm serious, Ponds. Does he ever even ask for your opinion, or does he just glare at you before doing all the thinking for you?"

"That's a low blow, Codes."

Cody pushed out a breath. "Yeah, it was. I'm sorry. Why did you bring so many troops for a simple medical retrieval?"

His brother's shoulder's hitched up, a sure tell that Ponds was uncomfortable. He sighed heavily. "I'm just following orders, Cody."

"And, do those orders include arresting me?"

I sounded very calm when I asked that question. Kenobi would've been proud.

Ponds was silent and this was chilling in itself. The silence stretched on between them and Cody figured Ponds wasn't going to speak and it was up to him to end the conversation. "Alright, well, then, thank you for the heads up... as it was."

That sounded slightly less calm, but Cody was doing his best here. He had a bad feeling he wasn't going to like what would go down in the next few minutes.

"Cody, listen-" Ponds' voice dropped low into the tone vode used when confiding in each other.

But, Cody would never know what it was Ponds was trying to say to him. Their private conversation was interrupted mid-sentence by General Windu. "Commander Cody, report on the injuries to Masters Skywalker, Kenobi, and Unduli."

The Jedi General's voice startled Cody slightly and he turned his attention back to the Jedi walking beside him. Had he sensed they were having a private conversation? Unlikely. Usually, Jedi were clueless about such things and clones were very good about keeping their private communications under wraps. But, then again, Windu was not your average Jedi.

Kenobi would've phrased that request in terms of a question and not demanded a 'report.'

Fine. I'll let that one go. Windu is no Kenobi, but I'll try to 'stop pushing him' as Ponds puts it.

Cody paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts. The General was already displeased. It wouldn't do to give him anything less than the best answer possible. "Generals Skywalker and Kenobi were beaten and kept immobile with Force suppression cuffs. They are suffering from dehydration and malnutrition, and are currently in healing trances under the care of Commander Offee. General Unduli suffered blunt force trauma to the skull. A team of medics relieved the pressure on her skull and placed her in bacta. In addition, all three of the Jedi show signs of being experimented upon-"

Windu stopped abruptly. "Experimented upon in what way?"

"The Kaz'harian scientists were experimenting in cloning." Cody should've anticipated Windu's shock. He and Rex had a similar reaction upon the discovery of the labs.

"Jedi?" The General's voice was aghast, and it was more emotion than Cody had ever heard from the man.

"And, the clones, sir. We don't think they achieved the outcome they were hoping for." (Other than the baby clones that Rex's renegades took from the planet...) Cody took another deep breath. "As soon as we discovered what they were doing, we freed the prisoners and completely destroyed the labs."

"This is very disturbing news."

"General Unduli escaped captivity with the help of the commando, Captain Leon. He was part of a team of commandos sent to locate the missing clones, but they were themselves captured."

"The missing commando team," Windu said thoughtfully. "It is good they have been located and returned."

"They did not all make it, sir." That is to say, they did not all make it back to Coruscant. The fourth member of Leon's team, Ice, was so badly injured they did not think he stood a chance of making it through the Republic medical system (without being reconditioned.) He had also been sent on with Rex and his renegades. Cody wished he could get an update on the commando's condition, but they'd agreed to have no contact with the other group of clones.

Windu dipped his head in what looked to be a legitimate sign of sorrow. "And, your other clone injured?"

"All of our men kept in captivity suffered dehydration and malnutrition. Some were also beaten and experimented upon. The most severe injuries are from the recent battle to free themselves. These injuries consist of slugthrower wounds-"

"Slughthrowers?" Rome asked curiously, in the way clones did when they were intrigued by weapons.

"The Kazzies favor projectile weapons, flamethrowers, and poison gas. Cryseefa. Burns the eyes and the throat." He tried to remain impassive, but it still brought up a slow roil of anger that all of this had been used on his men.

There was a short silence as Windu took in all of this information. "Our medics will take the Jedi first, and then the clone injured."

Cody stopped in his tracks. "But, sir, we have an ARC trooper who needs immediate transport to ArmyMed. His condition is critical."

"We will determine the transport order, Commander. Thank you for your report."

"But, sir, the Jedi are all currently stable, even General Unduli. ARC Trooper Echo is in critical condition."

"That is not your decision to make."

"I did not make the decision. The priority order came from our medics. The ARC trooper has first priority."

"Are you arguing with me, commander?"

"Cody!" Ponds hissed to him warningly over their private link.

"No... sir," Cody managed, his voice as glacial and icy as the General's tone.

Windu continued to stare at him and even though it was only seconds, it felt as if they were frozen there for hours.

"This way, General," Cody motioned to get them moving again toward medbay. He opened up the private channel to Ponds again. "Seriously, Ponds, what the fek-"

"Cody, let it go," Ponds warned.

"Let it go?! Regs state that troopers with the highest medical priority-"

"Jedi are not troopers. They don't have to follow regs," Ponds then qualified his statement, "for the most part."

Cody blew out a breath, trying to gather himself.

Ponds was right.

Jedi followed their own rules.

They rounded a corner and arrived at the medbay. Finally. "We're here, General." He gestured for Windu to enter ahead of him.

Kix and Coric waved the Jedi General over. "Welcome, sir. We have ARC Trooper Echo ready for transport to ArmyMed-"

"General Windu has decided the Jedi have first priority," Cody tried to keep his voice neutral. He wasn't sure he succeeded.

Coric commed Cody on private channel. "Echo is critical."

"I'm aware, Coric, and made my position clear. However, the General outranks me on this one."

"Respectfully, Commander, that's a load of bantha fodder. Sir, I've learned when you can't pull rank, pull medical code." He sent Cody the relevant medic code to reference.

Oh.

"Well done, Coric, I'll inform the General." Cody switched his mic over to external audio. "General Windu, my medics are standing by me on this one. ARC Trooper Echo has higher priority due to Article 82, Subsection 12. A medic's authority supersedes everyone in matters such as these, even yours, General, sir."

There was absolute silence in the medbay, a rare occurrence except for the slight whoosh of life support back from Echo's medbay bunk.

"Take the trooper first," Windu said, his voice deep, low. "CodeRed to ArmyMed. Provide him a military escort to get him through the lanes of traffic more expediently." He gestured to a member of Lightning squadron, who had a medic symbol on his bicep. "Pinch, you will accompany them."

The medic nodded. "As you wish, General."

Kix and Coric hurried to load Echo onto a hover stretcher, as if worried the General might change his mind. They took off at a fast clip out of medbay, accompanied by Windu's medic.

Cody signaled to Digger and Glitch. "Take us back to see Skywalker and Kenobi. We'd like a full update on their condition."

As they walked deeper into the medbay, he turned to Windu. "Thank you, General. I apologize if my tactics seem... heavy-handed. I am only watching out for my men."

Windu made a thoughtful noise again. "Kenobi speaks highly of you. One hopes that trust is not misplaced."

Wait. What? Was that a compliment or a threat?

Cody let the comment go and focused instead on his General.

Even unconscious, it was always good to see Kenobi.

It was dark and quiet in the back of the medbay where Skywalker and Kenobi were resting. Cody had gone back to visit his General whenever possible, speaking to him quietly. He would tell him their men in the 212th were doing well and recovering, and they were getting closer to Coruscant. He'd also tell him that General Skywalker was looking better, even though he wasn't sure if this last part was true. But, if it helped Kenobi's recovery, he figured he could be forgiven if he overstated Skywalker's health.

For the sake of Kenobi, he was relieved they were back at Coruscant. Hopefully, the Jedi healers could undo the damage of Kenobi's prolonged imprisonment. His General would be back to telling overly long stories in no time.

The 91st Battalion General visited briefly with each of the Jedi, touching them lightly on the shoulder. Cody wondered if he could communicate with them even when they were unconscious. Windu's fierce expression didn't change, although he nodded slightly as if something had been confirmed. "Masters Skywalker, Kenobi and Unduli will head out on the next available medevac."

"We'll get General Unduli out of bacta. She should be ready for transport in about 30 minutes." Digger headed over to the large bacta tank and started the draining sequence.

As they were leaving medbay, Barriss rushed in and barreled nearly face-first with Cody. "I'm here to help with-"

The words died on her lips and she stared at Cody. It took her a long moment to notice the Jedi standing next to him. "Master! It's good to see you. I'm... here to help... with the medical evacuation."

She hastily bowed to Windu and rushed off to assist Digger in caring for her Master.

The Jedi General turned to Cody. "You two know each other?" His words came across as a challenge.

"Yes, General. Commander Offee was the healer assigned to me on Ord Cestus."

"Of course."

You knew that already.

"I will walk you back to the hangar bay, sir."

"No, I think I will have a talk with Commander Offee."

A chill went down Cody's spine.

"Of course, sir." He nodded and left the medbay with Ponds.

"Do I even want to know what that was all about?" Ponds prompted.

"What?"

"That thing with the Jedi healer who came in and stared at you, ignoring everyone else."

"Who can understand Jedi. Their minds are wired differently, you know?" That much was true, at least.

Ko and Nash rejoined them on the hangar bay having completed their business of transferring mission reports.

"ARC Trooper Echo is already on his way to ArmyMed," Ko informed him quietly.

Cody breathed out a sigh of relief. He looked around the hangar bay at the overabundance of troopers from the 91st, trying to figure out his next move. Should he stay here and supervise the medevacs? Head back up to the bridge? No, Rex was on the bridge. March onto a shuttle and demand Ponds arrest him quietly there?

No one demands that they be arrested. Just... don't make a big scene of it in front of the men. They've been through enough.

He decided it was better to stay in the hangar bay. He and Ponds made small talk as they awaited for the next group to be medevaced. The medics did an admirable job getting the Jedi ready for transport quickly. Cody watched with mixed feelings as Kenobi was loaded onto a transport and then disappeared out of the force shield headed toward Coruscant.

General Kenobi. He's out of my hands now.

Cody lifted his wristcomm to check in with the medics on the status of the clone injured. They would be next to head down on the transports. But, the orders never left his lips. He gave a small yelp of protest as his arms were pulled sharply behind his back.

"Fek! Easy on the shoulders!" He was expecting to be arrested, but it was still jarring, all the same.

"You're not resisting, are you, Cody?" Nash's voice was a barely concealed taunt in his ear.

Of course it was Nash who took charge of the arrest. Fekkin' Nash. He forced Cody to kneel. Signaling to other troopers from Lightning to move in.

"Fek it, Nash!" Ko protested. "You can't do this. We were promised full amnesty."

"No," Cody shook his head, "I agreed the men under my command would be given full amnesty."

For once, Ko was silent. For a few seconds. "Cody, don't do this."

Ponds addressed Ko. "We have orders to place Cody under arrest." He pulled a datapad from his belt and handed it over to Ko. "He is to come back with us and answer both for his actions and those of the men under his command."

"I understand," Cody gritted out. OK, ow, ow, and ow. Not a good idea to yank your arms behind your back after a recent dislocation. That hurts.

"Fek, Nash, let up on him," Ko insisted. "He was injured at Darkknell- saving our asses." He stared down Ponds and Nash. "It was a hell of a lot more than anyone else in the Republic did for us. If it wasn't for Cody, we would have died in that place."

"Ko, let it go." He tried to struggle back to his feet, but it was difficult with his arms bound.

Ponds reached down to help him up, but unfortunately grabbed him by his previously injured shoulder. Cody bit his lip to keep from crying out again. "I'm going undo your hands, Cody." He switched over to a private channel. "You're not going to do anything stupid, right Codes?"

"Define stupid," Cody grumbled.

"Di'kut. You're going to be the death of me," Ponds muttered back, releasing his hands.

Cody turned to Ko, turning up his external mic so any 212th troopers in the hangar could hear his words. "I'm headed to Coruscant to answer for my actions," Cody said. "Captain Ko, the 212th is yours now."

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