Free.
Cody couldn't believe he was free of the RMB.
He hissed out a long sigh, the sound coming out overly filtered in his bucket.
Kenobi kept his head straight ahead as he walked, but somehow his voice carried, even with the noises of the city. "You want to talk about it?"
"No," Cody said abruptly. He didn't. No. Yes. He did. Fek. He wanted to forget about the whole miserable incident.
He stopped abruptly in the street, earning cursing in a dozen languages from the people who were forced to stream around them. Cody did not care. He used to care about such things. Everything he'd been taught at Kamino, through flash-training and practical training, swirled around competing for headspace. Be polite to the civvies at all times. Always listen to your superior officers. Good soldiers-
He tugged off his helmet, not able to breathe, aware that breathing in the dozens of pollutants of Coruscant was not any better. He jammed a hand through his hair and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think. "Sorry, General. This has all been a very confusing couple of months."
Two gentle bracing hands gripped his biceps. "I understand. You know you can talk to me, right?"
Cody shook his head. "I used to understand my place in the Republic."
I shouldn't be saying such things. Soldiers aren't allowed to have doubts.
He shook his head with frustration and moved his arms to jam his bucket back on.
Kenobi shook his head. "We should talk." He laid a gentle hand on the helmet. "I want to see you, Cody, and not your visor." He gave a considering look, a very Kenobi expression. "We are pressed for time. But, that is always the case for us in this war. I will make time for the man who saved my life. You hold great importance to me, Cody."
Cody knew he should object. They had so much to do before they shipped out. But, there was such earnestness in Kenobi's expression.
He nodded his agreement.
Kenobi pointed to a nearby caf shop. Such places were located every block in Corrie, sometimes two or three a block. Cody had walked by such places thousands of times while on leave but had never been inside one.
As they stepped inside, he was overwhelmed with the smell of freshly roasted caf. Some of the patrons looked up from their caf, datapads, and conversations long enough to give them a curious glance, but quickly lost interest. There was a long line, reminiscent of the way they had to queue up in the mess hall to get their rations. Cody automatically joined the queue. This part he understood.
Kenobi pointed to the menu board. "I don't imagine this makes much sense to you."
Cody stared at the menu board, overwhelmed by the choices. "I did not know there were this many types of caf."
The caf brewed in the field tasted different than that served on the ship. But, that was about all he'd had for variety. The 'Kazzie caf' they'd been drinking didn't really count as 'caf.' That stuff had been karkin' awful.
As he listened to the patrons online ahead of him order, he wasn't sure what language they were speaking. It sounded like Basic, but it appeared to be a language specific to caf. He glanced over at his General and quirked up an eyebrow.
"I can handle the ordering, if you trust my tastes in such things." There was a hint of teasing warmth in Kenobi's tone.
"From the person who introduced me to chocolate? I'd say you've earned my trust."
Kenobi tossed back his head and laughed, something Cody hadn't seen him do in a long time. The sense of rightness, and being back where he belonged, settled nicely back in his gut.
They stood patiently, waiting in the queue, but the silence wasn't awkward. Coruscanti continued to stream in and join the queue. Cody was aware of them through his peripheral vision. They all gave him a wary glance but seemed more focused on getting their own caf orders.
He noticed this was the case for everyone who lived on the city planet. There was a general sort of indifference with underlying self-interest. No one ever paid much attention to the clones.
"Welcome to CorrieCaf. What can I synth for you today?" The cafbot's audio and visual sensors tracked both Kenobi and Cody, its perfectly round head swiveling back and forth between them. It had a stalk-like body, overly reminiscent of a B1 droid. The voice was eerily similar enough that it sounded like it came from the same manufacturer.
"Two orders of Garquis traditional dark and light."
"Right. Right. Could I interest you in some pastries?"
He lost track of the rest of the conversation as he stared at the droid.
Right. Right? That was one step away from Roger Roger. They were from the same karkin' manufacturer.
"Cody."
He blinked and stared at the General. "Sir."
"This way. I believe someone may be leaving in the back there." Kenobi handed him a large sterifoam cup and led the way through the crowded cafe. A pair of Gungans nodded as they stepped away from the table and two Trandoshan jumped in front of them to claim the table.
"S-s-s-s-sorry, but this is ours." The yellow eyes of the larger Trandoshan glittered in a challenge.
Cody's free hand slipped down to this blaster.
Kenobi gave him a look that told him in no uncertain terms caf table disputes were not handled with blasters. He turned his attention back to the large pair of Trandoshans. "You don't want this table. You wish to take your caf and go."
"We don't want this table. We will take our caf and go."
The Trandoshans trundled off in search of another table.
Kenobi settled down with a sigh into the booth at the cramped establishment. "Sorry about that."
Cody settled in with his back to the wall in the opposite seat and watched the room. "Eh... is that what it takes to get a table in one of these places?"
Kenobi huffed out a laugh, but the sound was bitter and weary. "I guess Coruscant is its own kind of battlefield." He gestured to Cody's drink. "Try it. This is my favorite blend." He took a long dreg from his own cup and sighed with pleasure.
Cody took a sip. It was extremely hot, so much so that it scalded his tongue. And, sweet. Oh. "That's... very good."
Kenobi laughed again. He gestured to his cup again. "Isn't it, though? It gets quite addicting. Some people come get a caf like this everyday."
Cody glanced at the long line. "Coruscanti must have a lot of time on their hands."
Kenobi tilted his head to the side in consideration. "I suppose they do." He rifled through a plastibag Cody only now just noticed. "This is a sweesonberry roll," the General said, holding out a large pastry over to Cody. "Also one of my favorites. Let me know what you think."
Cody's eyes widened. They occasionally served baked goods in the mess, but nothing that looked or smelled like this enormous sticky ... thing. He removed his gloves to avoid getting something tacky on them which could transfer over to the grip of his blaster. He stared at the roll, unsure quite what to do with it.
"I'd thought Jedi were all tea and austerity," Cody admitted, a bit overwhelmed by it all. "I didn't know you went to places like this one."
"I do enjoy a good cup of tea, but I also know how to live a little."
Cody's curiosity was piqued. How much was a little?
"Stop thinking so hard and enjoy the moment," Kenobi advised with a gentle smile.
Cody took a bite of the sweesenberry roll and moaned with pleasure. "Oh, that is... very good, sir."
Kenobi laughed. He opened the bag again and took out a roll for himself, before sliding the bag over to Cody. "There's also a cracked donut in there for you. Like the ones they sometimes serve in the mess, except this one is much better."
Cody's eyes lit up at the thought of two pastries. He eagerly devoured the roll, following his General's lead and dipping the pastries into his caf. The cracked donut melted on his tongue in a delightful blast of buttery sweetness. They didn't speak as they finished their breakfast. The combination of hot caf and sugar hitting his system soothed him.
After he finished eating, Cody looked over at Kenobi and blurted out what he needed to say. "I need to apologize for my actions. I messed up and in doing so cast the 212th in a bad light. I never should've gotten myself locked up."
Kenobi waved it off. "You have nothing to apologize for, Cody."
"We returned from Darkknell and the first thing I did was take on the Jedi Council."
"Sometimes they need challenging. You did what you thought was right."
"I'm a soldier. I'm supposed to follow orders."
"It doesn't rob you of the right to think." Kenobi pointed to the server bot whirring through and serving drinks at the counter. "It is what separates you from that droid over there."
Cody still looked troubled. He toyed with his disposable steri-cup. "I'm not sure the rest of the Council agrees with you, " He sighed and shook his head again. "If not for this battle coming up and you speaking on my behalf, I would have been left to rot in the RMB," his voice dropped, "or worse."
Kenobi grimaced distastefully at the mention of 'or worse,' but didn't refute Cody's near miss.
Cody knew there was a great deal going on behind the scenes politically. It was a mess and he'd never meant to get wrapped up in any of it. But, somehow he'd ended up in the thick of things.
Kenobi's voice dropped very low. "The Council isn't always right, Cody." He reached over and gripped Cody's bare hands. He sighed and then released Cody, making a dismissive gesture with his hands. It was a very Kenobi-like gesture but managed to convey his frustration at the burdens and secrets he was forced to carry. "I can't go into details on Council business, but promise me you won't stop thinking for yourself. It is one of the qualities I admire most about you."
"I'm not sure I understand. I'm a marshall commander who broke dozens of regs and was sent to the RMB. I'm hardly fit to be your Commander anymore," the admission hurt and he could barely get the words out.
"No. It takes courage to stand up for what you think is right. You're a man of unusual honor, strength, and character. I owe you my life."
Cody swallowed past the lump in his throat.
Kenobi finished off his last sip of caf and then brushed a few crumbs from his fingers. "We have to go. We're supposed to meet Anakin, Rex, and Appo for a planning session. Although, knowing Anakin he will be late." His face flashed with an emotion Cody couldn't quite identify, and then it was gone, replaced with a carefully neutral expression. They tossed their stericups and wrappers into a reclimator built into the side of the table and headed back out into the busy street.
# # #
"This Commander Cody has become a problem, Vice-Chair."
Amedda leaned in toward the Chancellor and gave a considering nod. "It is most unfortunate his time in the RMB did not have the effect we hoped."
The Chancellor steepled his fingers as he considered the problem of the Grand Marshall Commander. The highest-ranking clone in the army. Somehow he'd evaded an assassination attempt on his life even as an unarmed prisoner. He was a worthy adversary. No matter. He would still fall. All of his enemies eventually toppled. It was inevitable. This clone commander would be no different. It was only a question of who would be the agent of his destruction.
"Perhaps another-"
The Chancellor put a hand to forestall the suggestion before the Vice-Chair even suggested it. "No more bounty hunters. He is back among his own kind and too well protected."
Amedda pulled his datapad from a pocket in his thick robes. He scrolled quickly through it and his face lit up. "The clones are being issued new armor today." He slid the pad across the desk to the Chancellor.
Palpatine tried not to hiss in annoyance at the careless action. His desk was excessively expensive, crafted on Naboo, with polished and blended Mandalorian Veshok. He didn't even give the pad so much as a glance. "So, the clones are getting armor. The Senate insisted upon it." He gave a dismissive wave with his hands. "Something about them needing better protection in the field." It was decent for the holo news, he supposed. Protect the troops. But, it wouldn't change the outcome of any of the battles. The troops would fall. Oh, yes, they would fall. "Your point to all of this, Vice-Chair?"
Mas smiled in the way he did when he was on to something. Ah... it was that smile. The one which never reached his eyes. There was nothing genuine about Mas Amedda. But, he was brilliant, in his own scheming way. "This means they will be training hard for their upcoming campaign... a siege to the Outer Rim, I believe, and accidents happen." Amedda sat back in his chair, pleased with himself, his blue eyes glistening.
Palpatine smiled. Oh, this was good. But, they could take this so much further. Amedda often did not think big enough. "Ah, training, yes... " He pulled out his own pad and started studying the command structure for the 212th. "Training..." he muttered under his breath as he started to furiously make notes. He would need to work fast.
# # #