Hey Everyone! Hope you are doing alright! Did I finish another chapter in the same day? Yes I did. Did I also finish that paper. Yes... so it's not procrastinating right? Anyway! Hope you all enjoy and make sure you leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vader should be coming back more and more, I just wanted to focus a little bit on Cody and Obi Wan for a bit. Gotta save the clones too! Enjoy! Lots of Love - Lorna:)

Cody opened the door, undoing the series of locks that kept Obi Wan trapped inside. Obi Wan was thrilled to get out, to leave his too small cage for the first time in weeks. But he was also worried, terrified even. He was a prisoner, on a ship full of people that he used to trust with his life, friends turned unwilling enemies. He didn't want to think about how he looked chained and collared. He may not have had very much pride left, but his admittedly small ego was embarrassed at the situation he found himself in. He was relying solely on the kindness of his enemies for what little sanity he had left. He knew it was different from the Clone Wars, he was alone, no battalion to back him, no padawans to rescue him. In a way, he might be willing to admit they still were but that was beyond the point. His mind begged for a change in atmosphere while his pride wanted to avoid being seen by anyone. He didn't want them to know how far he had fallen.

Cody looked at him through the bucket, but Obi Wan couldn't sense what his commander was thinking, and it frightened him a little. Even during the time when he refused to use the Force while in hiding, it had been a choice. One that was pushed upon him, but his choice nonetheless. Now it felt like everything was out of his control. Cody came to stand beside Obi Wan, giving him a gentle nudge.

"The halls will be nearly empty, and no one is going to pay you any unwanted attention."

Obi Wan nodded. "Thank you." It felt like it was becoming a mantra with how often he said it, but he meant it all the same.

"No problem, General. If it helps, I'm the one escorting you, so I won't be leaving your side."

Obi Wan nodded and somehow it made it so he was able to walk out the door. The air felt lighter and cleaner outside, even if it was the same filtered air that was filtered throughout the entire ship. Cody led him along a series of winding hallways that seemed familiar but also slightly different than he was used to. Maybe he had just forgotten all the winding twists and turns of a giant cruiser. Cody had been right, there were only a couple of troopers around, though it irked Obi Wan slightly that he couldn't decipher who they were. It could have been any of his old troops or shinies for all he knew.

Cody continued leading Obi Wan through more hallways, and Obi Wan relished the feeling of being able to walk for more than a couple steps in any given direction. It was nice to be able to walk somewhere with a purpose. Finally, they came to a door, one that Cody had to swipe some card to open. Suddenly, Obi Wan was greeted with the color green. It had been a long time since he had seen it. Tatooine was red and orange and beige, everything colorful stripped of its pigment underneath the blazing light from the twin suns. The cruise was black and white and gray. It was metal and an unnatural coolness. This was entirely different. There were green trees and plants and fresh air and the most real light he had seen in days.

"The cruiser has a small onboard garden and greenhouse. I figure after so much time indoors, you might want to go somewhere that resembles the outdoors."

Obi Wan couldn't help but smile. He loved how free it made him feel to be somewhere where the ceilings were high and there was so much life that he didn't even need the force to feel it.

"Thank you Cody, but how did you manage to pull it off? I thought we were just walking around for a while."

Cody shrugged and took his helmet off. "I know people."

Obi Wan arched his eyebrow, and Cody found he had the sudden urge to tell his General exactly how he managed to get away with this. He remembered this look all too well from his days in the war.

"If you must know, Fives owed me a favor, and he called in a favor and so on so forth until here we are."

Obi Wan laughed, and it made Cody smile. The jedi touched a large leaf, thumbing it between his fingers.

"Now, to get this favor, you do have to do something in return."

Immediately, Obi Wan looked at him, his eyes wide with surprise and bordering on worry. Cody tried to alleviate that fear the moment he saw it. "You get to do some gardening."

Shoulders sagging in relief and eyes lighting up with a broad smile, Obi Wan gave the commander a cheeky grin. "I'd hate to seem ungrateful to your friend of a friend."

Cody watched him over the next hour, working in the dirt, chatting away. Cody noticed how different the Jedi seemed as they walked back. He looked, for lack of a better word, healthy. He was still for the first time in weeks. No tapping fingers or pacing. His whole face seemed lighter and happy, albeit tired, Cody couldn't help but feel like maybe he had done something truly good, a feeling he realized he hadn't felt since he had heard those fateful orders. Good soldiers may follow orders, but he thought looking at Obi Wan again as he undid the cuffs and inhibitor collar, maybe a good soldier isn't the same thing as a good person.

OoOoOoOoO

Vader watched Obi Wan and Cody interact with vague amusement. They were quipping at each other, back and forth at the moment, and Anakin noted how much more still Obi Wan seemed. Less like a caged prisoner and more like his old self. It made Anakin long for his master's presence, but Vader had the urge to destroy any light he saw. It was better for both of them if Vader stayed away for now, at least until Vader decided it was more effort than it was worth. He contented himself with the small look, just to see if the two (namely Obi Wan) were still awake before deciding to leave. What he didn't expect, however, was that as he turned to leave, Obi Wan would catch his eye. Worry and gratitude crossed through the Force, something so bright it burned. Vader abruptly left and went to spar until his knuckles were bloody and his body was so sore and busted he collapsed on the training room floor. Waxer and Boil found him a few hours later in a pool of his own blood, sweat, and sick. Kix was called, and they quietly managed to patch him up. They didn't dare move him back to his room but cleaned up the floor and moved him onto a bench, bunching Vader's black cloak as a pillow and leaving him in the training room.

Anakin woke up later, disoriented and hurt, unsure whether the sparring had been real or a figment of his imagination. All he knew was that his fists hurt and he was tired of fighting, but he still had a long way to go.