Chapter Text
“Good morning Commander. Captain.
“General, sir!” The two men halted in their path, arms automatically going into a salute. They stood there frozen. Had Obi-Wan not been looking for movement, he could’ve sworn they were statues.
He waited. Commander Co- 2224, let out a small cough. Obi-Wan felt his face getting hot behind his beard.
“Oh right, at ease gentlemen.” The two troopers finally dropped their arm and moved into a parade rest.
“I truly must beg your pardon for that. I am still not used to all the military regulations.” He paused, realizing they’ve yet to say anything. Oh right. “And of course feel free to speak freely to me at any time. This is blanket permission to both of you and the rest of the men too.”
Obi-Wan caught a flash of fearfearconfusiondistrustangerangerangerhatred before the Commander spoke up, “Of course General. We will promptly respond to any comments or questions you may have.”
Ah. They thought this was a trick. That he was upset at them for not responding quickly enough to him. A part of Obi-Wan’s heart sank deeper at the thought of how these colorful men must have been treated. The other part of his heart rages against his ribcages, wanting nothing more than to storm Kamino with his fellow Jedi and free these bright souls. He did neither.
Instead, he smiled at them, projecting all the love and affection and awe he already felt for these men after what they had done for him and his family on Geneosis.
“It was a pleasure talking with you,” Even though it was mostly him bumbling through the conversation while the other two watched in fear. “I have a council meeting quite soon, but I shall see you later at the bridge. Commander. Captain.”
He gave them a nod and went on his away. Hands slipping into his sleeves as he hoped they did not notice anything off about his gait. He managed to make it into his quarters without anyone stopping him. Though he was sure that his CMO was watching him intently the entire time.
Obi-Wan let out a sigh and collapsed onto his bed with the grace of a wet tooka. He began to disrobe as his mind wandered back to his interaction with the Commander and the Captain, Cody and Rex, he had overheard them being called.
He should really inform the clones that Jedi have more sensitive hearing when they’re using the force. It would help them protect their secrets. He should inform them a lot about the Jedi actually. Maybe it’ll help them trust him more.
He didn’t begrudge them their caution however. These men had nothing. No one but each other to rely on. It’s only fair they would not trust him. It would take time and he was willing to wait for eternity.
Obi-Wan hissed as his hand touched his bare chest and the bleeding cut that spanned the entire width of his upper chest.
The real question was whether he could survive the festering wounds the Clones unknowingly left on him before that eternity or die trying.
~~
When the time for the council meeting came, Obi-Wan had just finished wrapping up the gash. He looked at his bloody tunic and let out a sigh. That was the third one this month alone, and the month had only started. He could already sense the many requisition forms he’ll be filling out.
His comm beeped. A reminder that he was needed. He stood up, dropping the bloody cloth down to the floor as he picked up the call. Familiar blue figures appeared before him, and his bonds all thrummed in a harmonious greeting.
“Well well, it seems like someone is out to steal my job!” Kit’s holo said with glee as he flickered in. The nautolan placed a hand upon his robed chest. “I’m hurt Master Kenobi. If you wanted my title of Number 1 Stripper in the yearly rankings, you should’ve just said so.”
Oh.
Obi-Wan suddenly became very aware of the fact that he was wearing nothing under the cloak he had hastily put on. The same cloak that was doing nothing to help cover his bare chest. For the second time that morning, Obi-Wan blushed. He really hoped it didn’t transfer over to the projection.
The faint tingle of colored laughter across his skin told him otherwise.
“My apologies,” Obi-Wan moved down for a bow and was greeted with the burning protest of his chest. He winced. Then winced again, this time in exasperation as his bonds all flared in worried.
“Are you injured Master Kenobi?” Mace asked. Even without looking, Obi-Wan could feel the Korun’s dark gaze boring into him. He shoved down the automatic instinct to run. An instinct trained from his Padawan years of pulling pranks with Quinlan only to be caught by an irated Master Windu. Obi-Wan held back a shudder from the memories of some of those punishments.
“It’s nothing to worry about Masters. Just some errant feelings flying around,” Obi-Wan said carefully.
The worry settled into a buzz of understanding.
“I suppose that explains your state of undress.” Depa commented. Her tone soft and gentle tinged with a blue of sadness.
“Their fault, it is not. Patient, we must be.” Yoda spoke up, breaking the solemn silence that befell the members.
“My concern is how we will hide this from our medics. I had to go to medical to ask for a bacta patch after conversing with Commander Wolffe and my medics were very concerned. I tried to explain it away with an excuse about getting injured during a spar, but I do not think they believed me.”
“Your Commander trusted you with their name?” Obi-Wan interrupted Plo-Koon, eyes wide as he sent surprise and joyjoyjoy down their bond at the breakthrough his friend managed to make. A part of him also burnt with jealousy at the thought. He ached to call his men their name instead of the cold numbers they introduced themselves with to him.
The Keldor smiled, or well an approximate of what a smile could be when you’re wearing a mask. “He introduced himself on the first day with his name. His eyes were daring me to try to say something about it.”
“Names aside, you’re telling me you actually went to medical?” Kit asked.
“Why of course. I am not of Yoda’s lineage after all.” He sent an unstable glance at Obi-Wan. “I do know the importance of going to medical.”
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest.
“I suppose you went to medical to treat your wound then Kenobi?” Mace shot back..
Obi-Wan closed his mouth.
“At least tell me you dressed it correctly,” A Jedi doesn’t plead, but if they did Mace would be coming close to it.
“Now Mace,” Shaak-Ti started, forgoing the last thread of formality most (an image of a gaping Anakin appeared in Obi-Wan’s head) would expect in a Council meeting. “I’m sure Obi-Wan knows better than to not leave his injury untended to. Isn’t that right Obi-Wan?”
Kriff Mace. Shaak-Ti was so much scarier. Obi-Wan swallowed down a gulp at her look.
“Yes Master Ti,” he gestured towards his wrapped chest, “As you can see, I have taken the proper precaution.”
Depa coughed inconspicuously. “About as proper as you can get without going to the medics you mean,” She added unhelpfully. Obi-Wan gave up on all decorum and glared at her. He hoped she could feel the daggers he’s throwing at her.
The Chalactan sent the feeling of smugness down their bond. He sent back a vow of justice, for Jedi do not seek revenge. She sent a spear wrapped in laughter. He caught it and returned it with the burning flames of blackmail.
“Perhaps we can get back on track?” Mace interrupted, though the amused tone in his voice revealed that he was aware of the mental slug fight he had interrupted.
Kit cackled. “What track? We’ve been off the rails since the start.”
“The High Council, we are. Adult, I am. Adults, you are not.”
“Do not exclude yourself from this! You’re the most childish of us all!”
Obi-Wan smiled at the continuing argument, closing his eyes as looked inwards, the voices of his family fading into the background. He basked in the familiar humming of the bonds, letting it drift over him until everything was drowned out by the pleasant song of lovelovelove that was ever always present within his bonds. He missed this. This bantering and lightheartedness that got less and less common as this war continued to drag on. A gentle trace of fond lightning speckled his back, pulling him out of his thoughts. He didn’t need to look to know that his back was now covered in Mace’s purple.
“Not quite time to take a nap yet, Obi-Wan,” Plo-Koon commented amusedly. Ah. He’d been caught. Obi-Wan sent the Keldor master a chagrined grin.
“My apologies, Plo. I was just checking my bonds.” A look of understanding flashed across all the councilors’ faces. He knew they too were missing the peaceful days just as much as him.
Master Yoda slammed his cane down onto the floor, somehow managing to have the sound echo across the comm. If he was a betting man, Obi-Wan would’ve bet that his grandmaster had someone specifically program that into all the comms just so the troll could be more dramatic. His grandmaster waited until he had everyone’s attention before speaking.
“Far apart, we are not meant to be. Warriors, we are not meant to be. Destroying many, the war is. Destroy us, the war will. End this, we must. Not for the Republic, we do this. For the people, we do this. For the younglings, we do this.”
The atmosphere sobered at Master Yoda’s words. They knew what Master Yoda said to be true, but to have it said out loud made it much more real.
“You are right Master,” Mace agreed, “We must end this war as quickly as possible and one of the quickest ways to end the war is the reason I scheduled this meeting: The Clones. If we want this war to end, we need to free the Clones.”
A unanimous agreement rang through both the comms and the shared bonds.
Plo-Koon raised a hand drawing their attention. “I had my suspicions about the way the Kaminoans treated them, but I did not fully realize the extent of their mistreatment until I met the Clones. The Clones’ fears and mistrusts are-“ The Keldor touched his right shoulder revealing to all the Jedi exactly what happened when he had met the Clones. “- potent. Had my shields not been at their full strength, I do not believe I would have had the usage of my arm for at least a month.”
“Does anybody else notice how their presence seems so much stronger than other sentients? I can still feel them even when I have my shields up. They’re able to slip through my shields so easily or maybe my shields just let them in,” Kit chimed in. “If I were to describe it, my shields as you all know are built to reflect the image of the oceans of Glee Anselm. If other sentients force presence are trash floating above my shields, then the clones are the water that always belonged there.”
Something struck Obi-Wan at Kit’s last words. Belonged there . What was it that Lama Su had said when he first got there? That the Clones were made for the Republic? No. The Clones were for the Republic but-
They were made for the Jedi.
“What was that Obi?” Kit asked. Oh. He must have said it out loud.
“I just recalled the Kaminoans saying something quite interesting when I first encountered them. They said that the clones were made for the Jedi. Perhaps that has more of a meaning than we think. I suggest that we look into this more, if you do not mind that is Shaak?”
“Oh I don’t mind at all. I think it is a wonderful idea, Obi-Wan.” The Togruta sent him a sharp grin. Obi-Wan nearly felt sorry for the poor Kaminoans that Shaaki will no doubt interrogate.
“Do we have any ideas on how to free the Clones yet?” Depa asked.
Obi-Wan nodded. “I already asked Bail to look through all the legislature to find any loopholes we could use. I do believe Senator Amidala has also promised to help.”
“Good. We have Master Ti looking into more about the Clones and their force presence. We have some people looking into freeing them, and I have already sent out shadows to investigate the money trail of Master Sifo Dias . I believe Vos has already managed to trace it back to being on Coruscant. If that is all?”
“One more thing Mace,” Obi-Wan interjected.
Mace nodded for him to continue.
“The Clones can’t find out. They’ll only blame themselves. They have little choice as it is. We do not need them to try to protect us from something they can not. They’ll feel responsible for it and will try to pull back even further. If they do so, we will never be able to help them. For their sake, they must not find out.”
Silence rang in the Force. No one disagreed.