Chapter Text
The day the war ended was the day Cody discovered the true face of desperation. After years of war and living with constantly losing Vode, he thought he'd known it. No, after growing up with the Kaminoins breathing down their necks in constant fear that they would be the next to disappear, he had been sure he'd known it.
He'd always known that the Jedi were too good for the war. Too pure. He just hadn't realized that no one else seemed to share the sentiment.
What had once been a war zone had now become a party for the close-to 36,000 clones of the 212th. Secret stashes of contraband, from sweets to moonshine, flowed, and Cody indulged. The war was over, and the GAR would soon be gone. What was the point of the rules?
But he still found he disliked the disconnected feeling and limited himself to the one tumbler he'd snagged. This left him pleasantly buzzed as he wandered over to find the rest of his command staff in various states of inebriation.
“Cody!” Wooley cheered when he saw him swaying on his feet as he looped his arms around Ulcer, their CMO, who was smiling .
“I’m glad you could join us.” Obi-Wan greeted him with a smile. Boil and Waxer both drooped over him, completely wasted.
“Me too. Are you two okay?” Cody asked, eyeing Boil and Waxer with a grin.
“Codes!” Waxer swung towards him with a grin and went to throw himself at Cody, probably for a hug, but he tripped over his own feet. His flailing arm caught Kenobi as he tried to right himself before bowling into Cody, which made Kenobi stumble, which made Boil sway, and at a moment's notice, all four of them collapsed on each other.
Ulcer, the shebs, burst out laughing.
Cody non too gently shoved Waxer off him and rolled out from under Boil, “Remind me to never let you drink again.”
“I think I lost my comm.” Wazer groaned, fumbling around.
“I think we all did,” Obi-Wan said warmly, patting his belt.
Cody groaned when he looked down to find his own comm gone. “Great, it's musical identical GAR-issued comms.”
“Found one!” Wooly cheered, holding a beat-up one proudly.
“That's mine!” Boil grinned, grabbing.
“How does that thing still work?” Ulcer asked, eyeing the beat-up state of the comm, judging as handing Waxer his.
“Luck and duct tape.” Cody deadpanned, grabbing his non-personalized, not-beat-up comm and shoveling it back in his belt.
“So, what's next? What are y’all gonna do now that it's over?” Wooley asked, a jubilant smile on his face.
“Not medicine, I'll tell you that!” Ulcer groused, “I've had enough ridiculous injuries to last me a lifetime. No way I'm doing that for natborns, brothers are bad enough.”
“I'm gonna join the ExploraCorps!” Boil beamed, “See the galaxy without getting shot at!”
“I guess I'll be going with this buffoon.” Waxer sighed dramatically, throwing an arm around Boil's shoulders.
“Hey!” Boil shoved him off, making them both teeter.
“What about you, sir?” Wooley asked, looking at Cody, “What will you do?”
“I don't know,” Cody said honestly. He hadn't really thought about it. Hadn't had the space to going from war front to war front. Figured he'd figure it out when peace time came.
But now it was almost here, and for the first time in as long as Cody could think, he had no plan. No purpose. Nothing. It was as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
“It's kind of fun not knowing.” Cody shrugged and gave Wooley a grin, “Guess I'll find out.”
“What about you, General?” Ulcer asked, “What are you looking forward to doing again?”
Kenobi's smile dimmed. His face turned—well, Cody wasn't exactly sure what that game was. Sad? Contemplative? Man, he really shouldn't have had that one tumbler of moonshine. He was normally a lot better at reading Obi-Wan.
“Going back to the Temple. I'm sure there will be a lot of changes in store there.” Obi-Wan said simply, “And with that, gentlemen, I really should be getting to bed.”
They all choruses, boos, and pleas to stay but let him go easily. “He is right, though.” Cody sighed, downing the last of the glass he'd been nursing.
“Awww, come on, Codes.” Boil made a face, “You're no fun.”
“Hey, we start a new ear tomorrow. Our orders for peace will come in. And if you're wasted tomorrow, you'll still have to do them. Where's the fun in enjoying that?” Cody shrugged, beaming at his brother's, “See you tomorrow.”
Cody trudged back to his quarters, smiling. The halls of the Ventor were nearly empty. The war was over. Tomorrow would be peace.
He began pulling off his armor, turning his communication off silent, and tossing it on his bed. His communication immediately began blowing up, and Cody groaned as he shucked off his chest plate. Could his brother not wait 24 hours before starting to pester him?
He considered turning it back on silent as he yanked off the last of his armor and stepped into his private fresher to change and wash the last campaign off him.
But eventually, the joy of the day had him grabbing it and blindly opening the first message as he brushed his teeth. He just about choked when he read the message. It was quite explicit, vulgar, and downright nauseating.
Cody stopped hacking and spat out everything in his mouth before scrolling back to the top of the message. It wasn't from one of his brothers, thank Force; it was from the Senate.
What the kriff.
Cody opened another one also from the Senate with similar and more damning results. And then he saw who the receiver was supposed to be. His blood went cold.
This wasn't his comm. It was Obi-Wan's.
The thought made him even more sick. He frantically scrolled the nearly two dozen messages for some sort of explanation for what the kriff was going on.
Kenobi might be a charming flirt, but Cody seriously doubted he was having an affair with that many Senators. And the very end of the messages was a comm from Mace Windu. Cody opened it, hope and terror in his chest.
‘ Obi-Wan,’ it read, ‘Comm me back as soon as possible. I fear our appeal to lengthen the GAR war clause has failed. There were also changes to the service acts cause and Temple watch requirements.
I'm so sorry.’
What.
The.
KRIFF.
Cody stared at the message with cold terror in his heart as he opened the attached file the read ‘-Refermation Agreement Ammendments-’. There were only three clauses attached in crisp office Republic records print.
GAR Leadership Amendment
The Jedi as Servants of the Republic shall hereby be placed in control of the Galactic Army of the Republic created by the Kaminoin Cloning Corporation under the direction of the Order of the Senate.
They will be subject to military law and order as laid out by the Chancellor. They will take on the titles of ‘General’ and ‘Commander’ and lead their assigned troops to the glory of the Republic against the Separatists as ordered by the Senate.
They will be subject to any and all laws pertaining to the GAR functions from the Senate. If they fail or reject these clauses, they will be subject to military and Republic justice as laid out in the 5th Amendment of the Reformation Agreement.
For this act of service, they will be exempt from other service duties to the Senate and will be public until the end of the war for the betterment of the war effort. They will remain under this clause until the end of the war, when their act of service will be completed, and normal services and duties will return to effect immediately.
Cody stared. He'd known the Jedi had been placed in Leadership over the GAR, but he'd always thought they volunteered out of a sense of duty or were intervening so that people like Tarkin weren't in charge.
But they'd been, ordered to? Not given a choice but ordered to fight? To lead? To obey the Senate?
What the kriff was going on?
He moved to the Second clause.
Services and Duties Amendment.
The services and duties of the Jedi Order, Servants of the Republic, will continue as follows:
All services, acts, and duties that pertain to off-world missions performed by Jedi will cease immediately and are forbidden for the sake of public safety. The only exception will be with a permission form filled out by a Senator for the use of specified Jedi for a specified amount of time and specified locations.
Furthermore, all acts, duties, and services performed outside of the Temple grounds are hereby forbidden and must cease immediately for the sake of public safety. The only exception will be with a permission form filled out by a Senator for the use of a specified Jedi for a specified amount of time and specified locations.
All services and duties as outlined in previous clauses and amendments will continue.
What the kriff? What the kark ? Did-did the Senate just put the Jedi under house arrest?!
“What the kriff is going on?” Cody whispered to himself, sinking to sit on the closest surface. Could the Senate even do that? That didn't seem right.
Cody forced himself to look at the third clause forbidding growing in his gut.
Temple Requirements Amendment
From this point forward, no Jedi adolescents or adults will be allowed off the Temple grounds without having a level 2 Force Suppression administered to them before leaving.
No acts of the Force are allowed outside of the Temple grounds unless requested via the properly documented and filed form. They are strictly forbidden on Senate Grounds unless the proper form has been submitted by a member of the Senate along with the permission request during the duration of the requested Jedi's use as specified by the fixed form.
All duties and services of the Jedi Servants of the Republic are still required despite this added security measure.
Cody was shaking in rage. The Jedi relied on the Force. It kept them sane. It was part of how they perceived the world.
A level 2 Force Supressor was a level 3 narcotic . They were drugging the Jedi, not letting them leave their own homes, not letting them use part of themselves.
Cody shot to his feet, rage boiling over, as he grabbed his shoes. There had to be an explanation, a reason that made this whole nauseating affair make rational sense.
Cody stalked through the empty corridors, grateful that there was no one around. This needed to be a private discussion. He tried to taper down his rage as he knocked on Obi-Wan's door.
“Cody? I wasn't expecting anyone tonight. Come in.” Obi-Wan answered his door with a bright smile and a relaxed poster that made Cody want to scream or cry.
“I have your comm,” Cody said stiffly, stepping into Obi-Wan's quaint and cozy quarters. It smelled of tea and radiated safety. Was this the first time you lived somewhere safe?
“Ah, I see. Thank you for returning it. I take it this is yours?” Obi-Wan took the comm from Cody, scooped up the identical one on his bedside table, and held it out with an innocent smile on his face.
Cody couldn't bring himself to move, “I didn't realize it wasn't mine when I took it off silent.”
“Okay?” Obi-Wan asked, slowly setting Cody down and putting his on his bedside table. “If you accidentally read something, I really think we're beyond getting annoyed about such trivial things, Cody dear.”
“I did read some. I read 3,” Cody said haltingly, unsure of how to express his thoughts.
“Oh?” Obi-Wan asked, moving to his kitchenette, “That's quite alright-”
“Two of them were from the Senate.” Cody blurted.
Obi-Wan stilled back to him, but his shoulders were so tense Cody didn't need to see his face. He'd learned to read Obi-Wan's body language well over the years. He didn't want to be talking about this.
But they had to. Cody didn't think he'd ever find peace if they didn't.
“The third one was from Windu. I- I was trying to find an explanation. A reasoning. Something . I can't say I did.”
“Cody, please-” Obi-Wan choked out, his head falling as he hunched his shoulders back still to him, “Please do not ask.”
“After what I read, do you really think I could not? Who would I be then?” Cody whispered, despair growing at Obi-Wan's reaction. He held suspicions of what those messages meant, but in his heart of hearts, he didn't want to realize it. It was too much.
“You are a good man, Cody,” Obi-Wan said softly, finally turning to look at him with a sad smile on his face. It was as though he'd aged years in the last few moments. Like he was already slipping from the man, Cody knew until someone else. “You would still be a good man if you did not ask.”
“Not to me, I wouldn't be.” Cody said gently, “I'd just be one of those millions of people who didn't want to see the war, so they ignored it. Their wilful ignorance made them just as complicit.”
Obi-Wan nodded slowly, giving in with so little resistance than he would have given a week again a moment ago. “Alright. If you really want to know, I will tell you. But be warned,” Obi-Wan met his gaze. You will not like what you find.”
Cody watched as Obi-Wan returned to fixing them tea, I already don't.