Chapter Text
Cody returns to his quarters and finds a neatly folded cape on his bunk. He isn’t sure what to make of that. He sets it aside and then activates one of the many datapads he took from Dooku’s study. This one is a diary of sorts, and it does mention how Dooku, under the name Tyrannus, reached out to Jango Fett to be the template for a clone army.
Does it mean something that it was the Sith, not the Count, who set the vode’s creation in motion? If Dooku is a Separatist general, did he make sure the vode were created with some kind of deficiency or weakness he could exploit? It doesn’t make sense that he would help create the army that would stand between him and what he wanted.
Unless, winning the war isn’t what Dooku wants.
What do Sith want? Power, control. Dooku has the Separatists and the droid army behind him. If he did put a weakness in the vode, then he could easily become the one with the largest army. But there’s something about Sith. What is it the Jedi whisper about?
There are always two.
They are selfish. They are greedy. And their fear and their ambition compete for control. A master and apprentice, always locked in a battle against each other. If Dooku is the apprentice, he will want his master dead. That…Cody might be able to work with that.
First, he needs to figure out what weakness Tyrannus or Dooku or whoever it was put into the vode.
Cody wishes he was on The Negotiator, but needs must. He goes to Rex, who he trusts possibly more than anyone else in the galaxy, and they go together to the medbay and pull Kix into his office. The chief medic’s office is secure, and it’s regularly swept for bugs, because medical information is private.
Cody looks at his two vode. Rex doesn’t know anything except that Cody needed a medic he could trust. Kix knows even less.
“Darth Tyrannus hired Jango Fett to be the template for the clone army,” Cody says, because there’s no good way to ease into this.
“That’s what was on the pads you stole from Dooku’s palace?” Rex asks. He drags a hand down his face. “How fucked are we?”
“That’s what I need Kix’s help to find out,” Cody answers. “Fizz too once I’m back on The Negotiator. I don’t know if there’s any meaningful distinction between Tyrannus and Dooku, between Sith and Separatist. For now, I’m going to assume no. Which means our enemy, and the Jedi’s, had a hand in creating the army he now faces.”
“You think he did something to us,” Kix says.
“It’s a logical conclusion,” Cody says. “We need to figure out what it is, how bad it is, and if we can interfere with it. It most likely happened on Kamino.”
Kix’s face drains of color. “The behavior modification chips. We’ve never gotten an answer on what they are except insurance against the Prime’s more aggressive tendencies. Why if they’re more than that? Dooku has connections to droid foundries. What if he put a kill switch in our heads?”
“At any time, he could wipe out our entire force?” Cody asks.
“Or switch our loyalty?” Rex suggests. He raises his hands when they both look at him. “We seem to be thinking worst case scenarios. That’s mine.”
“We need to study one of these chips,” Cody says.
“Brain surgery isn’t my specialty,” Kix says. “But Nitro is part of the 501st. Do you want to read him in?”
Cody wants to say no, keep this small until they know what they need to guard again, but he knows better than to fuck around with brain surgery. “We read him in.”
“Wait,” Rex says. He hesitates, which is unlike him, and then he stares at the ground as he continues. “There are strict protocols for disposing of vode.”
“We still have dead onboard,” Kix says. “Dissection, I can do.” He looks to Cody for whether or not they need to sneak a dead vod out of stasis in order to crack their head open.
Cody takes a deep breath. “Our vode are marching. They aren’t in their bodies anymore. This is for the protection of the rest of us. As long as we’re respectful, they’ll understand.”
#
The chip that is supposed to curb their aggression is a combination of Cody and Rex’s worst case scenarios that has then been made exponentially worse. It’s a command chip. And each command on it is more horrifying than the last.
“We need to get these out,” Cody says. “Discreetly and quickly. We need to dechip the entire GAR. Or find a way to render them inactive.”
He, Kix, and Rex are in Kix’s office again. There have been a few questioning looks from the vode who have noticed the amount of time they’re spending cooped up together. It isn’t very discreet. Cody will have to come up with some kind of cover.
“I don’t know who or what activates them,” Kix says. “Which means removal. And that will be slow going. Not to mention the time it will take to spread the word. We can’t do this over comms. It has to be word of mouth.”
“Commanders and medics,” Cody says. “And a code so we know when each battalion is dechipped. We can’t risk making any big moves until we aren’t a liability.” His nightmares have been haunted by a whispered Execute Order 71, which causes him to draw his blaster and shoot each of his vode with military precision, before finally turning the blaster on himself.
“Are we planning any big moves?” Rex asks.
“I am,” Cody answers. He doesn’t offer any additional information and neither Rex nor Kix press.
#
The war drags on. Cody was one of the first to have his chip removed, and he has to keep himself from rubbing the former incision site. There’s no scar, because they couldn’t risk it. They don’t know who the second Sith is, they don’t know who is banking on an army they can control at a moment’s notice, and so everything must be secret.
Cody takes on more responsibility as his trust in General Jinn erodes. It’s difficult to look General Jinn in the eye knowing he left a child in a warzone. It’s nearly impossible to trust him with the lives of Cody’s vode so…Cody doesn’t.
And then Umbara happens, and Cody’s trust in the Jedi Order as a whole is virtually nonexistent. At least Cody was able to prevent the worst of the disaster, thanks to the private comm line he and Rex have, now that they’re engaging in GAR-wide subterfuge.
The vode don’t shoot each other, but Krell is furious at his plan being stymied. He is the only Jedi on Umbara, because Generals Skywalker and Jinn are both on Coruscant. Cody has spent so much time fighting with Jedi, and yet he never considered how much damage they could do if they had to fight against them.
Krell kills nearly two-hundred vode before Rex takes him down, leaping onto his back and slicing his throat with a knife. Later, Rex tells Cody that he remembered the Prime’s stories, about how the best option against Jedi were close quarters.
Cody’s helmet footage is enough to prove that Krell was a clear and present danger and that they had no option but to use lethal force. And the almost two-hundred dead vode is enough to soothe any worries that the vode might turn on the Jedi and kill them on a whim. A mark goes on Rex’s record that ensures he’ll never be promoted past captain, but Rex tells Cody that commander is too much responsibility anyway.
After Umbara, Commander Headshot of the 321st battalion becomes the last commander to report that their battalion is dechipped. Cody takes a moment to thank the ancestors and then he tells General Windu that he is taking two weeks of leave off-planet. General Windu, who has looked weary since the report on Krell’s betrayal, doesn’t even put up a token protest. He offers Cody his choice of Temple ships and a small stipend.
Cody flies to Melidaan with a terrible idea, one that borders on treason, one that he can’t ask any of his vode to help him with. He needs someone outside the GAR, someone he trusts, someone Dooku trusts.
Obi-Wan greets Cody at the Zehava spaceport, but he takes one look at Cody’s face, no doubt as exhausted and grim as General Windu’s and says, “This isn’t a visit for pancakes.”
“It isn’t,” Cody agrees. “This is about sentiment and about trust and a very big gamble.”
Obi-Wan listens to everything Cody has to say, messages Cerasi to tell her he’s going off-planet, messages Mawat to tell him about the chips, and then escorts Cody onto his personal ship, a sleek stealth ship that is fast and, unlike Cody’s, doesn’t have the Temple insignia on it.
“You’re harboring deserters here,” Cody says as Obi-Wan prepares for takeoff. He doesn’t even have to tell Sid to disable communications and trackers. After Obi-Wan doesn’t answer Cerasi’s first comm or her more frantic second one, Sid makes it so they can’t be contacted or followed.
“No one should have to fight a war,” Obi-Wan says.
Cody doesn’t begrudge his vode the opportunity to live or to live freely. He does wish he didn’t have to fight, but that’s what this mission is about, isn’t it? Ending the war? And then what? He and his vode aren’t citizens. What happens when there isn’t a war to fight, and they’re still alive?
“How big is Melidaan?” Cody asks, unsure if he’s joking or not.
“Big enough,” Obi-Wan answers. “It would be like campaigns in the beginning, tents and temporary structures, but it wouldn’t take long to build proper cities.”
“You can’t mean that,” Cody says. Hope still traitorously flutters in his chest.
“Can’t I?” Obi-Wan makes sure they’re headed toward their destination and the auto-nav is all set before he turns his chair to face Cody. “I know firsthand how the Jedi looks after their own.”
Cody is the first to look away. There are things they should probably talk about, but Cody isn’t entirely sure he’s going to live through this mission or that he won’t be decommissioned if he does survive so instead of talking, he leans in and kisses Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan kisses back.
#
They arrive on Serenno. Cody is pleasantly surprised when they aren’t shot out of the air. He supposes Dooku must be curious why they’re here. If they can keep him interested, they’ll live. Or, Obi-Wan will, at least.
Obi-Wan secures the cape Cody had brought with him. It’s gaudy, heavy velvet with a gold chain to hold it in place. It’s worth it for the way Dooku’s right eye twitches when he sees Obi-Wan descend the landing ramp wearing the cape he stole from Dooku’s room the last time they were on this planet.
“Count Dooku.” Obi-Wan offers a sweeping bow that he follows up with a smirk that is far from friendly or polite. “We haven’t been properly introduced, but you may recognize me from your security feeds.”
“Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Dooku says. He looks to Cody. “And Marshal Commander Cody. This in an unexpected visit.”
“Which is the only reason, I presume, we’re both alive,” Obi-Wan says. “Curiosity.” He offers another smile. “Where are your manners, Count? Aren’t you going to invite us in?”
“You realize I could kill you both at any moment,” Count Dooku says.
Obi-Wan sighs and looks over at Cody. “This won’t work if he isn’t smart.” To Dooku, Obi-Wan says, “Yes, we clearly knew that before we make the decision to voluntarily fly to Serenno and visit you. The cost for us answering your questions is a glass of brandy. The good stuff.”
Cody sees Dooku consider whether he should cut them both down where they’re standing before he leads them into the palace. Dooku brings them to his personal wing, and only a sharp look from Cody keeps Obi-Wan from making another comment about how they’ve been here before.
Once they each have a tumbler of brandy and are seated in chairs that are as comfortable as they are ostentatious, Dooku lifts an imperious eyebrow. Obi-Wan makes a show of sipping his brandy. Dooku turns his eyebrow on Cody.
“Which identity guides you, Count Dooku or Darth Tyrannus?” Cody asks.
He manages to catch Dooku off guard, because the man takes a sip of his own drink to buy himself time before he answers. “Does it matter?”
“It does. I’m here to end the war, and I need to know who I should be appealing to.”
Dooku’s smile is slow spreading and condescending. “The two of you are here to end the war?”
“Just so,” Obi-Wan answers. “Now, are we negotiating with a Separatist leader or a Sith apprentice?”
“I know you asked General Jinn to join you,” Cody says. “And your personal encryptions are keyed to your lineage signature. Either you’re sentimental or you’re searching for an ally.”
“Could be both,” Obi-Wan says.
“Qui-Gon made it very clear he had no interest in aligning himself with me,” Dooku says.
“That makes both of us,” Obi-Wan says. And then the air around them shifts and he smiles. “Hello, grandmaster.”
“Isn’t this interesting,” Dooku says. “Are you two offering to defect?”
“Hardly,” Obi-Wan says. “Cody is loyal to the GAR, and I spent too much of my, admittedly brief, apprenticeship convincing Jinn I wouldn’t Fall to go and do it now. But you don’t want a Sith apprentice.”
Dooku seems amused. “Is that so?”
“Thanks to Jinn’s paranoia, I spent a lot of time researching darksiders. The Sith are their own brand of trouble. There’s always two, but there’s always a few waiting in the wings, because master and apprentice are always trying to kill each other. You want to overthrow the Sith master, and we’re all for that. You want to become the Sith master. We’re a little less for it, but needs must. You don’t want an apprentice that’s not-so-secretly plotting to kill you. And I don’t want to be a Sith. So. A good alignment of interests.”
“You are a failed Jedi apprentice, and you think you’ll be able to take on a Sith master without any additional training?” Dooku asks.
Rather than growing offended, Obi-Wan laughs. “I certainly don’t intend to duel him. I’m sure there’s a way for him to have an…unfortunate accident. We approached you, because we believe you want him as dead as we do, and you know his identity.”
“You’ll never get close enough,” Dooku says. He sips his drink again. And then, like he’s humoring them, he says, “It’s Chancellor Palpatine.”
“That’s inconvenient,” Obi-Wan says.
Cody thinks it makes those orders on the chips make a lot more sense. And also why this war has been a clusterfuck from the beginning. The Chancellor the Republic is a Sith master.
“I expected more surprise,” Dooku admits.
“We already knew you were involved in both sides of the war,” Cody points out. “The objective is destabilization?” And then, once the galaxy is on the brink of destruction, Palpatine offers himself as a benevolent dictator who will make everything better, for the simple price of the galaxy’s freedom.
“I was enslaved at twelve and a child solider at thirteen,” Obi-Wan says. “Very little surprises me. But we can work with this. The Chancellor has a busy schedule, and, thanks to Cody’s connections, we have access to it.”
“He is very prescient,” Dooku says. “Catching him off guard is nearly impossible.”
“Ah, ah, ah.” Obi-Wan holds a finger up. “The future is always in motion. Who only know what will happen in any given moment?”
“Qui-Gon was your master for less than a year, how was he such a terrible influence?”
Obi-Wan laughs and there isn’t anything pleasant about the sound.
“I might have an idea,” Dooku says. He looks between Cody and Obi-Wan. “Two questions first. You were a child soldier. How are your skills now?”
Obi-Wan’s smile is all sharp teeth. “Better.”
“Why are you doing this?” Dooku asks. At Obi-Wan’s blink of surprise, he continues. “You know I want to see my master killed so that I am the Sith master. And the clone commander wants to fight for the glory of the Republic. But what about you?”
“I’m as easy as you both,” Obi-Wan says. He takes a long sip of his drink and makes a show of savoring it. “I want Cody. And I know I won’t have him, all of him, until the war is over.”
Dooku glances between them, as if assessing the truth of Obi-Wan’s answer. “Fascinating,” he says. “There are the beginnings of a plot to stage a kidnapping of the Chancellor so that young Skywalker can rescue him and strengthen the bonds between them.”
“General Skywalker?” Cody asks.
Obi-Wan laughs again. “The Sith master is already grooming his next apprentice? No wonder you’re eager to see him dead. What’s my role in this?”
“Be part of the crew that kidnaps the Chancellor. I can get you onto it. The details of the plan, I will leave to you. I can’t reveal anything I don’t know.”
Obi-Wan considers this and then shrugs. “I’ve worked with worse.”
“Commander Cody, of course, will remain here as collateral.” Dooku’s smile is sharp and dares either of them to argue. “Give me what I want, Obi-Wan, and I will give you what you want.”
“And if I refuse, you kill us both right now.” Obi-Wan looks over at Cody. “Shall I agree for the both of us?”
“Can you negotiate for a night together before you leave?” Cody asks Obi-Wan, purposefully pretending as if Dooku isn’t here. It makes Dooku’s eye twitch again. Cody figures he might as well have a bit of fun before he’s a prisoner and/or killed.
Dooku’s smile is dangerous, a reminder that he’s a Separatist general and Sith apprentice, both. “You have more than an evening. Commander Kenobi will prove his worth to the bounty hunter team I’m assembling by killing the highest-ranking clone in the GAR.”
Obi-Wan and Cody exchange looks.
Fuck.
#
The thing is, Cody is treated better as Dooku’s hostage than he was as an officer in the GAR. He has a proper bed with a comfortable mattress and enough space to stretch in every direction. He has three solid meals a day with food that is distinguishable and delicious. He has more hot water than he knows what to do with, meaning showers and baths when he’s bored or feeling indulgent.
To make up for the luxuries, Dooku does things like show Cody the footage from his funeral and ask him if his fellow clones now have a shoot-on-sight order for Kenobi. It’s a long two weeks before Cody gets the news that the Chancellor of the Republic was kidnapped by bounty hunters and then, in a most unfortunate turn of events, the ship he was being held on exploded.
The holonews reports there are no survivors, but Dooku tells Cody to have hope and then laughs and leaves Cody alone to pray to the ancestors that Obi-Wan is safe. Cody doesn’t have to pray long before he receives news that Obi-Wan’s ship is in orbit and beginning landing protocol.
Cody isn’t surprised when Dooku escorts him personally to the hangar. Obi-Wan saunters down the landing ramp with a beard that’s a few days longer and hair that’s a bit more unruly and dark circles under his eyes as if he hasn’t been sleeping. He doesn’t look as relaxed as Cody would expect for a man who just killed a Sith master.
Sid races down the landing ramp, catching up to Obi-Wan and then passing him. She scolds Dooku for mixing Obi-Wan up with a group of scoundrels like that and tell him that he owes her, because she had to fight off four different attempts to put a restraining bolt on her, one to steal her memory, and one to wipe it.
She jabs him to emphasize her point, and Cody doesn’t realize it’s an actual attack until Dooku slumps on the ground in an undignified heap.
Obi-Wan grins and pats Sid’s dome. “Good thing I kept the engine running,” he says.
Good thing you have me, she retorts.
Obi-Wan gets all of them back on his ship and off of Serenno before security comes to investigate. He pulls out a fancy pair of cuffs and secures Dooku in the ship’s brig before he joins Cody in the cockpit.
“Hello,” Obi-Wan says. He kisses Cody soundly, a far more thorough greeting. Cody thinks they may have kept it up all the way to Coruscant if Sid didn’t interrupt them, demanding a chance to say hello herself.
Obi-Wan doesn’t talk about the bounty hunting crew save for a single comment that he has no interest in the profession, but he does tell Cody about how Hondo enjoys drugging people at parties in order to kidnap and then ransom them. He didn’t think he’d get Dooku to drink anything without testing it, but Sid was a much better delivery option anyway. Few sentients considered droids threats. Not astromechs anyway. The droids they feared were the ones marching in the Separatists’ army.
Obi-Wan contacts a few people once they reach Coruscant, and they’re given direct access to the 500 Republica hangar. They also have an escort.
“Technically, I killed you to gain access to a group of mercenary bounty hunters and then not only kidnapped the Chancellor of the Republic but then assassinated him instead of ransoming him.” Obi-Wan grimaces. “We’ll be lucky if I’m not shot on sight.”
Cody leaves his helmet off, to decrease the amount of time it takes to recognize him. He and Obi-Wan both retrieve their prisoner together.
Dooku, his hair mussed from its usual pristine style and his cape rumpled from using it as a blanket, glares at both of them.
“Come now, none of that,” Obi-Wan chides as he escorts Dooku off his ship. They pause on the landing ramp, out of sight of their welcoming party. “The arrangement was that I would help rid you of your Sith master, and Cody would remain unharmed in your care. We didn’t speak of what would happen after.”
“Were you working with the Jedi this whole time?” Dooku asks. He raises his wrists to show off the Force inhibiting cuffs.
“I’m not a Jedi,” Obi-Wan answers. “The cuffs were a loan from an old Mandalorian contact I have. I told him I was bringing in the Jedi responsible for Galidraan, and he was more than happy to part with the cuffs.”
“I am a Separatist general and leader, you have no right to hold me,” Dooku says. “Secession is legal, and no one can fault me for fighting back when the Republic tried to keep me and my fellow allies from leaving.”
“Perhaps,” Cody says. He isn’t sure the nuances of galactic law, but he’s sure someone out there waiting for them does. “But you aren’t here for the actions you’ve taken as Count Dooku. You’re here for your actions as Darth Tyrannus.” Cody flicks his gazes toward Obi-Wan and draws strength from him. “We have the datapads from your office, the ones you were keeping as insurance against Palpatine. And while cloning is legal on Kamino, and you found a successful loophole there, the command chips were not. And the thing about clones, Darth Tyrannus, is that we were treated all the same. So, for every charge we have against you, multiply it by 3.2 million.”
Satisfied, Cody nods at Obi-Wan and they descend the landing ramp. Cody knows they have an audience, but he wasn’t expecting who exactly it would be. Their welcoming committee is made up of Bail Organa, Rhyikk, two senators he doesn’t know on sight, General Windu, and General Yoda.
“Interim-Chancellor,” Obi-Wan greets with a nod toward Bail Organa. “Esteemed senators. Master Jedi. I’m sure you all have some questions.”
“I’m glad to see you alive and well, Commander Cody,” General Windu says. “With the Chancellor’s permission, I will tell Commander Ponds, and he will tell the rest of the GAR.”
“Interim-Chancellor,” Organa says, looking like a man who knows it won’t be interim much longer and isn’t sure whether that’s a good thing or not. “And yes, you have my permission. I’m sure the reporters have snuck in cameras, and I’d rather Commander Cody’s men hear from each other than the tabloids.”
“Vode,” Cody corrects. He wonders when he got so bold as to correct a Republic politician. “They’re my vode, Chancellor. And thank you. Darth Tyrannus showed me my funeral. My death was distressing to some of my vode, and I’m glad they’ll know the truth soon.”
They’re escorted inside the building and then deep underground to where political prisoners are taken for questioning. Dooku receives a comfortable cell with two Republic guards and two Temple guardians to keep watch. The two guards are both part of Fox’s command, and they snap smart salutes when they spot Cody.
“At ease,” he tells them. And then, because it’s been a long few weeks; hell, it’s been a long few years, he adds. “Keep an eye on him. I don’t think faking my death will work a second time.”
“No, sir,” Kal’ika, named by Skirata himself says. “Commander Fox and Commander Wolffe say if you try it again, they’ll track you down and make it permanent.”
Cody laughs, even though he knows it’s a very real threat. “They’d have to fight Rex for it, I imagine.”
Obi-Wan also has some parting words, but his are for Dooku, not his guard. Obi-Wan stands at the edge of the force shield that acts as a door. “I’m not sure we’ll see each other again, Dooku, which is fine by me. Spending this time with you…” Obi-Wan trails off, considering his next words. “Qui-Gon Jinn makes so much more sense.”
“Come now, there’s no need for insults,” Dooku says. “You and I, we could have made a very good team. I never would have abandoned you.”
Cody reaches for Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan allows their hands to brush before he says, “It seems you were misinformed. Qui-Gon didn’t abandon me on Melida/Daan. I chose to stay.” Obi-Wan turns away from Dooku’s cell. “I suppose it’s my turn now.”
Obi-Wan and Cody are brought to interrogation rooms, not cells. They’re split up here, and Cody understands two separate investigations and inquiries, they’ll want to see if there are any mismatches in their stories, but he finds it difficult to move his feet in the opposite direction as Obi-Wan.
“It is quite alright,” Obi-Wan says, as if he can sense Cody’s discomfort.
And then Sid reminds everyone that she is here, and she also participated in the takedown of one Sith and the capture of another, and that she will require an interrogation as well.
“You are a droid,” one of the accompanying senators says.
And? Sid demands dangerously. She may not be sentient by the galaxy’s definition, but there is no restraining bolt on her, which means she is free, and she makes her own choices. The Force inhibitor and the sedative were her ideas, because Dooku would be able to sense if Obi-Wan had any plans to doublecross him, but droids are much more difficult to read. She sees herself as a hero, but since her allies are being treated as criminals, she will share in their fate.
“Sid,” Obi-Wan says, hopelessly fond. “Haven’t you watched enough holodramas with me to know you should wait until you speak with a lawyer to say anything?”
General Windu politely clears this throat.
“Ah, yes.” Obi-Wan spares one final glance for Sid before he says, “I assume you will be the lead in my case, as there is a conflict of interest if it was Master Yoda. That, incidentally, will be part of what I tell you.”
It’s Cody who is led into a room with Master Yoda, Chancellor Organa, a senator, eight guards, and a harried woman who introduces herself as public counsel.
“It all began with a relief mission to Morova,” Cody says.
#
Cody’s relationship with Obi-Wan begins on Morova. He’s worried it will end on Coruscant, but Cody is released with a medal of honor and, even better, instead of a promotion he’s able to oversee the end of the war and then start his life as a civilian. And Obi-Wan, also, is released from Coruscant after some sleight of hand which makes it seem as if he was a sleeper agent this whole time. It legitimizes his and Cody’s operation and it keeps Obi-Wan out of prison, so Cody goes along with the lie.
Their relationship continues on Melidaan, where Cody learns just how many dead vode were actually only missing. Cody can’t help but stare when he realizes just how many there are. He’s grateful they’re alive and hurt he had thought they were dead, and Rex tells him it’s fucking payback, punches Cody’s shoulder and then hugs him. Obi-Wan, of course, reassures Cody that he’s special, because he’s the only vod Obi-Wan himself pretended to kill in order to save.
Cody ends each day in bed with Obi-Wan, and he starts each new one with pancakes, slathered in myrish berry syrup. The syrup really is quite good. The company is better.