Chapter Text
Though Obi-Wan would never admit it out loud, pretty much every droid he'd ever meet had more personality than Commander Cody.
Oh, the Commander was an excellent soldier, of that there was no doubt. He was competent, skilled at strategy, a good shot. Capable of leading men in battle, able to navigate the endless reams of flimsiwork that the GAR required of its leaders with ease. He was good at his job.
But that was all there was to the man, as far as Obi-Wan could tell. There was no personality outside of orders. Cody didn't have a sense of humour. He displayed no sign of having any emotion at all.
When they had first started working together at the beginning of the war, Obi-Wan had tried to make small talk with the man. Tried to ease the way, settle into a comfortable working relationship with the person he'd be spending all of his time with. All he ever got in return was a blank look, and the conversation diverted back to the war and their next orders.
From Obi-Wan's observations in the time that followed, he noted that Commander Cody had no hobbies, no friends. He didn't even have much of a presence in the Force, fading into the background. It was uncomfortable for Obi-Wan to acknowledge it, but the words meat-droid hit far too close to home where Commander Cody was concerned.
However, when it came to the other clones, Cody was the exception rather than the rule. Everyone else were people in the true sense of the word, bright sparks in the Force, brimming with life and personality and dreams. Obi-Wan got to know more of his battalion even past Cody. There was Gregor, and Crys, and Waxer and Boil. Every single one of them was an individual, for all that they shared the same face. They all found their own ways to personalise their appearance, and they were easy for Obi-Wan to tell apart through the Force.
For a while, Obi-Wan considered whether what Cody was like was specific to commanders. He had a slightly different code to the rest of Obi-Wan's troops, CC-class instead of CT. While he often worked with Anakin and the 501st, their Captain Rex was not commander class, so his theory still held if only with the one example.
It took the first time that the 212th joined up with the 104th for Obi-Wan to realise that he had it wrong. Obi-Wan had been looking forward to seeing Master Koon again. While Obi-Wan was rarely alone on the Negotiator, surrounded by his troops, his fellow Jedi were usually far away. It was always a relief to touch base with other Jedi, to feel them reach out to him in the Force and be able to reach back in return.
Master Koon was accompanied by his Commander. Obi-Wan had read the briefing, and knew that this was another CC-class clone—Commander Wolffe, the briefing had named him.
"Master Kenobi," Plo Koon greeting Obi-Wan as he approached, Cody following a few steps behind as always. They bowed to each other, and their Force presences touched each other. Master Koon was well, if a bit tired, and he knew that his fellow Master could sense the same of him.
"My Commander, Wolffe," Master Koon introduced. Wolffe was already standing ramrock straight, but he straightened even more, if that were possible. His salute was sharp, yet there was an laconic look in his eyes.
"Well met, sir." It was in his tone, as well—perfectly polite but with an edge to it. Commander Wolffe was a dangerous man, Obi-Wan decided, not one he'd want to get on his bad side even if he weren't a Jedi.
"This is Commander Cody," Obi-Wan said, turning and gesturing at the Commander to come closer. While Commander Cody's salute was just as crisp, Obi-Wan's heart jolted as seeing the two men stand side by side.
As always, Cody's expression was empty, his eyes blank. But Wolffe… the man had tensed, his posture the same but his Force presence tightening. They were as different as night and day, and Obi-Wan knew that he'd never be capable of mistaking Wolffe for a meat-droid. Just like the rest of Obi-Wan's troopers, his personality oozed off him in the Force.
Obi-Wan and Master Koon fell into step as they exited the hanger, headed to their briefing for the upcoming engagement. Their Commanders remained a few paces behind them, the tension from Commander Wolffe racketing with every step.
"You seem uneasy, Master Kenobi," Master Koon murmured as they walked. He kept his voice low enough that the Commanders might not have heard. "Is there anything I might assist you with?"
Obi-Wan considered whether he should express his concerns about Commander Cody to his fellow Jedi. Maybe Master Koon could sense something that Obi-Wan couldn't. But in the end, wasn't this a Clone matter? Obi-Wan didn't want to overstep. Not when his men had so few liberties already. They deserved everything he could give them, even if it was a little privacy in such a manner.
Commander Cody's lack of personality did not affect his performance in the field. In the end, that was all that Obi-Wan could ask.
"No," he said, knowing that Master Koon had sensed his conflict. "This is not something we can resolve."
Master Koon inclined his head, accepting Obi-Wan's answer. It was something that Obi-Wan liked about the man, his willingness to both help and to let go when it wasn't needed.
No, this wasn't something that Obi-Wan could solve—or indeed should. Just like Master Koon, he would have to let it go, and leave Commander Cody be.
Several months into the war, Obi-Wan found himself at loose ends during a rare stopover on Coruscant. The Council weren't meeting for once, most of its other members too busy with their respective campaigns. The 212th couldn't leave until their ship underwent necessary repairs after their last battle, and that would take several days.
Obi-Wan found himself itching for action mere hours into shore leave. He wasn't used to having nothing to do. He'd already finished all his reports, and he couldn't start planning the next campaign when his next destination hadn't been decided yet. And all of his fellow Jedi from his Padawan to his crechmates were off-planet.
Well, nearly all. Of course, Quinlan Vos could smell Obi-Wan's boredom from a parsec away, and he descended on him before Obi-Wan had a chance to do more than pace around his living room.
He really should have known better than to agree to tag along on Quinlan's mission. Just an investigation, Quinlan had said. A stroll around the lower levels, help out the Guard a bit. It sounded unsanctioned, but so was most of what Quinlan ever did. He'd thought that the mention of the Guard meant that it actually could be as simple as it sounded.
It went sideways in the first hour. And now, more than two rotations into Quinlan's low-key op, he was hiding with Quinlan and Commander Fox in a room barely bigger than a storage closest, waiting for their target across the lane to finally leave.
"I don't know why I let you drag me out on these," Obi-Wan informed Quinlan, not for the first time since they had squeezed into room. Quinlan only smirked at him in return, his Force presence flaring with mirth.
"I sincerely apologise for him," Obi-Wan told Commander Fox. While Obi-Wan definitely should have known better, he still wasn't certain how the Commander had been dragged into all of this.
The man snorted, waving him off. "I'm used to it," he said, tone wry. "Beats doing even more flimsywork." For all their tense situation, the Commander was relaxed. It was clear that there was a familiarity between Quinlan and the Commander, especially with the way they had kept ribbing each other all mission, all careful snark masking clear competence.
Obi-Wan had met many commanders, by this point. Every time, he watched them, wondering if they would be like Cody. They never were. His Commander was the exception, not the rule.
Quinlan leant against a shelf, head tilted back and eyes closed. The only sign that he was still awake was the way he rapped gloved fingers on a shelf, tapping out a rhythm known only to him. Beside him, Fox sat cross-legged, carefully checking over his weapons.
It occurred to Obi-Wan that this could be an opportunity to learn more about the clones without the impedance of rank, if Fox were willing. Commander Fox was not under Obi-Wan's command. And Obi-Wan suspected that Commander Fox would be very willing to tell Obi-Wan to shove it if there was something he didn't want to share.
"Were all commanders trained together, on Kamino?" Obi-Wan asked. He knew that the troops trained in squads, and that the Alphas and Nulls had gone through their own specialised training. But he didn't know much about the Commanders—it wasn't as if Cody was particularly chatty.
Fox paused in his cleaning for a long moment before resuming. "In our batches, yes," he said, not looking up from his rifle. He didn't elaborate further.
Obi-Wan hesitated. It wasn't much of an answer, but at least Commander Fox hadn't shot him down completely. "I know that some of the troopers also had ARC training," he continued. "Was that part of the general training for commanders?"
At this, Commander Fox did look up at him. Obi-Wan couldn't see his eyes through the visor on his helmet, but he could feel Commander Fox's attention focus on him, sharp and narrow and guarded.
He had pushed too far. "My apologies," Obi-Wan said as lightly as he could manage. "Just trying to pass the time. You don't have to answer."
Fox continued to study Obi-Wan, his guard up. Then he abruptly slumped. "Kark. You're Cody's jetii, aren't you?"
Obi-Wan's eyebrows shot up at the use of Mando'a. If his troopers knew the language, they never used it around him.
Rather than wait for a response, Commander Fox twisted to look at Quinlan. "This jetii—do you trust him?"
The tapping stopped. Quinlan's eyes opened, glancing between the two other men before his eyes landed on Obi-Wan and stopped.
"With your life," Quinlan said, and oh. There was more than just a familiarity between Quinlan and Commander Fox. This was a comfort, a trust earned. A deep one—after all, it wasn't Quinlan's own life he said he would trust to Obi-Wan. That was a trust that Obi-Wan had held ever since they were younglings. No, Quinlan said he'd trust Obi-Wan with Commander Fox's life, and that was a different story altogether.
Quinlan seriously drove Obi-Wan up the wall at times—most times, in fact—but his trust was precious, and something that Obi-Wan was determined to make sure he continued to be worthy of.
"Cody is…" Fox let out a deep breath. "He's my batchmate. We grew up together. But he wasn't Cody, then. His true name—the one he was given by Prime—is Kote."
"Glory," Obi-Wan translated, eyebrows coming together.
Fox gave him a sharp look. "You knew mando'a?"
Obi-Wan mouth quirked. "I spent a year on Mandalore as a Padawan," he said. "I've always been good at picking up languages, and I had ample time then." Especially with all the time he and Satine spent debating—she often slipped back into her native tongue when she was sufficiently riled up.
"Right," Fox said, looked sceptical for some reason. "Point is, Kote was—he was the best of us."
Then the tale of a younger Cody started to pour out of Fox, a flood of information. Kote was a bright spark, Fox told him, scarily competent and brilliant even as a cadet. Alpha's protege, which made sense how he had ended up in Obi-Wan's command—as far as he was aware Alpha was the one to make the recommendation for his replacement after their time together.
But it was Kote's heart that was the most notable, big enough to hold the whole clone cohort under his wing.
"He practically adopted Rex," Fox said. "You've met him, right? Kote took one look at the blond mutie by himself and immediately decided to look after him. Trained him the way we were being trained, made sure the longnecks didn't pick on him."
Obi-Wan's head span. The love that Fox held for his brother was evident in both Fox's voice, and also blazing in the Force, mixed with a deep grief. "I see that Kote was very important to you."
"Not just me," Fox said. "We knew we needed our own leader, for when we went out into the world. Someone to advocate for the rest of us, be our representative. And we chose Kote."
Obi-Wan tried to imagine Commander Cody as the person that Fox described. He couldn't reconcile the two images in his mind. The brother that Fox talked about was completely different from the Commander, so much so that he couldn't believe they were the same man at all.
"What happened?" Obi-Wan asked, keeping his voice low. Nearby, Quinlan stopped pretending not to pay attention, his eyes fixing on Fox.
Fox slumped against the wall, shoulder dropping. "No one knows for sure. Happened not that long before we all deployed. None of us were there." Obi-Wan flinched as shame and regret poured out of Fox, though his expression showed none of it. "But the longnecks took him away and reconditioned him. Wiped out everything that was Kote."
Obi-Wan sucked in a breath at the word. The Council had heard rumours of such things, but had no proof. Shaak Ti was still looking into it, but the Kaminoans were excellent at covering their tracks.
"He's nothing more than an empty shell now," Fox said. "Didn't recognise his name. Wouldn't respond to anything but his serial number. We managed to convince him to accept Cody because it would be faster to say on the battlefield, less syllables. Same for the armour paint. All done for expediency, no emotions or thought behind it."
"That must have been hard," Obi-Wan said. He looked at Quinlan, tried to imagine what it would be like for such a thing to happen to him or one of his crechemates—or Force forbid, Anakin. He couldn't even begin to comprehend such a loss. Death, but not, because the person was still there.
"We try to keep an eye on him, me and his other batchmates, but we're all spread out through the whole karking galaxy now. We don't often get to be in the same place."
"The 212th works with Captain Rex and the 501st a lot," Obi-Wan pointed out.
Fox grimaced. "It hit Rex hardest. He looked up to Kote. You've noticed his obsession with regulations, right? He follows them desperately, tries to stop what happened to Kote from happening to anyone else."
That explained a lot about Captain Rex. Obi-Wan had observed the man's contradictions, the way he focused on regulation but was still capable of following Anakin on what were frankly insane battle manoeuvres.
"Commander Cody is skilled," Obi-Wan said. "He is a formidable soldier."
Fox choked back a laugh. "You should have seen him before," he said. "Put it this way—his name was well earned. Imagine what he might have been like now, with some real experience under his belt."
"Is he still your leader?" Quinlan interjected for the first time, eyes still fixed on Fox.
"It isn't as if that matters now," Fox said. "I'm not sure if the rank and file even knew who Kote was before it happened. And as long as the war continues, the Senate is never going to let us go. The war's not ending anytime soon. If there's any of us left by then, we can figure it out."
Obi-Wan couldn't say that he didn't share Fox's fatalism. It also felt as if the war would never end, that they would end up fighting and dying until there was nothing left of either of their people. When Obi-Wan tried to consult the Force, it provided no comfort either. Darkness hung like a fog over everything, drowning out their path forward.
He went to speak—not entirely sure what he could say—but movement from the door they were watching halted him in his tracks. It seemed their break was over. Instead, they quickly geared back up, and all Obi-Wan could do was lay a hand on Fox's pauldron in what paltry comfort he could offer.
Fox had provided Obi-Wan with a lot to think about. Not to mention, his trust, that Obi-Wan would continue to look after his brother.
Obi-Wan would do his best. Perhaps there was a way to reverse what the Kaminoans had done to Commander Cody. Maybe, after the war, there would be the time to figure it out. To bring the fight for the clone's freedom to the Senate on Commander Cody's behalf, let them live the lives they deserved.
Until then, he just had to keep the both of them alive to do so.