Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or any of its characters. They belong to Disney. I only own my OC Luh Yukura!

I hope you'll like it! I really would be happy if you left a comment! ^^

btw: May the Forth be with you! ^^

Every Ending Has A Beginning

Cody had seen countless of people dying. Most of them were his own brothers. But he had never before taken a life that was precious to him. That is why he was now sitting away from his Unit, while his soldiers followed the cloaked man's orders. Cody was supposed to follow them as well, but he found himself unable to do so. Maybe it was his punishment for killing a great friend and comrade, because if he were as mindless as his brothers were now, he wouldn't feel the self-hate and sadness.

He, clone Commander CC-2224 called Cody, was grieving for the friend that had died by his order and therefore by his hand.

The first time Cody had met him, was back on Kamino when the clones were not fighting in the war just yet. He hadn't even gained his name yet, he was just CC-2224 back then. Rumours had spread that someone had landed on Kamino, something that had not happened before, at least not since the first clones were produced. That was the reason why he – and a few of his brothers – had secretly sneaked away to get a look at the offworlder.

Cody had been very curious. He had never seen a human that looked different from him and his brothers, they all looked the same. So he and his brothers stealthily walked through the seemingly endless corridors of Kamino, using all the training they had, until they reached their destination. They had taken cover behind a wall from where they had a good sight at the man who was talking with one of the Kaminoans. The man was way smaller than the Kaminoan, but that was to be expected, Cody and his brothers were as well after all.

The man had reddish hair that reached his shoulders and spotted a beard, but what really caught Cody's attention were the striking blue-green eyes of the man. They looked full of life, yet with a hint of grieve and sadness in them and Cody wondered what the man could have seen that caused his eyes to look like that.

"He seems to have angered the Kaminoan!" one of Cody's brothers stated.

Cody turned to look at his brother but quickly turned back to watch the offworlder who spoke calm and almost soothingly, causing the Kaminoan to calm down again. Quite a feet, for Kaminoans were easy to anger, but hard to soothe.

"Have you seen that?" his brothers asked.

"How did he do this?"

The questions went on, but Cody ignored the whispers behind him. He watched how the Kaminoan finally nodded and bowed, the man in his brown robe smiled satisfied and bowed as well. Then the Kaminoan turned and walked away, leaving the man standing behind.

"You can come out now, I won't bite!" the stranger called, his eyes darting to where Cody and his brothers were hiding.

"How does he know we are here?" his brother sounded shocked.

"The Kaminoan has not seen us, so how does he know?"

"What are we going to do now?" a good question, but Cody had already found an answer.

The man seemed harmless and he wanted to get a better look at him, so he hesitantly stood up from his crouching position.

"What are you doing?" one of his brothers exclaimed shocked.

"CC-2224, you don't intend to go to him, do you?" another one asked uncertain.

"You can't!"

"In fact I do and can!" he answered and finally stepped out of his hiding spot.

The man smiled encouragingly and Cody's nervousness disappeared almost immediately. He slowly approached the other male, who had his hand folded in the arms of his robe and seemed calm.

When Cody finally stood right before the man he would later get to know as his General, he noticed that the man was slightly smaller than him. It didn't seem to bother the other male however.

What startled Cody was the fact that the man was calmly gazing into his eyes. The Kaminoans had often enough told them that he and his brothers were simple objects ordered by someone and created by them. Yet the man was not looking at him as if he were a scientific experiment or a product to buy.

"Hello there," the man greeted.

Cody immediately decided that he liked his voice. He nodded, "Who are you?"

The other male's eyes suddenly sparkled with something akin to mischief, "Straight to the point I see," he chuckled, "I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi!"

"Jedi Master?" Cody asked.

"The Jedi are part of an ancient organization. We study the Force and follow its will and in exchange we are able to use it," the man explained patiently.

"What is this Force?"

"Well, the Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together." Cody nodded hesitantly. "I am sorry that I cannot explain it better, but not even the oldest and wisest Jedi really know what the Force is with all its shapes and I know this is hard to grasp."

Cody was barely aware of his brothers, who cautiously approached him and the man now, obviously encouraged by Cody's braveness and the calm and almost soothing attitude of the ginger haired man. "It's alright, I think I understood it… a little."

The man actually chuckled at that, "I am glad!"

The other clones were now standing right behind Cody and the so called Jedi looked at each one of them, "Nothing much to see, I fear," Cody said regretfully.

The man's eyes darkened for a moment before he shook his head, "You may look alike, but you are all individuals!"

Cody looked at the other male sceptically, "We are clones!"

"This does not define your personality or your place in the Force. You for example are curious and brave by nature, but you are also cautious, the trades of a leader. That's why you haven't told me who you are, am I right?" he turned to the clone to Cody's left, "And you… the Force almost screams at me to keep an eye on you, so I guess you are a little troublemaker."

The clone in question blushed and nervously looked away from the knowing gaze of the older male, who smiled in return.

Cody had been impressed. The Kaminoans as well as their donator looked at them as a group of mindless clones, but this man - who they barely knew - looked upon them as individuals, as actual humans.

As if reading his thoughts, the Jedi spoke up again, "Every being has its own personality and nobody can change that."

Cody nodded, he really liked that man, "I am CC-2224, at your service Master Jedi!" he slightly inclined his head.

"An identification number? Don't you have a name?" the ginger haired man asked almost bewildered.

"We shall not stay out as individuals, therefore we shall not have names or develop certain behaviour," Cody answered.

The other man huffed at that and his expression darkened, but before Cody could ask what the matter was, a voice behind them sounded, "What is going on here?"

A tall and arrogant Kaminoan stood behind them and looked at the display before her with disdain. Cody and his brothers internally winced at the look the female was giving them. It spoke of forbidden individualism and they all knew what happened to clones who stepped out of the line.

"Ah, I simply asked these men a few questions." Cody looked startled at the man behind him.

"Is that so, Master Jedi?" she didn't believe him at all, "What did they tell you?"

Cody winced, they were in big trouble now, but to his surprise the man remained calm and carefully stepped between the Kaminoan and the clones.

He unfolded his arms and made an excessive gesture, "It does not matter now!"

The Kaminoan's eyes glazed over, "It does not matter now."

The Jedi repeated the gesture, "You will forget what transpired here!"

"I will forget what transpired here," she repeated.

"And you will bring me to Jango Fett now!"

"I will bring you to Jango Fett," the Kaminoan blinked and turned her body, "If you would follow me, Master Jedi."

The ginger haired man turned his head and winked at the shocked and surprised clones before following the taller female.

"How did he…?" this was apparently becoming their favourite question now.

"That was…"

"I can't believe…"

It seemed his brothers were at a loss for words and Cody could completely understand them.

The second time he met the Jedi, Cody had gained a name and the rank of a Commander. He patiently stood before his Unit, the 212th, and awaited the arrival of the Jedi that would be assigned to them.

His men were quietly chatting behind him, but Cody did not have the heart to order them to be silent. He himself was very excited to know who would be assigned to lead them after all. He hoped his future General would be a calm man, who valued them for who they were. Not somebody who saw them as scientific products and Cody guiltily found himself hoping for a certain ginger haired man.

When the ship finally arrived, it took all of Cody's discipline to not fidget. Whoever would step out of that ship would hold the future of him and his Unit in his hands. When the ramp opened he immediately stood straight and he heard his men doing the same.

Cody was greatly disappointed when the young male with shoulder long brown hair stepped down the ramp. He had an air of arrogance and over-confidence around himself and he had almost nothing of the warmth the ginger haired Jedi had possessed. Cody didn't dislike the young man, who looked to be younger than he was – at least in body and mind, since the clones aged differently until they reached a certain age – but it didn't feel right, as strange as it sounded.

The Jedi came walking over towards them and stood proud before them, they saluted in greeting and Cody clutched his helmet in discomfort.

"So, are you guys the 501st Legion?"

Cody almost sighed in relief, "No Sir, we are the 212th Battalion!"

"Do you know where I can find them?"

"No Sir. As far as we were informed the only Unit that was supposed to get assigned to a Jedi General was the 212th."

The Jedi hummed and nodded in agreement, "I guess I'll just have to find them myself!"

With that the Jedi was gone, leaving Cody and his men startled behind.

"What was that about?" Waxer suddenly asked.

"I don't know… I thought we were supposed to meet our new General today!" Boil exclaimed.

Cody turned around, "Apparently we were misinformed."

"What are we going to do now?" Wooley asked, but before Cody could answer, somebody cleared his throat.

Cody immediately whirled around and his eyes fell on the familiar form of the Jedi he met some time ago. The only difference was that the man's hair was shorter now and he did not wear the brown robe. Cody blinked a few times, before he found his centre again. He straightened up and motioned his men to do the same.

He didn't dare to hope that this man would be their new General let alone that he remembered their first meeting or that he recognizes the clone before him.

"Commander Cody, at your service, Sir!" he saluted.

The Jedi chuckled, his eyes resting on Cody. "So you have a name!"

Startled Cody took a step back, "Sir?"

"I assumed I had left a better impression when we met, CC-2224 was it back then, am I right?"

"Yes Sir," he hesitated, "Will you be our General?"

"Still straightforward I see and yes, I will!" he straightened and looked at the men standing behind Cody. "I am Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi and from this day on I will also be the General of the 212th Battalion. I won't lie to you, the time ahead will be hard and unforgiving and we will count losses, but I also promise to do everything in my power to keep you safe and alive. For me you are not just soldiers and clones; you are individuals and humans!" he hesitated, "The only thing I demand from you is being yourself. Trust, loyalty and comradeship can only develop over time and when we are honest to each other. I expect you to be honest with me and I will be honest with you and should any problems arise, be they of personal matter or something else, I expect you to come to me or your Commander. A distracted and troubled man is as good as dead and as I already mentioned, I will do anything to keep you from dying on me. Even when one of you has a problem with me, he should not hesitate to console either me or Commander Cody. Only when you talk about your problems can we find a solution and I promise, I won't punish or think less of you no matter what might be bothering you. Am I understood?"

"Yes Sir!" the clones replied and saluted in unison.

"Are there any questions?"

"Yes Sir!" it was Trapper and Cody flinched inwardly, "You said you only demand our honesty… but what about obedience?"

Cody could hear some of the men inhale harshly, but as he expected, the Jedi remained calm. He reached up with his hand and started to stroke his beard in a gesture Cody would remember as sign that he was carefully thinking about his next move.

"If I had demanded your obedience, I would have asked for total surrendering from your part. But you are humans and isn't it the human privilege to doubt, ask and think? I am also only human and no Jedi is infallible. I can make mistakes too and you can and should stand against my orders if I am irrational!"

Trapper nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Thank you for your honesty, General! It will be an honour to serve under you!"

Cody and the rest of the clones were surprised. Trapper wasn't one to follow and obey lightly.

The ginger haired Jedi inclined his head, "It is my honour to serve alongside you."

Cody grinned mentally. They probably had the best General those Jedi had to offer. Not only saw he the clones as humans, capable of making their own decisions and choices, but he also had a way with words. It was no wonder that Trapper seemed to respect him, the Jedi just had something about him that drew people close. Just as it had drawn Cody close all this time ago…

He shook his head to clear his thought and refocused on the man before him. It wouldn't look good when the Commander was distracted on the first day after all.

"Well, if there is nothing else, will you excuse me? I have to find my companion before he does something rash and gets into trouble…" he grimaced.

Cody had to stifle his laughter at that, "Do you want me to accompany you, Sir?"

The Jedi gave him a thankful nod, "If it isn't too much trouble."

"With all due respect, General, we do not want you to get lost!" Cody almost felt the surprised and scandalized gazes of his men on his back.

But the Jedi just laughed, "That would indeed be very unfortunate!"

Cody grinned and motioned for the other man to follow him and they easily walked next to each other. His men knew that they had to load their gears into the ship and Cody was sure they could accomplish that without him.

Kenobi was probably the best General Cody and his men could have hoped for. The man not only remained true to his words, but he was on of the best strategists and fighters Cody had ever encountered. Rare were the occasion when they actual got into real trouble, because one plan failed.

Granted, there was the time when they had a spy in their midst, but that hadn't been Kenobi's fault, and then there were the few times when the ginger haired man would run after General Skywalker. The younger Jedi was just so reckless and sometimes stupid that Cody wondered how he was still alive.

But there was also Geonosis. Conquering and destroying the droid factory on Geonosis had been one hell of a trip, a trip Cody would not forget for the rest of his life. Not only had they lost countless brothers in the battle, but what had really shocked him and his men were the picture of their injured General. Of course the Jedi had been injured before, but never before to such an extent.

It had been a terrible image. The General had not even been able to stand properly, let alone fight and he obviously had been in a lot of pain. Yet the man had stood up from his position when he and his men were surrounded, determined to die fighting and protecting his men. Cody had made sure to stand near his General then, just in case the man would collapse under his own weight. But he didn't, because luckily help had arrived and not a moment later, the General had sat back on the dusty ground. Cody had not been so relieved before in his whole life. Not only were they saved, but their General would survive.

Maybe he was hero-worshipping the man, at least that is what Rex and his men called it, but so be it, he was proud of it! He was proud to be Obi-Wan Kenobi's Commander and comrade. The damn Jedi was a hero in Cody's eyes. He was somebody whose soul was pure, but who had to witness way too much for one life. Yet he wouldn't give up, but face everything with determination and a calm mind.

"It is good to see you back on your feet, Sir!" Cody greeted his General, when the man landed back on Geonosis, "I hope you are feeling alright."
"I am feeling much better, thank you Cody. How are things here?" the Jedi gave Cody a small smile.

They started to walk side by side and from the corners of his eyes, Cody saw his brothers and comrades, who all gave him knowing looks. The Jedi seemed oblivious to them, but with Kenobi you could never be too sure. The man often wore a calm façade and didn't let on that he knew certain things.

"The troops have already begun to clear away the remains, but unfortunately the bugs' leader escaped," Cody mentally slapped himself for his slip in proper language, but the shorter man didn't seem to mind.

"This was to be expected, Poggle is not known for his bravery after all… well done, Cody!"

The clone straightened at the praise, "I am here to serve, General."

"I hope not!" the Jedi looked serious, but before Cody could ask what he had meant, they were interrupted by another Jedi's arrival.

Later Cody had realized that his General had hinted at the free will of all beings and that Cody should not follow orders without thinking.

Cody was roaming through the seemingly endless corridors of their cruiser, searching for a certain ginger haired General, but he couldn't find the man. He wasn't in his quarters, nor was he training, nor in bridge and Cody was beginning to get reckless.

He was supposed to give the man General Plo Koon's report, who had said that it was very important.

"Hey Cody, wait up!"

He said clone stopped at the call of his best friend and closest brother. When Rex had reached him, he resumed walking, but much slower this time.

"I was wondering where I might find you!" when Cody did not answer, the other clone continued, "What are you doing?"

"I am searching for General Kenobi… you haven't seen him by any chance, have you?" Cody asked almost hopeful, but Rex just shook his head.

"Sorry, but I haven't seen him since Skywalker talked to him, or rather since Skywalker shouted at him."

"They argued?" Cody asked surprised, General Kenobi was not one to lose his temper.

"Sounded pretty bad too…"

"What was it about?" Cody asked curious. This could actually be the reasons for the General's seemingly disappearance.

"I honestly don't know. Skywalker was almost shouting at Kenobi, but I only caught a few phrases. Let me think, something like: 'I wish Qui-Gon was here. He would understand me, but you are not even trying to!' It was pretty scary and Kenobi visible paled at the words!"

"Qui-Gon? Who the hell is that?"

"I have no idea, maybe another Jedi?" Rex mused.

Cody sighed, "Could be… what else can you tell me?"

"Kenobi mumbled something like: 'I wish he were too.' And I could have sworn that he was shaking, but then he suddenly turned and fled."
"What about Skywalker?"

"We decided it would be best to let him calm down before one of us approached him," Rex said matter of fact.

Cody nodded. From what he had gathered Kenobi and Skywalker had an argument and Kenobi left, probably to be alone and to do Jedi things like meditating. Cody still felt uneasy. Should he continue his search for the older man or wanted Kenobi to be truly alone? If so, then he would surely tell Cody in his polite manner to go. The clone mentally nodded to himself, before he focused back on his companion, who watched him with a strange look on his face. Cody raised an eyebrow, but only now did he realize he had stopped walking. He felt himself blush and Rex strange expression turned into a smug grin.

"What is it?" Cody asked with as much dignity as he could muster, but the other clone just continued to grin and shrugged.

"Since you seem to enjoy yourself so much," Cody gritted out between clenched teeth, "why don't you bring General Plo Koon's report to Skywalker? I am sure he can't wait to read it!" With that pushed the Commander the datapad into the Captain's hand, who grumbled and silently cursed his brother, and Cody resumed his task to find his General.

In Cody's opinion it was the most hideous task to find a Jedi, who didn't want to be found. He had walked through the whole ship at least two times without finding a single trace of the damn Jedi. The clone Commander was about to give up, when he more or less stumbled upon the form of his General.

The ginger haired man was sitting on the ground, leaning against the ship's wall and gazing at the ceiling without really seeing. At least it looked to Cody that way.

The clone Commander took a deep breath and slowly made his way towards the obviously distraught man, "General?"

"Hm?" at least he was listening.

"Are you alright?" the General just shrugged, "Is there something I can do for you, Sir?"

The Jedi didn't reply instantly and Cody was sure that he was not going to, when Kenobi eventually opened his mouth, "You could stop calling me General and Sir, at least when we are in private."

"Will do, Sir, I mean Obi-Wan!" the Jedi was still not looking at Cody and the clone was beginning to worry because of the expression of humble submission. Cody hesitated for a moment; he didn't know how to approach the normally friendly and open man. Eventually he said, "General Plo Koon had send a report…"

It sounded lame even to his ears, but somehow it provoked a reaction from the shorter man. His expression turned to one of controlled anger, his eyes fixing on Cody's face and the clone had to force himself to not take a step away.

"Well, why don't you give it to General Skywalker then, since he seems to know everything better than I do!" he snapped and Cody involuntary flinched. The Jedi's expression turned pained and he looked away from Cody, who couldn't bring himself to say or do anything.

The ginger haired man had closed his eyes, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to snap at you. You've got nothing to do with this after all."

"Nothing to be sorry about, General!" Cody replied honestly.

"Don't call me that…"

Cody hesitated for only one more moment, before he approached the other man determined and sat down next to him and Cody was suddenly very glad that he had pulled off his uniform.

The Jedi just turned his head away from the clone, "I fear that I am not a good company right now."

Cody shrugged, "Yet I don't think you should be left alone with, whatever is bothering you!"

The shorter man huffed, "Look at me. a grown man and Jedi Master… I should have better control over my feelings!" The shorter man drew his legs closer and rested first his arms and then his head on them, still facing away from the Commander.

"You know, a wise man once sad to me and my men that Jedi are like any other beings, they are not infallible!" he hesitated, before slightly bumping his shoulder with the Jedi's, "You know who I'm talking about, eh Sir?"

The ginger haired man snorted, "I am not wise, Qui-Gon was… I am just good with words!"

"I honestly don't see any difference. To be good with words, you have to truly understand them."

The Jedi didn't reply anything, he probably was thinking about the other's words, but Cody could never be sure with his General.

"May I ask who this Qui-Gon is?" when he saw the pained and almost panicked look in the other's eyes, Cody hastily added, "You don't have to answer, if you don't want!"

"Qui-Gon , no WAS my Master. He was also the one you found Anakin all these years ago… he was supposed to become Anakin's Master," his voice sounded calm and collected, but from his quivering shoulders Cody knew that the topic was painful.

He almost dreaded to ask the next question, "What happened?"

The distraught man took a deep breath, "Fate happened!" Cody believed the General wouldn't say more, but he was surprised when the man continued, "I still have been a Padawan back then… we were on Naboo for a freeing mission and we encountered a Sith there, a Zabrak called Darth Maul. The first Sith since hundreds of years… my Master and I engaged him… only I made it out alive!"

"That's terrible!" the Commander exclaimed shocked, but Obi-Wan just shrugged.

"I became a Knight right after, since I defeated a Sith all by myself. I took Anakin as my Padawan learner then, it had been my late Master's last wish."

Cody wasn't really familiar with the Jedi ways, but he knew from the information he and his brothers were able to gather, that choosing a Padawan was a very personal matter. He and Rex had talked about the possibility that in a few years Padawan Tano would lead her own army, maybe even take the battalion of her Master. But the Commander couldn't quite picture the young Togruta knighted and immediately taking a Padawan on her own. Surely a newly knighted Jedi would want to test things out, get accustomed to the new changes and find her own way. It's what every living being would do. Hell, even he had tested out what his position as a clone Commander would bring.

"That somehow doesn't sound fair!"

The bearded man's head whirled around, his eyes shining with an emotion Cody couldn't place, "What is unfair? The fact that the Council said I wasn't ready to take my trials and become a Jedi Knight, but then changed their opinion once I killed that Sith? Or isn't it fair that a newly made knight had to take care of a child that was actually too old to be trained, because his Master saw great potential and because every other Master saw the darkness in the boy?"

"You had no other choice, did you?" Cody asked hesitantly. He had never seen the normally collected Jedi in such distress and so, the Jedi would say, unbalanced.

"Of course I had a choice! I could have declined him and he would have been send back to that damn desert planet with an enslaved mother and with all his dreams shattered before him! He would have become a great and bright man then, I have no doubt!" the sarcasm was painfully obvious as well as the anger in the man's voice, but the clone Commander was glad that he was talking.

The larger man was quiet now and pondered a moment about what the Jedi had said. He had always thought that Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the greatest Jedi and man he had ever encountered, but after this story he was absolutely certain. A normal man would likely have crumbled under such heavy burdens, but Obi-Wan hadn't.

He looked back at the ginger haired man, who had turned his head away again, when it suddenly dawned on him. Obi-Wan was somehow blaming himself and that is why he was so distressed by this whole affair. He thought that this Qui-Gon would have done a lot better than he did and the argument with Skywalker reminded him of this fact. Cody silently cursed Skywalker, this Qui-Gon, the Jedi and the Force. Obi-Wan was a gentle man, who always did things as good as possible and with his whole heart in it, except killing living beings of course, the General valued life above all else after all.

He suddenly jumped up, which earned him a confused look from the shorter man. Cody held the slightly teary eyes of his General and said in a serious voice, "With all due respect, Obi-Wan, but I think you have done a great job. Skywalker is a great General and man, at least most of the time and it is a real honour for me and my men to serve under you. We, and my brother would completely agree with that, couldn't have a better man as our General! You ARE wise AND good with words and you brought us out of hopeless situations more than once. I may not know a lot about that Jedi Order of yours, but if one of them is blaming you for this fiasco, which is definitely not your fault, then they shall go to hell!"

"Cody-"

"I mean it Obi-Wan!" Cody interrupted his General. "You are not to blame for any of these things and if you don't see it," he made a threatening gesture with his fists, "then me and my brothers have to find another way to get it into that thick skull of yours!"

Cody knew that he was highly disrespectful to his General, but then again he couldn't bring himself to care. He knew that the Jedi wouldn't really mind, he would just politely remind his Commander not to say such things if other high ranked people were present.

Obi-Wan was looking at the man standing before him with a surprised and shocked expression and Cody didn't hesitate to grab his arm and pull him up, into a needed hug. The Commander had no idea how his General would react to such close physical contact, but to his surprise, the shorter man didn't pull away. Instead he seemed to draw comfort from it and once more had he shown that even Jedi were normal people that sometimes needed simple things like a hug to feel better.

Cody didn't know how long they stood there, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He just stayed still and hadn't it been for the almost unnoticeable tremors of the shorter man's shoulders or the silent tears that were staring to wet Cody's overall, it would have been almost peaceful. At one point Rex had rounded the corner but immediately halted in his movement once his gaze had landed on the two men in the middle of the corridor. Cody had given him a meaningful look that told him to stay away for now and Rex had nodded in understanding.

"It is really hard to suddenly call you Obi-Wan, you know?" Cody began. Obi-Wan made no sound of acknowledgment, but the clone knew he was listening. "Me and my brothers do not just call you General or Sir because we have to. We respect you and would follow you till death, but not because it is our duty, because you are one of us. Granted, we look better than you," this earned him a little chuckle from the ginger haired man and Cody couldn't help but grin at this, "but you are still a brother!"

The clone felt the other man nod slightly and eventually the Jedi pulled away. Cody looked away to gave the man some privacy while wiping away the remains of his breakdown.

"Thank you," came the strained sounding reply.

So the General's voice still didn't obey him completely and Cody had to hide a teasing smile at that. From the corner of his eyes he saw Rex doing the same.

"Anytime General… you know, if YOU have problems, you can come to us as well."

"I try to remember that the next time, " he finally straightened and looked up and the Commander was glad to see the friendly and happy spark in the blue-green eyes of the smaller man again.

"You better, or we are going to remind you!" Cody winked, "You ARE a brother after all."

Before Obi-Wan could reply, a foreign hand landed on his shoulder, but the older man did not even flinch. Cody mused that Obi-Wan had known that Rex was near, sooner than he himself did.

"Cody is right, Sir!" Rex said serious.

Cody felt thankful that Rex had stayed. He knew that every clone who had the pleasure of serving under Obi-Wan, immediately liked the ginger haired Jedi, but Cody wasn't sure the General knew that.

"Brother, the General doesn't want to be called General or Sir in private!" Cody's tone was teasing.

"Well then brother Obi-Wan," Rex and Cody laughed at the new title, while Obi-Wan shook amused his head, "I am here to report you that general Skywalker is the most stubborn and thick headed men I ever met!"

Obi-Wan sighed, "What did he do this time?"

Cody gave his best friend and brother a warning look. "I tried to hand him General Plo Koon's report… in the end took it Commander Tano. He just kept on rambling and wouldn't stop."

Obi-Wan folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. "What was he rambling about?" the man's voice sounded disapproving.

"I honestly don't know!" now it was Cody's turn to raise an eyebrow, "I kind of dozed of…"
Rex cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Cody and Obi-Wan exchanged a look, before the clone burst into loud laughter, while the Jedi just chuckled clearly amused.

When their laughter had stopped, at some point Rex had joined in, Cody straightened up and played the ever obedient clone Commander.

"With all due respect, Obi-Wan," the last part was emphasized mockingly, "but I order you to go to your quarters and get some rest! In fact we all should!"

Rex nodded his approval, but the Jedi stayed silent. Instead he seemed to look into space, not focusing on anything in particular.

"Sir?" Rex and Cody asked in unison.

The Jedi blinked, before his eyes focused on the clones. His tone was serious when he said, "There is a great disturbance in the Force… I fear we are going to be attacked anytime soon! Rex, inform General Skywalker and let him know I'll await him on the bridge. Cody, get your uniform and the men and prepare for an assault. We'll meet at the bridge!"

"Yes Sir!" the clones saluted, before rushing of to do their given tasks.

Cody sighed mentally. There was just not a moment peace, especially not when you needed it…

General Kenobi's senses had been right, not that Cody had expected anything else from the man. The ship's radar showed three approaching Separatist ships. The crew immediately informed the other Jedi Cruiser and then they waited until the enemy ships would leave hyperspace.

Cody stood next to his General and gazed at the countless lights of the stars when Rex entered and moved to the Jedi's other side.

"Are the men ready?" Obi-Wan asked, his tone calm and collected again.

"Yes Sir. They are on their position and warming up our cannons and shield."

"Good. What about Anakin and Ahsoka?" he slightly inclined his head towards Rex.

"I had to wake them, but they are on their way."

Just as Rex had finished, the doors to the bridge slid open once more and through stepped a grumpy looking Anakin Skywalker and a drowsy looking Ahsoka Tano. Cody's gaze flickered to his own General for a moment. Obi-Wan looked calm and wide awake, even though he had a mental breakdown mere moments ago. Either he was very good at hiding things, or the reassuring talk had actually helped. Cody hoped it was the latter.

Then Skywalker's eyes met Obi-Wan's and the younger man visibly flinched. Cody was startled, he couldn't understand why somebody would flinch away from his General. Of course the man had his moments when he tried to intimidate an enemy, but he would never use that look on a comrade. Behind Obi-Wan's shoulders exchanged Cody and Rex questioning looks, but they quickly turned their focus back to Skywalker when he approached the three men waiting for him.

"Master," Skywalker began hesitantly.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan greeted in return, his voice held no anger.

"I have to talk to you!" Skywalker was fidgeting nervously and gave a pointing look to Cody and Rex, which each clone returned without moving.

"Then by all means Anakin, do so!" Obi-Wan eventually said when it became clear that neither Cody nor Rex would leave his side.

Cody had to suppress a grin at that and he knew Rex was doing the same. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a few men moving almost unnoticeable until the stood supporting behind the ginger haired Jedi. Yes, the clones saw Obi-Wan as one of them.

Skywalker sighed and let his gaze flicker to the ground, before he looked back into the shorter Jedi's face, "I am sorry for what I said and I… I want to apologise. It was said in anger, I know that this is no excuse, that I should have my emotions under better control but… It was uncalled for and I await every punishment you deem to be appropriate for my impudence!" he bowed his head in a symbol of submission and apology.

Cody was surprised; he hadn't expected Skywalker to apologise, especially not so soon. But then again, Obi-Wan had been his Master after all and what Cody had observed of Master-Padawan Teams, they were very close.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath. "You were impudent," Skywalker flinched and his form hunched even more at the acknowledgment, "But I am not your Master anymore… I have no right to 'punish' you in any way. Besides, it only shows what you said earlier. Your lack of respect is because of my poor teaching."
"Master," Skywalker began to protest, but Obi-Wan held up his hand to stop him from speaking.

"We can talk later if you want, but for now I accept your apology!"

Skywalker looked like a scolded child at this moment. He nodded and looked back on the ground before mumbling a tiny, "Thank you, Master!"

He had turned and walked further away then, leaving Obi-Wan and his two bodyguards behind. The other clones swiftly resumed their posts, which earned them an amused look from the older Jedi and an irritated one from the younger ones. Apparently Skywalker hadn't caught the meaning of their closeness until now.

"I told you that the men see you as more as a General!" Cody whispered so only Obi-Wan and Rex could hear.

"It definitely seems so," the Jedi stated calmly, but Cody saw the joy in his blue-green eyes.

Cody was highly embarrassed to acknowledge that he was frightened. At least he wasn't frightened of the Jedi General towering over him. No, he was frightened by what that man could and would do to him and his men. Rex had told him about the very charming Jedi and even though Cody had believed every single word of what Rex had told him, in reality the Besalisk was even worse. But luckily Cody saw his knight, well not in shining armour, but in uniform and with determined strides, quickly approaching. Obi-Wan didn't halt until he stood right next to Cody.

"Master Pong Krell," greeted Cody's saviour the tall Besalisk.

"Kenobi," he all but growled.

Obi-Wan didn't seem bothered by the lack of respect, he just stood with his arms crossed over his chest and let his gaze slide over the two taller males.

"May I inquire what seems to be the problem?" he eventually asked, looking at the reptilian.

"The problem is standing right next to you, Kenobi!" the Besalisk pointed with one of his four arms towards Cody, who would have taken a step back hadn't it been for Obi-Wan's hand on his shoulder.

"Ah, I fear you have to be more precise!"

The taller male huffed in annoyance, "Your Commander is an impudent and doubting clone, who does not obey my commands!"

"Oh my," Obi-Wan took his hand from Cody's shoulders and rested it on his hip, near his lightsaber, "are you telling me that my Commander thinks about orders before following them?"

"I see you understand!" Krell's mouth turned into a satisfied grin, "If you cannot handle the matter on your own, I am more than willing to give you a hand!"

"Or four I presume," Cody couldn't help himself but snort in amusement and he heard a few of his men doing the same.

"This is exactly what I am talking about, Kenobi! Your clones are a bunch of useless failures, which need to be taught some manners!" he pointed over the ginger haired Jedi's shoulder at the clone in white and yellow uniform.

Cody would have protested, but his General beat him to it, "Forgive me for not sharing your sentiment, Master Krell, but my men are the best army the Republic has to offer!"

"I can't see that. Nor do I understand how you can trust any of those clones," he gestured wildly with two of his arms, "to guard your back!"

"I would trust any of these men to watch out for my back, more than I would trust you!" the General emphasized the words 'men' and his tone was warning. Yet the taller Jedi either did not notice it, or ignored it. Cody guessed it was the former case.

"Then you are an even bigger fool than I thought!" he huffed angry, "But with a Master like Jinn it's no wonder you became an even greater failure!"

From the tightening of Obi-Wan's muscles, the clone Commander knew that Krell had struck a nerve and if the smug grin was any indicator, Krell knew this as well.

"At least Master Jinn will be remembered for his good deeds to the galaxy, the Republic and the Order, while you will only be remembered for the high numbers of good men that died under your command!"

"How dare you?" Krell was furious and shouting, "How dare you pathetic excuse of a Jedi insult me like this?"

Obi-Wan's voice was dangerously low when he answered, "That pathetic excuse of a Jedi, raised a Padawan and is therefore ranked as a Master, or in other words: higher ranked than you."

"A grave mistake from the Council!" the Besalisk said, but Obi-Wan ignored it.

"That pathetic excuse of a Jedi is also member of the Council and might I add that I have dozens of good men standing behind me?"

"Are you threatening me?" Krell's face came very close to Obi-Wan's but the shorter Jedi did not back down.

"Keep on disrespecting your superior and you will figure it out!" the ginger haired Jedi stated calm.

Cody could only gape at the man. Leave it to the Negotiator to provoke an opponent, and in the clones' eyes Krell was one, to the point where he or she did something rash that could be punished. And Cody had no doubt that that was exactly what his General was planning. Krell hadn't done anything wrong by protocol yet, so Obi-Wan brought him to do something wrong. The question was how much he, his men and Obi-Wan would have to suffer from it and what the consequences for Krell would be.

Cody shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused back on the two Jedi before him, neither of them breaking the eye contact. Krell was moving to of his hands to rest on top of his lightsabers, but Obi-Wan's hands stayed on his hip.

"You are not my superior!" the Besalisk growled.

"In rank I am; maybe not military, General Krell, but within the Order!"

"The Order consists of a bunch of idiots and you are just one of their failures. This Council of yours should be diminished and other Jedi, with the right view on things, should be in charge!"

Obi-Wan remained silent for a moment and Cody thought he was searching for the right words, but to his surprise the Jedi eventually took a step back and took his lightsaber in his hand and activated it. Krell was just as surprised as everybody else, but he also activated his two double-bladed lightsabers. A moment later countless blasters pointed on him.

"This is treason!" Obi-Wan exclaimed.

Now did Cody understand, Krell had not only undermined the Jedi, but he indirectly named the Separatists as rightful leaders of the galaxy.

"You call it treason, I call it the right and only path!" and with that the Jedi engaged in a fierce battle. Lightsabers clashed and bodies moved at high speed, so high that Cody had to order his men to stay out of this. It would do no one good, if their General got hurt because of a stray blaster bolt.

Krell had the physical advantage, but Obi-Wan could easily keep up with him, due to the shorter man's higher speed and acrobatic manoeuvres. Cody had seen Obi-Wan often in action, but was surprised every time, how agile and flexible the man still was. Now that Cody thought of it, he didn't actually know how old his General really was, but that was beside the point now. When Obi-Wan fought it looked more like he was dancing with his opponents, who had not the tiniest chance most of the time. The ginger haired Jedi clearly was the better swordsman and their dance did not take long. Krell soon lay defeated on the ground, one of his lightsabers cut in halves and the other securely in the shorter Jedi's hands. Obi-Wan's blue lightsaber rested close to Krell's throat, who was panting rapidly, while Obi-Wan was not even out of breath.

"Secure him and contact Master Windu. We need a transporter for this traitor!" ordered the bearded Jedi and without a second thought, his men complied. Krell's expression turned to anger when he saw that no clone was giving back talk. He clearly hadn't expected this.

"You see, Krell, clones are beings like you and me. And I encourage their independent thinking and acting. Every being has the right to follow his or her own path and it is not the way of the Jedi to see anyone as a lesser being."

"Not even creatures bred in a laboratory?" it had been a rhetorical question, but Obi-Wan answered nevertheless, "Not even those who were born in a laboratory, no! If you think about it, it is not even so different from a natural birth. The laboratory is just the woman, who carries the infant or the egg that protects the hatchling. Life in every form is precious and as a Jedi you should know this!"

Cody was moved by the man's words. Not a lot of people saw the as anything different than clones made in a tube.

"This answer was expected from one of Jinn's Padawans!"

"What about it? Master Qui-Gon may have lost his first Padawan and his second turned to the dark side, but no one is without fail. Besides, Qui-Gon was Dooku's student, who in turn had been Master Yoda's student. As you see, even Master Yoda has his flaws, but he still one of the greatest and wisest being I ever encountered."

"Fools, all of them!" Krell snarled enraged.

Obi-Wan sighed and shook his head. He then stepped back, giving his men enough space to tie up the Besalisk. He then turned to Cody, who offered him the holoprojector, where the shimmering form of Mace Windu and Yoda were patiently waiting.

"Well spoken you have, Master Kenobi!" Yoda began.

Obi-Wan bowed his head in a sign of respect, "I trust that you have been informed of the situation?"

"Yes, we are aware of the circumstances and it pains us to hear this!" Windu said and Obi-Wan exchanged a brief glance with Cody, who was still holding out the holoprojector. "We have sent another Jedi team to pick Master Krell up and as soon as your mission is over, the Council will want your report and will call in a conference. We will then decide of Master Krell's fate!"

"Your Commander, attend he will as well. Prepare him for the trial, you should!"

"I will Masters!"

"May the Force be with you, Obi-Wan!"

"And with you Masters," replied the ginger haired man.

As soon as the connection was cut, Cody turned to his General, "Why do I have to attend the trial, Sir?"

Obi-Wan laid his hand on the taller man's shoulder and replied calmly, "Do not worry, Cody. They only want to hear your side of the story, besides, I only arrived when you and Krell were having an argument."

Cody wasn't assured at all, "I don't think this is a good idea…"

Obi-Wan slightly squeezed his Commander's shoulder, "Only the Jedi Council will be there and they aren't going to bite, you know. Besides, I will be there too and if it soothes your mind, then I am going to stand next to you."

"Will you hold my hand?" Cody teased, reassured by the knowledge that his General wouldn't leave him alone with the most powerful members the Jedi Council had to offer.

Obi-Wan chuckled, "That would look very strange, don't you think?"

Cody grinned, "But why? I mean, I am a very handsome man…"

"Ah, but I fear attachments are forbidden for Jedi!" Obi-Wan shrugged apologetically.

"You are all missing out on something then!" Cody stated.

Obi-Wan shook his head in clear amusement, "I am glad that you haven't lost your humour at least!"

"Never, Sir, never!"

"I feared as much!" Cody pouted and Obi-Wan laughed at the hilarious expression and some of the men that surrounded them, joined in.

"You wound me, General!" Cody said and turned his head away in mock hurt.

Obi-Wan hummed in agreement, "Alright, how about we complete this mission now?"

"Do we really have to?"

"Cody!"

"I was just kidding!", laughed the clone, "Lead the way then, General!"

"Have I ever let you down?"

"Well, there was the time one-"

"General!" Cody exclaimed.

Obi-Wan just chuckled, "Alright, alright… I have to force myself to left a few droids for you then!"

Cody should have known something was greatly wrong back then. He could have stopped Obi-Wan from this suicide mission then or he could have insisted that he was at least accompanied by a few men. But Cody hadn't realised it until it was too late and it had almost cost him his General.

When they finally had arrived on the damn green planet where the Separatists had constructed their camps, Cody couldn't see the familiar form of one Obi-Wan Kenobi. Actually everything seemed dead. The vegetation was destroyed were the enemies had build their camp and of the clankers remained nothing but trash.

Cody motioned for his men to slowly follow him. The terrain was tricky and the scattered parts of battle droids didn't help either. Cody immediately noticed that the droids were destroyed by a lightsaber, so Obi-wan had engaged them. From the look of the countless parts it had been a rash and reckless act, something Obi-Wan normally wasn't. Cody guessed that his General had been attacked, but it was still something bothering the clone Commander. The General would definitely have waited until reinforcements had arrived until setting foot in the building, yet the clones all saw the obvious marks of a lightsaber on the now open doors.

The Commander signalled his men to stop, he needed to contact General Skywalker, for something was greatly amiss here. Luckily the Jedi immediately responded and it didn't take long for Cody to report his worries and for Skywalker and his Padawan to arrive.

Skywalker and Tano had been more than surprised at the sight of hundreds of slaughtered droids and there were just no other words to describe the spectacle that had taken place here.

"I cannot believe that Obi-Wan did this!" Skywalker had said and inspected on of the marks on the door.

"But these are obviously left by a lightsaber, Master!" the young Togruta protested.

"We better hurry!"

And with that they all had entered the building. Even here the corridors were full of droid parts, they just seemed to have no end. Yet everything was completely silent and the tension rose with every step they took deeper into the building.

At some point the heard a shout coming from a level up and Skywalker and his Padawan immediately dashed forwards, closely followed by Cody and his men. The sight that greeted them then, was even more terrifying than everything they had encountered thus far. A Zygerrian was on his hands and knees, head bend low, almost touching the ground and he was begging to the person that stood before him. The person held his blue lightsaber close to the kneeling figure.

"Obi-Wan?" Skywalker asked, the relief evident in his voice, "What happened here?"

"I happened!" the voice was without emotion, yet it send shivers down Cody's and his men's spines.

"What is that supposed to mean, Master? And who is this?" Skywalker took a step forward.

"One of the scumbags who is responsible for this!" Cody and everybody else startled, they never have heard Obi-Wan swear, especially not when he walked about a living being.

"Obi-Wan, what is going on?" the younger Jedi asked now with more insistently, while slowly making his way towards the ginger haired man.

Obi-Wan turned slightly around at the other Jedi's movement, just enough for everyone to see his eyes that were suddenly yellow and without any of the warmth they normally held, Skywalker froze abruptly in his movement and Cody immediately grasped his blaster tighter, he felt his men doing the same, some of them even took a step back. The man that stood before them may have looked like Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, but it wasn't him. This man was a stranger.

Skywalker slowly held up his hands and talked calmly as with a dangerous animal that could attack every moment, "It's alright, Master! Everything is going to be alright, just lower your lightsaber."

An evil grin appeared in the older Jedi's face and Cody's stomach twisted, "Lower my lightsaber? If that's what you want…"

Before either of them could react, Obi-Wan had indeed lowered his weapon, but instead of deactivating and hanging it back on his belt, he cut off the Zygerrian's head in one swift movement. The Zygerrian's head tumbled a few metres over the ground and came to a halt near the dead bodies of other people, probably the other 'scumbags' as Obi-Wan had called them and everyone of them was killed by a lightsaber.

To Cody's surprise, Skywalker remained completely calm, "Are you feeling better now, Master?"

"Define 'better'!" was the emotionless reply, even his face had turned into an emotionless mask. But at least Obi-Wan was putting away his lightsaber, which caused the tension in the air to slightly lessen.

Skywalker apparently came to the decision that this kind of conversation would be a waste of time and energy, instead he asked, "Where are the children?"

Of course he meant the children that had been captured by a bunch of bounty hunters and then sold to the Separatists. It was a cruel repetition of Bane's mission, but this time they hadn't known about the operation until it was almost too late. Actually it wasn't a real operation, but the Separatists paid for a Force sensitive child and the bounty hunters delivered. Some of he children were even kidnapped from within the temple, or so had Obi-Wan said.

"Lost!"

"But I can still feel them!" the young Togruta protested and looked almost fearful at Obi-Wan, who simply shrugged.

He motioned for them to follow and after a moment of hesitation they did just that. They moved through a few more corridors until they reached one of the lower levels, where Obi-Wan pointed towards and open door. Hesitantly they entered.

The room was rather big and everywhere were strange devices. Dozens of children lay in their baby cots, seemingly sleeping. Machines were connected to them and the whole scene sent shivers down Cody's spine.

Tano gasped at the sight and was about to run into the room, but was held back by her Master. She looked quizzically at her Master, who didn't return her gaze. He gazed straight forward and answered in a strained voice the unspoken question, "They are lost to us, Snips!"

"But they are alive!" and with that the female Jedi dashed forward and reached into one of the baby cots.

"Snips!" Skywalker's voice sounded angry and stern, "Their mind is destroyed! What you are holding is a mindless shell, a body without a soul, a corpse if you want to call it that way!"

The Togruta paled and Cody felt disgusted by this.

"Look who we have here!" a voice suddenly sounded out of the shadows in the back of his room.

"Dooku!" Skywalker exclaimed and was already grabbing his lightsaber, but Obi-Wan's hand stopped him. Skywalker flinched violently, neither he nor Cody or one of his men had notices the man entering. The clones were pointing their blaster where the guessed the Sith to be.

"Ah, Kenobi and Skywalker!" greeted Dooku.

"This is your doing isn't it?", Skywalker shouted, "Let me go Obi-Wan!"

"No."

"No? Why not?" he asked in disbelief.

Dooku laughed, "Because revenge is not the Jedi way, isn't that right, Obi-Wan?"

Suddenly Skywalker's anger vanished and turned into confusion. "What does he mean?"

Dooku chuckled again, "My, how far you have fallen, my dear Kenobi. What would your Master think of you know?"

"Leave my Master out of this, Dooku!" snarled the ginger haired Jedi.

"But why so upset? Wasn't destroying all those droids and killing these man not enough for you?" A shocked gasp went through the little crowd. So the normally gentle and balanced Jedi was responsible for that mess. "From the murderous look you are given me, I guess it wasn't… Tell me one thing, Kenobi? How does it feel to lose your Padawan?"

"What is he talking about, Master?" Skywalker asked, but Obi-Wan remained silent.

"Hasn't he told you yet?" Dooku taunted, "But I am not surprised. He hasn't told anyone but Yoda and Windu, haven't you Obi-Wan?"

Once more the ginger haired man remained silent.

"What the Sith are you talking about Dooku?"

"Well, your Master here found a new Padawan. Of course he would have needed tow ait a few years until she was ready and old enough, but the bond had formed as soon as they both were at the temple, isn't that right Obi-Wan?"

"Yes…" Obi-Wan eventually confirmed.

"Such a strong bond… just like your and Qui-Gon's has been. A pity that it was her, the bounty hunter kidnapped! I cannot imagine the pain that you had to endure when her mind was broken. Tell me, were your shields strong enough to deflect her pain or were they too weak and your mind got hurt in the process too? I doubt the latter, but her death caused a reaction, didn't it? I know what you are feeling now, Obi-Wan. Join me and together we are going to destroy the monster that is responsible for this and then the Jedi, who allowed a mere bounty hunter to enter the temple and steal a child!"

"The way I see it, you are just as responsible!" came the ginger haired man's cold reply.

Dooku drew his weapon, "You want to kill me then? Go ahead and try, my apprentice!"

"Obi-Wan!" Skywalker warned when his formers Master let go of his hand and reached for his lightsaber.

Cody was about to jump forward and do anything, but he wasn't sure if he wouldn't do more harm than good, so decided to wait patiently.

Obi-Wan's hand clenched around something, but as far as Cody saw it wasn't his lightsaber. Not a moment later the object clattered loudly to the cold metal floor at Dooku's feet, who looked just as surprised as everybody else. After closer inspection the small object turned out to be a beige necklace, made out of beads with strange symbols drawn on every one of them.

"This is yours, isn't it? You gave it to Qui-Gon after he turned thirteen. I found it between my Master's old belongings and thought now would be a good time to give it back to you!"

"And why is that?" Dooku inquired, his voice sounded strained and deeper than normal.

"Did you know that Qui-Gon almost fell too?" if Dooku's surprised and scandalised look was any indicator, then Cody assumed he hadn't known, "I think after loosing two apprentices and then his best friend Tahl, who had been there for Qui-Gon when no one else was, everybody would have went out of his mind. But in the end Qui-Gon had realised that he wasn't alone, that he was still needed and he came back to his senses!"

"What has that to do with me?"

"Qui-Gon's death was the trigger it needed, for you to completely turn your back on the Order and I can completely understand you!" everybody in the room was stunned at this exclamation. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi with heart and soul disregarded the Jedi Order! "If the Council would not have been blinded by their fear and if they had listened to Qui-Gon's report, he could very much be still alive, but then again, Qui-Gon always told me not to dwell on the what ifs but in the here and now."

"This failure of the Jedi Order was the proof I needed. The Council Members are old fools who let themselves be fooled too easily!" Dooku stated.

Obi-Wan nodded, "True and if you had talked about this with Qui-Gon, Yoda or even me, we might have been able to change something… actually this is the only reason why I decided to join the Council, so I could change something. You on the other hand chose the path of a coward! You ran away instead of fighting! You ran away and joined those who are really responsible for my Master's death!"

The Sith took a few steps back, clearly startled and not liking what the younger male was throwing at him. He had also reached for his lightsaber, causing the two youngest Jedi to do the same and the clones to point their blasters at Dooku, but once more Obi-Wan motioned for them to stay behind and remain calm.

"I always understood why you turned away from the Order, probably better than everybody else. I was Qui-Gon's apprentice after all and he was yours. Maybe Yoda understands as well, or he would have put more effort in capturing and defeating you, but you can never be sure about him, now can you?" Obi-Wan took a deep breath and slowly approached the Sith, whose eyes were fixes on the younger man's face. He grabbed his lightsaber and Cody was sure his General was about to attack, but to the puzzlement of all present, he just cast it away, not caring where it ended up.

"Maybe we could have changed something, maybe we still can, I don't know. But what I DO know is that I was Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan and therefore I am his legacy and indirectly yours as well," he came to a halt just inches before Dooku and Cody realised that he had no chance of escaping the red blade, even if he wanted to, "But Anakin over there was MY Padawan, MY legacy, as well as Qui-Gon's, yours and even Master Yoda's and Ashoka will continue this line. My teachings and my being will go on with them and therefore I offer myself to you!"

A surprised gasp went through the little crowd and even Dooku looked more than surprised.

"Master," Skywalker began to protest, but remained silent after a pointed look of Obi-Wan.

Cody slowly began to doubt his General's mental state. Maybe his eyes had returned to their natural colour and maybe they even had that warmth back, but surely something had hit the back of that brilliant head.

Obi-Wan opened his arms in a silent invitation, "I know you blame yourself, the Council, the Jedi and the Republic for Qui-Gon's death. I know that you wish for justice, maybe even a hint of revenge and I offer it to you. I represent all those you see as guilty and maybe even more so, for it was I who didn't arrive at Qui-Gon's side in time and therefore allowed Maul to deliver the final blow. I offer myself to you Master Dooku and I can only hope that this will bring you the peace you wish for!"

With that Obi-Wan ended his speech and all present held their breath, not quite believing what had just transpired. Even Dooku was too startled to do something and a moment in complete silence and with out any movement went by.

Then suddenly, Dooku's lightsaber wove through the air and fell with a loud rattling o. the metal floor and before anyone could as much as blink, he had gripped the shorter man's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace, hiding his faces in the younger man's neck. Everybody in the room stood frozen in place, not quite believing what they were seeing. All except Obi-Wan, who slowly raised his arms to encircle the other male's shaking shoulders.

"There, there…" Obi-Wan tried to soothe the other man.

"I was so blind! How could I have been so blind?" Dooku wheezed out between silent sobs, "That will he think of me now?"

Cody wasn't sure to whom the man was referring, but Obi-Wan obviously knew, "I am sure he would be proud that you made the right decision in the end!" Obi-Wan's voice was calm and gentle and after a few more moments, Dooku straightened again.

"I deeply regret that your Padawan was among the brought children… I cannot apologise enough for that." Obi-wan just waved it off. "Well then, my Grandpadawan, you better bring me to that Council of yours!" there was only honesty in the older man's voice now.

Obi-Wan nodded and took a step back, before summoning his as well as the Count's lightsaber into his outstretched hand. "Do not worry, Master Yoda and the Force will be on our side!" and with that Skywalker stepped forward and grabbed Dooku's arm, yet surprisingly gentle in Cody's opinion.

"Can you take care of…" Skywalker trailed off and made gesture at the baby cots that surrounded them.

Obi-Wan nodded and Skywalker slowly led the Count out of the room. He only stopped to pick up the necklace that still lay on the floor and handed it to the older man, who accepted it gratefully. Then the room was slowly cleared until only Obi-Wan, the Padawan and Cody remained.

"Master?" the young Togruta asked hesitantly as she cautiously approached the ginger haired Jedi, who was typing away on one of the consoles.

"Yes, Padawan?"

"Are you feeling alright?"

Obi-Wan stopped typing for a moment, his revealing nothing. "I have lost a Padawan, Ahsoka…" the Togruta nodded in understanding, "but I also gained a Master!" He sighed, "I don't know HOW I should feel right now."

"Is there something I can to?"

Obi-Wan nodded, "Watch out for your Master for me. Can you do that?"

The female's face turned determined, "I will protect him with my life, I promise!"

Cody's General pressed a key and then turned towards the younger Jedi, to lay a hand on her shoulder. He squeezed lightly, "I know that you will and Anakin couldn't have asked for a better Padawan!"

She smiled in return and Obi-Wan released her shoulder before slowly making his way towards the back of the room, Cody followed a few steps behind. He only stopped, when his General stood at one of the larger cots and gazed list into it.

"I programmed the machine to administer a strong sedative to the children… the will fall asleep completely painless."

Cody pulled of his helmet and laid it on the ground to his feet, before he hesitantly stepped right next to his General, close enough that their shoulders were touching and he also gazed at the small being that lay in the cot.

The sight of a tiny, purple skinned Mirialan with relatively short black and red hair greeted Cody. A few yellow triangles covered her cheeks, right under her closed eyes.

When Cody looked back at his General, he saw the lost look in the man's eyes. Feeling the other man's gaze on him, Obi-Wan began to explain, "It should not have been possible, but as soon as I entered the temple a few months ago, I felt a pull from the Force, almost like a bond and I followed the bond to the crèche. I was immediately drawn to one of the children there and the bond was suddenly completed, without my doing. It had been similar with me and my Master and Master Yoda told me that it was the will of the Force for us to become Master and Padawan. I fear I kind of lost it when I felt the bond being ripped a part… I was close to the dark side, as close as no Jedi should ever be. Only the few memories of her and my Master, as well as your arrival kept me from completely falling."

Cody had to swallow at that revelation and with new found determination, he reached I to the cot and swiftly, but also carefully pulled the IV out of the small child's arm.

"Cody?"

But the clone ignored the man and gently lifted the young child into his arms and cradled her close to his chest, Obi-Wan's eyes observing his every movement.

"What is her name?"

"Luh Yukura."

Cody nodded, "Well Commander Yukura, barely here and already causing lots of trouble! I think Waxer and Boil are going to like you!"

"Cody, don't!" the General's voice sounded pained and his tone was begging, but once more Cody ignored him.

"Maybe the other children are beyond our reach, but do you know why I believe in you? Because my stubborn General, he is your Master by the way, has some kind of strange bond with you. Don't get me wrong I have no idea what that actually means, but I know that he will try everything to get you back!"

Cody looked up and saw into the ocean blue eyes of his General. No other words were spoken, but they understood each other nevertheless. The clone Commander carefully handed the child to the shorter man, who pulled her close to his chest and rested his bearded chin on her head. He closed his eyes and stayed absolutely still, not moving a single muscle.

Out of respect Cody took a step back and almost bumped into the young Togruta, who looked up at him with something akin to awe. A moment later Skywalker re-entered the room. He looked as if he was about to say something, but he stopped himself once he saw the position the older Jedi was in.

Cody had almost lost the little bit hope he had harboured when the child still gave no sign of living and as if sensing his thoughts, the ginger haired Jedi opened his eyes. But against Cody's expectation there was joy in them and not a moment later the little Mirialan stirred and blinked. Her expression was fearful, but then her blue eyes looked into Obi-Wan's face and her eyes widened in delighted surprise. She reached up with her arms and slung them around the Jedi Master's neck.

"Master," she mumbled and her voice sounded to Cody's ears like a sweet melody.

"I am here, little one, I am here!"

Skywalker then literally dashed forward and smiled at the young child, who returned his grin with a shy smile. "Hey there, little Padawan sister, my name is Anakin and that is my Padawan, Ahsoka!" he motioned to the young Togruta.

"Hello, little one!" the young Togruta almost cowed over the child.

"And this is Cody, my Commander and a very good friend of mine!" Obi-Wan said, while locking his gaze with the clones. Cody nodded his head at the unspoken words of gratitude and he saluted when another pair of blue eyes turned to look at him.

"A pleasure meeting you, Commander Yukura!" Cody teased.

The shy girl giggled, "I know your voice! I heard you when…" she trailed off.

Cody was surprised, he hadn't expected the girl to actually hear the words that were meant for her Master. Apparently the Jedi in the room were just as perplexed, but Obi-Wan quickly caught himself.

"We should return to the ship!"

"One more thing, Master," Skywalker said, "are you going to tell the Council about… you know…"
"I fear that I have to, Anakin!" Obi-Wan said calmly, his eyes never leavin the little girl that snuggled deeper into his chest.

"What if they forbid you to train her after this?"

Obi-Wan looked up briefly, "We'll see…" At Skywalker's sceptical gaze, he quickly added, "I doubt that they are going to take such measures, especially since Master Yoda already approved this partnership, besides, we should focus on the here and now!"

Skywalker nodded and smiled at the girl that had fallen asleep, "We should head back now!"

"Wise words, former Padawan mine!"

Skywalker stuck out his tongue at that and Obi-Wan as well as Commander Tano chuckled. Cody just shook his head in amusement. Maybe Skywalker wasn't so bad after all…

Cody snapped out of his memories when he heard his mean shouting orders and information at each other. He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

Obi-Wan had been a good friend and Cody would mourn for him, but not here. He would leave the army and flee, maybe there were other clones like him. Either way he would find a way to help the surviving Jedi and those who are against the Republic. He owed this his deceased General.

With new found determination, Cody took a deep breath and stood up. He carefully made his way towards the awaiting shuttle, anxious to not get caught by one of his men, his FORMER men. Because now they were just mere pawns of Sidious!

He just reached the landing platform when he saw a figure, wearing a brown robe, moving towards the shuttle. He blinked a few times, not believing his eyes, for the figure looked like his former Jedi General. But he had seen the man falling down into the abyss.

When the figure reached the shuttle, his path was blocked by two soldiers, but he made a wide gesture with his hand and the two men straightened before turning and marching away.

Cody's hands became numb and his blaster clattered to the ground. The hooded figure turned around at the sound, blue lightsaber in his hand. Cody's les suddenly gave out under him and he had to kneel to the ground. In a sign of surrender, he held up his hands. The Commander was barely aware of his blaster getting mover out of his reach, when he reached for his helmet and pulled it off of his head. Cody was aware of the tear stains on his cheeks and the pleading look in his eyes, but he was not a fool to believe that his General would forgive and trust him now.

The two men's gazes met, blue met brown and they regarded each other for a moment, until Cody couldn't take it anymore and looked away.

"General," he mumbled and his voice sounded as miserable as he looked.

"Cody," the addressed clone was surprised that the man even talked with him.

"I… I am so sorry! I don't know what got into me, I… I'm sorry!" Cody's voice broke and he felt fresh tears running down his cheeks. He buried his face in his hands, shamed by his actions and embarrassed that he had been too weak. The clone didn't even notice how the blue blade was deactivated and how the shorter man approached him.

"Cody, look at me!" Obi-Wan demanded, but his voice sounded oddly gentle. Cody would have preferred if the man had shouted at him, so he just shook his head. The older male sighed, "Then I order you to look at me!"

Cody couldn't and wouldn't ignore a direct order, especially not now, so he hesitantly looked up and was greeted by warm blue eyes. He wanted to look away again, but forced himself to stay this way.

"What happened?"

"I don't know, I got a call from a hooded figure, Darth Sidious and he said something about: 'Execute Order 66' and I felt my control slip and I… and I…"

"Cody, calm down. Everything is going to be alright, just stay in the reality! Yes, that's it, take deep breathes."

"How, how can you still talk to me after I told my men to shoot you?"

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment, "Do you remember Fives?" Cody nodded, not knowing where this was going. "Master Shaak'Ti reported a strange tumour in his head and after further inspection we found it in all clones. My guess is that this 'tumour' was a device to control minds…" he explained calmly.

"But I thought the probe was sent towards Coruscant?"

"It never arrived, but Master Dooku was able to give us at least some information! I don't blame you, Cody!"

"You should!" Cody protested.

"I only should be proud that you apparently found a way to deactivate the device!"

Cody blinked startled. He did deactivate it, didn't he? The question was, how he did this. "I think it deactivated once I realised what I had done!"

Obi-Wan offered him his free hand and Cody looked sceptical at it. "They way I see it, you overrode the programming because you couldn't bear the thought of killing me. Therefore you proved that it is possible to change the programming and to save your brothers! Besides, the way you are acting, all cautious as if you were afraid to hurt me further, it only proofs that Sidious has no more power over you!"

Cody had to acknowledge the logic and truth in the man's words. Obi-Wan was 'the Negotiator' for a reason after all. He took a shaky breath and eventually reached out to the outstretched hand that immediately pulled him up.

"What are we going to do now?" Cody asked, not sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"First we have to return to the temple to look for other survivors… I guess we just have to see what the Force has planned for us! Now come!"

And Cody nodded, picked up his blaster and helmet and followed his General.

The temple ground were crowded by clones, but thanks to their quick thinking and good teamwork, Cody and his General had been able to fool the clones in believing that Obi-Wan was indeed a hostage and a bait for the few younglings to come out.

They were allowed to enter the temple and as soon as they had been out of sight and ear shot of other soldiers, Obi-Wan had led the way.

"You have got to be joking!" Cody grumbled after they almost ran into the fifth troop that was patrolling the countless corridors. Cody had never before been in the depth of the temple yet he guessed it would take days for them to reach their destination if it went on like this.

Cody barely kept himself from running straight into the shorter man, when the latter abruptly stopped, his gaze fixed on a point above their heads.

"The fastest and easiest way would be to crawl through the ventilation shafts!" he gazed at Cody, "I fear you have to take off your uniform or you won't fit!"

"General," Cody said scandalised, "not in public!"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at Cody's humour, earning him a wicked snicker from his companion, who was already pealing off his uniform.

"At least you have not lost your humour yet… are you ready?"

"For you always, General!" Cody winked, but readied himself.

"One of these days!" Obi-Wan huffed, but helped the clone to climb up. He himself jumped with the help of the Force.

The way through the shafts was exhausting. The shafts were often very small and very dusty, but at least Cody had a 'good' view on his General. When he said as much, the shorter man had kicked him, but it had been worth for the absolute horrified look on the man's face. Cody was just glad he and Obi-Wan could still joke around.

"Where exactly are we going?" Cody asked after another rounded corner.

Obi-Wan stopped shortly to think, "We are on our way to the Council chambers. I feel several Force presences there; Luh's, Ahsoka's and Anakin's among others."

Cody hummed, he was just glad that they would soon get out of here.

The get-together had been short, yet friendly. The hiding Jedi had welcomed Obi-Wan happily, but only after the older man had reassured them, had they welcomed Cody. They had escaped the temple through a hidden passage from the Council chambers, but not without altering the message the clones had installed to lure stray Jedi back to the temple. Now the Jedi, Cody and Rex, who they had picked up while he was brawling against his own brothers and when it became clear that his chip was also deactivated, were searching for other survivors. A coded message was send in the galaxy, a code only Jedi could crack and it didn't take long for more Jedi Masters to arrive. Rex and Cody had also saved a few Senators from being executed, Senator Padme Amidala among others. That alone brought another problem, for the woman was highly pregnant and would deliver soon.

The few Jedi Masters that remained, quickly decided it would be best to split up and train the younglings and build up a rebellion, before they would engage the imperator.

And that's how it came that Skywalker his revealed with and their two children would travel to Tatooine, a planet the Jedi would like to evade. The barely knighted Tano would take a few younglings with her and travel the galaxy in search for a place to stay, actually so did most of the other Jedi. Yoda decided to remain with Obi-Wan for an uncertain amount of time. He had mumbled something about, "Teaching old Masters a few new tricks!" Cody had decided he didn't want to know what the green troll was actually talking about.

Rex had decided to subtly look for other brothers, whose chips were not working. He would accompany Windu, who had reported about Dooku's heroic death. The old man had given his life so that others could live, the act of a true Jedi. At least that is what Obi-Wan had said.

Cody on the other hand decided to stay by Obi-Wan's and Luh's side.

Stewjon was a calm planet, full of nature and the perfect place to hide on. On top of that was it Obi-Wan's home-planet, but Cody guessed he would even have been happy on the warm and sandy planet Tatooine as long as he had his family around him.

His family currently consisted of the two Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was reaching his fortieth birthday, even though the man absolutely refused to celebrate it, and Luh Yukura, who was approaching her thirteenth birthday. But it also consisted of a few of his brothers Rex had managed to find. Unsurprisingly they all had decided to stay with Kenobi.

"Still gazing at the stars?"
"As always, Cody!" Obi-Wan turned towards the approaching clone.

The two men stood together in silence on the hill near their residence, which had once been the home of Obi-Wan's biological parents. The man referred to them like this himself, he also said that he would call others his 'parents'.

"It is time soon, isn't it?" Cody asked.

"Yes…" he paused, "You have no idea how much I despise the idea of going back into battle!"

"I share your sentiment, but I fear there is no going back now!"

"Don't get me wrong, I would have it no other way… This is our chance to defeat Sidious and to get the galaxy back!"

"Now you sound as if you were standing before me and my Unit again, trying to cheer us up," Cody laughed.

"Some habits are hard to break…" Obi-Wan shrugged and turned his gaze back to the countless stars above them.

"This is going to be the end of a long era, I can feel it!" Cody stated and followed Obi-Wan's gaze.

"Every ending has a beginning… and each ending is followed by a new one!" Obi-wan said wisely.

Cody nodded, "Let's make the galaxy a better place!"

"May the Force be with us!"