Chapter Text
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Anakin ate across the table from Obi-Wan like he always did, Ahsoka sitting just beside him, but Rex and Cody were carrying much of the conversation.
Ahsoka elbowed him. “Whatever you said to Master Kenobi, you should apologize,” she whispered.
Anakin glanced down at her. “What? I haven’t said anything.”
“Yes, and that’s weird. You’re never this quiet!”
“I find my thoughts occupied this morning, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan cut in.
Hearing his voice brought Anakin’s dream back to the fore. The command it could carry—fuck, but Anakin wished he hadn’t woken up when he did.
Anakin risked a glance, but Obi-Wan was just as ridiculously handsome this morning as he always was.
When their eyes met, Obi-Wan turned back to his meal. “Very occupied.”
Ahsoka frowned, her brow furrowed deeply. “You really aren’t upset with my master?”
“No. Why would I be?” Obi-Wan asked, tone mild. He looked at Anakin as if to see if he knew why Obi-Wan might be upset with him.
The part of Anakin that had begun to worry when Ahsoka raised the possibility relaxed. “See, Snips? I’m not in trouble. He’s just thinking. And I’m just hungry.”
Obi-Wan laughed. “It’s always food with you,” he said, voice as warm as his Force signature.
Their eyes met again, and for a single charged moment, all Anakin could think about was kissing him. He could clear the table and sit on his lap, close as can be, and kiss him until they were both breathless.
Obi-Wan’s cheeks colored slightly, and he coughed and turned back to his food again, the moment broken.
Anakin shoveled a huge bite of whatever he was eating into his mouth.
“See, you guys are acting weird!” Ahsoka protested.
Cody snorted. Obi-Wan shot him a narrow-eyed look.
“Isn’t this normal for them?” Rex asked, gesturing absently with his fork. “They’re always communicating without actually saying anything. Nothing weird there.”
“Sure,” Ahsoka agreed readily, “but where’s all the banter this morning?”
Rex gave that more deliberation than Anakin thought it deserved. He tried to give Rex a look that communicated how much he wanted him to change the subject, but nothing seemed to get through his pensive stare.
“The Commander’s right. There should be a lot more banter happening.”
Anakin sighed. “We don’t banter all the time.”
“You do, actually,” Cody noted. “But even our generals can grow fatigued. I’m certain that’s all it is. More rest should fix them right up.”
“No,” Obi-Wan protested too quickly. “No, I’m quite all right, thank you. I slept very well last night, I assure you.”
Remembering his dream, Anakin lost focus. More rest might mean he could—but no, no, he wasn’t supposed to think about that. Obi-Wan was his friend first. He shouldn’t lust after him like this. It wasn’t decent.
Still, he could remember how it felt, on his knees for his master, waiting for him to…
Anakin licked his lips.
When he glanced back at Obi-Wan, he was studiously eating his breakfast, eyes pointedly downcast.
Well, it wasn’t important. He and Obi-Wan would be back to normal in no time.
Except that their next mission was a nightmare from the very beginning. He and Obi-Wan split up, Obi-Wan heading to the city center to go after their command structure, and Anakin trying to meet him in the middle. Simple enough, if he weren’t being hindered at every turn by an irritatingly successful guerilla group.
He and Rex were in the middle of a discussion about how better to deal with the Force damned guerilla group in order to accomplish anything useful—possibly taking over a military installation—when an incoming shuttle was announced.
Anakin paused and watched it descend.
“What’s this about, sir?” Rex asked.
“I don’t know. I don’t like it, though.” Anakin crossed his arms. He had a bad feeling about this.
The Jedi who stepped out of the shuttle was only vaguely familiar.
“You’ve been summoned to Coruscant, General Skywalker,” Master Krell (maybe) said.
“For what reason? I’m in the middle of a campaign. I was under the impression that the missions on Umbara were of critical importance.” The bad feeling weighed down around him, centering in his gut. “Can’t this wait?”
Master Krell shook his head. “That’s why I’ve been sent. I’m your relief. I’ll handle your mission here while you return to the Capitol. The Supreme Chancellor was very insistent.”
The Chancellor wanted him for something? And he wanted him to trust his men with someone new?
Anakin did not like that. He glanced at Rex. His men were his responsibility, and he didn’t know this Jedi well enough to trust him. Couldn’t they have sent Master Plo as his relief? Or Master Yoda? Someone he knew respected their men?
Rex seemed to understand his hesitation. “We’ll do our best to save some Seps for when you get back, sir!”
Anakin let himself smile, even if his unease was only growing. “You better. I’ll try and wrap it up as quick as I can.” He squeezed Rex’s shoulder, tight and unyielding. “Take care of yourselves. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.”
And then Anakin was being hurried away, his bad feeling only growing.
At least Ahsoka wasn’t planetside. She’d be safe for the duration.
Still, he comm’d Obi-Wan before he left the atmosphere.
“Anakin? Is everything all right?”
“I’ve been recalled to Coruscant for some reason, and I have… a very bad feeling. What do you know about, I think his name is Master Krell?” Anakin asked, glancing out the viewport to the planet below.
“He’s a very efficient general, as far as I’ve heard. I’m not sure. Is that who’s here to relieve you?” Obi-Wan asked. He stroked his beard, brow furrowed.
“Yes. I don’t know, but something seems wrong. Will you keep an eye out? I don’t trust him with my men.” Anakin couldn’t explain it any further, but Obi-Wan was already nodding.
“Yes, of course. I’ll watch out for them as best I can.” He looked at Anakin for a long moment. “Be careful, and come back soon.”
Anakin sighed, memorizing the shimmering blue shape of his master. “As soon as I can. Whatever this is, it better be important.”
Obi-Wan smiled. “May the Force be with you.”
“And you,” Anakin answered. Reluctantly, he ended the call. The Chancellor better have a good explanation for this.
Anakin tried to contact Rex again, but the call still wouldn’t go through. Ahsoka was fine, Obi-Wan was fine, but Rex was unreachable.
The troopers flying back with him looked nervous, but Anakin couldn’t bring himself to reassure them. The bad feeling had only worsened, and to add insult to injury, the Chancellor had hardly needed him.
A protection detail.
The whole Order to choose from, the competent and reliable members of the Coruscant Guard ever present, and the Chancellor pulled him from a critical mission on the front lines for a fucking protection detail.
Anakin slammed his fist into the durasteel behind him to work out some of his aggression. What he wouldn’t give for a battle right now, anger burning through his veins even as fear chilled him to the core.
The troopers were actively giving him a wide berth, so Anakin forced himself to breathe the way Obi-Wan always insisted on. It didn’t help, but it was a start.
He’d apologize later. After he knew how his other men had fared.
He’d barely arrived on the Resolute when Obi-Wan was comming him the all clear.
He tried to comm Rex again, and finally made it through. “Sorry, sir, we had some comm troubles down here. Among… other things.” Rex looked off to the side, and something about his expression rang with dissonance.
“We’ll talk about it when you get back aboard,” Anakin said. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.”
Rex frowned. “This was a bad one, sir. General Krell… didn’t make it.”
Anakin stared. A Jedi was killed? It happened, but so rarely it startled him. “Tell me about it when you come aboard. I want to know everything. Especially whatever it is you don’t want to tell me.”
Rex laughed, but it was tense. Brittle. “Yes, sir. I’ll be there shortly. Cody should be able to take over here in just a tick.”
Bad enough to ask Cody to cover for him. He was right to have a bad feeling after all. “Come straight to my office when you get here. We can talk privately.”
“Yes, sir. Rex out.”
Anakin turned and walked immediately to his office. The last time he’d heard of a Jedi dying, countless clones had fallen too. Anakin clenched his fists against the rush of impotent anger that threatened.
Rex let himself in, and Anakin was surprised to see him followed by Obi-Wan.
“I invited myself along,” Obi-Wan said. “I hope you don’t mind. This mission was only a success by the barest measure, and I want to know why.”
Anakin shook his head. “As long as Rex is comfortable.”
Rex closed and sealed the door, his expression darker than Anakin had ever seen. He didn’t seem to have heard their exchange at all, because he didn’t give any indication of how he felt about Obi-Wan’s presence. Anakin took that to mean Obi-Wan was welcome.
“Permission to speak freely, sir?”
Anakin swallowed a wash of cold dread. “Granted. Anything you say will remain between us.”
Rex waited until Obi-Wan nodded his agreement.
He let out a shaky breath and sank into one of the chairs across from the desk. Anakin needed to move too badly to make an attempt, but Obi-Wan sat beside Rex.
“General Krell…” Rex looked back up. “We killed him, sirs.”
Obi-Wan startled visibly, but Anakin narrowed his eyes.
“What did he do?”
Rex maintained eye contact. “Krell was guilty of treason. He decided to defect to the Separatists, and to that end, he ordered several reckless frontal assaults, admitted to seeing us as expendable, and tried to have members of my company court martialed and summarily executed without trial.”
“He what?” Anakin snarled.
“He also lied to us directly. He told us the enemy would be wearing our armor and then sent us to the same area being scouted by a company from the 212th.” Rex looked down, his fists clenched against his thighs. “They had been given the same information. We lost several men before we realized what had happened.”
Anakin felt a burst of cold plunge the room several degrees colder; Obi-Wan looked calm, but the anger radiating off of him was like nothing Anakin had ever felt before, deep and consuming and fathomless.
“You executed him,” Obi-Wan said, voice slow and careful. Searching.
Rex looked at him. He shook his head. “I couldn’t pull the trigger; one of my men did. Dogma. The one who trusted him the most.”
“That is acceptable,” Obi-Wan said simply. The anger slowly drained out of him, but Anakin couldn’t shake the feeling of it, the glacial cold seeping across his skin, soaking down into his blood.
It felt good, a balm on the harsh burn of his own fury.
“He was killed on my orders,” Obi-Wan decided.
“Sir?” Rex asked.
“Treason is a very serious offense, as is needlessly endangering good men and our mission. He attempted escape, and so he was killed to prevent his joining Dooku.” Obi-Wan crossed one leg over the other. “Is that acceptable?”
Rex considered them both for a long beat. “Yes, sir. It’s as you say.”
Anakin paced, unable to simply let go of his anger.
He never understood how Obi-Wan could release his feelings so easily. How could he be calm again already? How, when that bastard had hurt their men while they were under his protection!
Obi-Wan stroked his beard. “I must admit, I am concerned about the state his men have been left in, considering.” He shook his head. “This is entirely unacceptable. I’ll be speaking with the Council about this, I can assure you.”
Anakin hit his desk. “They won’t do anything! They must have known how he was treating them!”
Rex frowned. “General Skywalker, all due respect, how would anyone have found him out? He was cruel to us and exceedingly strict, but if they keep sending him shinies, they wouldn’t know any better, and they wouldn’t think to complain.” He stood and paced behind his chair. “He insisted he was doing things by the book, and the worst thing is: he was. It made defiance all but impossible.”
“But not for you,” Obi-Wan noted.
“No,” Rex agreed. “We knew he was wrong. My men defied his orders to save us all. But they were defying orders, when on any other mission, they would have been doing exactly as General Skywalker would have wanted, as he would have ordered had he been present.”
Rex fell silent, thoughts at war on his face. Anakin had never seen him hesitate like this before. Captain Rex was steadfast and loyal and quick thinking; whatever had him this tied up, Anakin dreaded it without question.
When Rex finally looked up, he was resolved. “You know, sirs, that I trust the both of you to have our best interests in mind, right? Not just me, but all my brothers.”
“Of course, Rex.” Anakin frowned. “Why?”
“The way he spoke…” Rex tapped at a part of his armor. “Have you seen the new armor they want us wearing, sirs?”
“No,” Obi-Wan said. “I recall Cody made a complaint, but he wasn’t specific.”
Rex smiled fondly, but shook his head, the expression fading quickly. “No, Cody never much cared about our armor specs. The new armor, it’s incredibly thin and incredibly dangerous. A cost-saving measure, we’ve been told. It’ll protect from maybe half what our older armor could. I’ve modified mine, but I know not everyone has.”
Anakin frowned. “Give the order to continue wearing the original armor if you have it. I don’t want any of you taking unnecessary risks.”
Rex waved him off. “Thank you, sir, but that isn’t what I was getting at.”
“He treated you as disposable, and the armor only confirms it on a systemic level,” Obi-Wan said. His expression darkened, and that cold anger rose up again, inexorable as a strong tide, washing over Anakin in the Force.
“Exactly, sir. The armor, the fact that a frontal assault is considered the standard—do they see us as people, or are we no better than the clankers we’ve spent all this time fighting?” Rex asked. “When the war finally ends, what happens to us? Will we be decommissioned too, nothing more or less than flesh and blood droids?”
Anakin sat down hard, horror turning his stomach before tying it in a tight knot. He was shaking, he realized. “If they try it, I’ll kill them myself,” he forced out through gritted teeth.
“Thank you, sir, but again that only protects our men. What about the others? There are millions of us, sir, and not every Jedi is as considerate as you both are. How can I trust that the rest of my brothers are being treated as they deserve?” Rex sat back down, his shoulders weighed down by his sense of responsibility.
Obi-Wan nodded. “I have something more I need to discuss with the Council, but you’re right, Captain. There’s currently no way to be sure, and that is unacceptable. I’ll see what I can change to fix that.”
“Organa!” Anakin realized. At their confused looks, he elaborated. “Senators Organa and Amidala are working on legislation to better protect our men. We can use them to push the Senate to act.”
Rex sucked in a shaky breath and straightened. “Sirs, I’m… Thank you. For taking this seriously. This means everything to me, to all of us.”
“We won’t leave you behind,” Obi-Wan vowed, eyes blazing. “Whatever it takes. You are not disposable. Not a single one of you.”
Rex stood and threw a sharp salute. His eyes looked misty, but he remained tall and proud. “With permission, I’d like to tell Cody what we’ve discussed here.”
“Of course,” Anakin answered.
“And tell the men involved the story we’ve spun. Make sure they all know the same details of what’s happened.” Obi-Wan stood and gripped his shoulder. “If you hear of any further abuses, would you keep a record? We’ll need all the evidence we can gather.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll put out a call, quietly of course.” He saluted again.
“Dismissed,” Anakin acknowledged.
Rex left, the door closing behind him.
Obi-Wan pulled out his comm, turning it over in his hand. “I can guarantee about a third of the Council will stand with us on this. Another third will be staunchly opposed. The last third will be unwilling to pick a side with any rapidity.”
Anakin wanted to hit something. “They’re being treated no better than slaves.” He laughed bitterly. “And here I thought the Republic doesn’t condone slavery.”
“So did I.” Obi-Wan let out a breath. “We’ll do what we can. I promise, Anakin, we will solve this. And what I can do now is something I should have done a long time ago.”
He set down his comm and pressed the button. Plo Koon appeared above it. “Master Kenobi,” he greeted. “Is there something I can help you with?”
“I need to call an emergency Council meeting. It’s about the clones, the Senate, and Dooku. And Anakin will be sitting in on this meeting. He’s involved.” Obi-Wan’s tone brooked no argument.
Plo Koon considered him in silence. “So the rumors were true. I had hoped they weren’t. What has become of General Krell?”
“I had him arrested for treason. He was killed attempting to escape to Dooku.”
Anakin had never been in on one of Obi-Wan’s lies like this before. His master truly was impressive. Had he not known, he would have assumed Obi-Wan was telling the truth.
Plo Koon gave a very quiet hum. “I will see to his troops. They may need to be redistributed. I’ll be sure they’re sent to appropriate Jedi.” He bowed his head.
Obi-Wan let out a breath. “Thank you. Is a meeting of the Council possible now?”
“I will see. You may wish to… prepare young Skywalker. I will call back when we are gathered and ready.” Barely waiting for acknowledgment, Plo Koon clicked off.
Anakin frowned at Obi-Wan. “Why do I need to be prepared?”
“There was something I couldn’t explain about Dooku, do you remember?” Obi-Wan asked.
How could he forget? Anakin had been quietly agonizing about what Dooku could possibly have meant by what he told Obi-Wan for much longer than was appropriate for a Jedi.
Not to mention the worry over why Obi-Wan was so concerned about it.
“You’re actually going to tell me?”
Obi-Wan nodded. “I never wanted to keep this from you. I was sworn to secrecy by the Council or else I would have told you when I first discovered it. At the time, I was not a member and I was unable to do more than protest.”
“Master, what is it?” Anakin asked. “What could be such a secret?”
He let out a breath and lowered his gaze. “The Jedi were not the ones who commissioned the clone army. The man who did it masqueraded as a then-dead Jedi, Master Sifo Dyas.” Obi-Wan clenched his hands together. “The other name he gave was Darth Tyrannus.”
Anakin shot to his feet. “What? Count Dooku commissioned the Grand Army of the Republic? Why? Who else knows about this? Do the men know?”
Obi-Wan rubbed between his eyes like he had a headache coming on. “Apparently he did; we don’t know why. That’s why I didn’t let you kill him. The Council knows. I know. You know. That’s everybody. The Council thought it would be… unwise to let this get out. I would have told you, but I was expressly forbidden.”
Anakin frowned down at him. “This is wrong. You should have told me, but more importantly, Rex and Cody and the others, they all deserve to know! This is their origin! And you’re lying to them about it!”
“I know,” Obi-Wan said. “Master Plo and I have been discussing this at length and advocating for coming clean, if to no one else, to our men.”
Obi-Wan slouched back in his chair, exhaustion dragging every limb lower, his head hanging.
Anakin stumbled back into his chair in his shock.
Obi-Wan had never slouched a day in his life. Not in front of Anakin. Not ever.
“It’s a relief to me that you know now, Anakin,” he admitted quietly. “The Council won’t like that I’ve told you, but they’ll have to deal with it now.”
Anakin bit his lip. Unsettled would be putting it mildly. “We should tell Senator Organa,” he said, hoping to distract his master.
Obi-Wan opened one eye. “Not without the Council’s permission. Telling you is one thing, but we will not be telling any politicians, understood?”
“I understand, Master. I still think we should tell people.”
Obi-Wan pressed himself back into good posture, stretching himself out and sighing. “I don’t disagree, but I won’t make that kind of move without authorization. The consequences are much farther reaching than my telling you.”
The comm chimed. Obi-Wan met Anakin’s eyes over the desk. “Come sit beside me. We’ll want to look a united front here.”
Anakin hastened to obey, scooting the chair a little closer. “I’m on your side, Master,” he reminded him.
Obi-Wan squeezed his shoulder. “I know. I’m grateful for that and for you. More than you can ever know.” He let out a breath.
And then he accepted the comm.
What followed was possibly the most frustrating two hours of Anakin’s life. If every Council meeting was like this, Obi-Wan could keep them. He’d much rather hear about the results after.
Anakin was almost removed from the meeting on the orders of some of the more traditional members of the Council, except that Mace Windu argued for him to stay.
(Anakin wasn’t entirely sure what to make of that, but he knew better than to argue.)
The Council was of course “troubled” by Krell’s betrayal and by his behavior leading up to it. Master Plo reiterated his intent to see to the bastard’s men, making sure they were taken care of and enabled to reach their full potential.
The arguments didn’t really start until Obi-Wan suggested coming clean to the Senate about the clones’ origin or else supporting Senator Organa’s bill to grant all clones full Republic citizenship with all the incumbent rights and responsibilities.
Anakin fumed, patience stretched thinner than ever.
Obi-Wan gave him a calming nudge in the Force, the cool wash of his presence soothing Anakin’s ire.
“Masters,” Anakin interrupted, impatience nevertheless overwhelming his better judgement. “All due respect, but these men are our responsibility. They depend on us to protect them and look out for their best interests. How can we claim to do that when their very origin is a secret even to us? When we don’t know why they were even created? Don’t we owe them the truth? Or are they to be nothing more than slaves of a Republic they don’t belong to, here only to die for people who will never see them as the individuals we know they are?”
The other masters mumbled to each other, their eyes weighing heavily on him. Obi-Wan felt proud where he sat beside him. Anakin clung to that feeling in the face of the Council’s scrutiny.
“I agree with Knight Skywalker,” Master Plo said. “I want to tell our men the truth. Have they not earned our trust and our respect? Do they not deserve the best of what we can give them?”
The debate continued, but Anakin gave Master Plo a quick, grateful smile.
After more endless debate, Yoda rapped his stick loudly against the ground, calling everyone to attention.
“In more detail must we discuss this subject. Meditate on this we shall. Consequences beyond our knowing there could be, so carefully must we proceed. However, proceed we must. At the time for the truth we have arrived.” Yoda nodded at Anakin and Obi-Wan. “Continue this discussion we will. Return to Coruscant once finished on Umbara you will.”
“Yes, Master Yoda,” Obi-Wan agreed with a bow. “We should be able to leave within the next few days.”
“Then see you soon we will.” Yoda bowed his head. “May the Force be with you.”
Anakin waited until the holo faded out before shooting Obi-Wan a strained smile. “Is it always like that?”
Obi-Wan stroked a hand over his beard. “No, this was much more interesting than our meetings usually are.”
Anakin stared. “But it was so boring! They were all arguing about stupid hypotheticals and wasting time on problems that don’t even exist. We could have just taken care of this ourselves with Master Plo!”
Obi-Wan smiled. “That’s the nature of the Jedi Council, my young padawan,” he said, tone light and teasing. “It is a great honor to be included, I’ve been told, but Master Qui-Gon refused the honor up to the very day he died.”
Anakin flattened his lips. He would take a page from Master Qui-Gon’s book, he decided. No matter the prestige and power, it wasn’t worth it. Obi-Wan could be his representative on the Council. He knew how Anakin felt about things.
Obi-Wan laughed. “My dear, your face—it wasn’t really that bad, was it?”
“Never, Master. They will never get me on that Council. It isn’t worth it.” He shook his head. “No, you can speak on my behalf.”
“Oh, I can, can I?” Obi-Wan squeezed his shoulder, his humor shining bright in the Force. “Well, thank you for the vote of confidence. Now, what do you say we get some dinner and some well-deserved rest?”
“I say, yes and absolutely.” Anakin stood. “I don’t even care how gross the rations are today.”
“That’s the spirit,” Obi-Wan said. “And as soon as we can, I promise you, we will tell Rex and Cody everything.”
Anakin thought about secrets and lies. He thought about trust and how fragile it could be. He looked down at his mechno hand, flexing his fingers. “Do you think they’ll ever forgive us for this?”
“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan admitted. “I hope they will.”
Anakin thought about deserts at night, about pain and rage and death.
“I hope so, too,” he said quietly.