Chapter Text
The former Admiral had only had one advice for him when he went to serve with General Kenobi: be patient.
And Cody was patient, he really was, but he suspected it was going to be difficult when he heard the rumours days before he saw his General. Haughty, disrespectful, and very uncommunicative with the clones. The kind of natborn to walk past a clone who talks to him without stopping, without even giving the impression that he heard you. That kind of asshole. When the ship landed in the hangar, the only natborn who came out was there for him and looked around calmly, serene and dignified in his long Jedi robes, and he quietly approached Cody.
- Hello, Commander, could you remove your helmet?
- General?
It was against protocol, but as the General waited Cody removed his helmet and nodded.
- May I have your name?
- Cody, sir.
- I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, nice to meet you. Have you been briefed on the specificity of the situation?
- "Yes sir," Cody replied, because... what else was he supposed to say? That he wasn't up to date on his records?
- Good.
The Jedi looked relieved and asked Wooley to remove his helmet to give him the tour, and Cody made sure everyone was mentally prepared for the General to ask them to remove their helmets, at least he didn't seem bothered by the concrete reminder that they all had the same body under the coloured plastoid. According to Wooley, the Jedi hadn't taken his eyes off of him during the whole visit, watching him with a kind of eager attention that had actually scared the poor vod, so Cody promised him that he would send someone else for the Jedi.
Of course, he was the one who ended up outside the Jedi's quarters to guide him to the mess hall, he didn't want to leave that task to anyone else, especially if he had to deal with a natborn with an unhealthy interest in clones. As a Commander, he had – theoretically – more protection than his brothers and it was his duty to protect them.
He knocked a few times before noticing that the light indicator said the quarters were inactive, the General was probably not there or was taking a nap. He moved away and was startled by the soft voice that called to him.
- Commander Cody? Did you need something?
- General! I don't...
Cody stopped dead as he reached the doorway, puzzled to see that the Jedi's quarters were in complete darkness and that the Jedi was... shirtless. And he was rubbing his hair with a towel. Kriff, he was just out of the shower!
- I'd come to escort you to the officers' mess, sir, Wooley told me he hadn't shown you and-
- "Helmet," the Jedi called back impassively before smiling pleasantly. "You were saying?"
Cody didn't understand... did he expect him to repeat himself? He had spoken loud and clear just before, it didn't require him to start from the beginning, did it?
Kark that, Cody gritted his teeth before obediently repeating to himself like a stupid clone: he was here to obey, and if his General wanted to be a little humiliating to remind him who had the authority, he was just going to accept it.
- I came to escort you to the mess, sir, Wooley told me he hadn't shown you.
- "But did he show it to me?" The Jedi announced with a frown, his head tilted slightly to the right, looking honestly confused.
- The officer’s mess is not in the same place, sir.
- Oh, sure, right. I'll be ready in two minutes.
- Yes, sir.
He stood awkwardly on site, uncertain, in the corridor of the natborn high-officers. The natborn didn't like seeing clones in this area, but he knew he was more relaxed there than he would have been if the General had let him in. One natborn looked at him suspiciously but said nothing, and just as a much more confident and aggressive one came in sight, the General came out.
- We can go now, thank you for waiting Commander.
- This way, sir.
From there the General nodded to many of the natborn and greeted a few with their names before explaining to Cody.
- I don't know all the names yet, feel free to introduce me to people.
The only people Cody would want to introduce him to were his brothers, but on the other hand he didn't want to draw the General's attention to them, in this world the clones' strength and most important protection was their anonymity. They distinguished themselves from each other, but they still had to be above reproach for the others, and they were trying hard enough to make it work, so they were going to keep it that way.
Finally, they arrived at the natborn officers' mess, and Cody was relieved to get away from the natborn who was nice to look at but scary in the attention he paid to his face.
- "Oh, I forgot, here, this is for you," the Jedi said, pulling something out of his pockets.
Cody grabbed it by instinct without looking and stood still as the Jedi walked away before he turned to him again.
- Not coming, Commander?
- No sir, I'm eating with my men.
The Jedi seemed to hesitate, but a natborn approached with a pleasant smile for the Jedi and offered to accompany him, which the Jedi finally accepted, though Cody could see something was bothering him. No matter, if he had a problem, he would talk to him about it later. Thus, he gave the General a strict salute:
- General.
- I wish you a good meal, Commander.
- You too, General. Vice Admiral.
Obviously, the Vice Admiral didn't respond, unless a scornful pout was an answer, in which case this natborn was very communicative.
Cody was just as disturbed as Wooley but he didn't have much to add to the first-hand gossips, though he already knew he wasn't waiting for his next summons. And why did he give him a flashlight?
The General wasn't looking at him normally, Cody had noticed that, it was just accidents when their eyes met. He had beautiful blue eyes.
General Kenobi wasn't looking him in the eye.