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Published:
2022-07-28
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Where Loyalty Lies

Summary:

In the wake of Slick's betrayal, Cody wrestles with his feelings on the clones' role in the war as he navigates a conversation with his General.

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Work Text:

The trip back from Teth is a quiet affair.

Rex and the scant remnants of Torrent company rejoined the 501st via the ship that brought them. It’s… they’ll make it through this, will rebuild with reallocated troops and new blood. For now, they need time to recuperate together with their legion brothers and prepare for their new little Commander. Cody can check in with Rex again when they’re back on Coruscant.

In the meantime, he reviews the requisition forms alone in his small office aboard the Negotiator. Casualties, munitions spent and lost, vehicles requiring maintenance and replacement, a not insignificant portion of all these due to—

Slick.

Cody scowls at his datapad. He’d put the traitor out of his mind for the battles on Christophsis and Teth, but with those over and no urgent tasks to be handled, he can’t help but think about the sergeant’s betrayal now, and it rankles deeply. The vode are supposed to be able to count on each other. What could possibly be worth abandoning that and actively getting brothers killed?

Freedom, Slick had claimed in his reasoning. I love my brothers. I was striking a blow for all clones. Funny thoughts to have while stabbing them in the back and betraying the purpose they all share. Did Slick really think that helping the Separatists win would end in anything but the demise of the clones alongside the Republic they’re defending?

Did you run the numbers? Cody wants to ask. Could, if he ventured down to the brig. Did you stop to consider how many brothers you consigned to death by selling information and sabotaging the base? What good is freedom to dead men?  

No doubt these delusions had been planted by Ventress’s lying tongue. But while the motivations of a traitor should hold no significance, Slick’s words inexplicably set something dark and bitter and absolutely useless stirring in Cody’s gut. He grabs its ugly maw in both hands and forces it down.

Freedom is not something that clones need.

(It’s not something they can have.)

As he’s trying to banish thoughts of Slick from his mind, Cody’s datapad pings with a message:

Commander Cody,

Please stop by my office at your earliest convenience. It’s nothing urgent, but I would like to speak with you when you have the time.

-GEN OWK

Cody pulls in a breath. Most post-battle procedures have already been dealt with, and the General has already debriefed with him regarding the change in Padawan plans. However, the General has not yet addressed Slick’s betrayal directly since his arrest, focusing instead on more immediate tasks as Cody had been. Maybe something else has come up, but Cody doubts it.

Only one way to find out, though, and Cody’s ‘earliest convenience’ is technically now. He takes another measured breath, in and then out, as he shuts off the datapad and leaves his office, helmet tucked under his arm.

Thus far General Kenobi has always been professional, fair, and even kind to the clones. Within about two weeks of working with him, Cody had felt bold enough to joke in an acceptably minor slip of propriety, and Kenobi had brightened and responded with a quip of his own; having been assigned together for a few months, now, they’ve begun falling into what Cody would tentatively call an amicable rapport.

However, Cody and his men also have not given their General much cause for anger. With the exception of a few minor and relatively harmless breaches of protocol—the responses to which have been lenient and occasionally amused—the 212th has exhibited good behavior until this point. This is the first incident Cody is aware of where a clone has so profoundly betrayed the Republic, and—well, Slick’s actions also reflect poorly on his superior officers. The Jedi don’t condone revenge, but they’re pretty big on justice and discipline, and in Cody’s experience those are often tied to punishment. He’s not sure what to expect of this meeting.

Neither of the Generals had seemed upset with anyone other than Slick at the time of the incident, so Cody may be working himself up over nothing. It’s just kriffing Slick getting under his skin. Regardless, Cody sure as hell isn’t going to forsake his responsibilities, so he finishes the short walk to the General’s office and knocks on the door.

“Come in,” the General calls. Cody enters the room—bigger than his, though not ostentatious—and salutes. The General offers a small smile from behind his desk. “Well, that was fast. At ease, Cody.”

Cody drops his hand back to his side. “You wanted to speak to me, General?”

“Yes. Please close the door and take a seat,” the General says, gesturing to the chair across from him. It’s better cushioned than most on the ship and similar to the General’s own. “Would you like any tea?”

“No, thank you, sir,” Cody replies as he sits.

“Very well.” The General folds his hands in front of him, and his expression turns to something a little more serious. He regards Cody quietly for a moment. “I’d like to talk about Sergeant Slick.”

Well, it’s not like Cody hadn’t suspected as much. “Yes, sir.”

“Before we begin,” the General says, “please know that you have permission to speak freely, and that nothing you say will be held against you or your brothers. I am not here to punish you for another man’s actions; my only goal is to reach a better understanding of the incident’s underlying causes.”

…Not a bad sign. Cody doesn’t necessarily doubt that the General’s statements are true. Kenobi is for the most part quite cordial with the troopers, and he often encourages them to share their thoughts. But Cody knows a mask when he sees one, and every face the Negotiator wears is deliberate; while some are more frank than others, all serve a purpose, however benign. In this case, General Kenobi is seeking candid discussion about an exceedingly delicate topic, and Cody is not exactly privy to all his motivations or judgments.

Even if the General is being completely honest himself, and even though he has not given Cody reason to fear how he wields his authority, whatever Cody says could influence the General’s opinion of the men whose lives he holds in his hands. Cody cannot misstep here. Yet bland stock answers aren’t going to cut it for Kenobi as they would for some of the admiralty or the Kaminoans—nor does Cody wish to lie.

Carefully chosen truths it is, then.

“Understood, sir.”

The General nods, then continues. “Slick’s actions were, of course, inexcusable. However, he said that he was offered freedom, and that the Jedi keep you enslaved. Do—“ He cuts himself off and starts a different sentence, tone neutral and almost cautious. “My concern is that he may have had a point, or at least that others may have reason to share his feelings.”

It takes Cody a moment to recognize the inquiry in the statement.

“Slick does not speak for the rest of us, sir. We’re not slaves, we’re soldiers,” Cody replies firmly. Slaves are people bought for credits and forced into labor against their will, and the clones—

(The average clone trooper costs 45,000 Republic credits. The price of victory at Teth was nearly an entire company. Soldiers are a currency in and of themselves, when it comes to war, and the clones weren’t made to be anything else.)

“—We were created to fight. Serving as soldiers for the Republic is an honorable thing to do and the whole reason we exist at all.”

This is apparently not a right answer, because the General winces. Damn it.

“The difference between service and servitude is that the former is usually voluntary,” General Kenobi says softly. “You’ve never been given another option.”

If you have a problem with this, then why did the Jedi commission us in the first place? Cody doesn’t ask. He’s not here to call the Order’s choices into doubt. Besides, the Jedi aren’t a monolith, and Kenobi wasn’t on the Council until recently and thus probably wasn’t involved in the commission itself.

Gritting his teeth, Cody rethinks his angle. He still doesn’t agree with Slick’s assessment and definitely doesn’t share his feelings; he just needs to articulate why.

(He may understand a few of the feelings. That in no way justifies the actions, and maybe makes the betrayal worse.)

“...We’re protecting the Republic’s values and citizens,” Cody continues. “If we don’t, then more innocent people will die at the hands of the Separatists. That’s—we’re making the galaxy a better place. That’s good.” (It’s worth it all, it has to be.) “Isn’t that why you’re here too, sir?”

“Of course,” the General replies. “It is a Jedi’s sworn duty to protect the lives of the innocent, to keep peace and order in the Republic, and so we answered the Senate’s call. But our situations are not the same; the Jedi at least had a choice.” Somehow that last bit sounds like—not a lie, maybe, but an oversimplification.

“The Jedi alone are not enough to fight a war,” Cody points out. “You need us.”

The General’s gaze drops down to the hands folded on his desk. “We do,” he quietly agrees. “And so you are here, fighting for freedoms you cannot even call your own.”  

Why bother to state this aloud? What does the General want from him? That’s simply how things are—fairness was never part of the deal. Maybe the fact that the Jedi commissioned the clones means they’re also the reason the clones have to be soldiers, but Cody would rather exist than not, he thinks.

But you deserve more, the General seems to be saying, and that’s… somehow both vindicating and frustrating. The unwanted thing in Cody’s gut is stirring again. He shoves it mercilessly back down.

The General continues. “We—the situation as a whole is—” He sighs and rubs his eyes. “Taking up this role has been regrettably necessary and also hasty in execution, but we’ve at least been under the impression that you all are ready and willing to fight.”

“We are, sir.” Mostly. Maybe that’s another oversimplification. Cody cannot fathom being anything but a soldier—there’s simply never been reason to consider it because he has brothers who need him to lead.

He takes a breath and continues, “Fighting is the right thing to do, for the Republic and for each other. My brothers and I know the importance of our purpose; our loyalty belongs here.”

This he does believe wholeheartedly. They’ve all seen how the Separatists treat their targets; citizens on Christophsis were starving until the Republic managed to get through the blockade, and the Separatist admiral bombed a refugee camp just to provoke a response. To not fight would be to surrender entire planets to that sort of cruelty. Furthermore, the vode are in this together; even the more reluctant troopers care enough about their brothers to fight for their sakes.

(To follow Slick’s example and turn against the Republic—such a path is reprehensible in the first place and foolish to boot. It wouldn’t be feasible to get every brother to abandon their integrity and desert, much less defect; they’d be turning against each other, and facing retribution from the Republic besides, and all they’d end up with would be a massive loss of life and enemies in every corner. It could never be worth it.)

The General scrutinizes him for a long moment. “You and your brothers exhibit admirable bravery and spirit, truly, and I do not doubt your dedication. Still, you did not ask for this; you could hardly be blamed for not being entirely satisfied with the circumstances.”

Dissatisfaction is typically interpreted as insubordination, at least on Kamino. Cody doesn’t know what to say.

At his silence, the General glances away with a frown. “I recognize that I am putting you in a very difficult position with this discussion, and for that I apologize. One question, then—and I’d like to reiterate that there will be no repercussions for any response—the Jedi have not been mistreating you, have we?”

Oh, thank the stars. That one’s easy enough. “No, sir.”

The Jedi hold authority over the clones because that’s how the chain of command is set up. Some are more lacking in military expertise than others, but at least they treat the clones like people rather than products or tools; the Jedi prefer to use names rather than numbers, and most are able to differentiate between individuals despite all the similar faces and armor. Rather than getting decommissioned, units that don’t meet muster for combat on Kamino are now reassigned to other roles, and the Jedi actively defend the clones in battle as much as they can. Call it conservation of assets or whatever, more of Cody’s brothers are still breathing because of them.

Personally, he likes the Jedi. He likes their Jedi. Rex is still alive today because General Kenobi went ahead of the main forces to the fortress at Teth. Sometimes the man seems to carry a little extra of that Jedi-flavor insanity, but he’s no slouch when it comes to strategy and he genuinely seems to give a shit—

And Cody is handling this conversation as though Kenobi is a potential enemy rather than an ally.

…Hmm.

He reconsiders his approach. The General is attempting to bridge a gap between them and understand issues he recognizes as legitimate—he’d stated as much at the start, and he has shown nothing but concern on the clones’ behalf over the past several minutes. Cody’s sole focus has been making sure he and his brothers aren’t suspected of harboring treasonous thoughts, tiptoeing around mines that may not even be there. But perhaps he is only seeing risk where there is also opportunity.

Though General Kenobi is a natborn who possesses a significant degree of power over the brothers under his command, he has been neither careless nor callous with it. His preferred negotiation tactics involve addressing the needs of all parties involved. Both he and Cody are duty-bound to fulfill their responsibilities in this war, and the better they work together then the better they can do their respective jobs.

They already have each other’s backs in the field. There may be ground to be gained here, too—but only by giving some first.

How much do I trust you, Cody wonders, and how much could I?

He breathes, in and out, and unclenches his fist from on top of his knee. Across from him the General’s shoulders relax minutely, and he waits patiently as Cody regathers his thoughts.

“While we are proud of what we do, you’re right that we don’t have much choice, sir,” Cody finally admits. “Slick resented that, I think, and blamed the Jedi for it. Given that it seems like the Senate made the decision to put you in charge of us, I really couldn’t say how much of our circumstances is actually your fault, but I don’t think it matters. It’s just how things are.”

Resolutely ignoring his crawling sense of exposure, he continues, “Technically, we’ve been commissioned in service of the Republic, not the Jedi, so we would probably still be fighting for the Republic regardless of Jedi involvement in the war itself. But it’s a lot better having you with us, sir. As for our legal status… that’s up to the Senate. There’s nothing we can do.” Barring highly impractical and radically treasonous measures, anyway. “No use getting worked up over it when we have people and planets to defend.”

The General grimaces, looking rather like he’s just swallowed something rotten. But—Cody realizes with no small amount of relief (and… vindication, and maybe even a hint of something like hope) that it’s not directed at him. “The Jedi have little influence over Senate proceedings, unfortunately, else we’d have fixed that ourselves long ago. However, we have a fair deal of control over how we lead our troops,” the General says. “If there are ways you believe we can improve our conduct—let us know. Please. I swear we will do what we can.”

“…Understood, sir,” Cody agrees gladly. Asking might take a little getting used to, but it’s encouraging that input outside of tactical observations will be welcomed. He’s sure he can come up with suggestions or relay them from his brothers.

With a nod the General adds, “For what it is worth, there are senators working to give you the rights you deserve. I know a couple of them personally; Senators Organa and Amidala are principled people, and they are excellent speakers as well. I’m sure they will rally others behind them.”

That’s nice. Tactically speaking, though, changes that benefit the clones would come at some cost to the Senate, be it in credits, resources, or available fighting forces. And Cody has heard from Fox how the Senate operates, has seen it himself in how High Command makes decisions. The chances of the clones being given full sentient rights during wartime are slim to none.

The pinched consternation around the General’s eyes suggests he knows this as well and is not pleased, which is… gratifying, actually. But it’s also a result of the fact that he can’t do much in this regard, and Cody sees little benefit in staring at problems outside of his—of their jurisdiction. It’s a waste of time and energy.

He shifts slightly in his seat. They need to focus on what they can do.

“The way I see it, sir, our job is to fight the battles. No matter the reason for the system being like it is, we’re stuck with it, and as long as the Republic needs us, it has us until the war is over.”

(After, though…)

Lifting his chin, Cody catches the General’s gaze and meets the offered steel there with his own.

“Sir,” Cody says, “let’s win the bloody war.”

Notes:

Hey, thanks for reading!

Much love to my dear sister SquirrelWriter for beta reading this! Thank you for your support in everything and indulgence of my sauce addiction :P

 

Extra notes:
-This came about because in the Slick episode Cody looks bothered after Rex says "Freedom's gonna have to wait, kid," and while one could argue that it's just shame and anger over what one of his subordinates has done, and that all the clones have been chugging military indoctrination Kool-aid since they came out of their tubes, I think it's more interesting to dig into other layers he might have.
-Normally I don't think of Cody as being quite so stringently guarded as I wrote him here, especially not with Obi-Wan, but I do tend to imagine him as someone who keeps a lid on a lot of things for the sake of the roles he plays, and this is still pretty early in the war
-Obi-Wan is rather concerned when Cody enters this discussion feeling in the Force like he's trying to defuse a bomb, but he can't remove his own authority, nor can he openly admit that the Jedi didn't actually order the clones and really don't want to fight, so the best he can do is be clear about his intentions and try to make this not be an interrogation
-...It's kind of like letting a wary tooka approach on its own terms, haha.
-Totally unrelated, but Cody and Obi-Wan eventually end up both using Obi-Wan's office because it's more convenient communication-wise and they enjoy each other's company
-Okay, that's enough rambling for now. Take care, folks! <3