Chapter Text
The metallic swish of the bunk room door caused the Jedi and Vode to look up from their card game. They had been playing a few hands of sabacc to pass the time while waiting for the Young to reach a decision. Commander Cody and the older Obi-Wan rose to their feet in a synchronized motion, abandoning their cards, while the rest of the Jedi and Vode remained seated.
Cody and Obi-Wan searched the faces of the Young leaders walking toward them. Nield and Cerasi came to a halt directly in front of the General and his Commander. With a final, reassuring glance at one another, Nield announced their decision. Behind them stood the rest of the Young, alongside the younger version of Obi-Wan.
"The Young will go with you,” Nield stated firmly. “On one condition: if at any time we decide to return to Melida/Daan or go somewhere else, you will take us there and help us, just as you're offering to do now.”
A palpable wave of relief washed through the room at their choice, as tense shoulders dropped and held breaths were released around the room.
"We accept your terms,” Cody replied, picking up a datapad from the table. “I already have a contract drafted for you to review and sign. There is even a blank section at the bottom for you to write in any terms you wish to add." Cody showed Nield and Cerasi the section he was talking about before handing Nield the pad.
Deila furrowed her brown eyebrows as Rica and the younger Obi-Wan crowded around Nield and Cerasi to look at the screen. "You were that certain we would choose this path?" she questioned.
"Not at all, my dear,” the older Obi-Wan explained with a warm smile, earning a nod of agreement from his Commander. “You will find that the Vode like to plan for every eventuality."
"I have contracts prepared for each of the options we gave you," Cody confirmed, gesturing to two other datapads sitting on the table. “I was simply waiting for you to make a choice.”
With a nod of understanding, Deila moved to join her fellow Young to go over the contract. After a few minutes of whispering deliberation, they turned back to the Jedi and Vode. Cerasi looked between the Commander and the older Obi-Wan.
"We agree to these terms, but we would like to confirm them with our remaining Council members before signing. Would that be okay?" Cerasi asked.
“Of course. We planned to meet up with the Jedi Healers and Vode Medics next. You are welcome to come with us,” the older Obi-Wan replied.
“Once everyone has been checked by a medic or healer and fitted with some proper boots, would you mind sending someone ahead to notify each of your bases? I would rather not risk them thinking we are the Elders invading,” Commander Cody inquired, pausing to look between the Young and the younger Obi-Wan before continuing. “The healers, medics, and Vode can split up and head for your two bases. Would you mind leading them? You know the safest routes to transport your wounded and sick to our ships.”
The Young exchanged glances. Deila and Rica shrugged, while the younger Obi-Wan simply nodded. Cerasi and Nield turned to Commander Cody and agreed.
“That will be fine,” Cerasi said. “It’s probably the best idea and it will be quicker than us walking.”
“Oh, by the way, we’re going to need you to change our Obi-Wan’s name on the contract,” Deila added, gesturing to the datapad Nield held. “His legal name on Melida/Daan is Ben Kenobi.”
At the mention of the name Ben, both versions of Obi-Wan suddenly seized up, becoming stiff, unseeing statues. Their sudden paralysis caused the seated Vode to surge to their feet, while Commander Cody gripped his General’s arm in alarm.
“What the kriff is going on?” Crash-It demanded, as he and Ace-It rushed around the table to stand by their General in concern.
“It’s kriffing Force osik, that’s what it is,” Nield muttered, a grim look on his face. He adjusted the strap of Rica’s rifle in case the vision meant there was trouble heading their way.
“What, you’ve never seen your Obi-Wan have a Force vision before?” Cerasi questioned them, as she and Deila gently guided the unresponsive Ben to one of the dark blue benches along the shuttle’s wall not far from where the Vode and Jedi had been playing cards.
“I’m afraid our Obi-Wan’s visions stopped after he was collared upon his return to Coruscant following the mission to Melida/Daan, so the Vode have never seen him have one,” General Koon explained. As he spoke, he helped Commander Cody move their Obi-Wan to one of the chairs at the table they had been sitting at earlier, with Commander Wolffe standing guard close beside them.
“What should we do for them?” Ace-It questioned, grabbing two medical scanners from the small medbay as he looked between the two unresponsive Obi-Wans.
“Nothing to do but wait for them to come out of it,” Deila answered, accepting the medical scanner Ace-It handed her. She watched closely as he showed her how to read a person’s vitals. “It helps if everyone he worries about stays close by.”
The Young arranged themselves around their Ben. Deila and Cerasi sat on either side of him, while Rica sat on the floor leaning against Ben’s legs. Nield took up a guarding position next to them, his hand resting securely on the strap of Rica’s rifle.
After watching them, the Vode arranged themselves in a similar manner around their own General.
“Should we contact Helix or Jedi Healer Eerin?” Ace-It asked, looking between Commander Cody and General Koon for guidance as he scanned the General.
“I do believe if we do not at least notify them of the situation, they will make our lives quite unpleasant for a very long time,” Master Koon said with a polite tilt of his masked head, looking to Commander Cody, clearly intending for the Commander to contact the healers.
Commander Cody sighed, his fingers already flying across the controls of his wrist comlink. He stepped away from the table to give the frozen Generals some space, though his eyes never left either of them.
The blue holographic forms of CMO Helix and Jedi Healer Bant Eerin flickered to life simultaneously.
“Commander,” Bant greeted, her large Mon Calamari eyes blinking open. “We are preparing the medical bay to receive the first of the injured and sick. Is there an update?”
“We have a situation, Healer Eerin, Helix,” Cody said, keeping his voice strictly level, though the tension showed in his clenched jaw and the rigid set of his shoulders. “General Kenobi and... the younger Kenobi have just entered a simultaneous catatonic state. Total muscle rigidity. Unresponsive to verbal or physical stimuli.”
On the holo, Helix’s head snapped up from his datapad. “A karking double seizure? You just contacted me a little under an hour ago and everyone was fine then. Did they ingest something? Is anyone else showing symptoms, Commander?”
“Negative, Helix. The Young claim it is a Force vision,” Cody explained, glancing back at Nield, who was still gripping the strap to Rica's rifle. “But it was triggered by a specific name. They froze the second the Young informed us that the younger Kenobi had changed his name to ‘Ben Kenobi.’”
Bant’s round eyes narrowed in concentration, her webbed hands moving over the datapad she was holding. “I’m contacting Healer Che. That sounds like a timeline resonance. Do not try to force them awake. A dual-temporal vision like that can fracture a mind if severed incorrectly.”
“We’re sitting tight,” Cody confirmed, his jaw clenched. “But General Koon recommended we notify you. Is there anything we should do for them in the meantime?”
“Monitor their vitals, Commander. They will likely be disoriented and confused when they wake. Make sure to give them a hydration pack as soon as possible and stay on this channel,” Bant’s holographic form instructed gently.
Just then, the younger Obi-Wan took in a few deeper breaths. His eyes blinked rapidly, restoring the moisture to them after being opened for so long against the bright lights of the shuttle. He looked around in confusion for a moment before a look of profound wonder washed over his young face.
“Ben,” Deila whispered, reaching forward to grab his shoulder. “Are you back? What did you see?”
“It was... Melida/Daan,” the younger Obi-Wan whispered, his voice trembling with awe as he looked up at his friends. “But it wasn't in ruins anymore. It was green. Lush. There was a massive spaceport with a sprawling city in the background, and you guys were there. You were adults. And the Jedi and Vode had just landed and we were greeting them. We did it. We saved your world.”
Cerasi and Nield shared a stunned, emotional look, before Cerasi grabbed Ben’s hand. “You mean our world. It’s your home now, too, whenever you need a place to stay.”
But the happy mood died instantly when the younger Obi-Wan and the Young turned their gaze across the shuttle to where the Vode and Master Koon were looking at their Obi-Wan in deep, anxious concern. His older self hadn't moved an inch. The adult Kenobi was still frozen rigid, but a single, silent tear was now tracing a path down his pale cheek.
Feeling a nudge and a whisper from the Force, Ben got up from his place on the bench, moving around Rica and Nield as he headed for his older self. The Vode moved to allow him a clear path. As he reached his older self, he reached out to place his hands on his adult self’s face. Commander Cody put a glove-covered hand on the boy’s shoulder to stop him, but Ben just looked up at the Commander in reassurance. “It’s okay. The Force said I should wake him up. He’s gotten stuck.”
Cody turned to the holo of Healer Eerin and Helix for confirmation.
“I’m still reading up on what the Jedi Healers finally released to me about what to expect now that they are no longer wearing those kriffing collars. I don’t know enough yet to advise,” Helix stated, his voice sharp with concern.
“Let him, Commander. If the Force is urging him, then it should be fine,” Healer Eerin replied with a nod.
Cody slowly moved his hand away, though his body remained tense, ready to intercede if needed.
Ben stepped fully into the space, looking up at the rigid, pale face of the man he had once been destined to become. Seeing the adult General frozen in such absolute, silent agony sent a strange shiver through the boy's connection to the Force. He reached up, his smaller hands gently cupping the stubbled jawline of his older self. The skin felt cold, stretched tight by whatever nightmare was playing out behind those unfocused sea-green eyes.
"Hey," Ben whispered softly, his fingers pressing lightly against the adult Obi-Wan's cheeks. "It's okay. You can come back now. The old timeline is gone. We're safe."
At that moment, a visible spark of blue Force light surrounded the two Kenobis. For a second, Ben caught a glimpse of a vast desert with binary suns and a feeling of immense sadness and loneliness. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, vanishing with one last flare of the Force.
A moment later, the older Obi-Wan let out a soft gasp. A wave of devastating despair radiated off him so strongly it almost caused both Master Koon and Ben to collapse under its intensity, before it was locked away behind the adult Obi-Wan’s formidable mental walls. Even so, the air in the shuttle remained thick and heavy. The sudden release from the intensity of that despair was almost as staggering as its sudden appearance, leaving Master Koon and young Ben feeling almost bereaved in its back lash.
For a moment, the only sound in the cabin was the sudden hum of the ship’s climate control kicking on. Master Koon had to steady himself, his clawed hand gripping the nearby table as he breathed through the residual psychic shockwaves. Commander Wolffe put a hand on his General’s shoulder to steady him in quiet concern.
Young Ben staggered back a half-step, with Captain Crash-It catching him as he stumbled. His young face was pale as he stared at his older self. Even for a fraction of a second, feeling a despair that deep was almost too much for his mind to handle.
“Here, drink this,” Crash-It said as he handed over a hydration pack.
The cool condensation on the plastic pack was a grounding sensation against Ben’s trembling fingers, anchoring him instantly to the reality of the cabin as he looked over to his older self.
The adult Kenobi’s sea-green eyes blinked rapidly against the shuttle's glare. His chest heaved as he pulled the sterile air into his lungs, his hands trembling slightly where they rested on his knees.
"General!" Cody didn't hesitate. He stepped fully into the space placing a supportive hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder. With his other gloved hand, he held out the opened hydration pack Healer Bant had ordered. "Drink this, Sir. Ace-It, I need a baseline scan now."
"On it, Commander," Ace-It’s sharp voice cut through the rising concern of the Vode and the Young, his digital display flickering as he monitored the readouts. "While the readings spiked for a moment, Commander, they are rapidly returning to baseline. General, can you hear me?"
Obi-Wan blinked a few more times before he looked up. His gaze moved to Ace-It’s concerned face, before locking onto Cody's. The feeling of the Vode’s concern and worry through the Force was a steady anchor. Against the horrific timeline the Force had shown him, Cody’s gaze now—firm, protective, and entirely loyal—was a tether to the present. The sheer, dizzying relief of it made Obi-Wan’s head spin.
"I am... present, Commander. Forgive me," Obi-Wan murmured, his voice incredibly raspy. He reached out and took the hydration pack, letting the cool condensation on the plastic ground him to reality. He took a slow, deliberate sip, allowing the fluids to soothe his parched throat.
He turned his head slightly, his eyes softening with immense gratitude as he looked at Ben. "Thank you, young one. Your anchor was... very appreciated."
Ben nodded silently, still subtly vibrating from the memory of those binary suns and that overwhelming sense of despair, though Cerasi and Nield quickly crowded back around him, checking him over with worried glances.
Master Koon stepped closer, sending calming waves of the Force to help stabilize Obi-Wan’s jagged Force presence. "Are you truly alright, Obi-Wan? A vision of such magnitude can leave deep fractures. The children saw a future for Melida/Daan of lush greenery and unity. Did the Force show you a different path?"
Obi-Wan met Plo Koon’s dark, masked gaze. "The Force merely showed me a possibility that no longer exists, Master Koon," Obi-Wan said softly, making a quiet promise to himself. He then turned to offer his younger self and the Vode a tired, but entirely genuine smile. "But I am glad the Force showed Ben a future that I hope to see one day as well."
“Obi-Wan! As soon as you are back on your ship, I expect you to report directly to the medbay, and you are to stay there until Helix and I arrive. And that means no Force projecting either. Don’t think you’re getting out of it—I’ve already informed Healer Che that you’ve had your first vision since being uncollared,” Healer Eerin demanded. Her holographic form projected a sharp, non-negotiable glare as she and Helix looked out from Commander Cody’s comlink.
“Now, Bant, I’ve already been to the healers earlier today. I’m sure…” Obi-Wan started, before being interrupted by the Vode medic.
“Sir, don’t make me come over there and sedate you, in front of your younger self and the Young leaders. What kind of example would that set for the Young who need medical help?” Helix stated flatly.
This caused no small amount of amusement among everyone in the shuttle—except for Obi-Wan, who could only sigh in defeat.
“Of course, you’re right, Helix. I’ll report directly to the medbay upon my arrival back on the Negotiator.”
“I’ll make sure someone escorts him there, Healer Eerin.” Cody completely ignored the sour look his General sent his way. Turning his focus to the Vode medic, he continued, “Helix, now that the Force drama is over, we’re about to head your way. ETA should be ten minutes. Make sure to inform Lieutenant Wooley to have everyone ready to move out. The Young have agreed to be checked out by a healer before we head for their bases.”
“I’ll make sure we are ready, Commander. Helix out.”
“If there are any more issues, be sure to contact us, Commander. Healer Eerin out.”
With a crisp nod, Cody cut the comm channel once the holo images of Helix and Healer Eerin vanished. With a quick hand signal, Cody sent Ace-It and Crash-It to the cockpit to begin the preflight checklist. He wanted to get moving before anything else happened to delay getting medical aid to the rest of the population.
The Commander then turned his attention to the Young, noting how their eyes instinctively darted toward the boarding ramp that was still open.
“Alright, here’s what’s going to happen. For our safety, we have to close the ramp for the flight to meet the healers, Vode, and Jedi. As soon as we land we’ll open it back up. But if it makes you feel better, you can sit up front with Squad Leader Ace-It and Captain Crash-It.”
A nervous ripple ran through the children. None of them had ever been on a shuttle before, and the sound of the engines starting brought a sense of nervous excitement. Rica could barely contain himself as he began pulling Deila toward the cockpit. “Come on! I want to see it when we take off!”
Obi-Wan couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's pure, untamed enthusiasm. "Actually, Rica, if you like the Captain can open the lower blast shields, the cockpit has a panoramic view. You and the others can sit up there and watch your entire planet open up beneath you."
Rica gasped. Letting go of Deila’s arm, he instantly grabbed Nield and Cerasi’s arms, trying to make everyone to move faster as Crash-It opened the cockpit door. Having heard their exchange, Ace-It hit the button that opened up the blast shielding that normally covered the lower cockpit windows. The Young had completely forgotten about the now—closing ramp behind them, entirely swept up by Rica’s contagious excitement.
As the low, powerful rumble of the sublight engines vibrated through the floor, the shuttle lifted off smoothly, soaring away from the Ash Garden. Up in one of the two pilot seats, Captain Crash-It glanced back at the Young.
“Hey, kids,” he called out over his shoulder, his tone warm and inviting. “We have to wait a few minutes for the landing grid on the ground to clear anyway. You ever seen what your planet looks like from space? We have time for a quick orbital detour if you want to take a look.”
Rica’s eyes went wide as saucers, and he looked at Nield and Cerasi, who both gave stunned but eager nods while Deila and Ben watched on in amusement. “Yes, please!” Rica yelled back.
“Hold on to something, then,” Ace-It added with a grin in his voice.
Squad Leader Ace-It angled the ship's nose upward, pushing the throttle forward. Within seconds, the Theta-class shuttle punched straight through the dark, heavy clouds of Melida/Daan, leaving the ash and war-torn trenches behind.
Rica, Nield, and Cerasi pressed their faces against the expansive viewport glass, their breath fogging the clear material. Deila and Ben were seated in the center, allowing the others to get a better view of their surroundings.
For the first time in their lives, they watched their world change from a jagged battlefield of mud and rubble into a massive, shimmering sphere hanging in the deep black of space. The curve of the planet was sharp, illuminated by the distant starlight. The sun that their planet orbited was just starting to peek around from the far side of the sphere, erupting in a spectacular flare of bright light.
“Wow, that is astral!” Rica whispered in awe, remembering how Ben had once described what a sunrise from space looked like.
But it wasn't just the spherical beauty of their home that made the children freeze in absolute awe.
“Uhm, guys, look up,” Deila said, pointing to the window at the top of the cockpit.
Stretched across the higher orbit, well above the planet’s thick cloud layer, was an armada of staggering, impossible proportions. An immense fleet of roughly hundreds of warships hung in silent formation, their hulls catching the glare of the local sun. Massive Venator-class Star Destroyers and heavy medical corvettes formed an endless grid across the stars, pulsing with the lights of thousands of active hangars. Tiny, insect-like streaks of LAAT gunships and starfighters zipped between the capital ships like busy hornets.
"Kriff," Nield whispered, his voice completely hollow as his eyes tried to calculate the sheer scale of it. "There's... there's so many."
"That is our fleet," Obi-Wan said softly from behind them, standing in the open doorway with Cody at his side to look out at the ships. “There are over twenty-two hundred and sixty-five main ships not including all the different ships they carry.”
"I know you told us how many of you there were, but to see it… it’s really overwhelming," Cerasi said, her voice trembling slightly as she stared at the glowing hangars of a nearby cruiser.
"Across this fleet, there are over two hundred and twenty-four Jedi ships. Those ships right in front of us—that style of ship—are all Jedi ships. They’re called the MC-80s, and they were built by the Mon Calamari for the Jedi. Those three ships right there—the one in the center that is closer than the other two—is where your injured and sick will be taken to. That is the MC-80 MedCorp One. The one on the right is MC-80 MedCorp Two and the one on the left is MC-80 MedCorp Three. They are the flagships for the Jedi MedCorps," Commander Cody answered calmly, reaching over their heads as he pointed up through the overhead viewport and a little to the right toward the three MedCorp ships that had been stationed in close orbit with the planet. They watched as the children processed the sight. "That large triangle-shaped ship that is hovering over them is our flagship, the Negotiator."
“I would have thought that massive one in the middle would have been your flagship,” Deila said, pointing to the Mandator II dreadnought sitting in the middle of the massive fleet, hovering protectively over another group of MC-80s. It was easily the largest ship in the fleet.
“That is a perfectly reasonable assumption, Deila,” General Obi-Wan replied, his voice taking on a measured, professional tone as he looked out at the dark, wedge-shaped hull of the dreadnought. “The Mandator II was commissioned by the Senate to watch over the Vode Cadets and Jedi Younglings on the Jedi Temple ships—that group of MC-80s you see stationed under it. Before we arrived here, its purpose was not only to protect them, but also to keep us in line. It was mostly manned by Senate officers and an elite group of Vode that were thought to be completely loyal to the Republic.”
“I’m assuming the elite group was not so loyal as they thought,” Nield said, his face darkening with a sense of satisfaction.
“No, they were not. It is now completely under the control of Vode Commander Fox and his Red Guard,” Commander Cody informed them, his own satisfaction at the situation obviously showing on his face.
General Obi-Wan turned to his Commander upon hearing this news. “Is that what he’s calling them now?” Obi-Wan questioned.
“It’s what I’m calling them until he finally picks a name. I’m not going to continue to call them the Coruscant Guard while he makes up his mind,” Cody stated, rolling his eyes at the antics of some of his brothers.
This caused Ace-It and Crash-It to let out a few barks of laughter. “If Commander Fox doesn’t pick one soon, that name is going to stick, and nothing he does will get anyone to change it,” Crash-It warned.
Just then, two Acclamator-class assault ships passed by them. They were the same two ships the Young had seen from a distance down on the planet taking the Melida and Daan to their new homes. Rica gasped, his small hands leaving prints on the glass as the massive assault ships glided right above their viewport, their shadow temporarily swallowing the shuttle.
"They're all here... to help us?" Rica whispered, looking back at young Ben.
Ben didn't answer right away, his young face reflecting the pale blue light of the starships outside. He just gave a small, quiet nod, a look of profound relief finally settling into his eyes.
After allowing the Young a few quiet minutes to absorb the reality that they were no longer alone in the dark, Ace-It dipped the shuttle's nose back toward the horizon.
“Don’t worry, they’ll still be there when we start bringing your people up to our ships,” Crash-It assured the Young.
The thrusters whined as the ship gracefully descended back through the upper atmosphere, catching a smooth ground-cruising level as it leveled out. It swept over the almost barren valley. They moved east of the city of Zehava, hugging its southern end as they headed toward the main encampment they had established.
The ten minutes Cody had promised were up. Ahead of them, a massive staging ground materialized on the plains below, and the shuttle glided down smoothly toward an empty section in the landing grid reserved for them.
As they strapped themselves back in, Cody turned to Wolffe. “After we meet up with the Jedi Healers and Vode Medics, Commander Wolffe, I need you to deploy some of the 104th to remove the starfighters from their hangars. I already have a Vode engineering team working on them to make sure they are flight-ready once your teams arrive. Once they’ve been removed, the demolition teams can begin destroying the hangars,” Commander Cody requested as their shuttle began its final descent.
Meanwhile, the Young were taking in the sight of all the different types of ships and equipment they had never seen before. There were more of the speeder bikes, like the one Lieutenant Shadow had been driving, and things called Walkers moving around the perimeter of the encampment. Even another of those huge assault ships was parked on the outer edge of the base, with what looked like four massive archways. Two of the arches were built between the assault ship and the shuttles and carriers parked on the other side, while the other two were placed between the city and the shuttles and carriers on the opposite side of the base.
“Why is that big assault ship by itself on the other side of those arch things and why do you have arches?” Rica asked, looking to Ace-It and Crash-It for an answer.
“Ah, if I remember correctly, they are going to use it to get the Young from your second base. They don’t want the ones from that base to walk more than they have to,” Ace-It answered as he and Crash-It finally brought the shuttle to a halt. “Besides, isn’t that the base where you keep the younger ones and the injured safe? It’s best to move them quickly so that they can get medical care without making things worse.”
“As for the arches, those are decontamination showers like the ones you guys stepped through when coming up the ramp, just on a bigger scale. The two near the assault ship are for everyone coming from the second base, and the two by the city are for the Middles and Young from that direction. Medics and healers like to triple-clean everything,” Crash-It added, taking up the conversation where Ace-It left off.
“Give me just a minute to finish the landing checklist before you guys unbuckle,” Ace-It requested as he flipped a few more switches. As he did, the Young could hear the engines slowing down to a stop outside. They could also see the ramp lowering from beneath them.
“All right, you’re clear to unbuckle now. The is ramp safely down, so we’re good to go,” Crash-It announced as he and Ace-It began to unbuckle their safety harnesses.
The Young and Ben quickly undid their belts and moved back out to the main cabin, where the Vode Commanders and the Jedi Generals were already waiting for them. As the Young entered the cabin, Rica walked right up to Commander Wolffe, tilting his head back to look up at the tall, stern-looking Vode. “You don’t talk much. Are you okay? Does your weird eye hurt?” Rica asked with a curious tilt of his head. He was no longer afraid of the Vode now that he knew they were going to help his friends.
This caused Ace-It and Crash-It to immediately choke back a round of laughter, coughing into their gauntlets to hide it. Behind Rica, Deila instantly slapped her hand over her face, before dragging it down to cover her mouth to hide the twitching of her lips.
"Rica, you can't just ask people about their eyes," Nield hissed, pulling the boy back a step by his shoulders, though his own lips were twitching with amusement. Meanwhile Cerasi quickly put a hand over her mouth to contain a burst of giggles.
Commander Wolffe froze, his good eye blinking down at the fearless child. For a second, the stern warrior looked completely out of his depth. He shot a glare up at Commander Cody, who was leaning against the table with a smug, highly amused grin plastered across his face. Cody just crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow as if to say, Well, go on, answer him.
Wolffe then looked over to General Koon, hoping for backup. Instead, Master Koon let out a soft, modulated rumble of amusement through his mask. "Go on, Commander. The young one asked a valid tactical question."
Wolffe sighed, a gruff but surprisingly gentle sound. He knelt down on one knee, bringing his armored frame down to Rica’s height. He reached up with a gloved hand and gently gestured toward the smooth, silver prosthetic eye sitting in his socket.
"It doesn't hurt anymore, kid," Wolffe answered bluntly, his scarred face softening just a fraction. "Got it in a nasty fight a while back. Now it just lets me see things a lot clearer—like when Cody's pilots are supposed to be working instead of laughing."
Ace-It and Crash-It instantly snapped to attention, their laughter cutting off in a synchronized blink, though their shoulders were still shaking.
Rica just nodded in profound satisfaction, completely pleased with the answer about the eye. But then he tilted his head the other way, still staring at the Commander. “Then why are you so quiet? Are you okay?”
Wolffe blinked, completely caught off guard a second time by the kid's persistence. Cody let out a sudden, loud snort of laughter, no longer able to keep his composure. Even General Kenobi had to hide an amused smile behind his hand.
“I’m fine, kid,” Wolffe grunted, a tiny, rare smirk finally breaking through his gruff exterior. “I just prefer to let my actions do the talking. Keeps people from asking too many questions—usually.”
“Ben said you don't learn anything if you don't ask questions," Rica answered, a genuinely confused look on his face as he turned to look at Ben, as if to make sure he had repeated the words correctly.
With an amused nod of his head, Ben reassured Rica that it was indeed what he had said. Reassured, Rica turned back to look at the Commander in anticipation.
Commander Wolffe sighed, a sound that was half-defeat and half-amusement. He looked up at General Koon, then across at everyone else gathered in the cabin. Seeing he wasn’t getting any help from them, he looked back down at the boy, completely outmatched by child logic. He decided to answer the kid just as bluntly as the kid had asked.
“Well, he’s not wrong. You won’t learn anything if you don’t ask questions. And to be honest, most people find me scary, so I usually stay quiet so that I don’t scare anyone. But how about we head outside, and I’ll introduce you to one of my Vode, Sergeant Sinker?” Wolffe grunted, standing back up to his full height. “He should be waiting for us outside. He’s one of the smartest guys in my battalion, and he loves answering questions. We can go find him after you’ve been checked by a medic or healer and received some proper boots. Then you can ask him whatever you want.”
“Really? The smartest guy?” Rica’s eyes lit up, his curiosity instantly shifting to a new target. He looked back at Deila and Nield. “After I see the healers and get boots, can I go find Sergeant Sinker?”
Nield managed a small, amused shrug. “Just don't get in the way, Rica, and take Deila with you,” Nield warned, throwing a sly look at Deila.
Deila just let out a mock, put-upon sigh, shaking her head. “Fine. But if you start to cause trouble, we’re coming straight back here.”
This was the breaking point for Cody, Ace-It, and Crash-It. All three of them completely lost their composure, letting out loud bursts of laughter at the sight of the terrifying Commander Wolffe now stuck with not one kid, but two, and that he was most likely going to dump them on one of his sergeants. Even the older General Kenobi let out a soft, delighted chuckle, his eyes twinkling with genuine warmth for the first time since his dark vision.
Master Koon tilted his masked head, the electronic vocoder humming gently with quiet amusement. “A most tactical plan, Commander. I see that the Wolfpack is ready for anything.”
“I’m prioritizing my assets, General,” Wolffe replied dryly, though his ears were burning a faint pink under his short hair. He typed out a quick message to Sergeant Sinker giving him an update of the situation. “Besides, Sinker has had it too easy today anyway.”
“And on that note, I believe it is time for us to meet the rest of the landing party. We should not keep the Vode Medics and Jedi Healers waiting,” Obi-Wan said with an amused expression as he waved for everyone to follow him and Commander Cody in heading toward the ramp.
“You wouldn’t know anything about keeping the medics and healers waiting, would you, General?” Cody said in an amused rebuttal to his General as they headed down the ramp, with the Young and the rest of the Vode following closely behind them.