Inconvenience

Obi-Wan cleared his throat as the words came onto the viewing on the Holotable. "Err... Cody, would you like to take over the presentation?" he asked.

It was an ordinary tone, with the small firmness that any general would use. Anyone else, who wasn't Force-sensitive, would believe Obi-Wan's actions were normal.

Anakin, however, could catch Obi-Wan's emotions, no matter how subtle they had been. Shame. Embarrassment. Fear. Anxiety. Why in the Galaxy would Obi-Wan be feeling any of those things? He'd have to ask Cody after the briefing was over.

~

The hour-long brief seemed to feel longer as Anakin grew more and more curious about why Obi-Wan's feelings were in such an array.

Well... Okay... The anxiety wasn't anything new. Obi-Wan had always suffered from anxiety. Especially when it came to Anakin's flying. A smirk came across his face at that thought.

Anakin then spotted Cody leaving the briefing room. "Hey, Cody... Could I talk with you for a sec?" he asked. Cody rose one of his bushy black eyebrows.

"Err... Yes, General. What's the trouble? Have some of my legion gotten into trouble?" he inquired. The blue-eyed brunette shook his head. "No, I actually wanted to ask you something... About Obi-Wan..." Anakin trailed off, not quite ready to fill in that blank just yet.

Cody tilted his head. "All due respect, General... but why would you want to ask me something about the General straight after a brief? Or go ask the General himself?" the armor-clad clone questioned.

"Well... Inside the brief... After Obi-Wan had asked you to take over, I sensed something from him... Shame, embarrassment, fear, and anxiety... Would you know anything about that?" Skywalker questioned.

The brown-eyed man sighed and looked both ways as if he were about to reveal the most crucial information.

Which it was.

"General... he can't read..." the clone stated in a calm tone.

"WHAT?! How can he not know how to read?!" Anakin exclaimed. The clone sighed. "He never learned how. As it was, he just barely learned how to write, but he never learned how to read." "Well, we've got to teach him to read then," the Jedi replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Cody shook his head. "The General is ashamed of his inability to read as it is. It would spike up his feelings more. As it was, he didn't want to tell me, but he needed someone to interpret writing to him. Since I'm normally with him on every briefing, he decided to tell me, but General... I'm personally asking you... Don't bring it up to the General," the cloned politely requested.

The Jedi nodded in acknowledgment. "Of course. I promise I won't," he said.