The Second Apprentice

Chapter 16: Commander Cody

Cody was no stranger to the Jedi.
     
Even after all this time, he still didn't quite understand them and their mystical habits. They always put him on edge as much as they soothed him. But one didn't really need to understand someone in order to love them.
     
And Cody loved his Jedi.
     

Obi-Wan Kenobi was...an odd man, to say the least. Never searching for the praises he was worthy of, never seeking the recognition he deserved, Cody's General was a peaceful, self-sacrificing man. A man who would have given himself up to death the instant he thought it might further the greater good somehow.
     
He was a phenomenal pilot who hated to fly. A cunning warrior who wielded his sword and struck fear into the hearts of his opponents, though he always preferred not to fight if it was possible. A negotiator who had brought entire conflicts to an end with the prowess of his speech, who absolutely hated most forms of social interaction and would have rather sat alone in a quiet cave to meditate instead of spending time with people.
     
He was a Jedi Master. He was a General in the GAR. A member of the High Council, which, according to Kenobi himself, was a great honor amongst the order of ancient wizards.
     
Cody enjoyed learning about his Jedi. He liked to sit with him and glean knowledge from the cache of information and experience that made up Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their partnership on the battlefield had become one of friendship, to the point Cody would trust Obi-Wan over some of his own brothers if he thought the Jedi knew what was best for him.
     
To him, Obi-Wan was a brother. Perhaps, in a bizarre, round-a-bout way, Obi-Wan was somewhat of a father figure as well. He wasn't General Koon, whom Wolffe had once admitted to Cody took his role as designated "dad" very seriously, but he didn't have to be. Cody cherished him even more so.
     
Now, Commander Kudura, on the other hand...she was a different story. Cody didn't know how to feel about her.
     
He respected her, of course. He valued her insight. And there was no doubt in his mind of how much she deserved to be Obi-Wan's apprentice after what that shabuir Krell had done to her.
     
But knowing her as a person took more work than he thought it would.
     
Oh, the boys loved her. She'd played several sabaac games down in the barracks with them, and they were only into their second day of leave. Crys sung her praises, Boil commended her wit. Wooley, one of the most skeptical amongst the Ghost Company, had even found a few traits of hers to identify with.
     
No one had a problem with her, and Cody should have been grateful for that. He was grateful for that. He was grateful that they hadn't just welcomed in a Krell-duplicate with the same bloodthirsty goal of killing off their brothers, and he was grateful that she was a teachable young woman. She didn't have a difficult time taking directions or listening to the advice of others.
     
And...if Cody was being honest...she was absolutely beautiful. Multiple times already, he'd found it difficult not to stare at her, trace the outline of her tattoos with his gaze, wonder if her short, crimson hair was as soft as it looked. And yes, even he knew those were kind of trite qualities to pay attention to. A mawkishly sentimental view of this member of the opposite sex.
     
But she was beautiful. Quite so. He'd seen a number of nat-born women all over the galaxy, but to his chagrin, none had been capable like Winona. More than once he'd been distracted by her myriad of freckles and the slope of her lips when she grinned, and he'd had to shake himself from the brief trance that came over him every time. She was his commander and a Jedi, for stars' sake. Not only was it inappropriate, it made him uncomfortable. No matter how much he wanted to think those thoughts.
     
There was just something about her he couldn't comprehend. A piece of her personality he couldn't pinpoint. At first, he'd chalked it up to her trauma. There was obviously loads of it to deal with, and as far as he could tell, she'd never been given this much involvement in the personal lives of her troops when she was with Krell. She was getting used to being with her men. She was making an effort to really know them. And, because she'd never had an opportunity to do so, it was a process she was struggling to grow accustomed to. That was natural. That was expected. 
     
So why did she make Cody nervous every time he saw her? Why was he afraid for his life and the lives of his brothers whenever she entered a room? Why did he feel the need to drag Obi-Wan away whenever he spotted the two of them together?
     
It had become a problem, almost. And the worst part was...he didn't know why he felt this way about her. She didn't seem dangerous on the outside. She walked—no, she glided, smooth as any other Jedi he'd ever met. Her dialect was strong and well-put together. She had an answer to every query the men posed, and apart from occasional hiccups in the areas she wasn't quite as familiar with, knew much about the inner-workings of the Army. She was intelligent and fierce and it scared Cody to his very bones.
     
But he didn't realize just how badly it scared him until the first time he saw how scared his general was, too.
     
Rex had described the sparring sessions between his general and commander for Cody a few times, but Cody had never been privy to a lightsaber battle himself—unless it was between Kenobi and Dooku's pet, Asajj Ventress, who always acted as though she'd rather get into Kenobi's bed than have his head on the end of a saber blade. He'd seen plenty of those battles and wasn't ever thrilled by them the way Rex was with the abilities of Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano.
     
So when Obi-Wan asked Winona to join him in a duel—to borrow his words: "I don't believe we've sparred as of yet, my dear, and you've been my padawan for almost two standard months."—Cody had been a little excited to see what it entailed.
     
He'd followed them to one of the free training salles kept open for clones to practice their aim, but it was wide-open and roomy enough for two or three people to engage in a melee battle if they so desired. Cody sat on the benches off to the sides, taking in every detail. 
     
The first thing that happened before the lightsabers were ignited and the fight began was...a bow. Huh. Okay, then. He hadn't expected that—Rex definitely omitted that detail.
     
But it was graceful. They both dipped into a bow, and once they'd both stood to their full heights again, took out their sabers.
     
Obi-Wan's was the color blue Cody had come to associate with him for the past year. It was one blade, which wouldn't have been important to note had he not shot out of his skin when Winona ignited hers and two blades emerged from the hilt. Two very long, very green plasma blades that sizzled around her, well-nigh angry and waiting to rip into whatever they touched.
     
Since when did Jedi have weapons like that? Force, she could slice off her own legs with that thing if she wasn't careful.
     
Obi-Wan smirked at Winona, teasing the younger Jedi without guile, and stepped into his iconic fighting stance. "Begin."
     
The fight didn't truly commence for another several seconds. The two Jedi were caught in a circular path around one another, walking along a thin line Cody couldn't see. Their eyes were firmly fixated on each other, focusing on the other person's movements. Right off the bat, Cody could tell it wasn't going to be anything like when he'd practice hand-to-hand combat with any one of his brothers.
     
Just when it seemed like no one was going to make the first move and get the fight going, Winona lurched forward and swung at her master. Obi-Wan, as naturally as if he'd fought her a thousand times before, blocked the attack and danced out of the way on light feet.
     
Which would have been fine. If the battle continued like this, it would have been fine. Winona landing blows. Obi-Wan parrying them. Sprightly banter. Impish smiles and jovial laughter. Cody would have relished watching the scene unfold this way.
     
But as the two of them continued, Winona grew more...fearsome. Her attacks became sharper, her body moving with more passion and force than before. The smiles disappeared, overtaken by grimaces and the gnashing of teeth.
     
Cody noticed the change almost instantly. Winona had gone from sportive and cheekily trying to best her teacher, to rigid and firm, determination blazing in her eyes.
     
But Obi-Wan changed as well. His grins faded, too, and focus hardened his features. He was less loose in his attacks and counterattacks, and unlike every other battle he'd ever faced, there was a lack of mirthful repartee.
     
About five minutes into the match, the both of them let go of whatever friendliness had been restraining them and went to town, slashing at the other's legs and swinging at their torsos and ambushing them from behind. When Winona's feet stumbled and she nearly face-planted, Obi-Wan was there to crash his saber down on her. Winona didn't let him, but he'd come dangerously close to connecting the laser with her shoulder blade anyway.
     
But Winona wasn't giving up without a fight, either. Cody could safely say he had never seen anyone—not even Ventress herself—duel with the same tenacity as she did. It was clear Krell hadn't skipped over the self-defense part of her teaching.
     
Then, quicker than Cody could process it, Winona changed again. More drastically than the first alteration.
     
She fought with no care of her adversary. Her maneuvers were agile, her teeth grinding with every swing. With one thrash of her dual blades, she scarcely missed taking off her master's head. Obi-Wan's hair singed, blackened and burned by the laser that had grazed it.
     
That was when Cody could see the shock on Obi-Wan's face. The shock that gradually morphed into pure terror.
     
Something was wrong. Jedi never fought so aggressively. Cody didn't have to see other matches to know that the wise and unknowable mystics only dared to contend with such ferocity when dealing with dar'jetii.
     
She was supposed to be practicing and honing in on her skills. Not trying to end her master's life.
     
To Obi-Wan's credit, he fought back expertly. Cody couldn't hear what he was saying, but he caught a glimpse of the older man's lips moving, pleading. Trying to calm her, to tame her, as if she were a wild beast in need of being slammed back in a cage.
     
Winona didn't let him. She swiped her emerald blades through the air, easily and confidently smacking away every chance Obi-Wan took to disarm her.
     
There was a breath, and Winona slid back on her feet. She glared at Obi-Wan. There was no hatred there. No malice or a thirst to slaughter. That had to mean something. But still...she was so resolute. So dogmatically relentless. She had no plans of losing this fight, and Cody was afraid to see what she'd do if she won.
     
Obi-Wan spoke again, but Cody still could not hear him. It was meant to ward away his apprentice's intensity. But it was kind, and it was loving. Anyone with eyes could see how much he loved her.
     
Anyone, it seemed, except for Winona.
     
Cody's heart leapt into his throat and got stuck somewhere between his mouth and chest, leaving him unable to swallow. Unable to breathe.
     
Winona's eyes narrowed, a shadow of something Cody couldn't understand haunting her like the cruelest of phantoms.
     
Like a coiled snake striking its prey, Winona lurched forward. Obi-Wan, with all his expertise, staved her off, backing away with a pained cry. A bewildered cry. "Winona!"
    
His stamina, however, didn't last long. The second Winona saw the opportunity, she lunged and she swung.
    
Obi-Wan cried out and toppled to the floor, a long, dark, charred line seared down his front.
     
Cody could smell the stench of scorched clothing from where he was on the sidelines. Could see the horror and the regret laying claim of Winona as she bent down to offer help, apologizing so profusely, she sounded like a broken holo-record.
     
And Cody's fury went up in flames.
     
Winona didn't get a chance to help her downed master before Cody was rushing over, shielding the general from his feral lunatic of a commander. There wasn't much he could do against a Jetii, but he'd be kriffed before he'd stand by and watch his general be hurt yet again by someone he cared far too much for.
     
"Stay back!" Cody screamed, stunning himself with the volume of his voice. Defenseless, he reached down towards Obi-Wan's side and picked up the lightsaber, still lit, holding it out in front of him.
     
And yeah, he couldn't use it, but did she really need to know that?
     
"Don't you dare take another step closer," he growled.
     
Winona flinched. Mouth agape, she took several shuddering steps backward. The hilts of her weapon devoured its blades, but Cody didn't trust that to mean they were safe just yet.
    
"Cody," Obi-Wan rasped, and when Cody turned, was pushing himself upright.
     
Cody forgot all decorum and dropped to his knees in front of his friend. His dazed, frightened superior officer, whose expression was tied up in hurt. Not just the physical kind. "General? Are y'alright?" He almost handed the weapon back to its rightful owner, but between the two of them, Cody was the only one in shape for a fight. And he did not yet know if he would need to use the lightsaber soon enough.
     
Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. He blinked over and over again, clearing the smoke from his vision. "Winona? Is she alright?"
     
Cody balked, unashamed to do so. Winona? He was worried about kriffing Winona, after the assault she'd just made on him? Where was his general's mind at? He whirled around and knifed the red-haired commander with a look that would have scared his brothers. Winona's fear was virtually palpable. "Look at what you did!" he barked, satisfied with the tears springing up in her eyes. Hardly registering his own movements, Cody stood to his feet and pointed the tip of the lightsaber at her chest. She didn't move a muscle. "Who do you think you are, attacking the General like that? Are you trying to make yourself unwelcome? Or are you looking to live up to your old master's standards?"
     
Winona paled. A few of those tears trailed down her face, dripping off her chin. She opened her mouth to speak, to plead her case no doubt, but Cody cut her off. He didn't want to hear her half-karked explanations. No utterance of apology could take back the damage she'd done.
     
He knew there was something off about her. Something...wrong. He was just sorry he hadn't seen it earlier.
     
"I'm—" He could see her gulp and force away the quiver in her tone. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean—I didn't know that was how—"
     
"Stow it, hut'uun," Cody snarled. Temptation to take the blade and use it on her like she had Obi-Wan surged through him, but he didn't give into it. It'd make him no better than her. And besides, her unrelenting remorse was punishment enough. "I don't need to hear it. Just...get lost. Go somewhere you can't hurt anyone for once."
     
Winona shrank, the image of a small child being scolded for some heinous act. She took her lightsaber and tossed it across the room without preempt.
     
When Cody scowled at her, she finally showed the first sign of anger. "I don't want you to think I'd use it again," she hissed.
     
And then she was gone. She didn't run away dramatically. She didn't leave a trail of tears in her wake.
     
But she didn't waste any time and was moving more quickly than she had when they were dueling. Turning down the hall. Disappearing into the bowels of the facilities, hopefully back to the Temple, where other Jedi could contain her if she lashed out again. Cody didn't know what chaos he'd unleash if she ever targeted his brothers...
     
Good riddance, he couldn't help but think.
     
"Cody, she didn't know better," Obi-Wan groaned.
     
Cody gawked at him. He closed the saber and passed it to its owner, trembling as he went. "How could you say that, General? Last time I checked, people who know better don't assault their friends or teachers."
     
Obi-Wan stretched forth a hand, and Cody took it, hauling the other man upright. He staggered unsteadily, wheezing, and if Cody hadn't been there to catch him, would have collapsed right back down to the floor.
     
"Woah, easy," Cody crooned, draping his general's arm across his shoulders to keep him from plummeting. "Not too fast, alright? You'll take me down with you."
     
"Apologies," Obi-Wan replied, as they began to hobble together towards the exit. Cody grit his teeth, because by the stars, he should be receiving apologies, not doling them out. He didn't get to comment on that, though, because Obi-Wan kept grunting out his flabbergasting opinions. "It was an accident, Cody, she didn't know—"
     
"She didn't know?!" Cody had to fight to keep his pitch from reaching a disrespectful height. "General, she looked right at you and swung! How can you defend her after that?!"
     
Obi-Wan coughed. Cody angled himself to get a good view of his friend's face. It was absolutely wrecked, but Cody couldn't figure out for the life of him why. "She was doing what she's been taught to do, Cody." He said it solemnly. Lamenting the implications.
     
"Which was what?"
     
Obi-Wan sighed, staring wistfully at the door. "Surviving."

     
Once Cody had successfully pushed Obi-Wan into the med-bay (much to the Jedi Master's irritation), he barred off any other entrance to the room, in case Winona came by to offer her condolences. Wouldn't have mattered anyway. Cody wouldn't have accepted them, and he would have somehow tried to persuade Obi-Wan not to, as well.
     
She did come by eventually, not long after Obi-Wan had been sent to a bed and checked over by Helix. Other than giving her the barest details—she had only bestowed him with a surface wound that had drawn the thinnest stream blood. The laceration wasn't even so deep as to cause a visible scar—Cody had intentionally withheld as much information from her as he could. He didn't want her going on there, and Obi-Wan didn't need to see her yet.
     
"Surviving" be karked, Cody was not going to let her get close to him. He couldn't lose his general, his chosen vod, like he'd lost so many others he'd served alongside. He needed his friend. Winona had screwed up one too many chances with him.
     
Obi-Wan had asked where Winona was, and Cody couldn't lie to him. He'd told him that she'd come by, and he hadn't let her see him, because it was for his own safety.
     
Obi-Wan hadn't been angry, per say, but he'd certainly been frustrated. He'd gently scolded Cody for keeping her from him, but Cody couldn't find it in himself to feel guilty for warding her away. She'd hurt General Kenobi. She shouldn't get to make it right until Obi-Wan was healed. That was just as much her punishment as his berating of her had been.
     
Moreover, Cody couldn't get that word out of his head. Surviving. When he'd asked Obi-Wan what he'd meant by the softly whispered explanation, the general had dipped his head and muttered, "It's all she knows to do." And no more was said of it.
     
It wasn't very helpful, but Cody could guess it had something to do with Krell.
     
When it came to Winona Kudura, almost everything had something to do with that shabuir Pong Krell.
     
One thing was for sure; as long as she was near him, Cody was going to everything he could to keep her out of Obi-Wan's inner circle. It was going to be an arduous undertaking; she was his padawan, after all, and Cody got the impression that padawans and masters were meant to be joined at the hip.
     
But he would do it regardless. Obi-Wan deserved an apprentice who could help him, learn from him, listen to him and absolutely not harm him.
     
Cody closed his eyes as he sat at his general's bedside, listening to him inhale and exhale through a pair of prostrated lungs. His mind formed a plan, putting one detail together as he came up with another one. And suddenly, the whole scheme fit together. He'd always left the scheming to his younger siblings; they were more suited to pranks and games.
    
But this time, he'd be the one with the scheme. For his general.
     
To keep Winona Kudura away.