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fic: moonrise over anaxes
12 March 2020 12:25 amFrom the smiles the other Councillors gave Obi-Wan, they were well aware that neither a generalized concern for the troops, nor a more specific desire to see his Padawan was what really motivated him to request a brief visit to Anaxes. The shipyards had been captured, the planet secured. Now, the injured were being ferried to medical frigates and outposts. It was the injured who primarily concerned Obi-Wan, and one of the injured in particular.
Obi-Wan disembarked not on the base on Anaxes, but on an orbiting medical frigate. He navigated the sterile hallways deftly, dodging around hurrying healers and orderlies. Finally, he reached the most protected area of the ship - the bacta treatment facility.
Row upon row of softly glowing tubes contained injured ‘troopers. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but be thrown back in his memory, to his first sight of the clones, infants curled in much smaller tubes back on Kamino. His heart ached at the recollection. This war represented so many wrongs layered one over the other. The creation of a clone army was just one more atrocity among many. All the same, he could not regret it; neither the fact that the army existed, nor the role the Jedi played in leading that army.
Obi-Wan walked down the rows of softly bubbling tubes until he came to the tube that housed Cody, and stopped. He couldn’t regret it, not when it had brought this wonderful man into his life. The Commander floated still and quiet in the thick, healing fluid, a mask over his nose and mouth delivering oxygen and filtering away carbon dioxide, sturdy straps suspending him. Few scars marked Cody’s lean body, and only the single, distinctive curl of scar tissue distinguished his face. He was one of the lucky ones, usually able to readily receive treatment when he was injured.
Quick treatment, Obi-Wan knew from Rex’s report, had saved Cody’s life this time. Both legs broken, along with most of his ribs. Pelvis shattered. Organs punctured and lacerated. It was a minor miracle Cody had survived until medevac reached the small band of infiltrators. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan stepped forward, laying his hand on the cool transparisteel of the immersion tube.
“Get well Commander,” Obi-Wan murmured. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Instead of those other, smaller tubes, Obi-Wan’s guided his memory to more pleasant moments with Cody at his side. Sitting side by side in the officer’s ward room aboard the Negotiator as they went over reports. Sharing caf and tea as they went over requisitions. Walking side by side through the corridors of their ship, through hundreds of planetside encampments, through the occasional political function.
In his mind, he saw Cody’s warm smile, and heard his dry laughter. He felt the weight of Cody’s hand on his shoulder. He’d known, long before this injury he’d known that he was more than a little in love with Cody. But he’d said nothing, done nothing, save try and be the best friend and commanding officer he could. There had been close calls before. But none this close. Never before had he been half the galaxy away, trapped by his duties and unable to do a single damn thing to help the man he loved. He wasn’t sure he could do it again.
Obi-Wan pushed that thought away. That was his fear talking, and he refused to listen to it. Cody would get better, would return to his post and performing his duties with grace. Until then, Obi-Wan would have faith, in both Cody’s strength and the skills of the medics and healers. When the war was over, perhaps, when he was only a friend and no longer a commanding officer. Then, he could speak of the warmth that even now rested between his ribs.
[ao3] for illustrated version
Obi-Wan disembarked not on the base on Anaxes, but on an orbiting medical frigate. He navigated the sterile hallways deftly, dodging around hurrying healers and orderlies. Finally, he reached the most protected area of the ship - the bacta treatment facility.
Row upon row of softly glowing tubes contained injured ‘troopers. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but be thrown back in his memory, to his first sight of the clones, infants curled in much smaller tubes back on Kamino. His heart ached at the recollection. This war represented so many wrongs layered one over the other. The creation of a clone army was just one more atrocity among many. All the same, he could not regret it; neither the fact that the army existed, nor the role the Jedi played in leading that army.
Obi-Wan walked down the rows of softly bubbling tubes until he came to the tube that housed Cody, and stopped. He couldn’t regret it, not when it had brought this wonderful man into his life. The Commander floated still and quiet in the thick, healing fluid, a mask over his nose and mouth delivering oxygen and filtering away carbon dioxide, sturdy straps suspending him. Few scars marked Cody’s lean body, and only the single, distinctive curl of scar tissue distinguished his face. He was one of the lucky ones, usually able to readily receive treatment when he was injured.
Quick treatment, Obi-Wan knew from Rex’s report, had saved Cody’s life this time. Both legs broken, along with most of his ribs. Pelvis shattered. Organs punctured and lacerated. It was a minor miracle Cody had survived until medevac reached the small band of infiltrators. Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan stepped forward, laying his hand on the cool transparisteel of the immersion tube.
“Get well Commander,” Obi-Wan murmured. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Instead of those other, smaller tubes, Obi-Wan’s guided his memory to more pleasant moments with Cody at his side. Sitting side by side in the officer’s ward room aboard the Negotiator as they went over reports. Sharing caf and tea as they went over requisitions. Walking side by side through the corridors of their ship, through hundreds of planetside encampments, through the occasional political function.
In his mind, he saw Cody’s warm smile, and heard his dry laughter. He felt the weight of Cody’s hand on his shoulder. He’d known, long before this injury he’d known that he was more than a little in love with Cody. But he’d said nothing, done nothing, save try and be the best friend and commanding officer he could. There had been close calls before. But none this close. Never before had he been half the galaxy away, trapped by his duties and unable to do a single damn thing to help the man he loved. He wasn’t sure he could do it again.
Obi-Wan pushed that thought away. That was his fear talking, and he refused to listen to it. Cody would get better, would return to his post and performing his duties with grace. Until then, Obi-Wan would have faith, in both Cody’s strength and the skills of the medics and healers. When the war was over, perhaps, when he was only a friend and no longer a commanding officer. Then, he could speak of the warmth that even now rested between his ribs.
[ao3] for illustrated version
