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Spring the trap.
Three syllables.
Three simple words.
And they were Cody’s least favorite words in all of Basic.
His General was a menace.
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“We’re going to have to spring the trap,” Obi-Wan said, face determined.
“I knew he was going to say that,” Waxer muttered.
The “oof” that followed indicated someone, likely Boil, had elbowed him roughly in the side.
Cody wanted to ask the General if he was sure that was necessary, but he knew what the answer was going to be. The Jedi could be reckless with himself, but he only ever took the risks that were necessary with his men.
“What do you need us to do, sir?” The Commander asked instead.
The Jedi smiled softly.
“I have a plan,” he assured.
Cody nodded, trusting that was true.
“I know you do, sir,” the clone responded, smirk clear in his voice even though his helmet hid his face.
Obi-Wan grinned back. He looked so much younger when he did.
“I do think the men will enjoy getting to have some fun with this particular trap. It really is poorly set up.”
The clones perked up at that.
“I think you have everyone’s attention, General,” the Commander said.
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“Are you sure this is wise, General?” Cody asked.
Obi-Wan grimaced.
“It is probably terribly unwise, but I truly don’t see a better option, Commander. So, we will spring the trap. Be prepared for anything!”
The clone sighed.
“Understood, sir.”
Cody snapped out orders to Ghost Company, knowing their highly trained men could handle whatever chaos was about to befall them. He trusted his General’s judgment, but he could do without the man’s habit of springing every trap he came within a parsec of. Rex lamented that General Skywalker was the same way. They weren’t sure if it was a Jedi thing, or a Kenobi-Skywalker thing. Between that and the Crazy Force Shenanigans (so dubbed by several shinies early in the war), they all had to be on their game even before the shooting started.
“Do the Jedi teach any tactics other than walking right into the obvious traps?”
Cody wasn’t sure who had asked that, and he was torn by reprimanding the speaker and asking the same thing himself.
Unfortunately, the General also heard the question.
“Oh, the Order teaches a myriad of tactics. I just always find this one particularly effective. Stay alert!”
For all that Cody hated this particular tactic, he had to admit the General was right. It was very effective.
And also the reason he was going to have gray hair well before the war ended.
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Cody sighed.
“Don’t tell me, General. Let me guess. We have to spring the trap.”
Obi-Wan grinned sheepishly.
“I do believe so, Commander, yes.”
“Understood, sir,” the Commander replied.
“Have the men fan out. Tell everyone to tread carefully. I will advance and spring the trap,” the Jedi explained.
“Of course, you will, sir. With a couple of squads for backup,” Cody said firmly.
“Now, Cody, that really isn’t necessary,” Obi-Wan protested.
“I disagree, General.”
The Jedi frowned. His Commander rarely argued with him and when he did…it wasn’t usually the Jedi who won. Cody was the one literally bred for war. Obi-Wan hated thinking like that about the clones, they were people, but there was no denying their upbringing.
“Very well, Commander. I will take some troopers with me,” He agreed.
“I knew you would be sensible, sir,” Cody said. He turned towards his men. “Waxer! You are taking three squads and going with the General. He’ll lay out the plan. The rest of you, with me!”
“Yes, sir!” answered a chorus of voices.
“Three squads is really…” Obi-Wan started.
“The bare minimum I want to send with you, General,” Cody interrupted.
The Jedi sighed. He probably should be irritated at being interrupted like that, but he couldn’t bring himself to rouse the feeling. Not over this. Not when they were standing alone, and Cody was just trying to look after him.
“Very well, Commander.”
“Thank you,” the clone replied softly.
Obi-Wan’s face softened at that.
“I don’t mean to worry you,” he said quietly.
“I know,” Cody replied. “Please try to come back to me in one piece.”
“I’ll do my best,” the Jedi assured.
“I know you will.”
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“We have to spring the trap!” Anakin said.
“Agreed,” Obi-Wan replied with a nod.
Cody and Rex traded looks. It didn’t matter that they were both wearing their helmets; the looks spoke volumes anyway.
“We need to ask the other commanders if all the Jedi are like this, or just ours,” Rex muttered.
“According to Monnk, General Fisto takes his shirt off a lot. You’ve seen General Secura. Bly still laments her lack of armor. Wolffe says General Koon is fairly sensible. Gree says the same about General Unduli. So, I think we just got lucky,” Cody murmured back.
“Lucky. Right,” the blond replied with a sigh.
“You wouldn’t want a different general and you know it,” the dark-haired clone responded.
“And neither would you. So, we just have to accept that our generals are insane and be prepared to deal with it,” Rex said with a huff.
“Yep,” Cody agreed.
Obi-Wan hurried over to them.
“Cody, Anakin and I have an idea. Yes, before you ask, it does involve springing the trap, but there are three of us its going to be fine!” He said in a rush.
“You’re still taking at least two squads per Jedi with you, General,” the Commander said sternly.
Obi-Wan no longer argued with Cody on that subject. There was no need to add to his beloved Commander’s stress and strain with unnecessary stubbornness. Especially not when it usually was helpful to have the men with him.
“Please organize the squads, Commander.”
“Right away, sir!” Cody assured.
He moved off to gather the men the generals and Commander Tano would take with them. Rex went with him, knowing at least a few of the squads would be from the 501st.
“We could handle it just fine,” Anakin said with a frown.
“Most likely, yes, but having the troopers with us will help. We don’t know exactly what we are dealing with; the extra eyes will be useful,” Obi-Wan replied.
“But we could do it without them,” the Knight argued. “We should go alone and leave the men to come in once we clear the way.”
“We’re not arguing about this. We are taking several squads with us and that is final,” Obi-Wan said firmly.
“So, you let Cody give the orders now?” Anakin snarked.
“I listen to someone who has significantly more training for war than I do. This might not be the first time I’ve fought a war, but unlike the men, we were trained for peace. It is the height of arrogance to think we know best simply because we are Jedi,” Obi-Wan responded.
The Knighted startled as if physically struck by the words.
“That’s not what I meant!”
The Master raised an eyebrow. “No? It seemed to me like to me that you were questioning Cody’s competence.”
Anakin sputtered as he tried to find the right words.
“We don’t have time for this. We are talking several squads with us. Be prepared to move out as soon as the men are ready,” Obi-Wan said before walking away, assuming this would forestall any further words on the subject from his former Padawan.
“I didn’t mean it like that!” The Knight called as his former Master walked away.
“It’s going to be a long day,” Rex muttered with a sigh as he watched the Jedi argue.
And they hadn’t even gotten to the trap yet.
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“You are a terrible influence on the men. Half of them have already concluded that the only possibly tactic here is to spring the trap,” Cody said dryly.
Obi-Wan smiled innocently. “Why, Commander, I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about.”’
The clone snorted.
“Of course not, General. My mistake.”
“Quite alright, Cody. Now…we really should just spring the trap,” the Jedi said with a grin.
Cody sighed.
“You are an absolute menace, sir.”
Obi-Wan’s grin widened.
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“We decided to spring the trap,” Obi-Wan admitted.
Cody raised an eyebrow. “You go off with General Skywalker without supervision. You two come back. He broke his lightsaber. Your robe and one of your greaves are missing. You both look like you went several rounds with a rancor. And that’s not even mentioning the explosions we saw before we even landed.”
The Jedi winced.
“It was a rather large, complex trap,” he allowed.
The clone just stared.
“I will acknowledge that mistakes were made,” Obi-Wan said.
“This. This is why I insist you take men with you,” Cody replied with a heavy sigh.
“Yes, dear.”
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“I might have underestimated the trap,” Obi-Wan declared sheepishly.
“You don’t say, General,” Cody replied dryly.
The fact that they were currently caught in a net of all blasted things, like something out of an old adventure holonovel, had nothing to do with either of their attitudes. Nothing at all.
“In my defense, I can get us out and catch us before we fall,” the Jedi said cheerfully.
Cody quirked an eyebrow. He was still wearing his helmet but he was confident his Jedi would get it.
“At least no one else was with us to see this?” Obi-Wan offered.
The clone sighed.
“Thank the Force for that.”
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“Maybe you’ll consider an option other than springing the trap next time,” Cody scolded gently as he applied the bacta to his General’s back and shoulder.
“Perhaps,” Obi-Wan replied with a grimace.
“You’re just lucky nothing is broken. You’ll be alright in a couple days,” the clone said quietly.
“I’ll go into a healing trance tonight since we’re in hyperspace. I’ll be mostly healed by morning,” the Jedi reassured.
Cody finished his task in silence, carefully applying the bacta and wrapping the wounds with bandages.
“I’m ok, Cody,” Obi-Wan said softly as he pulled his tunic back on.
“You very easily could not have been,” the dark-haired man said quietly, voice pained.
The Jedi stood and pulled the clone close. He pressed their foreheads together.
“Unfortunately, that’s the nature of war,” Obi-Wan said quietly.
“I know. I know the odds of one of us dying is high. Doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to be as safe as we can,” Cody replied.
“I can promise to consider other options where possible,” the Jedi offered.
“That’s all I ask.”
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