Chapter Text
Obi-Wan sat on his bunk in his cabin, saddened and disturbed by all he'd just heard and seen. He'd noted that some of the dead clones who could be returned from the battlefield had lightsaber burns. The troopers could legitimately claim self-defense based on that evidence, and really, Krell had been a danger to them not just in combat but as a leader as well. Given that Krell had plans to sabotage the Republic as a whole, Obi-Wan decided Rex and the rest of the men who participated in Krell's arrest and execution would not be punished by him, and he'd try to ensure they weren't punished severely by anyone else, either. He decided he'd tell the Council that Krell died when the clones tried to arrest him and he attacked them. He'd make sure to get holographs of some of the clones as proof. The Council didn't need to know the whole story, but if it did get out, Obi-Wan knew he would defend Rex and his men as best he could. Obi-Wan contacted Cody on his comlink. "Commander, are you there?"
"Here, sir," Cody replied.
"Would you arrange for holographs of troopers who look to have been killed by lightsaber to be taken? I'm going to tell the Council the men killed Krell in self-defense when he resisted arrest and turned on them."
"Already done, sir." Cody sounded somewhat smug.
Obi-Wan chuckled. "You're way ahead of me, Commander."
"No. We wanted holographs, anyway. We'd like to have a funeral for all the men we lost, just because this was so senseless. I just had a few extras taken of some of the burned troopers in case you might need them. I thought you might decide to cover for Rex and company."
"I'm that easy to read, eh?"
"I don't know about reading, General. But we've worked together long enough for me to notice that you'll sometimes do things your own way, if you think someone should be shown mercy."
Obi-Wan smiled, and it could be heard in his next words. "I'm glad I have such an astute Commander on my team. You're a great help to me."
"Oh. Well. Thank you. Happy to be of service, sir." Cody sounded embarrassed, but pleased.
"Would you send Boil to my cabin, please?"
"Certainly, sir. Will that be all?"
"For the time being. I'll contact you later."
Boil knocked on Obi-Wan's door.
"Come in. You can have a seat on that desk chair."
Boil came in and complied, moving the chair so it was across from Obi-Wan.
"Once again, I wish to express my condolences on Waxer's loss. I liked him. He was a very compassionate soldier. And I think he's had a good influence on you."
Boil smiled sadly. "He was, sir. And you're a pretty compassionate soldier yourself."
Obi-Wan inclined his head. "What was happening at the time I contacted you on the field?"
"We were chasing Krell. Waxer was dead."
Obi-Wan gave a short nod. "If only I hadn't authorized that aid. If I'd known Krell was so unkind, I would have insisted that this time, Anakin stayed here and the Chancellor could just wait. If that wasn't doable, I'd have tried to work something out with General Tiin. Changed strategies or try to make it so the 501st would be under my or his leadership."
Boil nodded. "We know, sir. Even the 501st knows. That's why no one blames you." There was some frustration in his voice.
"The communications," Obi-Wan said. "I think the Umbarans did jam our signals in the beginning, before the capital was taken. I remember that I had a hard time contacting General Tiin at times. It would cut in and out; same with Krell."
Boil nodded again. "Yes, sir. If you could contact one and not the other, you would have gotten suspicious. There was no reason to think anything had changed when you didn't hear from Krell in a while and the capital hadn't yet fallen to us."
"And yet I still feel like something should have tipped me off."
Boil touched Obi-Wan's arm. "I've never had a problem with your or Cody's leadership. If anything, sometimes you're too careful because you want to get as few of us killed as possible. There have been times we've muttered among ourselves that some campaign or other could go faster if you'd take more risks." Boil chuckled. "I'm not saying you should change your style. I'm just saying it's obvious to anyone who's ever served under you that you hate when people die and especially unnecessarily. In fact, I think that's the problem here. You keep thinking you should have been able to foresee disaster when you had no indication of impending doom. You aren't being fair to yourself.
"Look, I get it that as a leader, you feel responsible at least for the men of the 212th that were lost today. Maybe you think you didn't do your job. Or you did a bad job. But General, even if we wanted to find a reason to blame you, we couldn't. What happened was Krell's fault and only Krell's fault. I'm sorry you feel bad, sir. It's what makes you a good leader and a good person. But the 212th needs you to be a General. And...Well...I...We...We don't like seeing you sad, sir."
Obi-Wan chuckled and offered Boil a genuine smile. "Wow. I didn't realize you were capable of such lengthy speeches. I think I have a new respect for you."
Boil smiled back. "I didn't know I had it in me, either, sir."
Obi-Wan touched Boil on the shoulder. "Thank you, soldier. Your words have really helped me. Waxer would be proud."
"He'd probably tease me mercilessly about how soft I'm getting," Boil muttered in mock complaint.
"When is the funeral for our lost men set to happen?"
"Soon, sir. Gathering fuel for it and setting up chairs and things."
"Do you need my help? I plan to attend, if nothing else, unless you troopers would prefer not to have a Jedi presence."
"I'm certain Rex, Cody, and the rest won't hear of excluding you. I don't think we need you for anything concerning the preparation. We can call you when things are ready."
"Very well. I'll see you soon, then, unless you have more to say."
"No, nothing more. Take care, sir."
The funeral was held in the city square. Biers were lined up along one side, fire waiting to consume them, and benches and chairs were arranged in rows across from them and along the remaining sides of the square. Rex, Cody, and Obi-Wan stood facing the mourners, with Obi-Wan between the Captain and the Commander. All the 501st and 212th soldiers were there, and Obi-Wan looked around at the survivors before using the Force to project his speech.
"Right. I'll try not to make this a lengthy, dull affair that no one remembers after the fact-" At this point, some of the soldiers chuckled. Obi-Wan smiled. "-and I'll try not to be sanctimonious, but there are some things I did wish to tell you all as a group. I know this is about our fallen comrades and not me, but if I don't get to say this, I don't think I'll be able to move on." There were curious, concerned, and sad emotions projected to Obi-Wan through the Force.
"First of all, I'm truly sorry to all of you for your losses. I know everyone has lost people especially dear to them, and to add insult to injury, some of them weren't even legitimate or honorable. It's one thing to fall by the hand of an enemy; we expect that. But to be killed by your own leader; that's another thing entirely." The 501st flinched collectively. "I regret that you in the 501st had to go through such a terrible ordeal. I got the sordid story from Rex, Fives, and Jesse." Fives and Jesse saluted. Obi-Wan lifted a hand in return.
"Secondly, I wanted to personally apologize to both the 212th and 501st from the standpoint of a General, a leader, and a Jedi for allowing the cruelty of Krell to go unchecked." Now, there was confusion, disbelief, frustration, and more sorrow in the ranks. "I can tell many of you aren't happy about this. But I feel obligated to apologize for the Jedi Order as a whole. What Krell did goes against all we believe in. I had no indication Krell had fallen to the Dark Side or was otherwise mistreating the 501st, but my ignorance cost people their lives, and so I failed in one of the most important duties of a leader - to protect those he commands as best he can." Now, there was collective outrage in the group. Shouts of "What?", "Don't be ridiculous!", and "Are you serious?" could be heard. After people calmed a bit, Obi-Wan continued.
"Our brothers-in-arms fell because of lack of communication, lack of information, and lack of accountability. To be fair, an enemy within our ranks has been encountered before, but this is the first time one of them had the power to do extensive damage. There isn't a lot we can do about communication and information at times. Communications can be jammed; information can be wrong or simply unavailable. But I think we can do something about accountability.
"In order that our companions haven't died in vain, I would like to ask people to report suspicious activity or indications that someone may wish to undermine the cohesion of our teams. I don't mean that people should be overly watchful or intrusive, reporting every little infraction. I don't wish to promote an environment of mistrust. What I do want is for leaders to not be able to get away with what Krell did. I should be subject to accountability as well. If another like Krell comes on the scene, I want to hear about it. Am I understood?" The soldiers nodded solemnly.
"And I've taken enough of your time." Obi-Wan glanced toward the fallen troops, nodded to Cody and Rex, and walked over to the 212th, standing near Boil.
Cody looked at Rex. "Um," Cody began, "the only thing I can think of to say is that we must guard against complacency. We must always remember what happened today. We must ensure it remains a singular event. Let us take a moment to remember our departed friends." There was a minute of silence before Cody moved to stand by Waxer's bier.
Boil began to make his way to Waxer's body but stopped when Obi-Wan didn't follow. "Sir? Aren't you coming?"
"I'll stay here until the ceremony's done, but I'm not sure I should participate in it."
Boil shook his head, but turned away and carried on to his destination. He spoke to Cody. "The General doesn't feel he has a right to stand with us, but he liked Waxer and should be here as one of his close friends. It isn't right that he doesn't think he's allowed to mourn a clone."
Cody nodded. "I'll go get him." He advanced on Obi-Wan, who hadn't moved from his place. "General, you should be the one to start the fires. I know you're the only Jedi here, but I think the men would agree that you're a soldier like us. It seems more fitting that the highest-ranking officer should conduct the cremations. Look at it this way - you'd be helping us."
Obi-Wan gave a sad smile.
Cody shook his head. "If it's difficult for you, too, I'll light Waxer's pyre, of course. We just don't want you to stay out of the ceremony because you think we don't want you here. You should be in Waxer's honor guard. And think of Boil - that was his best friend."
"You drive a hard bargain," Obi-Wan said. "Why don't we do it together? Simultaneously?"
Cody smiled. "Ever the Negotiator. You've got a deal."
Cody and Obi-Wan picked up torches and took their places on either side of Waxer's body. Boil smiled at Obi-Wan and nodded his thanks to Cody, who nodded back. Rex, Jesse, and Fives got torches and stood near three of their fallen battalion, waiting. Cody and Obi-Wan lit their torches and looked out at the combined force of the 212th and 501st, who were standing at attention, watching them. Obi-Wan brought his torch close to the fire, and Cody did the same on his side. At Obi-Wan's nod, they both lit the pyre and stood back as it crackled. Rex and company lit their fires and the five of them moved to set all of them alight. That done, they extinguished their torches and stood with their men as the flames burned into the night.