Chapter Text
Of all the horrible atrocious Obi-Wan had seen in this war, this very well could have been one of the worst. He listened to the Bad Batch tell their tale and how Sajaun had melded with the planet and killed Krell. And how he'd tried to kill Fives and arrange a friendly fire incident they had prevented, and then Rex had recounted how he'd destroyed Torrent in stupid actions that had used the clones as cannon fodder. Obi-Wan couldn't help but be horrified.
"And he's dead?" Cody blurted equally as horrified next to Obi-Wan as they stared at the Bad Batch and Rex, who looked very tired, "You're sure?"
"He looks like an overcooked nuna roast Codes; he's dead," Rex said bluntly.
"And Sajaun?" Obi-Wan managed.
"In medbay. He caught her twice with his lightsaber, and then she went all," Hunter waved his hands vaguely, "Viney."
"Okay." Obi-Wan said slowly, trying to break down what needed to be done, "The blockade is mostly destroyed above us, and it should only be a few cycles before we can leave here. The ground battle is all but done."
"When are your boys going to do the Remembrance?" Cody asked politely.
"Later tonight. They're building the bonfire now." Rex sighed heavily, "I know it could have been so much worse, but…"
"But it is still natural to feel outraged for what did, even if it wasn't the worst-case scenario." Obi-Wan nodded understandingly, "That's perfectly okay, Rex."
"The 212th can handle anything else." Cody nodded, "You focus on your men."
"May I see Sajaun?" Obi-Wan asked, turning to the Bad Batch.
"Certainly, she is still asleep last we checked. We left Fives with her." Tech nodded.
"Thank you." Obi-Wan nodded before heading off toward the medbay trusting Cody to handle the rest.
The air was thick with grief and darkness and death. So thick Obi-Wan almost thought he might choke. He paused his walk to watch the vode build a pyre in the middle of the airfield with parts of the destroyed tanks and buildings. And how they lined the fallen helmets on the ground. The clones had very little by way of concrete culture; they said the Mando Remembrances and spoke a version of Mando'a, but their funeral rites, when they could, were quite Jedi.
He nodded to the vode and continued on his way, silently counting the seemingly endless helmets. So many dead, and for what? Nothing. Simply nothing.
"Good evening, General." Kix greeted him quietly as Kenobi entered the makeshift medbay.
"Evening Kix." Obi-Wan nodded, "I'm sorry for your losses."
Kix nodded slowly, face tired, "Thank you. I believe you're here to see the other Jedi? She just woke up."
Obi-Wan nodded, "Thank you, Kix. And do try and rest soon."
"Thank you, General," Kix called out before Obi-Wan slipped inside the curtained-off area.
Sajaun looked up when he entered, fingers playing with the bandages on her torso, "Hello, Obi-Wan."
"Sajaun. How are you holding up?" Obi-Wan asked gently, sitting next to her, squeezing her knee, and reaching out to meet her presence in the Force.
Grief and uncertainty filled their shared bond, "I- did I do the right thing?" Sajaun asked softly, "He needed to be stopped, but- was- was that the only way?"
"Don't ask that Sajaun. The what-ifs will get you nowhere. You know that." Obi-Wan chided gently.
Sajaun sighed heavily, "I know I just-" She trailed off, eyes drifting off into midspace. Obi-Wan let her be quiet and blistered their bond with calm and peace until she was ready.
"Jedi aren't built for war." Sajaun whispered, "It's going to kill us, this war. All of us."
Obi-Wan frowned, recalling her saying similar words before, "We knew that, Saj; what's changed?"
Sajaun looked over at him slowly, and Obi-Wan was alarmed to see tears in her eyes, "We're going to lose Ben. We're going to lose, and there's nothing I can do to stop it."
Obi-Wan's blood froze in his veins, the genocide, the clones- "Nothing?"
"I- I don't know. Everything's out of balance; I can't tell anymore. It's all so clouded." Sajaun shook her head, almost frantic.
"But if you know what it is, we could stop it, right? If it can't be stopped with the Force, then it could be stopped with actions, right?" Obi-Wan asked, desperation bleeding into his voice, willing her to think .
"Yes, yes, it could. I just, it's so dark ." Sajaun admitted.
"Okay. Okay. Then tonight you feel. You grieve, and you rest, and you let it in. And tomorrow, you start again." Obi-Wan soothed, trying to shove his own panic as far back as it could go. If anyone could stop or even mitigate what was coming, it was Sajaun.
"It's so dark here." Sajaun whispered, "It's so cold."
"Yes. This planet isn't good for us. You especially. Considering that stunt you pulled earlier, yeah?" Obi-Wan teased gently, trying to cheer her up, "All mythical monster?"
Sajaun let out a small laugh, "Yeah, yeah, I might have gone too far there."
"Might have? We both know you'd never go that far normally, and only you could." Obi-Wan ribbed gently, bringing a smile out of Sajaun, "I'm pretty sure you scared your boys to Manda and back."
Sajaun snickered, "It was big."
"Yeah, it was. I want to be around to see it next time, not just feel it." Obi-Wan nudged her shoulder.
"What did it feel like to you?" Sajaun asked curiously.
Obi-Wan thought back to feeling their bond swell in a whirlwind of emotion before exploding into the Force. "Powerful."
A crashing sound echoed outside, but kept going as the racket grew. "What's that?" Sajaun asked, wrinkling her nose as the noise grew louder.
Obi-Wan let out a small smile, "A Vode funeral. Come." He gently helped her stand up, mindful of her bandages, and hobbled to the door of the medbay where they could see.
All around, the clones stood banging on anything they could get their hands on, metal, concrete, their armor, as they all came to the pyre. Then, at once, it stopped. And the Remembrances began, all of them chanting in Mando'a the names of their fallen brothers as they all grabbed a stick and lit it on fire until all the names were said and all of them had a torch.
"Ni su'cuyi, gar kyr'adyc," Rex said, stepping up to the unlit per, "ni partayli, gar darasuum." And with that, he tossed his touch in.
All the Vode followed suit. And once the puer was blazing, they began tossing the helmets reverently in one by one.
"It's touching," Sajaun whispered, watching.
"Yes." Obi-Wan watched, feeling the warmth, "It is."
"Mhhhm hhhm hm. Mhhhm hhhm hm. Hey hey hey goodbye." Sajaun hummed the opening to the old Dai Bendu funeral song, "Nah nah nah naaana na ahhhh ahhh. Goodbye."