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lieutenant-teach · 10 days

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Cody and Din stop on Tatooine. Din meets someone unexpected from Cody’s past, which leads to a sweet reunion. Part 3\3 (part 1), (part 2).

‘Blast ‘em!’

Cody woke up with a barely concealed cry on his lips. Din was snoring quietly in the co-pilot seat, luckily not disturbed, wrapped into a patchwork blanket gifted by a kind old Rodian lady during their latest stop on Jakku. ‘Good, - Cody thought, shifting to warm up sleepy right arm, - our nightmares take turns’.

Not for the first time he would wake up like that. Sometimes there would be him murdering innocent citizens, sometimes blank eyes of his surviving brothers serving the Empire with him, and sometimes his former General. There were different dreams, where Cody could see again him smiling, meditating, reflecting blaster bolts of the Separatist opponents, lifting laughing troopers in the air on the Negotiator, talking to Cody both about war or mundane issues and in general trusting him.

What did Cody do to repay all of it? All this kindness, friendship, love they all got?

‘It wasn’t my choice, - at such moments Cody was telling himself over and over again. – The chip in my brain took away my conscience, I wasn’t able to do anything against it’. But this mantra didn’t help at all. It didn’t change the fact. Yes, the Empire was the culprit behind all of it, but Cody’s hands were red with the General’s blood. And he would never wash it off. Least he could do was not to allow anyone else take his mind away.

He was an idiot back on Utapau letting himself believe that everything would be over soon. Believing that in some hours they would be free of war, blood and destruction. Letting himself hope, openly flirting with his General – something he usually tried to tone down, being professional, even though General Kenobi was quite open to reciprocating their bantering with twinkling in his eyes. At that day he didn’t even try to hide his feeling. And he would remember forever how the General’s eyes were full of promise.

Now he thought that even if everything would have turned out well, it was barely possible for them to start anything. Not because of a wide-accepted civilian misconception of ‘attachments are not allowed within the Jedi Order’ – after all, not everyone were being idiots like Skywalker – but he realized the Senate never entertained even a mere idea of giving personhood to the clone troopers. They’d be sent back to Kamino, or used in other spheres as free workers – but with no Jedi by their side to encourage them, to actually see them as people. The Senate wouldn’t’ve allowed that. After all, there wasn’t any big difference between the Jedi and the clone troopers situations – both made to do something without being asked if they actually wanted to, with absolute disregard to their feelings, opinions, morals.

But Cody would’ve preferred this to killing his General. His friend. His love.

---

Being a smuggler wasn’t that bad. They needed money while looking for a rebel cell, and, as much as the business went against Cody’s morals – well, it could’ve been worse. He chose small cargoes for small people, always checking for illegality, for example, he had to turn down several spice offers. He didn’t work for long distances for stealth measures. So far, they got enough credits to go by.

Din insisted he was big enough and armed enough to go with Cody to the rendezvous point. He watched excitedly as weighing pros and cons were changing on his guardian’s face, though Din didn’t see any problem – they’d been to wretched places before. After almost a year of such meandering across the Galaxy Din thought he wouldn’t be surprised or scared by anything. Except the Empire. He still couldn’t help tensing in fear seeing humanoids in white clothes, and he found it hard to imagine what he would do if met a real stormtrooper. He also knew that Cody used to be an Imp, but he had had a chip in his head that made him do it, and before the Empire he was a good guy, a hero. Even if Cody himself never said anything like the latter, Din decided so – from his tales and stories he shared with him about his past. He told him about adventures, his brothers, the Jedi he was in love with. Din saw that sometimes these memories made Cody very-very sad, but Cody would say ‘Somebody has to pass the truth about those times’. At night, when not dreaming about his home and parents, he dreamed about himself barging into the Imperial Palace, with the Darksaber and a blaster, in shining armour, and defeating evil guys who inflicted so much pain on those he loved – both back on Aq Vetina and now on Cody.

Alas, Cody decided it was too dangerous for Din to go – ‘too much villainy around there’. Sometimes adults were really weird, Din sulked, sitting in the pilot’s cabin and picking at a toy Cody bought him some time after their meeting. It looked like an oversize deformed frog with huge ears – Cody said it reminded him of ‘General Yoda’. Din considered himself old enough not to need toys, but he couldn’t take his eyes off it, and Cody’s gesture he appreciated nonetheless, and holding the toy relieved some stress.

Suddenly he heard some sounds – growling? He peeked out of the window, and saw a man not far away from their ship trying to fight off several womprats. The beasts were snarling, circling their pray, snapping salivating jaws and biting the hem of his robe. Without a second thought Din ran to the trap taking out his blaster. One shot in the air was enough for animals to hunch and run away whining, leaving the man with tears in his already tattered robe.

– Are you all right? – Din came closer. The man smiled warmly seizing examining his losses:

– I am, thanks to you, young man. Are you alone here? – his voice bled with concern, as if he wasn’t being attacked by huge aggressive carnivores some moments before. – It is quite dangerous.

– No, I’m with… my father, - Din didn’t put away his blaster, though somehow he knew the man wouldn’t harm him. – He’s busy, but he’ll come soon, - added he hastily.

– Shall I offer you my company until he arrives? Of course, I see you’re very capable yourself, - he nodded at the weapon Din was clutching in his fingers, - but my conscience doesn’t allow me to leave a child unprotected here, - at that Din couldn’t keep from snorting, and the man smiled tiredly again, hugging himself into his robe as if freezing. – Sorry for imposing myself, - he looked lost. – Ben, Ben Kenobi.

Din immediately perked up at a familiar name. Kenobi? Wasn’t he Cody’s Jedi general back in the war? Was this man a relative of his? Now, when Din actually payed attention, he did look a lot like Cody’s descriptions of his beloved.

– Din, - he tucked the blaster into his belt, returned to the ship and sat on the ramp, wordlessly inviting Ben do the same. – I heard about a General Kenobi. Are you related?

Ben tensed, then slowly came to the ramp and sat near Din. Then he sighed:

– Kind of, yes. Don’t know much about him, though. Where did you hear about him? Didn’t he turn out to be a traitor? – Ben’s eyes were kind, but to Din’s mind, his voice sounded like he was gnawing stones. As if every word gave him physical pain. If he was trying to hide his distress, he failed grossly at it.

– Well, I just heard he was kinda cool back then, - Din started drawing indecipherable scrabbles in the sand with the toe of his boot. – My father served, - he looked at Ben through eyelashes. – He said Kenobi was killed by his troopers.

Ben swallowed hard and blinked, staring in the distance. That all was too weird. Din started suspecting, and the suspicion grew into conviction with every moment observing the man.

– Then I guess he wasn’t that ‘cool’, as you say, - Ben answered in some time with a watery chuckle. – Sorry for my spoiling your mood, young Din.

– Well, there’re not so many reasons to be happy now, - Din grumbled. – And I don’t think the Jedi were so bad. I mean, my father always says nice things about them, - Din felt like a genius intelligence agent fishing for information to confirm his clues about unsuspecting Ben.

– It’s risky to say anything nice about the Jedi, - Ben said, looking cautiously at Din. Was he suspecting Din would call the stormtroopers any moment? At this thought Din winced. And then noticed a familiar figure approaching them.

– Wait, I want to introduce you to my father, - Din’s heart jumped excitedly as he leaped on his feet and ran off to Cody who already had his hand on his hip – where he hid his blaster. In another hand he was clutching a bundle.

– Din, who’s this? – he caught Din just at the moment when in his hurry he tripped over his feet and almost collided into the man. Din grinned:

– I bet you’ll like him, - his heart was pounding with excitement when he grabbed Cody’s hand from his blaster and dragged him to the ship.

Ben stood up with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking as he was going to flee at any moment. But he inclined his head politely at seeing an adult:

– I apologize for thrusting myself into your lives, but I just could not leave a child lone in the desert to the dangers.

‘They didn’t recognize each other? Aren’t Ben… not him?’ – Din’s heart fell with bitter disappointment. He felt guilty for rising Cody’s hopes… though he didn’t even say anything particular about his new acquaintance…

– General? – the immense disbelief in Cody’s voice made Din step aside and raise his head – Cody pulled up the hood looking as if he didn’t trust his own eyes. Din look at Ben and, to his joy, the man was rigid, almost slack-jawed, wide-eyed.

– Cody? – Ben croaked at last, not taking his eyes off Din’s ‘father’. Then he made a hesitant step forward, and Din barely blinked when Cody dropped his bundle, practically ran to Ben, and they both wrapped their arms around each other, Ben… no, Obi-Wan sobbing quietly into Cody’s shoulder.

Din kept silent, not interfering, thinking that at least some justice was done. A little bit of fixing the Galaxy and a little bit more of happiness.

---

The brush dipped into the can. Cody was watching as golden-orange paint was drying in heat of the Tatooine suns.

– I bet you’ll like him, - Din was uncharacteristically chirpy and animated, tugging him to the ship and particularly to a man who stood up at seeing them. Cody had no idea who he was – up to the moment they came closer, he saw a familiar face and heard a familiar Coruscanti accent. His first thought was ‘I’m delusional’. It was all too impossible. Not in this karking rotten Galaxy. He felt numb taking off his hood.

– General? – It was too good to be true.

– Cody?

He didn’t remember himself running, only being afraid to fully believe. He came around holding his former General in his arms, feeling his living warmth pressing into him, hearing incoherent teary mumbling into his shoulder, with mist in his own eyes and a lump in his throat.

– I’m so glad to see you again, - the General moved a little to meet Cody’s eyes, their faces mere inches away. He looked as if the weight of the whole Galaxy was on his shoulders and grief was his constant friend. Cody would never blame him for feeling so – he shared it. But there was joy, and that warmed Cody’s heart enough for hope starting to bloom tentatively. Maybe, they weren’t lost after all.

Cody raised the brush and applied a little bit more paint on the middle stripe again to colour gray lines showing through brightness.

– I’m so sorry, - Cody’s knees grazed against the floor, the guilt crushing him down. – We all had chips in our brains… we couldn’t fight them… - the excuse was so flimsy-thin Cody even felt awkward. No reasoning would change what’d been done by all of his brothers and himself. He felt his throat squeezing, he stubbornly kept his eyes on the small patch of dirt – looked like long-spilled tea – on the floor.

– I’m so sorry we couldn’t help you, - why was the General apologizing? It wasn’t him who betrayed the troopers’ trust and killed them all. Cody saw the Jedi falling on his knees next to him, then a gentle touch on his face. He raised his head obediently, meeting the eyes filled with undeserved kindness. – I forgave you long before you came here, before I knew you didn’t do this on purpose, - he whispered, cupping Cody’s face. – I couldn’t understand what we did to wrong you, but you are here now.

– I started questioning… - Cody shut his eyes, feeling heat and wetness gathering there again, - I tried to save Boil… Got mine taken out here… - he felt like he was falling apart there, kneeling on the floor of the small cabin in the desert, in front of the man he deemed killed by his men on his order. And then he found himself in a warm embrace, his former General rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades.

– You overcame the conditioning. You are so strong. I am proud of you, - Cody sensed a sad smile in his voice and dared to hug him in return, being rewarded with a small sigh which seemed as a good sign. – I’m really happy you’re here. By the way, do not call me ‘General’ – we’re friends. I’m not your General anymore anyway. Just ‘Obi-Wan’ will do. Or ‘Ben’.

– All right, Obi-Wan, - Cody murmured into so cozy shoulder, tasting the name aloud for the first time. It sounded as it belonged on his tongue.

Cody raised his head letting warm morning breeze caress his face. It was early enough not to be boiling, but the premonition of heat was already in the air.

– I don’t feel like a Jedi anymore, - Cody would never believe such words if it wasn’t Obi-Wan himself saying them, looking absolutely devastated. – I failed everyone. The Order, the Republic, my apprentice…

– Your apprentice did it to himself, - Cody didn’t manage to conceal his acerbic voice. – He’s too happy now oppressing the worlds.

He caught the dumbfounded expression on Obi-Wan’s face. ‘Force, he didn’t know’, - Cody regretted being harsh and took his hand:

– Anakin is alive. He’s Darth Vader now.

Cody blew on the paint – in one place it refused to dry, remaining sticky.

– You’ll be fine on Alderaan, Din, - crouching Cody laid his hand on the boy’s shoulder. – Living with two desert hermits is not a life for a kid. Senator Organa personally found a family who are happy to adopt you.

– I know it must be done, - Din nodded solemnly, and Cody marveled at his attitude – too adult for a child. It hurt to let go, but he believed Din would find his way. Din threw his arms around Cody’s neck, and Cody hugged him back. – I’ll see you again. I promise.

Cody took a sponge and cleaned up some speck of dust on the white surface, careful not to smudge the paint.

– So your former apprentice tried to burn you alive, - Cody gently cleaned the nasty scorch on Obi-Wan’s shoulder from the sticking remains of cloth. – I’m sorry. But after him murdering kids I’m not surprised at all, just glad you got away.

– I’ll be fine, darling, - something in his voice changed, but Cody couldn’t exactly put his finger on it. – I saw Qui-Gon.

– You mean, your Master? Isn’t he…

– The Force ghost, - a heavy sign. – As much as it hurts to know, Anakin did it to himself, he admitted as much. You were right all along, though for wrong reasons, - Obi-Wan gave a weak chuckle. – You just never liked him very much.

– You’ve always been a better General than him, - Cody briefly pressed his lips to Obi-Wan’s cheek making him smile.

Cody raised his head – Obi-Wan was returning with a bucket of water. Putting it in the house, he settled himself next to Cody, pressing their shoulders and staring into the wavy-line dunes on horizon line, catching moments before going to work. Cody touched the paint and was satisfied with the result – golden shining colour was a tangible reminder of his brothers, of everything good he’d had and still was having.

Somewhere the Darksaber was still waiting. Waiting for the rise of Mand’Alor the Sunbringer.

A year or two after these events Din is stolen from his family, and Cody’s asked to help find him. Din is adopted by a New Mandalorian refugees family on Alderaan, so he’s kidnapped for some political leverage – his adoptive family are relatives of Clan Kryze. Cody, Rex and Wolffe are sent to retrieve Din, eventually they find him, in the process they become entangled with Bo-Katan and her Nite Owls. Cody is given the title of Mand’Alor, so he decides to rise MandoClone rebellion making both factions work together. Mandalore is freed, de-chipped clones are settling there, too. Here I want to specify that they’re not Mandos, they have their own culture which is more of a combination of their own ideas traditions, Jedi ideas and something else from different worlds they liked. Cody is named as Kote the Sunbringer, though he doesn’t like it very much.

Din’s adoptive parents give him up as they see it too dangerous to keep him, so Cody adopts him as his own. Din perceives Cody as his own example and ideal to live by, often arguing ‘that’s what a Mandalorian should be like’.

Tatooine becomes a focus of Imperial attention as Vader doesn’t give up the idea of finding Obi-Wan again. So Obi-Wan takes Owen, Beru and Luke and moves to Mandalore. Din becomes quite protective of little Luke, later they become friends, even later – boyfriends. They all work with the Rebellion, Obi-Wan training Luke and trying to commemorate all the knowledge he has about the Order, Cody becomes one of main Rebellion leaders (though no one knows who he is in real life).

In 0BBY Din works alongside Luke and his gang. They defeat the Empire (I’d be as gracious as keeping Vader alive). Luke rises the Order again, with the knowledge he gets from Obi-Wan and Anakin (possibly Ahsoka and the other survivors). Leia leads the New Republic. Din takes up the mantle of the Mand’Alor, so Cody can spend more time with his beloved. And yes, aging code was in the chips, so when they’re destroyed or malfunctioning, aging stops, so the clones lives long happy lives, too.

#star wars #din djarin #commander cody #fanfiction #my fic #fanfic #cody and din #mand'alor cody #fix it #codywan #dinluke #self indulgent #if you want to write a whole story #inform me

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lieutenant-teach · 13 days

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some say general kenobi just stands in place like a fortnite character until someone comes over and hugs him. usually it’s cody.

(based on this post)

#star wars #the clone wars #codywan #captain rex #anakin skywalker

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lieutenant-teach · 13 days

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See what Fox doesn’t remember is that it was his idea.

#star wars #the clone wars #commander fox #commander ponds #commander wolffe #commander bly #commander cody #captain rex

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lieutenant-teach · 14 days

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Wandering around the galaxy, ex-Commander Cody and little Din Djarin meet an unexpected adversary, and Cody learns about a new burden he acquired unknowingly. 2/3 part (1 part), (part 3).

Cody enjoyed the planet Trask - being away from the Core Worlds, it remained unscathed by the Clone Wars; being small, not densely populated and lacking valuable resources, it wasn’t occupied by the Empire that aimed at most important and valuable planets and systems. No matter how much Cody disliked the Outer Rim for its mostly criminal population and their shady occupations, now he was glad to catch some breath in there.

Especially while he had a kid on his hands.

Din turned out to be a not very problematic child, though quite different from the cadets on Kamino. Not physically trained, which is a huge minus when you’re on the run. But, like a cadet, he didn’t complain about lack of comfort and stability in such life, though Cody tried his best to provide him with food better than rations. Regrettably, it required more sallies on the surfaces of various planets, thus it was more dangerous for both of them. Cody shuddered from a mere thought what the Empire would do if they were caught.

Apart from physical comfort, Cody attempted to give at least a little bit of emotional comfort to the kid. At times Din woke up crying, and Cody held him until the boy fell asleep again, exhausting himself from tears. At these moments Cody felt like breaking apart a bit every time, pressing Din to the chest, listening to his occasional whimpering in his sleep. The kid deserved a normal life, not all of this disaster happening to the Galaxy.

He felt both proud at a little brave cadet and bitter at a child forced to grow up too quickly when Din asked to teach him shooting.

They’d spent several days in the town in some kind of a ratty tavern, avoiding unnecessary questions and suspicions, as they easily passed for a father and a son due to similar complexion and hair and eye colour. Cody worried that he would be recognized for his distinct face, but not yet – the locals had never acquainted a Jango Fett clone before, and all the Republican propaganda portrayed troopers only in full armour, a very clever way to erase personalities. Though he continued to pull down the hood when walking the streets – just in case.

When one day they met someone from Cody’s past. Or, more precisely, from Kenobi’s past.

Cody felt someone was watching them. So did Din – the boy was glancing around nervously and squeezing Cody’s hand tighter. Cody lowered another hand near the blaster; if the follower was daring enough, they’d shoot right in the centre of the market brimming with unsuspecting citizens. And then he recognized a face in the crowd, watching him like a hawk. He raised an eyebrow, the person nodded to the street corner nearby, inviting for a talk.

– Where did you take the kid? – she attacked him with a low voice as soon as they turned the angle. Din hid behind Cody at the harshness.

– Hello there, Duchess Kryze, - Cody answered curtly. – I deserted.

– And still wearing their armour? – her hand was hovering over her own blaster, her posture tense as a nexu ready to strike.

– Better something than nothing, - he shrugged. – Why are you here? – He thought with regret that they’d have to leave the planet – if he met Bo-Katan Kryze, an heiress of Mandalore, who knows who else might hang around there.

– Why should I believe you? – she gripped her blaster, ignoring his query. – Who’s to say you don’t want to… - her eyes widened, she even took a step back. – How did you get it?!

– What? – Cody was taken aback, then he moved his free hand that wasn’t covering Din to the hilt of a saber on his belt.

– The Darksaber. How did you get it? – she hissed, her face twisting with anger.

Losing the blaster while fighting off the pirates intending to ransack your ship and sell the kid you take care of into slavery wasn’t fortunate. There were just too many for one man, as tough as Cody was – if not for Din’s shout ‘Cody! There!’ and him throwing something he dug seconds before from the mud. First Cody thought it was some dagger, but when the air hissed and enlightened with a brilliant black blade shining white on the razor-sharp edges and producing threatening buzz – he realized it was something different. Lucky him, he still remembered several lightsaber-wielding lessons General Kenobi gave him back during the war.

The saber was heavier than the General’s, almost non-cooperative, his first swings were clumsy and messy. But Cody knew he had to protect the kid, and with each movement the blade became lighter and lighter.

Still, Cody preferred non-Jedi weapons. So after fighting he disengaged it and clipped to a familiar spot on his belt – again, just in case of an attack. There weren’t many helpful blades conveniently lying around and waiting to be picked up during a skirmish, after all.

– Found it, - he shrugged again, playing nonchalant, mentally working out the ways of retreating.

Bo-Katan squeezed the fists, she was burning with barely controlled rage, though Cody couldn’t understand the reason. He remembered vaguely it was some Mandalorian weapon of historical significance – maybe, that was why she was so unhappy? She wanted a part of her culture back.

– You have no claim to this sword! – Bo-Katan raised her voice, then caught herself at a possibility of attracting unwanted attention of the passers-by and continued a bit softer: - This is a Mandalorian weapon, not designed for such like you! You have no right to wield it!

– I don’t have any ‘claim’, and you’re scaring the kid, - Cody intoned his ‘commander’ voice that some especially impressionable troopers called ‘regal’. Din mumbled ‘I’m not scared’ from behind his back and stepped a bit forward as if ready to confront Bo-Katan by himself. She threw a dirty look at the boy and turned her attention to Cody again, looking at him with thinned lips and narrowed eyes.

– According to an old Mandalorian tradition, whoever wields the Darksaber has the claim to the Mandalorian throne. But only in case of an honest fight.

– Duchess, I never intended to get involved in Mandalorian politics, - Cody felt an unpleasant feeling that despite his wishes he was getting tangled into something quite unsavory. – You can take the saber and overthrow your Governor Saxon or whatever, I’m not a part of it. – He knew this woman wasn’t sharing the peaceful policy of her sister, but frankly (and quite meanly) Cody didn’t give a flying kark about Mandalore. He knew these people had always had civil wars now and then ignited by their biggest ruling clans, and it couldn’t be worse than the Imperial occupation now. He even felt pity for Mandalorian citizens if all they wanted was to live in peace. Although, New Mandalorians were a very fresh change as per info he read, but the peace historically never lasted long on Mandalore.

But also there was one thing that turned almost all the clone troopers off while mentioning Mandalorians.

– I cannot just ‘take it’, - Bo-Katan spat and raised her chin proudly. – A true Mand’Alor must win it in a battle. Fairly speaking, I even feel insulted challenging such a disgrace to a Mandalorian. Dar’manda.

– Disgrace? – For one small second Cody’s stomach fell of rising fury born out of utter hypocrisy of this woman who had her opinions shared by all her compatriots. He didn’t even notice Din flinching as his voice dropped so low it was freezing cold as Hoth. – Did I ask to be created like this? Did any of us have any say in it? You dare to call me ‘soulless’ – where were you? – He stepped forward almost menacingly. – Where were you all, when millions of Mandalorian clones were being created and used in a war and discarded when ‘defective’, used as chipped puppets to kill the Jedi, who actually cared about us? So noble, so proud, so honorable Mandalorians – did you care about us? We, born Mandalorian, were never ever considered by all of you even as sentients, much less a part of you. We protected you – and you call me ‘disgrace’? Just because we were unfortunate enough to have some Mandalorian as our donor?

Bo-Katan clearly never expected such harshness and such words, moreover, it never ever crossed her mind – she even backed a bit, looking at Cody with surprise.

– You say this sword makes me your king? – Cody grabbed it from his belt and squeezed in his hand. – Who would even want to be your king? A people, who cannot live peacefully even on their own planet! Tearing themselves apart time and time again because of what – difference in traditions? At least we had a community – we, ‘disgraces’, as you love to call us.

Bo-Katan blinked, as if really seeing Cody for the first time. Cody exhaled sharply, only now realizing he was shaking with helpless rage – of unfairness, of disgust, of all this pain never noticed by the Republic. He steadied himself, composing his expression again. Glanced at Din, who was looking at him with a weird mixture of compassion, fear and determination.

– Take the sword, Lady Kryze, - Cody held out the hilt. – I reclaim my responsibilities that I obtained unknowingly.

– I cannot, - she didn’t hold out her own hand. – Challenge is obligatory.

– Then let the Empire and its minions continue ruining your people. Whatever, Duchess, - he threw the Darksaber into the mud to her feet. – I’ve said my piece.

#star wars #din djarin #commander cody #fanfiction #my fic #fanfic #cody and din #bo katan kryze #mandalorian culture #mandalorians critical #anti mandoclones #clones #clone troopers

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lieutenant-teach · 17 days

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Commander Codex bahamanana-mama.

Other "my bottle" cocktails are already on my blog ^_^

#star wars #commander cody

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lieutenant-teach · 17 days

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Oooh, I have a whole bunch of these cocktail sketches for every character and flavor =3 But this one was the first "my bottle" in line!

#star wars #obi wan kenobi

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lieutenant-teach · 19 days

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– Obi-Wan… was it good enough?

– Very good, darling. Why don’t you give me a kiss, and we repeat?

#star wars #lego star wars #codywan

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lieutenant-teach · 19 days

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Still from state finals. Russian-speaking (native and learners) will enjoy.

Greenhouse gases – parnik gases.

Tabloid – bulvar newspaper.

Shop – magazine (several times from different people).

Article – state.

Bicycle – [baisaikl].

Paris – Parizh.

And unrelated: this one girl who during the topic of ‘sights of [city]’ started talking about ‘hooker bars’ (I’m still not sure what she meant) and a national cuisine chain restaurant.

#student #students #english teacher #teaching english #english as a foreign language #college

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lieutenant-teach · 19 days

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Final state exams for graduates. Yaaay, word confusion and never registering what mistakes you’ve made!

Someone wanted to say ‘hospitable’ – ‘hospitalized’.

‘Extinction’ turned into ‘extended’.

‘Birches’ became ‘breeches’.

Instead of ‘malnutrition’ students who didn’t know the right word – ‘less eating’ and ‘under-eating’.

Should’ve been ‘department’ – but we hear ‘departure’.

‘Cosmopolitan’ – ‘many-nations’ (city).

My favourite for that exam – poor ‘double-decker’ that became ‘two-upstairs bus’.

#student #star wars #english teacher #teaching english #english as a foreign language #college

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lieutenant-teach · 22 days

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Several months after the Clone Wars. Aq Vetina is devastated by the Imperial forces. Ex-Commander Cody meets little Din Djarin. Post The Bad Batch s.2 ep.3, non-canon compliant. 1/3 part (part 2), (part 3).

It was Cody’s best decision in last months – defecting from the Empire. With it came guilt – crushing guilt, sorrow, pain about everything and everyone lost. How easier and horrifyingly right it seemed – to just execute orders given by somebody else without thinking. Good soldiers follow orders. And how harder it was now to fully realise and to live with consequences of what had been done – by him and to him. Now, when he knew about the chips. When he knew that he killed General Kenobi. When he knew how many of his brothers across the galaxy were killed in these several months or remained slaves to the chips. When he knew that they were made to kill their only friends they had in the whole galaxy – the Jedi. All of them.

But also he knew – it was life now. A real life. Owning his body and mind. Out of the Republic’s control, out of the Empire’s control. But also – miserable life. No purpose, no aim, no meaning. Everything he fought for in the war – led to this. Exact opposite of what he imagined, strived for.

The planet of Aq Vetina wasn’t the immediate choice to stop. But it could do – at least to refill the supplies and to fix up an old ship taken from the junk yard on Kessel. Though Cody couldn’t tell where he was heading to. Or what he was going to do at all. Emptiness filled his days and nights, his heart, his every step he took in this new Galaxy.

It was impossible to live without a purpose.

Maybe, some would say ‘live for yourself, for your pleasure’. But Cody didn’t even know how to live for himself – he was designed for serving, and he didn’t want to – while there was so much injustice in the Galaxy. He’d be happy to help his brothers – or anyone, for that matter, he’d seen how many worlds suffer under the Empire’s iron boot – but he couldn’t do it alone. He didn’t have any resources, didn’t have any rebel connections, had no idea where to start. His failure to save still brainwashed Boil hurt as all hells together. The Imperial might didn’t know limits – Cody knew it all too well. As much as it hurt thinking about it, he experienced it firsthand, moreover, took part in it. It disgusted himself – what would General Kenobi say if he saw him like this? Memories about him hurt even more, bleeding his heart almost physically.

The town Cody was approaching didn’t look well. Even more, with every step forward he saw the signs of recent Imperial presence – burned houses, bodies scattered around. Mud, dirt and blood squishing under his boots. Cody could tell the Imperials left – otherwise he’d be already caught, the familiar camps would be erected, just as familiar white armours bustling around. Still, Cody didn’t lower the hood of his tattered brown cloak, looking around and staying alert as he always had been during his whole life. The blaster was on the hip, fingers slightly touching it.

‘Why?’ – he thought looking along the streets and seeing more and more destruction. Though he also knew – the Empire didn’t need much to start ‘crushing the traitors’, as they called it. The propaganda worked magically with the Jedi, after all. From what Cody could tell, moving to the centre of the town, there were no survivors.

The Empire was nothing but efficient, that he knew all too well.

Then he heard something.

Tensed, grabbing the blaster, listening in.

The sound repeated.

Whimpering?

Survivors?

The metal lid in the junk corner moved. Cody froze, not taking his eyes off, squeezing the blaster. It could be an Imp.

And then he saw a child peeking from the hole in the ground from under the lid – Cody guessed it was a basement.

The child locked the eyes with his and dived in back.

Cody holstered the blaster and came to the basement. Not coming too close, kneeled and called softly:

– Hey? – and cringed of the rough and scratchy sound of his voice after several weeks of silence – didn’t have any need to talk, or anyone to talk to, anyway. – Kid?

First there was nothing, only ragged and hitching breathing heard from the slit between the lid and ground.

– I’m not an Imp, - ‘Of course, the kid would be scared. Quite possible, the parents were killed right in front of their eyes’.

A couple of beats – nothing. Then two small dirty hands appeared on the edge of the ground. Big brown eyes looked at him from the red hood with infinite fear.

– Promise. I’m not one of them, - Cody slowly took off the hood. – Have you seen any troopers with pictures on their uniform? – he pointed at gray sunrise on the remains of his armour – the left vambrace, gloves and pauldrons were missing, same as couters and sabatons. He tried to smile encouragingly, but the kid didn’t look convinced, and Cody didn’t blame them – he forgot how to smile since… since Utapau. – Did you hide there during the attack?

The child nodded warily, clearly ready to bolt at any disturbing movement.

– Were… you parents killed?

The child’s eyes started filling with tears.

– Let’s get out of here, - Cody raised, and the kid shrank and flinched away, awaiting for what – a kick? A shot? Then the child’s eyes widened incredulously at Cody’s outstretched hand.

Fragile fingers clasped cautiously around his.

---

– So, do you have any more relatives? – the kid turned out to be a tanned dark-haired boy of eight standard years, maybe – Cody was always bad at guessing ages of natborns. – I could take you to them, – he mused a little and added: - You do understand Basic, right?

The boy nodded, still tensely looking at him from his hood and hugging himself on the upturned crate near the fire next to Cody’s ship. Then shook his head.

– No relatives, then, - somehow, Cody knew it would be like this. But he couldn’t just take a kid with him – too dangerous. Unless… - What do you think about finding you a new home? – the boy tensed even more. – I know it’s hard for you now, I’ve lost my family too. But I can try to find at least a good place for you to stay, if not a home, – he gave him a stick with some roasted meat pierced on it – the kid raided his home before they left.

The boy shrugged, and Cody could very well relate. Also he knew that the initiate shock would pass, and tears were inevitable – he had similar situations with some shinies after their first battles, seeing how the older, more hardened brothers soothed the surviving newbies, sometimes intervening himself to reassure the boys who lost themselves in horror and shock. Learning within sterile Kaminoan walls had been entirely different form the real taste of war.

– What’s your name, kid?

The boy looked at him, but said nothing. Either he wasn’t able to speak, or stress took away this ability – Cody read about such occurrences among war survivors at the Jedi Temple Archives.

– I’m Cody, - he gave a small mirthless smile, not expecting an answer. – Can I call you… I don’t know, Brown Eyes?

The boy looked at him with eyebrows raised, then shrugged again.

– Fine then, Brown Eyes, - absent-mindedly Cody nipped off some bread – how long hadn’t he tried real, actual food, not tasteless rations? – Finish your meal, we’ll have a night in the ship – it’s small, but you can take the co-pilot seat. Fly-off at 0600, - he mentally kicked himself for talking to the kid as to a soldier, but the boy seemed fine with it.

Some minutes they sat silently, watching the fire sparks trying to break the night’s darkness only to disappear in it.

– Why is your sunrise gray?

Cody startled at the sound of a quiet childish voice. Brown Eyes was looking at him with shy curiosity – or, more precisely, at his cuirass with the paint remains, courtesy of the Empire. Or mockery.

– Because I lost all the sunshine of my life, - grieving pain, his only companion for all these months of lucidity and solitude, rolled up to his throat in a bile, and Cody swallowed hard, not intending to break down in front of the traumatized child. – Sorry, kid.

– Din Djarin, - Brown Eyes suddenly said, looking straight into Cody’s eyes. – This is my name. – He shuffled, as if wanted to move closer. – And I’m not the only Brown Eyes here.

At this Cody actually chuckled:

– Well then, Din Djarin. Welcome abroad.

#star wars #din djarin #commander cody #fanfiction #my fic #fanfic #cody and din

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