Of Love and War Book 3: In The Thick of Battle

Chapter 17: Season 2 (Brain Invaders)

Zelina ignored Poggle as he was loaded onto the gunship that would transport him to the cruiser he would be held in. Luminara had captured him amidst all of the chaos in the catacombs, though Zelina had been too focused on her current task to notice. Instead of watching the ugly bug, she turned her attention to Barriss Offee, Ashoka, and Mundi as they descended the ramp and made their way over to the group of Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Luminara that Zelina was standing in.

"I'm afraid we have a complication," Mundi said before anyone could speak. Zelina frowned.

"Well that was quick," she muttered.

"Don't we always?" Anakin added with a small smile.

"I just received a distress signal from our forces on Dantooine; Master Windu's defenses held, but at a great cost to his men," Mundi said gravely. "They need medical supplies immediately. We can obtain these supplies at the medical station near Ord Cestus."

"We're delivering Poggle to Coruscant, and Cestus is not exactly on the way," Anakin said firmly.

"The Republic must begin debriefing Poggle right away if we're to get useful intelligence from him," Luminara added, stepping forward.

"Master, I suggest we let our Padawans handle the supply mission," Anakin said with a smirk, clasping both Barriss and Ahsoka on the shoulders.

"Whatever needs to be done Master, I'm happy to help," Ahsoka said with a smile.

"As am I," Barriss said, stepping forward.

"I'll go with them," Zelina added, smiling slightly. "Someone's got to keep them in line and make sure they don't get into any trouble."

"Very well," Obi-Wan said. "Take a medical frigate. And after we've delivered Poggle to Coruscant, we'll rendezvous with you for the voyage to Dantooine."

While the others walked off, Anakin lingered, frowning at Zelina. "I was hoping we'd be able to spend some time together and talk."

Zelina cocked an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Anakin sighed, shaking his head. "Not particularly, no. We just hardly see each other with this war."

Zelina smiled, clasping him on the shoulder. "I'll catch up with you after we rendezvous and on our way to Dantooine, how about that?"

Anakin sighed but nodded. "Fine then; after we rendezvous you better be ready for a long conversation."

Zelina grinned. "I expect it; we can swap conspiracy theories over why Obi-Wan has so many screws loose."

Anakin laughed. "I bet mine will be better than yours!"

Zelina rolled her eyes. "You are so cocky."

"But you still love me," he chuckled.

Zelina felt a painful twinge in her heart at his words, but shoved the feeling aside. "Always Ani," she said, trying to keep her voice light and playful instead of as serious as she wanted to be.

Sometimes life felt a little bit too much like she was walking on a tightrope.

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Later that 'night'—or so it was on the frigate with the ship set to Coruscant time—Zelina couldn't rest. A strong sense of unease coated the frigate, and she couldn't help but feel like something was wrong...something was giving her chills.

Stretching out her senses to investigate the feeling, Zelina sensed unrest coming from Ahsoka in the room next to her. Barriss and Ahsoka were sharing a room while Zelina kept a room to herself on the trip. She frowned, sitting up in bed. Ahsoka's unease was only increasing as the seconds ticked by before suddenly Zelina heard the door to their room hiss open. With a sigh, Zelina grabbed her lightsaber off of the mattress where she had stashed it under her pillow, clipping it to her belt before she made her way out of the room. Ahsoka and Barriss were only a few paces in front of her, and she closed the distance easily.