"...so Obi-wan and I managed to handle the negotiations with the fancy lady and I think all is well. Other than that I've been having a boring day and Obi-wan is always busy so most of the time I'm learning about politics and diplomacy. Seem's to be his forte."

Reetha looked blankly into the holo-recording.

"I..miss you guys. A lot. Stay safe and....uhm.." She quietly mumbled an 'I love you' before waving goodbye and sending her recording to the 501st.

She had woken up early that day. It was a small relief mission to one of the planets in the mid-rim to some local village. They weren't part of the war but the war has its way of destroying peaceful lives. Just like this planet's inhabitants. Because of the raging war, they could not get basic supplies like food and they couldn't trade in peace. Mostly because of pirates and scum taking advantage of the defenceless people. 

The boys slept in tents just outside of the village. Creeping out from her shared tent with Obi-wan, she walked into the moonlight and sat by the lake. The waters were eerily silent but there was a hint of calmness to it that just seemed to lull Reetha to a sense of safety. The soft splashes of the waves reminded her of times where she and Master Dante would camp out by the lakes of Naboo. Often times she'd come out at night to sleep by the lakes and relax under the moonlight. The planet they were on was nothing like Naboo but the lake was still beautiful. 

"Just for one night." She whispered.

---

"Awakey wakey Reetha" Light but persistent tapping on her shoulders woke up the tired girl. She fluttered her tired eyes, taking in blurry images of non-other than Jex and Scowl. "5 for minutes.." she slurred. Scowl chuckled "Another 5 minutes and General Kenobi might just send a search party out for you." 

'Oh Kriff!' 

"KRIFF! I overslept!" Reetha hurriedly bounced on her heels. "KRIFF kriff! Master Kenobi will kill me." The two clones watched as she fumbled about with the messy bed hair. "Yup. Either he'd kill you for sneaking out here at night, or we just might." Jex tousled Reetha's hair making her slap his hand of her head. "Someone's grumpy.." Scowl cheekily teased. Reetha muttered, "Anyone would be if they nearly got caught sneaking away." She straightened up on her legs, "Your...not going to tell Master Kenobi, right?" The clones watched as she nervously fiddled with her thumbs, "We..won't." Scowl relented, not being able to resist his vod'ika's puppy eyes. Jex chuckled, seeing Reetha's eyes glow from happiness. She tackled the two with a quick hug before running back to the camp. "She's got us wrapped around her fingers, eh vod?" Jex smiled teasingly and nudged Scowl's side. The grumpier of the two hummed contently "We'd do anything for her." 

--- 

Peeking her head through the tent flaps, Reetha prayed that Obi-wan was at least still sleeping or not in the tent, though the odds of him still sleeping was against her since Obi-wan was an early riser. She noticed his empty bed and neatly folded blanket. "Kriff... He's awake." She whispered. She tiptoed over to her bunk to set her blanket down, then planned to scurry off before Obi-wan came back in. 

"Nice of you to join us, young one," Reetha swore her heart nearly stopped beating for a moment. "Aha, Obi-wan, I mean.. Master Kenobi." She turned to see her master standing at the tent's entrance with a smug-looking Cody by his side. "Mornin' Reetha. Had a good sleep?" the commander of the 212th teased. Reetha pressed her lips into a thin line and smiled awkwardly. Obi-wan stared at her for a while before shrugging "Well, at least you are taking after my habit of being an early riser." He walked towards her and offered her a cup of coffee, which she had not noticed upon his sudden dramatic appearance. She mumbled a thank you. Obi-wan smiled, "What would I do to get Anakin to wake up early..." He complained to no one before retreating deeper into the tent.

Cody joined Reetha, setting his helmet on her table. "May I?" He gestured to her bed. Reetha cheerfully tapped her bed, inviting him over. "So, how was the lake?" The padawan's choked on her coffee. "Quiet down Cody!" She coughed. The commander only laughed. "How did you-" "Jex and Scowl may have told me." "Of course they did." Reetha sighed defeatedly. "After I may have intimidated them to tell me." There was a hint of pride and a smug grin on Cody's face. Reetha sighed again, wearing a knowing smile on her face "Of course you did." 

"And thankfully so otherwise I would have sent out a search party to find you."

"You knew didn't you, master."

Obi-wan sipped on his own cup of coffee. "Of course I did," Reetha swore she could hear the same smugness in her master's voice. "I am the master of knowing everything." He teased. "Although I'd appreciate it if you told me you'd plan to sleep under the stars. I did worry about you when I woke up and found your bed empty." 

Reetha's face heated up and she grinned shyly, "I uhm... didn't want to wake you. Sorry." 

"Don't be my dear padawan. I just want to make sure you're safe." Reetha smiled gratefully and nodded, putting Obi-wan at ease. "Now come on. We should get to work." 

Obi-wan left the tent and Cody stayed behind to wait for the padawan. "In all seriousness, please let the general know if you do plan to sleep under the stars. Kriff knows he's like a headless chicken when General Skywalker does something reckless and kriff knows he's a mother hen when he doesn't know your whereabouts." Reetha gawked and laughed fairly before following the commander out. 

---

It was a normal routine on the planet. Helping the locals to go about their daily lives, sorting out new rations and supplies for the villagers. Obi-wan was busy talking with the village chief, helping him sort out problems about the village. As usual, the only help these locals got was from Obi-wan and any other freelance volunteers because the council was too greedy to offer their help just because the Republic Senate said no. 

"I'm just saying, it would not hurt the Senate to offer aid to people who have their lives disrupted because of the war. Even if they don't the Jedi should take up that responsibility." 

Waxer gently placed a crate of supplies on the ground. "It's not that easy kid. A large Republic presence here would just attract the Separatists. Then we'd be fighting over a neutral planet and breaking laws." Boil nodded in agreement "It's all about the politics." 

"Right... politics. The very thing the Jedi should not be tying themselves with." Reetha didn't understand much about politics, but she knew that the Jedi should not be bending to the will of the senate. "I just.. Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers. We should not be making decisions just because some political party says so. Right?" 

Her brother's looked at each other, "Politics is a confusing thing Reetha. I don't mean any offence, but without the backing of the Republic, the Jedi would not be very successful in keeping the peace." Reetha had to admit, Boil made a good point. At this point, the only allies the Jedi had was the Republic and without the Republic's donations and efforts the Jedi alone could not maintain peace. One way or another some form of politics and force of power would be involved to maintain that peace. Also, it seemed that wherever there was a large Republic presence, even if in a neutral system, some form of Separatist power-hungry generals would be sure to drop by for a visit. "Peace is overrated," Reetha complained to herself. 

The three resumed staking supplied until some frantic shouts could be heard. "Separatist forces incoming!" 

---

Obi-wan had instructed the villagers to retreat further into the cover of the nearby forest. Reetha jogged up to her master "Orders master?" 

"We need to get every villager to safety. Reetha I want you to make sure the children are safe." Obi-wan asserted. "General we're receiving a transmission from the Separatist ship," Cody informed and patched the connection through. Ghastly coughs greeted their ears "General Kenobi. How pleasing to see you." Grievious' mechanical voice cackled through the transmission. "General Grievous, leave this planet at once. This is neutral ground. We are only here to supply basic needs to the locals, not establish a republic base." Obi-wan defended in an authoritative tone. 

The cyborg general laughed menacingly, "Regardless, any form of Republic presence is a threat to the Separatist. Leave this planet and I will spare the villagers when we take over this system. " 

"I will not allow that." 

Reetha swore she felt the anger rise in the Kaleeshian cyborg. The two locked in a menacing staring contest, "Enter the planet's surface and take over the Republic base. I look forward to your defeat." The transmission ended and a deathly silence settled in. Worry passed Reetha's eyes, "Master? What do we do?" 

Obi-wan contemplated his plans. "Reetha, you need to protect these villagers. I will hold Grevious off." 

Reetha scoffed "Alone? Master, it's too dangerous." 

"I know. I can hold him off long enough. Jex and Scowl, you will take a squadron and aid Reetha to protect the villagers. Cody, we need to create a defence for the villagers." 

"Yes sir." Cody saluted and began to gather his forces. Jex and Scowl went of the prepare a squadron. "Master, you can't fight him alone. We need backup. I'll call the council." Reetha was about to run off but Obi-wan stopped her. "No Reetha. We won't be given backup. This is a neutral ground and it's against the Republic law to send any form of backup to aid us, especially in a neutral system." 

"What? But-" "No Reetha." Obi-wan sighed. He kneeled to Reetha's level and held her shoulders tightly. "You need to protect these people while I hold Greivious off." Reetha felt tears prick her eyes. She knew that even with all the help, Obi-wan could not successfully hold of an entire Separatist force. Reetha was about to retaliate but Obi-wan needed her corporation. "You need to lead the rest of this mission Reetha. We are alone out here and I trust you to make the right decisions." 

Reluctantly, Reetha squeezed her eyes shut and agreed. "I won't let you down master. " Seeing Obi-wan smile filled the padawan with a surge of confidence. "Thank you, my dear padawan. You're my only hope." 

---

The Separatist vessels began to descend into the planet's surface. Nearly half of the village was evacuated but time was running short. Blaster fire began to rain down on the surface. Villagers began to scream in fear. "Jex, get everyone into the cover of the forest." Reetha barked over the comms. Whipping out her lightsaber, she deflected incoming blaster fire from the Separatist troops that have already made landfall. She skidded across the grass and hopped in front of a group of children who were trapped under a hut. Skillfully, she deflected several blaster bolts and force pushed some droids away from them. "Come on, let's get out of here." She shielded the children as they ran. More droids were marching towards the almost empty village. Obi-wan and Cody were leading a frontal attack to slow them down but Reetha could easily see that they were heavily outnumbered.

"Jex, Scowl, what's your status?" 

"The villagers have been evacuated sir." Jex's voice fizzled through the comms. Reetha ducked under some trees as she urged the children into the jungle. "Separatist forces have taken over the eastern sector of the village. No casualties and hostages." Scowl reported in. "Good. Meet me at the evacuation site. Anyone have eyes on our fighting force?" The blaster fire seemed to have died down, Reetha hoped that the droids stopped pursuing the villagers. "General Kenobi and Commander Cody are fighting off the rest of the Separatist forces sir. But I can't tell if the fight's succeeding. " Scowl replied. 

The three finally met up at the evacuation site. Reetha ordered some of her men to help the villagers settle in. "Jex, Scowl what's the status?". "General Kenobi has successfully stopped the advance of the Seppy droids." Jex reported, but Reetha sensed hesitation in his voice. "Jex?" She urged. "Sir, General Grievous made contact with General Kenobi. And.." Worry flooded the padawan's senses. "Jex, what happened?" The trooper's shoulders tensed, "I'm- General Kenobi has been taken, hostage."