CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO.

Once they had arrived at the barracks, the briefing started. It was quick and Anakin's battalion left first. They were prepared and it seemed that Cody had been dealing with some issues among the clones which made him late to board the ship. They couldn't leave without him so by the time they had jumped into hyperspace, Anakin was long ahead of them.

The Republic surveillance had suggested that a droid army was forming on Welso and it was gearing up to take the capital. There had already been an attempt at a blockade but the Welso's army had managed to shoot down any attempts. It was now left up to the Republic to protect the last Republic territory in that system.

It was in the same system as Parton and the entire system was slowly being forced into separatist allegiance. The droid army was the last straw and if they could not defeat it and ensure safety of the Welsonians then they would also fall into the separatist trap.

Once the battle was won, it was Obi-Wan's job to negotiate with the Senator of Welso in an attempt to keep them on side. Anakin's job was to keep the droid armies occupied and hopefully prevent any more casualties in the city.

They didn't have much time and Elly couldn't stop thinking. She knew it would be a few hours before they landed on Welso but the anticipation was killing her. Part of her was excited to go to battle. It was the first time and she had been itching to go out to the field for weeks but the other was nervous. It would likely be nothing how she expected and that felt odd to her.

But rather than hanging around in the main hull, Elly had retreated to her room. She knew that she needed to meditate, try and gather herself before she threw herself into the battle. It was the first time and the most risky place. If Anakin or Obi-Wan got hurt, she knew it could end badly for her and she didn't want that.

"You're worried," Elly commented as she opened her eyes to look up at Obi-Wan. She had heard the door to her bedroom open while she lay back on her bed, trying to slip into meditation. She was always aware of feelings, their bond made it so much easier to read him. He had been worried since he gave her the news on Coruscant. She just couldn't work out why. His hand swiped over the sensor and the door whooshed shut behind him. Elly then sat up on the bed and beckoned him over. He sighed and sat down in front of her. She reached out and took his hands in her own.

"You're nervous," He retorted. She rolled her eyes and let go of his hand. She needed to tie her hair up or maybe she could get Obi-Wan to braid it.

"I've never seen battle," She responded as she pulled out the two hairties from her pocket. She then held them out to him and he knew what to do. She turned around and he began with his task. The movements and the braiding was calming for Obi-Wan, allowing some of his worry to dissipate and that made Elly smile. She could feel it easing off.

"Anakin and I will be there the whole time. You have nothing to worry about. Commander Cody is also looking out for you. They realised what you did for Jegie. You've got their respect, little bird," He said as he continued to braid her hair like he had so many times since they had become close again. His fingers against her scalp still soothed her unlike anything else. She smiled as she ran her fingers along the bottom hem of her pants.

"I just did what was right. He died for me. It was the least I could do," She muttered and he smiled softly. He was about halfway done with the first braid when she felt a soft kiss on the back of her neck. It sent a shiver down her spine and she couldn't help but smile. It was the kind of intimacy that she had not expected him to initiate but she didn't mind it at all.

"You've always been so wonderful," He muttered against her skin, his eyes closing for a moment. He just wanted to take in that short moment of peace and happiness. There wasn't a lot of happiness to go around but he'd found a new place with Elly. They'd found that new yet old place of happiness together. He loved her so much.

"Obi," She said softly. Her voice quiet and nothing like she'd been the last few weeks. He looked up, lifting his head as he moved away from her. She turned around, half her hair braided with the other side loose and flowing. She still looked beautiful and he was sure that nothing could change her beauty, "If something goes wrong and I'm injured. No matter how bad it is, you have to focus on the battle." He frowned. No because he wouldn't do what she was asking but because she had been able to see the source of his worry so clearly. She moved her hand to cup his cheek.

"I will," He said as he pressed a soft peck to her lips. She smiled and returned the kiss with one of her own. She pressed one to his nose and then to his cheek before she rested her head in the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped around her and in that moment, he knew what peace truly felt like. He could feel it around him. The Force humming in content and all of his emotions seemed to dilute until all that was left was love.

Elly pressed a soft kiss to the exposed skin of his neck before she sat up again. The peace was ripped away from him but he tried not to show it as he pushed the free hair behind her ear.

"We'll be okay." There was surety behind his words and she simply nodded in response. She knew that they would be. They had been through worse, much worse.

"We should probably finish the braiding before someone comes looking for us." She said after a few beats of silence between them. He nodded and she turned back around. His hands moved back into her hair and he continued his braiding job. They were both done perfectly and the two just sat in silence once they were done.

She leant back into him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. His legs moved to rest on either side of her as she sat up against him. His head rested against her as they intertwined their fingers. Elly let her eyes fall closed again and slipping into meditation suddenly felt so much easier. The Force exploded around her in vibrant colours and she could feel everything around her. The presence of the clones, the blue hue of Obi-Wan's presence.

She wasn't sure how long she was in that state that Obi-Wan seemed to join her in because suddenly, there was a sudden beep that broke them out of their trance. Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open and he fished his commlink from his pocket. It was beeping over and over. He was quick to flick it on as Elly pushed away from him. His hologram had automatically appeared and they couldn't make Anakin anymore suspicion.

A smaller hologram of the man appeared on the link and he looked distressed. His lightsaber held tightly in his head.

"How close are you?" Anakin demanded. Elly had never heard him so dominating but she quickly realised that this was Anakin in battle mode, he didn't have time to tease. They had a battle to win and he needed Obi-Wan to land quickly. He looked exhausted and Elly realised that they must be close. He wasn't that far ahead.

"I'm not sure. We should be with you within the hour," Obi-Wan said as he frantically got to his feet. Elly joined him as the pair headed towards the main deck of the ship. The clones were milling around and Cody was at the main desk, looking over some sort of data and reports. Elly hadn't really grasped what exactly everyone did on the ships yet. It was all so new to her.

Elly listened as the trio discussed what was going on. Anakin nearly being shot mid-holocall as he dipped behind a ship. Elly had no idea where he was calling from whether it was on the ship or the battlefield but it didn't bode well.

The holocall eventually turned into just a comm as Anakin began to argue that they were going to lose if Obi-Wan didn't get there soon. Their connection was loose and it seemed that the separatists were trying to cut off communication to outside of Welso. It was smart.

But they kept the line open as long as they could, Obi-Wan continued insisting that the battalion couldn't get the ship to move any quicker. Anakin was frustrated and that was understandable, the waves of droids didn't seem to be stopping. The troops were tired and needed just a five minute break. They needed the 212th.

The news then came that they had just came out of hyperspace and they'd be landing in five to ten minutes. That seemed to calm Anakin down and Elly felt a little lighter knowing that they would soon be there to help the brunette in the cause.

Obi-Wan took a cautious look at Elly but when she seemed to be completely calm, he put all of his attention on Anakin again. Their discussion was heated and quick, words that Elly could barely comprehend as she looked at Cody. He knew what to do and rather than discussing any further, he took off and began to round up the clones before they could brief them on the plan of action once again.

Elly was there the whole time, taking it in and trying to prepare herself. Her whole body felt on fire, adrenaline kicking in the second that the ship hit the ground. She had already changed into her battle armour and she had her blaster and lightsaber at the ready as they landed.

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