"Luke's coming."

Zelina held perfectly still the first few moments after Anakin's announcement, needing a moment to process what he was saying.

Padmé was pregnant.

Luke was going to be born soon.

Already? He was already coming?

Luke had warned her of bad things that were to come, were they coming as well?

Anakin's statement raised far more questions then Zelina wanted right now, with not nearly enough answers.

But still, Luke was coming.

Eventually, she managed to react, a small sound of surprise escaping her as all these thoughts flashed through her mind. Should she be happy, worried, what?

For now, she'd settle for happy. There was enough going on right now, she didn't think worried was something she could afford to be on top of everything else she was already concerned about.  Besides, Anakin was so overjoyed at the news, she couldn't justify being the one to kill that joy.

"That's...Force, Anakin, that's wonderful!" she finally exclaimed, reality settling back in as she gave Anakin another hug. She saw Padmé had finally reached them and pulled herself from Anakin's embrace to hug her other friend, a little more careful this time. "Congratulations, both of you!"

Zelina pulled back, a hand on Anakin's arm and her other hand on Padmé's arm as a thought occurred to her. "You both need some time—to celebrate and to be together, it's been far too long. Anakin, go home with her, I'll cover for you. I want to see Satine later, so I have to be at the Senate, anyway."

"Are you sure? I know you hate politics—" Anakin started to ask, but Zelina waved his question away.

"Yes, Ani, I'm sure. Spend the day with your wife, you both deserve it," she reassured them.

Anakin grinned, giving her another hug. "Thanks, Zee. I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything. Now go on, before somebody tries to snag one of you. I'll be fine."

The two gave their thanks once again before finally departing, slipping away successfully without drawing any attention. Zelina sighed, watching their transport depart before turning back to the Senate Building.

Padmé, Anakin once he remembered he wanted to talk with her about Dooku, the briefing at the Jedi Temple, mingling with the public after the Chancellor's rescue, Satine, the prisoners from Ruusan, her men, Luke...

Zelina took a deep breath.

One thing at a time, and maybe she wouldn't get overwhelmed.

**********************************************

When Zelina finally managed to peel herself away from all the politicians she had to mingle with for appearances alone, she made a beeline towards Satine's apartment. It was on the way back to the Jedi Temple, where she still needed to go for a briefing and to cover for Anakin's disappearance, so it saved her some running around later.

The whole time she'd been talking to the politicians, Luke had been in the back of her mind...

*****************************************

Every choice you make affects me...

You could be my protector, my guardian, my teacher, or not be there at all. It is all up to the path that you and my father choose. Please, watch over my father. You must help him, you need to protect him. He needs you; I need you...

Are you prepared?

Prepared for what?

Everything. Everything's about to start happening at once, and you're going to be the one factor that can change all of it. What are you prepared to do?

Anything.

That's not the right answer. Saying you'll do anything... Anything could mean you're willing to do what cannot be done, and that's the reason we're all in this mess.

The future...it's so cold...It's moving so fast, I...I don't know what's happening to me...one moment I'm fine, at peace, and the next...there's nothing, or darkness and I...it's so dark...there's no light...I'm all alone. Force, don't let me be alone! Not like this! I'm scared...it's so cold...don't let it take me, please! Don't let me die! Father, please!

This next year...it will be the hardest of your life. But if you don't stop fighting it will be worth it. Please, don't give up on the galaxy yet. Trust yourself and the Force, and you won't be led astray. I promise you. The ripples you make now will be the largest down the road. The future is ever in motion, and each step you take from here on out will alter everything...

You may see me sooner than you think.

**********************************************

Zelina got out of her speeder, expression thoughtful as she slowly made her way to Satine's door, lost in her musings over her past visions. If Luke was going to be born soon...did that mean she'd know soon whether or not she'd dodged the darkness he'd feared, if she'd made the right choices?

She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know. What if she had chosen wrong at some pivotal moment? What if there were more key choices to make, and she failed to choose the right path?

So much for not worrying about Luke, yet. Hearing he was going to be born soon had awakened an avalanche of worries within her, worries she wouldn't be able to quiet because they were personal, they were embedded in a core part of her.

They had to do with Anakin, and the son she'd grown somewhat attached to before he was even conceived.

Zelina looked up as the doors ahead of her opened before she quite reached them, startled. Had Satine somehow known she was coming?

No, Obi-Wan was leaving the Duchess' apartment at this very moment.

What in the name of—

"Obi-Wan?" Zelina asked, shocked.

What was it, couples' week? Did she need to find a date for the next few days? What was this?

Obi-Wan seemed just as surprised to see Zelina here as she was to see him. Though he also looked...embarrassed.

"Zelina? What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing—I came to visit Satine before heading for the briefing. What are you doing, sneaking around with the Duchess, hmm?"

Zelina had to resist the urge to snort as the great Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Negotiator of the Clone Wars, Master of Soresu, member of the Jedi Council, turned red and started to sputter, struggling for words in the face of her blatant implication. "I am not sneaking around with—"

Zelina held up a hand, laughing. "Relax, Obi-Wan, I'm messing with you."

Obi-Wan groaned, face still flushed. "You and Anakin are going to be the death of me."

Zelina waved her hands in the air, walking past him towards Satine's door. "It's fine, it's fine—there's nothing wrong with visiting her. I actually encourage it. You two go well together."

She had him blushing again. "Zelina."

"I'll stop messing with you, I'm sorry, Obi-Wan, continue on. I'm going to visit with Satine awhile and then I'll be at the Temple. I'll see you there," Zelina laughed, turning and making her way to Satine's door. She heard Obi-Wan sigh behind her, but he didn't say anything, choosing to leave rather than risk Zelina teasing him more.

When Satine answered the door she seemed surprised, and might have been expecting it to be Obi-Wan standing on the other side of the door since it was so soon after he'd left.

Instead she was met with Zelina.

"Zelina? I thought you were—"

"Obi-Wan? Yeah, I just ran into him," Zelina chuckled. "Do you have time for another visitor, or should I come back another time?" Zelina asked curiously.

Satine stepped aside to let her into the apartment. "Please, come in."

Zelina stepped inside, giving Satine a small smile as she made her way into Satine's living room. Satine gestured for her to sit on the couch, taking a seat opposite the Duchess.

"It's been a long time since I've seen you—how are you?" Satine asked.

"Busy as ever. They've been sending me all over the galaxy on missions and such—I hadn't seen Anakin and Obi-Wan in months before the Chancellor was kidnapped. I love being back on the front lines, but...it's nice to be back among friends," Zelina said with a smile.

"Everyone needs a break from time to time."

"What about you? How are things going for you? I've only heard bits and pieces about what's going on with the conflict on Mandalore," Zelina said quietly.

Satine nodded, suddenly solemn. "Yes, well...considering how war torn Mandalore has become, it will be a while before Mandalore recovers. It's also been decided that whenever Maul's puppet government is officially overthrown, I will step down as ruler, and my sister will take over. The people don't exactly want a return to pacifism after what happened," Satine said steadily. Zelina frowned, feeling her heart ache for her friend's situation.

All of her hard work, gone in what probably felt like an instant. Mandalore was going to return to its warrior ways.

Zelina could appreciate Satine's dreams of a peaceful Mandalore, but in reality—especially the one they lived in today—it just wasn't possible. Mandalore needed its warriors. Plus, they were a central part to Mandalore's history, a part that couldn't just be shoved away to forever be forgotten.

"I'm sorry, Satine...for what it's worth."

"Thank you, Zelina. At least this blasted war will be over soon—with the death of Count Dooku and all."

Zelina sighed. "Yes, well...Palpatine made it clear that he isn't even going to consider peace until Grievous is taken care of. Honestly, so long as Grievous is still around, there's still going to be conflict—he seems to thrive on it."

Satine nodded, letting a comfortable silence linger for a few moments after Zelina's statement before moving on to a different subject. "Do you know how long you'll be on Coruscant?"

Zelina shrugged. "No idea. They probably won't send me back to Ruusan, we were close enough to our victory I'd probably arrive in time for all the fighting to be over. Besides, I have some interests to follow up with while I'm here on Coruscant."

"What would that be?"

Inwardly, Zelina cringed. She'd walked into that one—she wanted to involve Padmé, not Satine. Satine had enough on her plate. But now she had to explain what was going on.

"While we were on Ruusan there were a group of...I guess you could say rebels, who sabotaged my men's equipment and tried to slow us down while we were in their village, and even told the Separatists where we were. They were apprehended, and the Chancellor wanted them brought back to Coruscant—they arrived not long before his kidnapping. Now they're being put on trial for treason against the Republic and being moved to a maximum security prison in a couple days. It's all nonsense, since they're civilians who tried to protect their families and friends from an invading army, and they fought beside us later when the Separatist army arrived."

Satine made a frustrated sound of disgust. "Just another reason why I wanted to keep Mandalore neutral. There's corruption on both sides."

Zelina nodded. "I'm going to go see the prisoners later tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to do something to set things right, or at least improve the situation. It seems that's going to be my mission while I'm here."

"I wish you luck. If you need any help—"

Zelina waved her hand. "I appreciate the offer, Satine, but you focus on Mandalore. You've got enough on your hands as it is. I have other places I can turn to for help if I need to." Deciding to change the topic before Satine could push to help Zelina any more, she cleared her throat. "So...what was Obi-Wan here for?"

Satine gave Zelina a secretive, knowing smile. "He just came by to visit, despite what you're thinking."

"Me? I'm not thinking anything, it's just an innocent question. Though I will say..." Zelina started, fighting a smile. "If there was some...secretive private matters occurring, I'd be willing to cover for the two of you."

Satine actually looked scandalized. "Nothing like that is happening! It would be against the Jedi Code!"

Code doesn't stop it from happening anyway, Zelina thought, her smile growing to a smirk. "Mm...Obi-Wan's pretty fond of you, though--you and I both know it."

Satine was blushing, but she was quick on the return. "Tell me, how's Anakin?"

"Oh, that's not fair."

"It's just an innocent question."

Zelina rolled her eyes, Satine smiling victoriously as the matter was effectively closed.

Politicians...

*************************************

The briefing was unexciting, as usual, the excuse for Anakin easily rolling from her lips.

It's not his fault he's not here, the politicians didn't want to let him go. I am going to meet him later, though, I'll fill him in on anything important.

That way he had an excuse for why he wasn't at the meeting, and she could claim he'd been with her all night to cover him spending the night with Padmé, if anyone asked.

She was getting a little too good at covering for her friends' secret marriage.

Then again, there had been a knowing flicker in Obi-Wan's eyes, and not for the first time, she wondered if he was catching on to Padmé's and Anakin's relationship. She knew he definitely knew they both had strong feelings for each other that they indulged, but she was pretty sure the extent of their relationship was unknown to him.

For now. It seemed he was starting to get suspicious.

If Padmé was about to have Luke, those suspicions would be pretty much confirmed for Obi-Wan. And there were going to be plenty of questions. Padmé and Anakin really needed to think about—

No. No, no, no, it was not her place to speculate on what Padmé and Anakin should do in their situation. That was a decision Padmé and Anakin had to make, when they felt it was time to address those concerns.

No doubt it would loom over them like a dark shadow, and if it wasn't already, it would soon.

Again, the decision was for them to make, not for her to speculate on.

She had enough on her plate right now, anyway.

It was night by the time she arrived at the prison the Ruusan citizens were being kept, and she was partially surprised they let her past the front desk to go visit them, considering all the fuss that was being made over them, turning them into high profile prisoners of war.

Maximum security...what was the Senate thinking?

Who had even made the motion?

A scowl flickered across her face for the thirtieth time today thinking about this entire mess, though she shoved her frustration at the entire situation aside when she finally reached the detention block the Ruusans were being kept in.

As Zelina came within view of their cells, several faces familiar from the conflict she'd left for the Chancellor's rescue peered at her from behind shields, some looking betrayed, others relieved, while some looked downright angry.

"Fair treatment, huh?" one of the men asked, leaning into the doorway with hands braced on either side of the frame. Zelina felt a small frown flicker across her face at his words.

"If it was up to me, yes, but I'm not the Senate. I didn't expect this to happen," Zelina replied, coming to a stop near his cell. The man scoffed.

"How could you not? Unless you're really that oblivious to which side you're fighting for."

"I'm sorry you were treated so poorly once you left my custody. I thought you'd receive fair treatment."

Looking back, I probably should have expected this to happen. Perhaps a small part of me did, and that's why I dragged my feet so much when it came to sending this group to Coruscant.

"Excuses."

"Shut up, Jonery," came a female voice, someone a few cells down. "It's not the Jedi's fault, and we all know it. We were treated properly while her and her men were in our village."

"For all the good that did us," Jonery snapped back. Zelina decided it was best not to engage the contentious one much longer, moving instead to the women who'd spoken.

This one she had a name she remembered to put to the face.

"Ashara—how are you holding up?"

The red-headed woman shrugged, staying in her spot sitting on a cot. "We've been better. But we know this isn't your fault. Your men's reaction to how we were treated when we landed was answer enough for that."

Zelina nodded. "I'm sorry, again. For what it's worth, I'm going to be trying to get this mess sorted out, okay? I have friends in the Senate who are good people that might be able to help."

Ashara smiled weakly. "I appreciate you trying."

Zelina looked around for someone she vividly remember rebelling against having to put on the transport to Coruscant, looking to Ashara when she didn't see who she was looking for immediately within view. "Is he here?"

Ashara didn't have to ask to know who Zelina was referring to. "He's down near the end of the hall."

"Thank you," Zelina murmured, making her way to the very end of the block, passing over the cells with disinterest until she finally found the one she was looking for.

Inside sat eight-year-old Malachi, picking idly at the wall with a forlorn expression on his face, seated on the ground. Zelina felt a pang in her heart to see the boy locked up, probably included for the move to the maximum security prison despite the fact he was only eight years old.

Zelina leaned against the doorframe, her voice soft. "Hey, Malachi."

The boy looked up, startled to hear the Jedi's voice, but a smile appearing on his forlorn face nonetheless.

"Jedi Du'ahn!" he said brightly, getting up from his spot on the floor and approaching the shield that kept him within the cell. "Did you come to help us?"

Bless the young, and their innocence, Zelina thought, heart still aching.

"Right now I'm just seeing how everyone is doing, but yes, I'm going to try and help sort out this mess," she said gently, smiling at the boy.

"You will—I know you will. Just like you did back home."

Back on Ruusan it was an entirely different arena.

"Are you all right?" Zelina asked.

Malachi nodded, his bright mood dimming slightly. "I'm all right. People keep calling us traitors..."

Zelina sighed. "I know. Don't listen to them, all right? You and your people haven't done anything wrong, no matter what anyone says."

"Okay..."

Zelina didn't want to lower his spirits, so she changed the subject. "Hey—when I get you all out of here, maybe I can get you that action figure you wanted."

Malachi lit up once more. "The one of the clone trooper?"

"Yeah, that one—I'll even make sure it looks like a 105th soldier," Zelina said with a smile.

"Do you think you can get one that looks like Cruiser?"

Zelina chuckled. "I'll try. Take care, all right? I'll do what I can to get all of you out of here."

"Bye," Malachi said, a little pitifully, and Zelina gave him a gentle smile before she turned to leave.

As she made her way back passed the Ruusan civilians, Zelina's mind flashed back to the conflict on Ruusan--or rather, right before the conflict. Zelina had treated them much different than this...

**********************************

"Oi! Seppy! I've already caught you thieving, you'd be wise not to give me any lip!"

There was a crowd gathering at the spectacle in the Ruusan village street, a young boy sprawled in the dirt path while a soldier with 105th markings on his still-new armor stood over him. In his hand was the now half-eaten ration bar the boy had been caught stealing, a red mark where the soldier's backhand had hit his face hard enough to knock the boy to the ground.

"I don't have to show you any respect, you mudlicking wet droid!" the boy shouted back.

"You traitorous son of a—" the soldier swore, stepping forward to possibly strike the boy yet again.

He didn't get the chance, as in the next moment he found himself thrown back and sprawled on the ground. At first, confusion was clear on his face while he sat up, regaining his bearings.

Until he saw the figure that had just pushed her way to the front of the crowd.

"General!" the soldier said, scrambling to his feet to try and snap to a salute.

Zelina Du'ahn stepped into the clearing where the scene between the trooper and the boy had been taking place, Gambit and Cruiser on either side of her. Her expression was stormy, fixed on the soldier for a few moments.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked.

"He was stealing, ma'am, from the troop's rations. He tried to make a run for it when I caught him," the soldier reported, showing her the half-eaten ration bar. Zelina's eyebrows arched, her tone dangerous.

"Are you telling me this is over one ration bar?"

"No, ma'am, he was trying to make off with more than that—this was just all he could grab when I interrupted him."

Zelina looked to Gambit, folding her arms over her chest. "Gambit, is this the same Shiny that you saw harassing some of the locals the other day? The one you were telling me about?"

"Yes, General."

"Uh-huh..." she said, turning her gaze from the troops to the boy on the street. She kneeled down beside him, eyes drawn to the red mark on his face. "Can I see?" she asked him gently.

The boy just glared at her, but she took it in stride, looking back to her Commander. "Cruiser, this soldier's rations tonight go to this boy."

"What?" the soldier sputtered, shocked. Zelina turned a cold eye on him.

"I can tell you're new, so I'll explain it this once—I don't condone this sort of behavior in my men. I don't tolerate my men going around harassing civilians because of what government they're under. They are still citizens of the galaxy, and whether they're under Separatist or Republic rule, it is your job to protect them. If I hear any more about you harassing or abusing civilians, I'm having you sent back to Kamino, are we clear?"

The soldier's expression darkened before looking to his clone brothers. They didn't have a spark of sympathy in their eyes—he was the one who'd acted out of line and painted the 105th in a bad light to these civilians.

"Gambit, make sure he finds his way back to the camp—and he's not allowed in the village anymore. Keep him busy in the camp," Zelina told Gambit, who walked passed her to grab the soldier by the arm.

"Yes, General. C'mon, Shiny, before you cause any more trouble."

As they left, Zelina turned her attention back to the boy. "What's your name, young one?"

The boy hesitated, gaze sliding back towards the retreating form of Gambit and the offending Shiny. "Malachi."

"Well, Malachi—if you go with Commander Cruiser, he'll get you something to eat," Zelina said, nodding to her Commander as he took off his helmet and kneeled on the other side of the boy, offering him a hand. Malachi hesitantly looked between him and Zelina, almost like he couldn't quite believe they were being so kind after he tried to steal from them.

Even though he'd only stolen because he was hungry, and he'd rather steal from the invading army than one of the locals.

"Why are you being so nice?"

Zelina smiled at him. "It's my job as a Jedi to protect the citizens of the galaxy, before it's my job to be a Republic General. And a citizen is a citizen, whether they claim Separatist or Republic."

**************************************************

"General! I didn't expect to see you here."

Zelina smiled at Gambit as she made her way further into the clone bar, coming to stand in front of his table with hands resting casually on the hilts of her lightsabers. "Well, I figured I had some time to kill, and thought why not spend it with the men—those of you that are here, anyway."

Gambit chuckled, taking a large drink. "When are they others coming back from Ruusan, by the way?"

"A few days, maybe? We'll have to celebrate the time off once they arrive."

"I'll drink to that, General!" Gambit thundered, raising his glass before taking another long drink.

Already well on his way to drunkenness, apparently. Oh well, some of the other men looked like they were sober enough to hold some form of coherent conversation. And drunk or not, it was still enjoyable to spend the free time with her men.

And after this, she had to make herself disappear for the night, so no one could point out Anakin hadn't been with her if she had to claim so to cover for his disappearance tonight.