The city was in ruins – it was a hustling, bustling town, if modest and humble, just two days. But now, they saw scatters of dead bodies on the ground and the city's signposts and boards in rumbles on the road, making traversing through the town as if walking on eggshells.
And they really were. Anakin, always possessive to the point of paranoia, still knew that Padme was capable of taking of herself; she had proved this innumerable times in the war. Things were different now.
Anakin, grimaced, when he thought of how weak Padme was during the gunfight in the inn. However, beyond this, the images of her wailing on a white table, desperately trying to ensure the safe delivery of her… their child, had enthralled his mind.
Now, he would be careful. He was not so, during the failed rescue. He was rash, impulsive and careless. He would be now.
Before, they knew it, however, they were spotted.
"GET THEM! JEDI!" Screamed a Clone. They were battling some badly armed young boys; but they had no time or will to be distracted. The Empire's mandate now was to ensure that every single Jedi would be Hunted and Defeated. And clones have never faltered before. They were raised, groomed and engineered for this task.
Anakin and Ahsoka; along with Jor, Temas and the band of rebels and mercenaries engulfed themselves in this battle.
The fight was in their favour, but they could see more and more clones coming their way. Temas quickly shot his way while shielding and circling his liege, Voax. Ahsoka had lay Nara's body on the ground, while she fought her best.
The supply ship had reached Eriadu. On the outskirts of Phellar. Everything seemed peaceful there. But Obi-Wan was not deluded by sights and sounds. The senses that mattered; those that the Jedi, could grasp as ripples in the Force, told him he was not far from a fateful encounter.
"Sheev," a worker asked him. "Aren't you helping us?"
"I am sorry, friends…" Obi-Wan said. "But I must leave for Phellar immediately."
"Why?" Another worker asked him alarmed.
Kenobi improvised. "A friend of mine there… needs my assistance."
There was no doubt. This was very much true. Whether Anakin would response to any assistance, any wisdom, and any rationale from his best friend, mentor and brother was another thing.
The crew of the ship certainly thought this odd. That he would leave after being contracted. But they knew of the dangers in the galaxy, and why not following the old routine ought to be more to understandable now. They bid the Jedi farewell.
And Obi-Wan ran on. His consciousness was aware of the lightsaber in his cloak, and also his own feelings. He had anger and fury, the fuel of the dark side within him as well, when he thought of Anakin's betrayal and the monstrous acts he had committed. He did his best to temper them and suppress them as much as he could. But he had no hope Anakin would do the same with his own sentiments.
He was just beyond the gate. He breathed in. What was coming was coming. He was not ready. But he would still face it. Face the end goal he was dreading.