Liam Dorak walked down the corridor of one of the many Coruscant prisons. The young Padawan eventually reached a particular cell and showed the guard a set of documents. After examining the papers, the guard briefly deactivated the energy shield, allowing Liam entry. Inside the cell, sitting on the bed, was the woman Liam loved, Barriss Offee. "Why, Barriss?" he asked, his voice racked with grief.
Barriss found herself unable to look at Liam's face as he asked the question. His voice and expression conveyed pain and sadness. "I thought I explained everything in my testament to the senate," she said.
"How could you do that?" Liam asked, "You bombed the temple, killed several people, and framed Ashoka."
Barriss did regret what she had done, but thought it necessary. Her confidence in her actions, however, was shaken by Liam's last statement, "You betrayed me."
"The Jedi believe in nothing but violence," she said defiantly, "I had to show that they were pawns of the Dark Side."
"By becoming one yourself?" Liam asked incredulously. Barriss found herself unable to respond as her friend continued. "Yes, the Jedi have become corrupt," he conceded, "But you can't fight corruption with corruption. Two wrongs can never make a right. You saw the fault in the Jedi, but you didn't attack the source of that fault: the Sith!"
Liam felt a tear run down his cheek as kept his gaze on Barriss who had turned her back to him. "Why are you telling me this?" she asked, unease in her voice.
"Because I know, deep down, that the Dark Side hasn't fully consumed you," he answered, "The rest of the Jedi may have given up on you, but I haven't. I will never give up on you."
Barriss turned to face Liam and gazed into his hazel eyes as the weight of his words came crashing down on her. She had let herself be influenced by the Dark Side and her friends paid the price. Several people were dead, Ashoka was almost unjustly punished, and Liam was in terrible pain from her betrayal. The Miralan did not even realize she was now on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably. "What have I done?!" she cried. Barriss soon felt Liam wrap his arms around her comfortingly. "How can you possibly forgive me?" She asked, "I've done terrible things! I'm a monster!"
He responded by shushing her in a soothing manner before gently lifting her chin, so that their eyes bore into each other. "I love you," He said softly.
Barriss buried her face in Liam's chest as her mind registered the words. "He loves me," she thought, choking back tears, "Despite everything, he loves me." After what felt like an eternity, she looked up at him and pressed her lips against his. "I love you, too," she declared when they broke apart.
Several hours had passed and Liam and Barriss were now onboard a ship, bound for Nar Shaddaa. The prison guards would have been suspicious if Liam had not been carrying prisoner transfer orders. The documents were not genuine, as the Padawan had procured a set of real ones and hired a forger to alter them. Once the two lovers were away from the prison, they had stowed away on a cargo vessel. "What happens now?" Barriss asked.
"First, you need a new lightsaber," Liam declared, "Second, if we're going to save the Order, we have to go back to its roots. According to the archives, the first Jedi came from the planet Ach-To. Maybe we can find some manuscripts there and figure out where the Order went wrong."
"In that case, we need a ship," Barriss commented.
"We can find plenty of those on Nar Shaddaa," Liam said reassuringly.
Night had fallen on Coruscant and Jedi Master Shaak Ti was searching for her Padawan. He was nowhere to be found at the temple, and he was not answering his comlink. Given the recent departure of Padawans Tano and Kaigen, Master Ti suspected that Liam may have done the same. Naturally, she was concerned, as it was unlike Liam to do such a thing without telling her.
As Master Ti walked through the temple, she eventually reached Liam's quarters. She decided to search the room, believing that her Padawan might have left a message. As she suspected, in the middle of the table, lay a holoprojector with a data disk, obviously containing a message.
Before the Jedi Master could activate the projector, her comlink began to beep. Apparently, the council had called a meeting. Taking the projector, she proceeded to the council chambers.
At the meeting, it was revealed that the council had just received word that Barriss Offee had escaped. Apparently, she had been freed by a fellow Jedi, who was carrying prisoner transfer orders.
"With Offee freed, it's highly likely that she will join the Separatists," Master Windu surmised, "She must be found and recaptured."
While several council members murmured in agreement, Master Yoda kept his gaze on Shaak Ti and Luminara Unduli. "Master Ti," he said, "Troubled, you seem."
"My Padawan is missing," she answered.
"You believe he could have had a hand in freeing Offee?" asked Windu.
"It isn't out of the question," Master Unduli, "Liam and Barriss have grown rather close over time."
"I had recently been to his quarters and found this," Ti replied, holding up the disk, "It probably contains a message."
"Play this message, will you?" Yoda asked gently.
The Togruta proceeded to activate the projector. The image of Liam came into view.
"Master," he began, "If you're watching this, then I have left Coruscant and taken Barriss with me. The Jedi Order is not what it once was. We have grown arrogant and corrupt. In our arrogance, we have allowed our judgement to be clouded. Barriss understands what's happened to the Order, but she allowed the Dark Side to control her. She needs help, and the council has abandoned her, just as it did when Ashoka was framed for murder. I've realized that I can't just turn my back on Barriss. I have to help her."
Shaak Ti could hear the sadness in her Padawan's voice as Liam continued.
"I've come to an even greater realization. I love her, Master, and I will never give up on her. I know there is good in her. I've felt it. I can't stay at the temple, knowing what she means to me and that I can help her. Please, don't try to find me."
Master Ti knew that leaving was painful for her Padawan. The pain was etched in his face and voice. His last declaration, however, pulled at her heart.
"You are no longer my master," he said, his voice breaking, "But you will always be my mother. May the Force be with you."
The holographic image then faded away. Several council members, including Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, wore grave expressions.
"Padawan Dorak's attachment will be his undoing," Windu declared, "The Dark Side will consume them."
Master Ti snarled at the accusation. "His heart is in the right place," she said calmly.
"Doubt this, I do not," said Yoda, "Many mistakes, the council has made of late."
The old Master thought back to a conversation he had with Padawan Dorak several days ago.
"I don't know what to do, Master Yoda," the Padawan said.
"Much grief, I sense in you," Yoda said gravely, "Devastated, you are, at Padawan Offee's betrayal.
Liam was looking out one of the chamber windows. "Wouldn't you be if your... your best friend did that to you?"
"The friend you knew, consumed by the Dark Side she is."
"I don't believe that. There's still good in her."
Yoda was brought back to the present when Master Windu accused Shaak Ti of harboring attachment to her apprentice.
Before the Togruta could respond, Yoda raised his hand for silence. "Honor the Padawan's request, we should."
Windu stared incredulously at the Grand Master as he continued. "Following his own path, Dorak is. An easy choice for him, this was not."
Following the council meeting, Master Ti walked to one of the temple courtyards and gazed out into the night sky. For several minutes, the Jedi Master stood there in silence, thinking back to when she had found the young man that thought of her as his mother.
"Please," the dying woman pleaded as she held the baby out to her, "Take care of my son."
Unable to deny the mother's request, Shaak Ti took the child in her arms.
"What is his name?" she asked gently.
"Liam," the woman answered, her breathing uneven, "Liam Dorak."
The Jedi continued to gaze at the stars as a tear rolled down her cheek. "May the Force be with you, my son."
