Author's note: This story represents a combination of ideas. I'm not sure where it will lead. Please review!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material present in this story.

1

19 BBY

Barriss knew she was dead, and had become part of the Force.

The last thing she could remember was the roar of a turbolaser and searing pain all across her body, like she was being burned alive. It was then that she had a sense of heightened awareness that could not compare to any she had felt as a living being.

She couldn't see. She couldn't feel. The only thing left was her consciousness, spirit, and mind. She felt the Force pulling at her from all directions. There were voices, whispering something in an unknown language far lost to the living. Barriss could feel hundreds of spirits following her same path through the vortex, screaming not with their mouths, but with their minds.

Jedi. All of them.

There was no balance to the Force any longer. It was a spiraling, downward tunnel that eclipsed everything in a maelstrom of confusion. Many Jedi had perished, and Barriss was among the casualties. But why had this happened? It was true that the members of the High Council had sensed a great disturbance in the balance of the Force, but how could they have overlooked this?

The voices continued to whisper, softer than before. The cries of spirits became less frequent, but every one that sounded echoed through the darkness, cutting through the precarious veil of darkness that surrounded Barriss.

Time passed, and there was nothing.

Although Barriss did not see the Dark Side as the rest of the Jedi Order, she still felt its presence. The whispers…they were ancient entities, grown in power. Something had triggered their awakening, something that spanned the entire galaxy with one swift, meticulously planned stroke.

They spoke to her.

She could not understand the words themselves, but could understand clearly their intentions. They told her to let go her conscious self, and become powerful. They said it would be easy.

The voices grew louder, and Barriss knew they had chosen to attempt and turn her into one of them. They hissed inside her head, drowning out her thoughts, breaking her useless Force-created barrier to smithereens. They tore at her mind, threatening to bend her willpower until she was a mindless drone.

Barriss screamed with her spirit, but no sound came out. She felt herself fading…

…And then her awareness was extinguished.