Chapter 3: Freckles and The Desert Rat

Barriss Offee stood worriedly gripping her lightsaber with Jedi Master Shaak Ti; both women wore worried and defeated expressions. "This is it, isn't it?" Barriss asked as the doors dented a little from the battering ram's charge.

"It is better to die fighting as a warrior than to die running as a coward." Shaak Ti replied, activating her own lightsaber, her dark eyes closing for a moment before she came to stand by the younger Jedi's side.

They had been holed up in the small, stone shack for several days now, and any hope of being rescued was shot when they were finally discovered by the Clone Troopers, who instantly opened fire on them. "I hear another ship approaching," Shaak spoke, "As if they need reinforcements …"

Both women looked at each other in awe when the sound of combat echoed from the other side of the door. The both stood ready, but glanced at one another when silence overtook their position. "Open up, safe it is." Yoda's voice sounded from the other side of the stone building.

The two Jedi rapidly began to unfastening the damaged door and found Yoda, Obiwan, and Aayla standing there with a group of informally dressed troops standing over the group of Clone Troopers.

"Are you two alright?" Obiwan asked, smiling at the two women.

"Are there any more with you?" Aayla asked worriedly as she hugged her old friend.

"We're fine, but we were the only ones to escape the Clones," Barriss said nervously, returning the Twi'lek's hug. "They got a message then started firing on us; what happened?"

"Long story, it is," Yoda sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Explain on the way back to Alderaan, we will."

"Our ship is this way," Obiwan said, leading them to a group of shuttles and an old, barely holding together Corellian YT-1300 freighter.

"This is your ship?" Barriss blinked at the rickety ship. "Only you, Master Kenobi, would be brave enough to take this ship out of a ship yard."

"It's not mine," Obiwan shrugged, "Anakin's been working on it for the last few years as a hobby."

"Annie, I should have known," Barriss gave a slight giggle, but suddenly paled at a thought. "Anakin, is he ok? He hasn't been hurt in the attacks, has he?"

"Is Anakin ok? Well … it depends on your definition of ok …" Obiwan said, leading them inside and toward the cockpit of the freighter.

Obiwan and Aayla got the freighter out of orbit and into hyperspace toward Coruscant when they all regrouped again in the rest area in the center of the ship.

"Master Obiwan, what happened to Anakin, please?" Barriss asked again, sounding worried and irritated at how long she'd had to wait to wait.

Obiwan glanced to Aayla and Yoda before telling the two women what they had missed. "…And as far as we know we're the only surviving Jedi left. The Council has been shattered, and we've decided to drop the current code for the previous 'Revanistic Code'." Obiwan said, not looking at the group. "Anakin … while you may feel anger for him, no matter how much you feel about him, nothing could compared to the self-hatred Anakin has been putting himself through. And since Padme left him, you can feel the loss whenever you're even close to him. I blame Palpatine for this mostly, but we all are to blame. He put us all in a position to doom ourselves."

Shaak and Barriss both had visible reactions to the news. Shaak's dark eyes were wide and stared in shock and horror. Barriss had a more vocal response.

"I refuse to believe this," Barriss said, standing up. "Annie's the most kind-hearted person I have ever met, let alone in our Order," She argued, shaking her head. "Annie wouldn't do what you've said he did. Even if it is true … Anakin needs support now. Why is his wife leaving him now of all times?"

"It's a difficult situation …" Obiwan said, rubbing his eyes.

"Ya think?" Aayla asked, rolling her eyes.

"What is this 'Revanistic Code'?" Shaak Ti asked, trying to break the tension in the air.

"Named after the founder of the second Jedi Order, it was," Yoda stated, "Written by the Jedi Master and former Sith Lord Darth Revan and his wife Bastila Shen. Ironic … destroyed his order after falling to the Dark Side, Revan did, then aided in rebuilding it anew, free of the corruption that had undertaken it. History repeating itself, it seems."

"The Code is a lot freer to emotions and attachments," Obiwan said, "Instead of looking at attachments as a source of weakness; it sees them as a source of focus and purpose."

"Meaning we can date," Aayla couldn't help but smile at that one. "Even though some of use will have more chances at attracting the opposite sex than others." The Twi'lek said, sticking out her chest.

It took Barriss a moment to realize that her friend was staring at her as she said that. "Are you referring to me, old friend?" Barriss batted her eyes a moment before sending a defiant look at her friend turned challenger. "Just because your race is known for being exotic, the fact you're disproportional in certain areas will still hurt your chances."

"Oh, you're one to talk, always wearing those big robes to hide what you DON'T have," Aayla smirked down at the freckled faced, green skinned Jedi as Obiwan and Shaak Ti watched uncomfortably while Yoda just hid his face in his clawed hands.

"It's not size, it's proportion!" Barriss shot back.

"Why I preferred the old code, this is …" Yoda whimpered into his hands.

"Anakin would love to hear this conversation …" Obiwan couldn't help smirking when both arguing females stopped to stare at him, blushes crossing their noses.

"I hope he's alright …" Barriss said, looking down at her lap before standing up quickly. "I'm going to go meditate … you do have some private chamber in this wreck, don't you?"

"This isn't a wreck," Obiwan countered dejectedly. "Anakin and I both have put a lot of work in this ship, and it is very much flight-worthy." As the Jedi Master said this, a cable on the edge of the rest area busted loose and hissing steam filled the chamber. "That happens every so often, but it is still very flight worthy." Obiwan glanced around at the disbelieving faces, "got an unused rest quarters down that hallway to the left, Aayla … help." Obiwan said as he and the Twi'lek moved to the damaged cable.

Barriss sighed as she sat cross-legged in the rear chamber, trying to ignore Obiwan and Aayla's argument over the repairs of the damaged air cable. Her mind though was elsewhere entirely. "Annie …" She sighed out loud, resting her wrists on her knees. Had the Clone Wars changed her friend so much that he would become a Sith Lord? There had to be more to it; there's no way her friend for over half of her life had done that without good reason.

Barriss had been only eleven years old when she first met Anakin Skywalker; he was almost ten at the time and barely a Padawan. She still remembered the day clearly.

Jedi Obiwan Kenobi and Barriss' Jedi Master, Jedi Luminara Unduli, were sent on what Masters Kenobi and Unduli called a 'Lightsaber Diplomatic Mission' on an Outer-Middle Rim world that Barriss never really caught the name of.

"Why can't I come with you, Master?" the eleven year old Barriss asked in their stateroom on the massive starcruiser in orbit of the planet.

"It's going to be very dangerous, my young apprentice," Luminara's blue eyes shined as she smiled at her young Padawan Learner.

"What am I gonna do up here then?" Barriss asked with a slight pout.

"You could always meditate or practice with your lightsaber," Luminara said, checking her belt.

"Can I see if Master Kenobi's Padawan wants to practice with me?" Barriss asked, "Maybe we can compare notes or something."

"NO!" Luminara said, glancing up quickly, but just as quickly containing herself. "No, you must keep your distance from that boy, Barriss."

"Why?" Barriss asked innocently. "He's just a freakishly pale, short, harmless kid."

"He's far more dangerous than he appears, my Padawan," Luminara stated, standing up. "He is a freak of nature, not even born a natural birth. He is too old and far too strong to be trained, and I feel it is a mistake of the Council to give such a … hazard in any master's hand to train, let alone one as inexperienced a teacher as Master Kenobi."

"He's just a boy, Master …" Barriss said, glancing away from the elder Jedi.

"Nonetheless, you will not instigate any contact with Padawan Skywalker without myself and/or Master Kenobi's presence," Luminara said, moving toward the door. "Is that understood, Padawan Offee?" Luminara waited for Barriss to acknowledge her before walking out of the room.

Barriss sat there for a few moments before sneaking out behind her master, being careful to shield her force presence as best she could. "Where'd did Master Luminara go?" She whispered to herself when she heard a young boy's voice speak. "But Master …"

"No buts, Anakin," Barriss peeked around the corner to see Jedi Obiwan Kenobi talking to the 'hazard' her master spoke of.

"Why'd I even come if I can't do anything but stay on the ship?" Anakin asked disappointedly, his small thumbs resting in his belt.

"Anakin," Obiwan said, dropping to his knee before the boy. "You know we don't want anymore trouble; that's why you can't stay alone at the Temple anymore. If anything that happened like before happens again…"

"But it wasn't my fault, Obiwan," Anakin replied heatedly. "Those boys started it."

"Number one, Padawan, you will refer to me as Master," Obiwan stated sternly. "Number two, They may have started it, but you certainly finished it. This isn't Tatooine where you have to fight for your very survival. You must learn to trust those above you, Anakin. Had you simply gone to a master …"

"They would have sided with them!" Anakin sighed, "They don't trust me, Obi-... Master, nobody does…"

"Trust must be earned, Padawan," Obiwan said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And this is a way for you to earn my trust; do as I say and don't cause any trouble. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Yes, Master …" Anakin sighed.

"Good boy, Annie, may the Force be with you." Obiwan said, standing up.

"May the Force be with you too, Master …" Anakin sighed before turning and walking away from his oblivious master.

Barriss waited for Obiwan to leave before she snuck along the way the young Tattooinian Padawan disappeared to. It took the light green skinned girl a few moments to locate him, but when she did, it was not what she expected of the dangerous youngling that had been spoken of among many circles in the Jedi.

She found the boy on an observation deck sitting on the floor with his knees pulled to his chest and his shoulders trembling. "Are you crying?" She asked, biting her lip when she realized she asked it out loud.

"Who's there?" Anakin asked, rubbing his eyes with the sleeve of his tunic as he turned to face the girl hanging onto the doorway fearfully.

Barriss stepped timidly toward the boy. "I'm … I'm Jedi Barriss Offee, Master Unduli's Padawan. You're Jedi Anakin Skywalker, Master Kenobi's Padawan, correct?"

"Yeah, that's me … what do you want?" He asked, turning his back again.

"I mean no harm …" Barriss said, continuing her approach. "I was just curious… We are close to the same age and never met. Most Padawans of the same age group together in kinship, yet we've never met before."

"Guess you can say I'm a loner." Anakin said shortly, still avoiding the slightly older Padawan.

Closer now, Barriss noticed the boy shivering and his teeth rattling. Anakin almost jumped out of his skin when the warm velvety cloak came down around his shoulders. "My robes are made from Mirian velvet," Barriss said, sitting down beside the boy. "Mirian velvet is known for its warmth."

"Thank you," Anakin said, shyly pulling the cloak around him a little tighter.

"You aren't a loner," Barriss stated, "Your eyes are too kind to be a loner, Padawan Skywalker."

"What do you know?" Anakin said almost shyly, glancing away from Barriss' intense blue eyes.

"Know little about you for one," Barriss stated, resting her chin on her knees. "I have heard that you are the oldest to be allowed into the Order. How old were you when you were taken in?"

"Ten," Anakin replied, still not looking at his fellow Padawan.

"But … you are ten now, are you not?" Barriss asked, glancing at him in surprise.

"I've been with Obiwan … sorry, Master Kenobi for around six months now, Jedi Offee," Anakin said, paling slightly at the slack jawed look Barriss was giving him. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's just …" Barriss tried to gather her thoughts. "I have been in the Order since I was an infant, and it is ok for you to call me Barriss if it is ok for me to call you Anakin … if you don't mind being friends with me of course …"

"You want to be my friend?" Anakin asked, this time being the one to be slack jawed.

"Yes, again if you don't mind being friends with me," Barriss said, looking away. "I don't have that many … my friend Aayla says I'm too impulsive for some of the other Padawans."

"Well I don't have any," Anakin said sadly, "I don't even think Master Obiwan wants me around …"

"Then it's decided. Anakin Skywalker, you're officially my friend." Barriss said with a firm nod.

"Ok, and your officially my friend too … Freckles." Anakin said, giving Barriss a beaming smile.

"Freckles?" Barriss blinked in confusion.

"Yeah, it's a nickname, and only I'm allowed to call you that," Anakin smirked, "because of your freckles … on your face, silly." Anakin laughed, touching one of the diamond shaped marks on Barriss' face.

Realization struck her instantly and the two pre-teens started laughing together.

"So you remember what your home world is like?" Barriss asked after a few moments of laughter. "I've visited my home world once, but I was so young when I left I don't really … remember it as being my home. I'm sure it's different for you though."

"Yeah, but Tatooine isn't much to talk about …" Anakin said, looking out as the sun rose on the other side of the planet. "The twin suns rising over the Dune Sea were really cool though …"

"Dune Sea?" Barriss asked, her eyes wide and curious.

"Yeah, lots and lots of sand, sand as far as the eye can see," Anakin said, drawling out while stretching out his arms as if to show her. "Even in town, there was sand everywhere and it got in everything, but … it's still home."

"Tell me more about it," Barriss requested, beaming with interest. "It's really interesting, Desert Rat."

"Desert Rat?" Anakin furrowed his brow.

"Hey, if you can get away with calling me Freckles, I can call you Desert Rat." Barriss huffed.

"That's the best you can come up with?" Anakin started to laugh, but grew silent when one of Barriss' eyes narrowed. "Desert Rat is a great name. I like it!"

"You are probably one of the few who could call Anakin a 'Rat' and not get thrown through a wall," Obiwan's voice brought Barriss out of her memories; she opened her eyes to see Master Kenobi seated cross-legged across from her.

"I should have been there," Barriss stated simply, "If I hadn't …" Obiwan silenced her with a raised hand.

"No point in worrying about what could have or would have been," Obiwan stated, "I could have stopped it a long time ago if I had been the Master Qui-Gon wanted me to be." Obiwan sighed sadly. "All we can do now is pick up the pieces and try to right as much as we can."

"Master Yoda would be angry with you if he heard you say that," Barriss smiled slightly. "There is no try."

"Anakin has ALWAYS been the exception to all the rules," Obiwan nodded to himself. "You know, looking back on what's happened, I've come to a realization." Obiwan stated, glancing toward the small port window of the ship and the stars outside it. "Palpatine didn't turn Anakin; we, the Jedi, turned him to the Dark Side."

"It would have been a lot easier to just have befriended him as a child like you did," Obiwan placed his hands on his knees, "Than burying all the fallen Jedi in the last few weeks." Obiwan closed his eyes in thought. "Many times Anakin had gotten in trouble, and instead of standing up for him as Qui-Gon would have, I just agreed with everythingthe Councilsaid. I'm as much to blame as the Jedi that alienated him."

"'Why do we fall, Master Kenobi?'" Barriss asked sagely. "'So that we may learn to pick ourselves up again.'Master Luminara told me that and she also once told me that the Jedi were as one family; perhaps it is time we treated Anakin as such?"

"Hey, We're coming up on Alderaan," Aayla and Shaak Ti said as they entered the room.

"Excellent …" Obiwan lifted his head for a moment before sighing sadly. "It appears to be finished …"

"What, Master?" Shaak Ti asked as the two seated Jedi stood.
It wasn't hard for Barriss Offee to locate Anakin's strong yet sad Force presence in what was being used as the Rebel Alliance's temporary base. What surprised her though was the other presence that was with him; it wasn't harnessed, but still incredibly strong. She located the small apartment near the Jedi's makeshift council chamber. She carefully and quietly opened the door and gave a small smile at the sight before her.

Anakin Skywalker sat back asleep in a rocking chair with an infant sleeping with his cheek pressed to his father's chest, both dead to the world.

Anakin, sensing the presence, opened one eye then both at the familiar face before him. "It's been a long time, Freckles." Anakin said, sitting up and laying the child in his embrace back into a cradling position. "I'm glad to see you survived my screw up." Anakin sighed and looked away. "Go ahead, everyone else has blamed me for what happened. Let's get it out of your system, shall we?"

"What?" Barriss seemed taken aback by the statement.

"Well, Padme has left me because of it," Anakin counted off, "Most of the Alliance wants to see me drawn and quartered with my own lightsaber; Aayla tried to kill me, calling me a murderer, and Master Obiwan …well he didn't say anything, but I get the funny feeling he enjoyed it a little bit taking my arm and legs off on Mustafar."

Barriss stared at her old friend for several moments before turning to the table where several written reports were scattered about. "Ok, then, I guess you do deserve punishment, Jedi Skywalker." She said, reaching for several papers. Anakin watched in confusion as she rolled the papers up then popped Anakin between the eyes with her makeshift weapon. "Bad Desert Rat." She said scoldingly, "Bad boy."

"What was that?" Anakin asked, rubbing his forehead with his free hand.

"Your punishment for turning on those who had already turned on you," Barriss said, placing her hands on her hips. "Now that that's out of the way, who's this?" She asked, glancing at the baby in Anakin's arms.

"This is my son, Luke," Anakin said, beaming with pride toward the stirring child.

Barriss, after giving a glance for permission, took the baby in her arms. Luke instantly awoke and cooed happily as Barriss held him close. "He looks just like his father, only a lot nicer to look at." She smirked up at Luke's father.

"You should see his sister," Anakin smiled, "She's a doll." He said before his smile and eyes drooped. "We got joint custody. Since Padme and I will still be living in the same area, Mon Mothma didn't think it would be hard to share custody of the kids …"

"I see," She said, lightly rocking Anakin's infant son. She smiled a moment before growing worried when Luke began to quietly whimper. "I think something's wrong …"

"Yes and no," Anakin said, standing up and taking the infant from her. "He needs a new diaper and that's his 'I need new pants' whimper." He said, laying Luke on the table and began undoing his diaper.

"Yeah, Anakin vacuums and does the dishes too," Aayla said as she entered with her young Padawan. "Mara, this is my friend, Jedi Barriss Offee," Aayla introduced her apprentice to her old friend. "Barriss, this is my Padawan, Mara."

Mara looked up at Barriss critically. "You're friends with Master Butthead? Why would you do that?" Mara yelped when Aayla flicked her in the head.

"Hey, is that your baby, Anakin?" Mara gushed at the Jedi Knight and she bounced over to look at the baby. "He's cute cause he looks just like you!" She beamed up at the baby's father.

"I wouldn't get too close, Mara, at least until …" Anakin said before gaping as a stream of yellowish fluid sprayed on Mara's smiling face. The smile instantly vanished. "I get the diaper on …"

"Why … you … little …" Mara fumed as the fluid ran down her crimson face. Luke only giggled at Mara's fiery glare and unleashed another spray of yellow that struck her in the face again. "GAH!" Mara screamed, running her hands over stinging eyes. "HE'S PEEING ON ME!"

Anakin couldn't hold it in as he sat back and held his stomach, laughing loudly along with everyone else except the fuming three year old. Mara's eyes filled with tears as she ran out screaming.

"You better go get your Padawan cleaned up, Master Butthead." Barriss chuckled, making Aayla instantly stop laughing and start glaring. The relaxing laugh was not meant to last though as alarms sounded through out the complex. Anakin quickly turned to the window and his jaw dropped.

Imperial Warships were above the city.

To Be Continued…