Chapter 9 – Road to Recovery

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Barriss Offee stepped out her room on her Masters command cruiser. She had just taken a short break after the long time she'd spend in the medbay helping the patients. Most of her time had been devoted to treating Ahsoka's injuries. She sighed. Ahsoka really is in a bad condition. It's going to take a while for her to recover. She sighed again and made her way to one of the patient's rooms. Barriss had volunteered to check up on Nyla Sonter. Her injuries had been treated by the other medics, but she also needed some time to recover.

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Barriss entered the room. Padawan Nyla Sonter was resting in the bed. The Twi'lek looked up when Barriss came in. "Hello padawan Offee." Barriss nodded. "Hello padawan Sonter, I'm here to check up on you." Nyla waved her hand dismissingly. "Just call me Nyla, there's no need to be so formal." She replied. Barriss smiled. "Alright then, Nyla. But only if you call me Barriss." Nyla chuckled a bit and Barriss sat down next to the bed. "Don't you have to look after your friend?" Nyla asked. "You mean Ahsoka?" Barriss replied. Nyla nodded. Barriss sighed. "There's nothing more I can do for her at the moment. We've done our best to treat her wounds and now she's in a bacta tank. We have to wait now…" she replied. "From what I saw, she's a strong person. I'm sure she'll recover." Nyla said. Barriss smiled. "Thanks." Nyla smiled back.

"Now then, how are you feeling?" Barriss asked. She looked at the Twi'lek sitting in the bed. A large portion of her body, chest, arms and lekku, were all covered with bandages and her leg was in a brace. Despite the bandages, her light-purple skin looked healthy. "I'm not really feeling that bad actually. The fact that I can't move my leg is a bit of a bother though." Nyla said. "And one of the other medics gave me some sedatives earlier and now my lekku feel very funny…" Barriss raised an eyebrow. "Funny in what way?" she asked as she typed in a few things on her datapad. "Uh… they feel somewhat numb, I can't really feel them like I usually do." Nyla replied. "I'll have to take your word on that, I wouldn't know how they should feel." Barriss said jokingly. Nyla laughed for a bit. "Ouch! Don't make me laugh, it hurts…" she replied. Barriss chuckled. "I'm sorry." Barriss added a few more notes on the datapad and put it aside. "I've checked your medical records. Those sedatives will wear off soon, so your lekku should feel better soon. I'll make sure the other medics don't sedate you like that again. If your wounds hurt, contact me and I'll help you with the Force." She said. Nyla smiled. "That's good to know, this feeling isn't very good. Thanks Barriss." Barriss nodded. "Don't mention it."

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Barriss' point of view.

I continued to talk with Nyla for a while. She could obviously use the company after losing her Master and being tortured. "I'll leave you to rest now. Try and take it easy for a while." I say. Nyla nodded. "I will. Thanks again." I smile and leave the room.

As I make my way through the halls I can suddenly sense a great amount of fear and worry. "Who could it be coming from?" I quickly get my answer as I see a very stressed-out looking Lux Bonteri leave one of the guestrooms. "Senator Bonteri, is everything alright?" I ask him. He turns around and shook his head. "How is Ahsoka?" he asked. I sigh. "We've treated her wounds the best we can, but she still has a long way to go." I explain the severity of her wounds to him. Because of the force of the explosion, her left arm was broken as well as her right ankle. Her right shoulder had been dislocated. She also had a large gash along her back lekku and perhaps a concussion as well. But they couldn't confirm this until after she woke up. "She's been in a bacta tank for almost three hours now. We're keeping her in a sleep state until her wounds heal a bit more. Especially the cut on her lekku can give her serious pain." I say. Lux looked very worried. "He really does care for her." "Can I see her?" he asked softly. I nod. "Come on, I'll take you to her. But I have to warn you, it might not be easy for you to see her like this." I reply.

I lead Lux towards the rooms where the bacta tanks are. Then I remember something. "Lux, can I ask you something?" I ask. He nodded. "Sure." I reach into my pocket and take the locket out that I took from Ahsoka during the surgery. Lux looked at it and I could sense his pain. The locket was burnt and bend out of shape, but the crystal adorned in the middle was still intact. "You gave this to her, didn't you?" I ask. "Yes, I'd hoped that it would keep her safe…" Lux replied sadly, looking at the broken locket. "It did." I say. I notice Lux' confused expression and explain. "There was a large piece of shrapnel lodged into the locket. Had it not been for the locket, that shrapnel would've imbedded itself into Ahsoka's chest and done some serious damage to her vital arteries." I smile. "It saved her life." Lux' pained expression lessened when he heard this. "Thank you." He said softly. I nod in acknowledgment.

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After a short walk we reached the room where Ahsoka was in. I enter the room first. Right now Ahsoka was floating inside a bacta tank. Her normal outfit and broken armour had been replaced with a set of small medical robes designed to at least preserve the dignity of the person inside the tank. I check the monitors to see how she's doing. Her condition is improving, but she'll need to stay in the tank a lot longer. Lux entered the room and sighed. I can clearly sense his pain again. "I'll leave you alone with her for now." I say as I turn around to leave the room. "Oh Barriss." Lux said before I could leave. "Yes?" I reply. "If I have to leave before Ahsoka wakes up, please give her that locket back for me." He said. I smile. "Don't worry, I will." I then leave the room to give Lux some space.

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Several hours later

Luminara Unduli, Aayla Secura and Barriss Offee had just entered the hangar of the cruiser. Half of the members of the H'Raani M'Kai were also present. A Shilian transport ship had just arrived at their location and was currently boarding. When the ship had landed four other H'Raani M'Kai members excited, followed by a male Togruta and two females.

The three Jedi approached the three Togruta and bowed. "I am Jedi Master Aayla Secura. These are Master Luminara Unduli and her padawan Barriss Offee." Aayla said when they reached them. "My name is Zolar Vashee, prince of Shili. I'd like to thank you for saving my sister." The male Togruta replied. "With all due respect, it wasn't us that saved her. Ahsoka Tano did the most." Luminara said. The other two Togruta looked quite surprised. "Ahsoka? Where is she now?" one of them asked. "She's in the medbay right now. She was seriously injured during the escape. She's been in a bacta tank for the past ten hours." Barriss answered. Both Togruta were speechless. "C-can we see her?" the younger one asked. Barriss nodded. "I'll take you too her." She looked at the prince. "Your sister is currently with Ahsoka as well."

"Very well, Barriss, you take them to the medbay. Aayla and I have to finish preparing for our report for the Jedi Council." Luminara said. "Yes Master." Barriss replied. She turned to the three Togruta. "I'll show you to them. This way." They nodded and followed Barriss.

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Barriss, Zolar Vashee and the other two Togruta walked through the halls on their way to the medbay. Barriss looked at the two Togruta females behind her. "You two are Ahsoka's sisters, aren't you?" she asked. They nodded. "Yes, that's right." The older one replied. "My name is Marina and this is my sister Lilo." Barriss smiled. "I knew it. She told me about you." She said. "Ahsoka is going to alright, isn't she?" Lilo asked concerned. Barriss nodded. "Yes, I have no doubt that she'll recover. Ahsoka is very strong. She's recovered from some bad situations before." Her sisters were a bit shocked to hear this. "What do you mean by that?" Marina asked. "Well…" Barriss said. "Do we even want to know?" Lilo asked. "Eh…Probably not." Barriss replied with a shrug. "I see…" Marina said. "I guess that life as a Jedi is pretty dangerous." Barriss chuckled a bit. "You have no idea."

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"When will she wake up?" Marina Tano asked. Barriss sighed and looked at Ahsoka sleeping in the bed next to her. They had arrived in the room some time ago. Now they were all waiting for Ahsoka to wake up. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know." Barriss replied. Zaa Vashee turned to Marina and her younger sister. "I spoke with my father, when we return to Shili she will receive the best medical care available." Both sisters gave a little nod. "Thank you, mylady." Lilo replied.

Barriss suddenly heard a bit of weak moaning. "Quiet everyone." She looked at Ahsoka, her eyes were slightly fluttering. "She's waking up! Ahsoka can you hear me?" Barriss said. The others in the room looked shocked, but kept quiet. "W-who…?" Ahsoka replied weakly. "Ahsoka, it's me, Barriss. Come on, wake up." Barriss said. Ahsoka's eyes opened slowly and she looked around the room. Barriss smiled. "You're finally awake." She said relieved. Ahsoka looked at Barriss. "Where… Wha… I feel so numb all over…" Ahsoka said softly. Barriss placed her hand on Ahsoka's uninjured shoulder. "Don't try to move. You're safe Ahsoka." She replied. "S-safe?" Ahsoka asked slightly confused. She suddenly realized what Barriss meant and tried to jump upright, but her body didn't work with her. "Ahsoka, hold still. Don't over exert yourself." Barriss said worried. "You just spend about ten hours in a bacta tank. Your body will be numb for quite a while still." She explained. Ahsoka gave the slightest nod and relaxed.

Ahsoka looked at Barriss. "How is everyone?" she asked, her voice still weak and trembling. "Thanks to you, everyone made it our just fine." Barriss replied. Ahsoka smiled. "That's good to hear." She replied relieved. "What about you? How are you feeling Ahsoka?" Barriss asked. Ahsoka laid her head back down in the pillow. "I feel…numb…weak…" she replied softly. Barriss nodded. "No headaches or muscle-ache?" Ahsoka lightly shook her head 'no'. Barriss smiled. "Good." Her face turned more serious. "Now, Ahsoka listen to me. You're injured pretty badly. Your left arm is broken and your right ankle as well. Your right shoulder was dislocated, we fixed it but it might still cause you some pain. Thanks to the armour you wore, your skin wasn't burnt as bad as it could have been. There won't be any scars from the fire. You also have a large gash on your rear lekku. That might cause you some real discomfort if you don't take it easy. I know you don't like being in the medbay or any type of hospital for that matter, but promise me that you'll take the time to recover." Barriss told her. Ahsoka nodded. "Alright then Barriss, I promise." Barriss smiled. "Now then, you have a few guests." She said and gestured around the room. When she said this both of Ahsoka's sisters approached the bed. Both looked immensely relieved. Marina sighed deeply. "I'm so glad you're awake Ahsoka. You had us really worried." She said relieved. Lilo just smiled widely. "I'm sorry." Ahsoka replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. Her sisters laughed a bit at her reaction. "At least you haven't changed a bit." Lilo said. The Togrutan prince also approached the bed. "Ahsoka, I am prince Zolar Vashee. You saved my little sister and for that, I will be forever grateful." He said. Ahsoka nodded. "You're welcome." She replied.

Ahsoka looked around the room. Barriss noticed what she was doing and she knew why. "You're looking for Lux, aren't you?" she asked. Ahsoka nodded. Barriss' face saddened a bit. "He already had to leave for the meeting. He wanted to stay, but just couldn't." she explained. "I thought that I sensed him…" Ahsoka replied softly. Barriss nodded. "He was with you for several hours while you were in the bacta tank. He wanted to let you know that he was there with you." Ahsoka smiled. "I see…" Barriss reached into her pocket. "He also wanted me to return this to you." She said as she placed the broken locket in Ahsoka's hand. Ahsoka's smile faded as she saw the condition the locket was in. "Lux told me that he wanted it to protect you, and it did. If it weren't for that locket, a large piece of shrapnel would probably have killed you." Barriss said. Ahsoka looked surprised at Barriss' explanation. "Thank you Barriss." Ahsoka said with a smile.

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Everyone in the room were talking with each other when Barriss' datapad suddenly beeped. She took it out and looked at the message. She sighed. "I have to go soon, we're expected to give a full report to the Council soon." Barriss explained. "I'm sure that when Anakin learns you're here he'll come running here as fast as he can." She said with a smile. Ahsoka's face turned to slight shock when she heard this. "Ahsoka? What's wrong?" Marina asked. "Don't you want to see Anakin?" Barriss asked confused. "No, but I…" Ahsoka replied. She took a deep breath. "Not yet." "What do you mean?" Barriss asked. Ahsoka looked at Barriss. "I do want to see him again, but… I'm not sure if I'm ready to see him again." She looked down. "In any case, I don't want him to see me like this…" she said as she looked at her wounds. "I want to be able to stand tall and show him that I have what it takes to take care of myself. I want to be able to greet him as an equal and show him just how far I've come." She took another deep breath. "I want him to be proud of me." She said softly. Barriss nodded. "I understand Ahsoka, I'll tell him." Ahsoka smiled a bit. "Thanks Barriss."

Barriss got up and prepared to leave the room. "Oh, before I forget." She said as she turned to Ahsoka's sisters. "Ahsoka always tries to sneak out of the medbay, despite her injuries. She has a small problem when it comes to listening to her doctors. You two do me a favor and make sure that she stays in bed." Barriss told Marina and Lilo. They looked rather surprised while Ahsoka just scoffed at Barriss' request. "You're no fun Barriss…" Ahsoka said a bit teasingly. Barriss chuckled at Ahsoka's reaction. "As your friend, I enjoy messing around with you. But as your doctor, I can't let you do anything stupid." Barriss replied as she left the room.

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Luminara Unduli and Aayla Secura stood in front of the holotransmitter to give their report to the Jedi Council. They both bowed respectfully when the communication line opened and the Council holograms appeared. Anakin Skywalker was also present with the meeting.

"Good afternoon, Master Unduli, Master Secura. A report for us, you have?" Master Yoda asked the two. "Yes Master Yoda," Aayla began. "As I'm sure you've heard from our previous short message, we've been successfully able to rescue all of the kidnapped Senators and their staff. There was a, slight problem with the evacuation… But other than that, everything went well." She finished. Master Yoda nodded. "I see. Also reported you did, that help you had?" Luminara and Aayla looked at each other. "Yes, we did." Luminara said. She looked at Anakin. "A ship approached our base. We were all quite surprised to see Ahsoka coming of the ship." Everyone on the Council looked surprised, but Anakin was shocked the most. "Ahsoka arrived here with a group of Togrutan warriors she called the H'Raani M'Kai." Aayla said. "She was with the H'Raani M'Kai?" Shaak Ti asked surprised. "Who are they?" Obi-Wan Kenobi asked. Shaak Ti looked at him. "They are the Shilian Royal guards, elite soldiers, among the most powerful ones in the galaxy. Their strength rivals that of Jedi Masters." She looked at Luminara and Aayla. "What were they doing on Felucia?" Shaak Ti asked. "Ahsoka explained to us that the princess of Shili had been kidnapped by the Separatist as well. The king of Shili asked her to rescue his daughter." Luminara replied. The members of the Council looked at each other and discussed a few things with each other.

"Where is Ahsoka now?" Anakin asked, causing silence to take the room once more. "She's in the medbay." Luminara replied. "Did something happen?" Anakin asked concerned. "The Separatist base self-destructed. Ahsoka sensed it coming and pushed everyone in a nearby trench. She then used the Force to try and stop the explosion, much like you did, Skywalker, when you and Ahsoka rescued me a couple years ago." Aayla explained. Most of the Council and Anakin looked very shocked when they heard this. "How is she?" Plo Koon asked. Luminara sighed. "We're not sure. Barriss and the other medical staff treated her wounds and she spend almost ten hours in a bacta tank, but she hasn't woken up yet." She replied. Both Luminara and Aayla turned around and looked at something outside the radius of the holotransmitter. "Barriss, good timing." Luminara said as Barriss joined them next the transmitter. Barriss bowed to the Council. "Any news about Ahsoka's condition?" Luminara asked. Barriss nodded. "Yes, she woke up about twenty minutes ago." She replied. "She appears to be doing fine, her wounds aren't causing her much discomfort at the moment. However, she will need to take it easy for a while to recover." Luminara nodded. "That is good to hear." Anakin didn't seem as relieved however. "I'm coming to your ship Master Unduli." He said. "Anakin…" Obi-Wan said. "Obi-Wan, don't. I'm going to see her." Anakin said somewhat annoyed. Obi-Wan sighed at his former padawan's reaction. "Master Skywalker, I'm not sure if that's the best idea…" Barriss spoke up. "What do you mean by that?" he asked a bit irritated. "I told Ahsoka that you'd probably want to stop by when you learned she was here. But she…" Barriss stopped, thinking about how to best formulate her next words. "Are you saying that she doesn't want to see me?" Anakin asked slightly stunned. "No, no, that's not it." Barriss replied. She took a deep breath before continuing. "Ahsoka does want to see you, but she's not sure if she's ready to see you again. In any case, she doesn't want you to see her in the condition she's in now…" she explained. "Ahsoka wants to be able to show you how far she's come, that she can take care of herself. She wants to make you proud. That's why…" she sighed. "That's why she doesn't want to see you just yet." Barriss finished explaining. Anakin appeared deep in thought for a moment. He then sighed deeply. "I understand." He said and left the Council chambers.

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Luminara and Barriss sat in the cafeteria of the cruiser. Barriss was deep in thought about her earlier conversation with Ahsoka. "Is something wrong, Barriss?" Luminara asked when she noticed her behavior. "Well," Barriss began, "I'm still a bit worried about Ahsoka." She said. "You mean what she said earlier? About not wanting to see Anakin yet?" Luminara replied. Barriss nodded. "Ahsoka wouldn't admit it, but she's still hurt from the way the Council treated her. Not only does she need to heal physically, she also needs to recover mentally." She replied. "I see, that's not surprising. I can't imagine that anyone would recover from such a nightmare so soon." Luminara said. "On that note, how are you doing right now Barriss?" Luminara asked her padawan. Barriss sighed. "I'll be honest with you Master, I really don't like all of the fighting." She replied. "I can't stand all of the violence of this war. The cruel acts we endured before were what made me doubt the decisions of the Order." Barriss took a deep breath. "Being surrounded by all of that violence caused me to lose sight of myself and, well, you know the rest." She said. Luminara nodded understandingly. "I know what you mean Barriss, I don't like the fighting either. Because of this war, the Order has changed and not for the better. For now, we'll both have to play our part. Hopefully, we can find another way to end this war, one less violent way. After that, we'll find a way to fix the Order." She replied. Barriss smiled. "I'd really like that Master. I've learned how to deal with the violence and not let it affect me like that again. I won't lose sight of myself again." Luminara smiled. "Good. I have faith in you Barriss."

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That's the end of this chapter.

Yes, I know that both chapter are very similar. There wasn't any reason to change things. In the next chapter Ahsoka and Barriss will part ways again. From there on the chapters will be completely different again.

Until next time