Chapter 11 – The flight back
Seeing as this story was the first to get a new review since my last double-update, I decided to first write another chapter for Barriss.
CloneRush, so his rank was Commander. Darn, I was really doubting that fact. I wasn't sure whether he was a Commander or Captain. Well, now I know. I'll be sure to remedy this in future chapters. Thanks for the pointer.
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Luminara Unduli's flagship
Barriss' point of view
I look through a few reports and news articles on my datapad. It's been a few hours since Ahsoka left. Seeing her again was great, it was really nice to know that she's doing alright. Well, except for the explosion part… Meeting her sisters was an interesting experience, though I wish it had been under better circumstances. Nevertheless, they seem like really nice people.
With a sigh I put my datapad away. "Nothing but war stories and bad propaganda." I get up and leave my room. It was time for me to check up on Nyla again. I started making my way to the medbay. While walking through the ship I run into my Master. "Hello Master." I say respectfully as she walks up to me. "Hello Barriss, how are you feeling? Still tired?" she asks. I smile at her question. "No Master, I was able to get enough rest. I'm doing fine." I reply. She nods. "Commander Gree had just informed me that we've made the jump to hyperspace. We're expected to arrive back on Coruscant tomorrow around 4 pm." She informs me. "Alright Master, thank you for letting me know." I say. "Where are you headed now, Barriss?" she asks. "Right now I'm on my way to check on padawan Sonter." I reply. Luminara nods. "How is she holding up?" she asks. "Well," I say as my smile leaves my face, "Her injuries will heal, but it's her mental condition that I'm worried about. She lost her Master, saw him die in front of her and then she was tortured by the Separatists. It was pretty clear to me before that she was very hurt." I answer. "I see." Luminara replies. "I can imagine that it's difficult for her right now." She looked at me. "Do what you can for her Barriss." I nod. "I will Master." I give a quick respectful bow and continue towards the medbay.
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I knock on the door after reaching the room Nyla was in. After hearing a "come in" I open the door and head inside. Padawan Sonter is still resting in her bed. A couple of bandages have been removed. Her light purple skin has regained more of its colour and she looks a lot healthier. Right now she was sitting upright in the bed and had obviously just finished eating.
"Hello Nyla." I greet her as I move towards the bed. "Hello Barriss. Has anything interesting happened?" She asks as I sit down next to the bed. "Ahsoka and the others left a few hours ago. They had to return the princess to Shili. Her parents, the king and queen, were obviously very worried about her. I'm pretty sure that Ahsoka's family feels the same way." I tell her. "Yeah, I suppose so." She replies. "I don't think that I can imagine that, being with your family… You know what I mean?" she asks. I nod thoughtfully. "Yes, I know. Being a Jedi all my life it's hard to imagine." I reply. "Do you ever feel like the Code may be a bit wrong about that?" Nyla asks in a cautious voice. "Hmmm" I think about her question. "I really don't know." I reply softly. We both think about the subject in silence for a moment. Then the other reason for my visit jumps in my head again. "So anyway, how are you feeling?" I ask her. She thinks about her answer before replying. "I'm feeling better. A couple lesser wounds have healed and I'm less of a mummy." She said with a smile. I chuckle for a moment at her joke. "Well, that's good to hear." I reply. "Your leg doesn't hurt? No more numbness in your lekku?" I ask. She shakes her head 'no'. "My leg is fine right now. As long as I don't try to move it, it's doesn't hurt. And because you made sure I wasn't given any more of those sedatives my lekku are feeling normal again. A bit bruised yes, but no longer numb." Nyla answers my questions. I nod and add some data on her medical record. "Good, then your recovery is going well." I say, earning another smile from the Twi'lek. I silently sigh, I know I have to ask this next question but I'd rather not, especially after what she just asked. "Nyla," I say as I look her in the eyes. "How are you holding up, mentally?" I can see the expression on her face darken as she hears what I just asked. Her aura in the Force radiates sadness and hurt. I can see her hands shake a bit and her face frowning, trying to blink away some forming tears. "Hey, it's alright. I'm here with you, don't worry." I say as I grab her hand and try to send her some comforting feelings through the Force. She was sobbing a bit. "I-I…I just… We've been together for so long…and they…they just killed him…" she said between sobs. "They kept saying how he died…kept saying all kind of mean things when they…" her voice was breaking a bit. I squeeze her hand comfortably. "Don't worry, they won't be able to hurt you now. You're safe." I say to try and ease her pain. "I know it hurts to lose people that mean a lot to you. It's alright to feel pain and sadness at their loss. But don't let that pain rule you and cloud your thoughts. I made that mistake before and things got really bad." Nyla manages a slight nod. I get up and sit on the bed next to her. I place my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. I continue to send positive feeling to her with the Force as she silently cries, trying to deal with the pain.
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I keep holding Nyla like that for about fifteen minutes. It's pretty clear to me that she cared greatly about her Master. She finally calmed down a bit, she definitely needed to get that sadness out of her system. "We're currently in hyperspace on our way back to Coruscant. We'll be arriving tomorrow around 4 pm." I tell her. "I can give you something to sleep if you want too." She looks at me and nods slightly. I nod back and get up from the bed. I move over to the medical cabinet and take some sleeping pills. After mixing them with a glass of water I give the water to Nyla. She drinks it and I put the glass away again. I help Nyla get a little bit more comfortable with her leg. "Thank you Barriss." Nyla says softly. I smile. "Don't mention it Nyla. Just try to get some rest." I say as I pull the blanket over her. She nods and closes her eyes. I get up and quietly leave the room.
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General point of view
Luminara Unduli sat in the meditation room aboard her cruiser. Aayla Secura sat across from her in a similar cross-legged position. They had both been meditating together. "Luminara?" Aayla said, breaking the silence. "Yes Aayla?" she replied. "I've been meaning to ask. How is Barriss progressing?" The Twi'lek asked. "Hmm." Luminara thought about her answer before replying. "Barriss has come a long way. She doesn't like the fighting, that much is obvious. I have to say that I agree with her on that matter." She explained to Aayla. "Being a healer is definitely what she prefers. In the time she had spent working as a healer these past weeks she has really recovered from being corrupted by the Dark Side." Luminara finished. Aayla nodded. "That is good to hear. I'm glad she was given another chance." She replied. Luminara smiled. "Yes me too." She said. "And how are you feeling about this whole situation Luminara?" Aayla asked. Luminara sighed as she remembered when she found out about Barriss' fall.
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Jedi Temple, Sometime in the past, during Ahsoka's trial
Luminara Unduli sat in one of the classrooms of the Jedi Temple. She was teaching a class of younglings to meditate and focus the Force with 'distractions' in the room. In this case, the distraction was provided by the large TV in the room. At first they were showing different programs, but they had switched to Ahsoka's trial when it began. Right now, Luminara was observing the trial while levitating several glass bowls and cups to demonstrate the younglings. She still found it difficult to believe that Ahsoka was really the mastermind behind the bombing. They younglings themselves were (attempting) to each keep a small plastic cup in the air. However, focusing between the screen and the cup proved difficult for them. They were still young, so that's normal. But it's a skill they will eventually need to learn.
Ever since the trial began Luminara had closely paid attention to both sides. Admiral Tarkin's story was merely based on one soundless recording. Most of it was just assumption. Senator Amidala was acting in Ahsoka´s defence and had told Ahsoka´s side of the story. Now, after hearing both sides, Luminara wasn´t really sure what to believe anymore. Was Ahsoka really guilty? One thing was certain though, Ahsoka wasn't in a good position. With all of the negative responds to the bombing and Tarkin's accusations the people were really looking for someone to blame and they barely paid attention to other matters. They wanted someone to pay and right now Ahsoka was the centerpoint of that hatred.
They were about to announce the decision of the jury when the doors opened and Anakin Skywalker entered. The Chancellor was obviously not happy with the intrusion. Then Anakin announced his reason for the interruption. "I am here, with evidence and a confession from the person responsible for all the crimes Ahsoka has been accused of. Barriss Offee, member of the Jedi Order, and traitor."
When Anakin finished talking the sound of shattering glass echoed through the classroom. Luminara stared in shock and horror at the screen, her concentration broken, as the Temple guards escorted a cuffed Barriss into the courtroom. "Master Unduli, are you alright?" one of the younglings asked. Luminara didn't reply. She kept staring wide-eyed at the screen, her entire being shocked as she listened to Barriss' confession. "Barriss…" she whispered softly, her usually collected voice shaking with sadness. "Why…How did it come to this?" she kept staring at the screen as the Chancellor ordered the guards to take her away. Her mind was filled shock, unable to comprehend what was going on, unable to understand the will of the Force for the first time in a long time. As the guards escorted Barriss out of the courtroom Luminara told the younglings to leave the classroom. They hesitantly obeyed and left the Jedi Master alone in the room.
Luminara stayed behind in the now empty room. She send a quick Force suggestion to the TV and turned it off. She sat in silence in the room between the shards of glass, trying desperately to comprehend what had just happened.
End of flashback
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Present day, Luminara Unduli's flagship, meditation room
Luminara sighed deeply as she relived the painful memory. "I'll be honest with you Aayla, when Skywalker and those guards escorted Barriss in the courtroom as the real culprit I was shocked beyond measure." She said with great difficulty keeping her voice calm. "I thought that I had failed her as a teacher, that she had fallen to the Dark Side because I failed her. I'm not sure if I would've been able to forgive myself if that were the case. I was relieved when we learned the truth, that she was being controlled. She didn't want to commit such horrible acts and I saw a possibility for her to be redeemed. I'm really glad that she was given and took the opportunity herself." Luminara smiled. "It's good to know that she's strong enough to resist the Dark Side and recover from this." She finished with a sigh. Aayla nodded as well. "Losing a padawan to the Dark Side is one of the worst things I can imagine. I'm just as glad as you that this fortunately wasn't the case." She replied. Aayla sighed and looked out the small window. The vastness of hyperspace speeding by. "This war has done so much damage to the Republic and to our Jedi Order. We've lost quite a bit of our traditions. We're rushing padawans into large scale conflicts. In that sense, we have become a sort of soldiers." She shook her head. Luminara nodded sadly. "It's such a shame that this war has affected us so. I can only pray to see it end soon so we can work on rebuilding not only the Republic but our Order as well." She replied. "Barriss is certainly looking forward to that moment." Luminara said with a smile. Aayla smiled as well. "I certainly agree with her on that matter." She replied. Both Jedi chuckled for a moment before continuing their meditation in silence.
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A few hours later
Luminara Unduli was on her way towards the command bridge. As she made her way through the halls she ran into her padawan. "Hello Barriss." She greeted. "Hello Master." Barriss replied. "I took the liberty of checking in with Commander Gree. We are still on schedule and everything is running along fine." She informed her master. Luminara nodded. "Thank you Barriss, that saves me some time." She said. Barriss smiled. "Anytime master." She replied. "Where are you headed now Barriss?" Luminara asked. "I was heading back to my quarters Master, it's been a long day." Barriss replied. Luminara chuckled a bit. "Alright then Barriss, I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." She said with a smile. "Good night Master." Barriss replied as she set off to her quarters.
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That's it for this chapter.
From now on I'm going to write one chapter at a time. So this chapter is first and the next chapter will be for my Ahsoka story. Then Barriss again and so on. I'm going to try and update at least once a week. There's more schoolwork coming up (unfortunately), because of this I will have less time to write as my next period of tests approaches.
I re-watched a part of S5 ep 20 to write the flashback scene and now I feel sad… Oh well, the way the episode was written and produced was very impressive. Despite the sad ending, it was an excellent episode. Thank you CMR Rosa for the flashback idea.
Barriss and Luminara are headed back to Coruscant. From there, more adventures will happen.
Next update will be for Ahsoka. I'll hopefully be able to upload it at the end of next week.
Until next time.