Barriss stands alone in the communal refresher, at the long row of sinks. She spits the remaining bile into one of the sinks and rinses out her mouth. When she's cleaned all the sick out of her system, she takes a deep breath and looks at herself in the mirror. She no longer wears the heavy robes she wore as a Jedi. Her head covering is the same as before, with a slit at the back to let her hair flow out, but her dress has been replaced by a loose, dark tunic and tabard worn over knee-high boots and leggings. Sleeves reach all the way down to her knuckles, and Asajj's old lightsabers are clipped to a belt around her waist.
There's also a thin line of red ringing the outsides of her irises.
The refresher door opens and a trooper sticks his head in.
"The Chancellor is on the coms for you, sir."
"Thank you, Draa." Barriss straightens her clothes and leaves the refresher for the Jedi Temple proper. She almost trips on a body, but is able to step over it and continue on her way.
The fire that engulfed the temple last night has been put out, leaving dark scorch marks everywhere. Other marks come from blaster bolts, and other marks still come from lightsaber blades. Bodies, both Jedi and clone trooper alike, litter the floors throughout the entire temple. While the surviving clone troopers clear out of the ruined Jedi Temple, Barriss kneels before the hologram of the Chancellor.
"My Lord, the Jedi Temple has fallen." Barriss says.
The Chancellor closes his eyes, as if feeling the Force. "Good. You have done well, Kayip. Come back so that we may discuss your next task."
Barriss's eyebrows scrunch together. "My next task?"
"Yes! The Jedi are but one obstacle to peace. This war will last as long as the leaders of the Separatist Movement still draw breath."
"You're talking about killing civilians." Something in Barriss's gut clenches. She had hoped that her devastating breakout from the prison would mark the last time she'd have to resort to killing civilians.
"Come now, Kayip. Diplomacy was attempted many times without success. They cannot see reason past their stubborn pride. No, the Separatist Leaders must be dealt with."
Part of Barriss wonders how many others will have to be 'dealt with' before peace is finally achieved, but yet another part of her feels that if these people were without fault, then they wouldn't have to be dealt with in the first place.
"This will end the war?"
"Yes, dear girl. It will."
"Then I'll do it."
The comlink beeps from its place on the nightstand. Ahsoka raises her hand to summon it. As soon as it slaps into her palm, she presses a button to answer.
"Hello?"
"Sir!" Captain Rex's voice sounds through the speaker, and Ahsoka's heart skips a beat. Even though it's been almost two weeks since she left the Order, it feels like the last time she saw Rex was a lifetime ago. She didn't even get to say goodbye. The comlink picks up sounds of firing blasters in the background.
"Are you safe?" Rex's words come out breathless, like he's running.
"Rex!" Ahsoka eases up into a sitting position against the headboard, wide awake. Her lips and mouth are dry, so she summons a bottle of water from the nightstand too. "I'm fine. I'm safe. What about you?"
"Are you on Coruscant?"
"I'm not, I'm on the furthest point away from the Core Worlds. Rex, what's going on?"
"My brothers, all the one's with those infernal chips, it's like they've lost their kriffing minds! Don't come back to Coruscant!"
"I have to go back! I got a message on my coms last night."
"Don't come back, sir! That message is a trap, they'll kill you on sight."
Ahsoka freezes. "What?"
But the signal goes dead. Ahsoka looks down at the comlink and considers calling back, but decides not to. Wherever Rex is isn't going to be forgiving of any distractions.
The other side of the bed is empty and already cold. The holoscreen in the living room is on and Ahsoka can hear it from the bedroom. She gets to her feet and stands there for a moment, breathing.
Her chest feels fine, but she won't know how it really is until she tests it out. Ahsoka starts with a shallow breath, then exhales and attempts a deeper one. Deeper.
"Ah." Ahsoka winces as her sternum twinges. She gently presses against it and waits for the pain to fade, then goes to the refresher. She listens to the HNN panel discussion while she washes up.
"I don't believe this poodoo."
"Mr. Tular, you are on an Intergalactic broadcast!"
"And what happened is absolute poodoo! A Jedi rebellion? That's what they're telling us? No. No! The lust for power is not the Jedi way."
"The facts are that the Jedi attempted to assassinate the Chancellor. That sounds like a rebellion to me. The Chancellor did what he had to do to keep the Republic safe."
"But what about the younglings? Was their massacre necessary as well?"
Huh. That explains what she felt through the Force yesterday. Ahsoka numbly peels the Bacta patch away from her chest and inspects her wound in the mirror. It's already scarring over; a thin, five-inch long, light-orange line that leans a little more to the left side of Ahsoka's chest. She won't need another Bacta patch for it, and she leaves it to scab. She changes into an oversized shirt and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms.
"If Skywalker was captured by Separatist forces, we would have known about it by now. There is no ransom, and there is no announcement, so he must be missing for a different reason. We must consider the possibility of desertion."
"Perhaps he knew of the plot to overthrow the Supreme Chancellor?"
"Does that make him a hero now? He still abandoned his post."
"This is the only conclusion you can draw, Miss Pratar."
"And your conclusion is still just speculation until you have hard evidence."
Ahsoka goes into the bedroom and reaches for her dress only to find a gigantic charred tear running down the middle. Her hand goes through the tear and she clicks her tongue in disgust. Jedi mend their own clothes and while Ahsoka's pretty handy with a needle and thread, this damage is beyond her.
"Ah Force." Ahsoka folds the dress and lays it on the bed next to the rest of her clothes, which are similarly worn out; there's a seam on her left gauntlet that's just looking for an excuse to bust, and even her boots have been pinching lately. Ahsoka remembers Asajj mentioning how tall she's gotten, and she thinks that maybe she's outgrown her clothes. She strokes a hand down the fabric of the dress, then sighs and packs the clothes up into a sack, making sure to detach her comlink from the gauntlet and the lightsaber clips from her belt. She's going to miss this outfit, but she can't wear it forever.
Ahsoka goes into the kitchen, where Riyo's busy looking through the fridge for any viable ingredients.
"I could…make sandwiches," Riyo mutters to herself. "Maybe nerf dip sandwiches."
"Hey Riyo."
"Ahsoka." Riyo closes the fridge. "On the news…the Jedi…I'm so sorry."
"Uh. Hm." Ahsoka thinks that she might still be processing what's happened to the Jedi Order. When the war ended, she thought about maybe returning for a visit, but now there's nothing to return to. It's hard to believe that that many people would suddenly be gone overnight, leaving a gaping, ragged wound in the Force that bleeds even now. Riyo reaches up and swipes her thumbs under Ahsoka's eyes to wipe away tears.
"Oh 'Soka," Riyo whispers. She pulls her into a hug and Ahsoka presses her cheek against the side of Riyo's head. Ahsoka cries, shaking so hard that she might break apart. The plates and cutlery rattle inside their cabinets and drawers as she sobs. Riyo, unafraid, simply holds Ahsoka close until she's done, the warmth from her body keeping the cold at bay.
"I had so many visions about it," Ahsoka mumbles into Riyo's hair. "And I wasn't there to stop it. I did nothing."
"What could you have done alone against an army?" Riyo asks in a low, gentle voice. She rubs slow, comforting circles into Ashoka's back. "This is not your fault. Don't blame yourself, okay?"
Riyo's right. Ahsoka didn't lead clone troops into the temple. She didn't raise her lightsabers against Jedi. Ahsoka takes a few breaths to steady herself and pulls away, wiping her face on her palms.
"Better?" Riyo asks.
"A little," Ahsoka says. She still feels terrible, but it's somehow manageable now. "Thanks."
"It's no problem." Riyo gets up on tiptoe and kisses Ahsoka's cheek. When she pulls away, her hand lingers warm over the side of her jaw. Ahsoka leans into the touch.
On the counter, Riyo's white data pad beeps from an incoming message. They ignore it, but it beeps again as another message comes. And again. Riyo gives Ahsoka one last searching look before she turns away to check it. She scoffs.
"What is it?" Ahsoka asks.
"Some of my neighbors are asking if anyone else felt the earthquake tremor that just happened." Riyo sets the data pad back down on the counter and gives Ahsoka a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, no one was hurt."
"Oh."
"What do you need?" Riyo asks this with utmost care and concern. She steps back up to Ahsoka and looks up at her, her eyes soft and patient.
"Is there a clothing store anywhere around here? I can't keep wearing your sleep clothes."
"Aw, but you look good in my clothes," Riyo says. Ahsoka gives a weak smile. "New, or used?"
"Cheap."
"Used then. There's a thrift store a couple blocks away. I haven't been there in years. There's also a pawn shop if you're interested. I'll go with you."
The doorbell rings. Riyo goes to answer it, and Ahsoka follows her. It's Master Luminara Unduli, wearing a cloak and a cowl against the chill. Ahsoka's mind blanks for a moment, lost in a mess of competing thoughts and feelings. Riyo nudges her to get her attention.
"Master Unduli? You're alive. How?"
"Ahsoka." Luminara pulls down her cowl so that the two younger women can see her haunted face. She must have felt the shift in the Force too.
"I was fighting in the war on Kashyyk, but I was less effective than I should be. Yoda relieved me of my command and said that I couldn't serve until I found peace and that I would only find that peace when I have answers. I was already on my way here when the Order was attacked."
"Oh."
"You grew taller."
Ahsoka clamps down on a flippant response and instead says, "Master, this is my girlfriend, Senator Riyo Chuchi. Riyo, this is Jedi Master Luminara Unduli."
If Luminara is surprised at the introduction, she doesn't show it. "Hello, Senator."
Riyo immediately slides into her professional mode and gives Luminara a polite nod. "Hello, Master Jedi."
Luminara turns to Ahsoka with a worried crinkle between her eyebrows. "Is this a good time to talk?"
Ahsoka does not know what they could possibly have to say to each other, but is loathe to just outright refuse. Before she unwittingly drags the moment out too long, Riyo nudges her again.
"Sure," Ahsoka says. She and Riyo step aside to let Luminara in out of the snow.
"Please sit, Master Jedi." Riyo gestures to the armchair, then pulls Ahsoka into the kitchen. "How did she find this place?" she whispers.
"What do you mean?" Ahsoka whispers back.
"The address to this apartment isn't publicly listed under my name for security reasons. How did she…?"
"According to the rumors, Ahsoka has been staying with you, Senator," Luminara says from the living room. "So I ran your name through the classified Republic records and found this address. Don't worry, I wasn't followed."
Riyo hesitates. "Master Jedi, how did…?"
"Your thoughts are rather well-formed, Senator."
"Unbelievable. I swear to the Gods, you Force-sensitives have no sense of boundaries." Riyo sighs and gently pushes Ahsoka into the living room. "Distract her, please, before she gleans all the secrets from my head."
"You do have some mental shields," Ahsoka says. "They're just not up all the time."
"Go. Now." Riyo says. Ahsoka goes into the living room and sits on the couch across from Luminara.
"You have questions?" Ahsoka asks.
"Yes."
"Then why come to me? Why not go to Yoda, or to the Council?"
"A valid point, but I'm afraid they won't have the information I'm looking for. I must confess that I originally sought an audience with Anakin, but he is a hard man to find these days. You wouldn't happen to know where he is?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't."
Riyo walks into the living room with a tray holding a kettle and two mugs. She sets the tray on the coffee table. "I'm afraid I don't know where he is either, Master Jedi. Tea?"
"Thank you, Senator." Luminara accepts her mug with both hands and takes a drink. Riyo gives the other mug to Ahsoka, then leaves the room after one last touch of her hand on Ahsoka's shoulder. She shuts herself in her office.
Luminara watches the display and Ahsoka feels her lekku burn, but she's not about to apologize for that small sign of affection. She's not a part of the Order anymore, she's allowed. She'd actually prefer Riyo stay, but she probably left to keep Luminara from reading her mind more than she already has.
"My questions are very personal, Ahsoka. As such, I will not be offended if you choose not to answer them."
"That's alright, Master. I'll answer what I can."
"You're not Jedi anymore."
"Yeah, but I'm not Sith either. I'm not even Dark."
"How have you not fallen to the Dark Side?"
Luminara was right, that is personal, and borders on offensive. If it were anyone else, Ahsoka would tell them to go away, but it's not just anyone. She glances at Luminara's belt and finds two lightsabers there; the second one she recognizes as Barriss's. She looks down at the silka bead bracelet around her wrist.
"Attachment kept me from falling to the Dark Side," Ahsoka says. Luminara doesn't even blink.
"Please explain."
"When I left the Order, I was a mess. I used to think that I was only a Jedi. A good Jedi, but still only a Jedi. When I lost that, I didn't know who I was, and I was angry, I was…. If I were left alone, I don't know what would've happened to me. But I wasn't alone. People, Riyo, they refused to abandon me. They helped me. They look at me and they see someone worthwhile and I wanna be that person for them. That person isn't a Sith."
Force, that was a lot more than she wanted to say. Ahsoka takes a deep breath and busies herself by drinking some tea.
"Anakin fought so hard for you," Luminara says. "We thought him strange to go to such lengths for his padawan and we thought it was a sign of weakness for the Dark."
"We'd do a lot of extreme things for each other." Ahsoka thinks about the Sith holocron hidden in the drawer of Riyo's vanity. She's tempted to explain her relationship with Anakin, but he's in hiding, so the less she says about him, the better.
"But how do you deal with the negative emotions of attachment?" Luminara asks. "Do you not fear for the loss of your loved ones?"
"I do. It's complicated." Ahsoka absently touches her lightsaber. "But I've learned that I don't want to go where Riyo can't follow, and she can't come with me into the Dark, alive or not. And Anakin would never forgive me if I went Dark."
"I see." Luminara stares sadly down at her mug. "Your attachments are a tether to the Light."
"I have a support system," Ahsoka says. Luminara nods.
"I must apologize to you, Ahsoka, for what Barriss did to you. I might be partly to blame."
Ahsoka gapes. "No. No, that was not your fault, Master."
"A master's duty is to their padawan. I am responsible for her." Luminara leans back in her chair and sighs, bone tired. "I'd never trained a padawan before Barriss, and when I would reach out to Obi-Wan for advice, I would find out that Anakin would reach out to him for advice about you too, because he had never trained a padawan either.
"We found ourselves in very much the same boat and so it seemed the will of the Force that you and Barriss would find yourselves in one together as well. You became friends. You fought in the Clone Wars together, dropped out of the Order together, and when the both of you left, Anakin and I were left to pick up the pieces. We felt as if we had failed you."
Ahsoka had always thought of Luminara as Obi-Wan's contemporary, but not Anakin's, because of her age. It's difficult to see, because Luminara's face is youthfully smooth save for the smallest wrinkles at the corners of her eyes.
"She laughed when she was around you," Luminara continues. "I know that it may be too late, and you may even regret it at this point, but I am grateful for the kindness that you have shown Barriss in the past." Luminara stands up and sets her mug on the coffee table. "May the Force be with you, Ahsoka."
"And you, Master Unduli." Ahsoka stands up to see her out, and when Luminara is long gone, Ahsoka still stands barefoot in the mudroom, lost in thought. Riyo comes up to her and lightly touches her elbow.
"Are you alright?" she asks. Ahsoka nods. "Come on, then. We need to get you some clothes."
At the thrift shop, Ahsoka ends up picking up a pair of dark leather boots and gauntlets, brown work pants, and a sleeveless, dark blue shirt. She still feels kind of naked without armor, but when she clips her lightsabers to her belt, she thinks that maybe it isn't so bad.
On the way back to the apartment, Riyo's data pad beeps with an incoming message: The Supreme Chancellor requests your presence at a special session of Congress.
"We've both received summons," Riyo says.
"Yeah, but mine's a trap," Ahsoka says. "What's yours?"
"I don't know, but I'd be a fool to refuse." Riyo gives Ahsoka an apologetic look. "We have to go back to Coruscant."
"We have to go back to Coruscant." Ahsoka agrees.
Riyo calls Magnus and Titon and within the hour, they board the Rose Bride and fly out into space.
Ahsoka, disguised in her poncho, smoothes a hand over the wall of one of the grand hallways of the Jedi Temple, tracing a giant crack running through it that wasn't there when she left. It still smells like metal and smoke in here. The body of a human youngling lies on the floor with his eyes open. His hand is still clasped around his lightsaber and his padawan braid has only started to grow out. Ahsoka kneels down next to him and gently turns him over onto his back, revealing a long, burnt lightsaber slash across his torso. Ahsoka gasps.
"Ahsoka?"
Obi-Wan and Yoda appear from around the corner. They are whole and healthy, and Ahsoka rises to her feet, her mouth agape.
"Master Kenobi. Master Yoda. You're alive!" Ahsoka rushes to them, grinning despite herself.
"Of course! We could say the same thing about you." Obi-Wan's beard twitches as he smiles too. "It's good to see you, Ahsoka."
"Hmm. Better circumstances, I wish it were," Yoda says. "But yes, give us hope, you do, on this dark day."
"How did you get in here?" Obi-Wan asks.
"I snuck in through the back," Ahsoka says. "There're too many troopers guarding the front."
Yoda and Obi-Wan share a look, and Ahsoka continues.
"Masters, some of these Jedi were killed by lightsaber."
"A traitor, we have," Yoda says. "Search the temple for survivors, we must. Obi-Wan, recalibrate the signal, you will."
Ahsoka nods and leaves to search her part of the Temple. She tries not to look down at the corpses littering the floor as she goes. The ones with their eyes still open stare accusingly up at her and the echoes of their Force signatures, thick with despair, have seeped into the walls. They call out, asking for help that won't come. For relief from the Force too sick to absorb all the death at once. Tendrils reach out to snake around Ahsoka's ankles, to noose around her neck. She shivers and layers the Force around herself, creating a buffer that protects her from the worst.
"Hello?" she calls. She's well aware that calling out like this is incredibly stupid, but in this case, she's trying to be found. Her montrals pick up a faint noise and she turns her head in time to see movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hello? I'm here to help you!"
Whoever it is, they're fast, leading Ahsoka down stairwells, through classrooms, and even through a training holochamber. It isn't long until Ahsoka develops a stitch in her chest, and she clenches her teeth and presses a hand against her sternum as she runs. The two of them eventually duck into the archives, where the runner starts banishing data cards at her.
"Stop!" Ahsoka banishes most of the cards back at them and blocks the ones she can't. She didn't expect data cards could be used as effective weapons, but as it turns out, they can cut when they're banished with enough energy. When Ahsoka's had enough, she flips a heavy table onto its side and banishes that at the runner. They slice through the table with their lightsabers and fall into a stance.
Ahsoka stares. Those are temple guard lightsabers, but the person who wields them is definitely not a temple guard.
"Asajj?"
"Will you shut your idiot mouth?" the runner deactivates the lightsabers and opens their helmet, revealing Asajj. "You'll get us both caught."
Ahsoka leans back on her heel and looks Asajj up and down, scandalized. "Are you looting?"
"Yes." Asajj clips the temple guard lightsabers to her belt, unashamed.
Ahsoka crosses her arms. "This is a new depravity for you. You're branching out."
"We all have our hobbies. Look, if it helps, I'm the only looter in here, and I haven't found poodoo."
"That's because the donations are stored in the lower levels," Ahsoka says. As much as she doesn't want to admit it, the Jedi won't need those donations anymore. "Did you find any survivors?"
"No. Whoever did this was thorough. I'd…I should be jealous of their work." Sadness flickers in Asajj's eyes. "I found younglings in the Jedi Council Chamber."
Ahsoka gapes. "Younglings?"
"They can't have been more than five standard years. What a waste." Asajj's helmet closes and the voice modulator activates. "I was never here," she says, and she brushes past Ahsoka and disappears into the lower levels of the temple. Ahsoka stands in the archives for a little while longer, rooted to the spot. Eventually, she thickens the Force buffer around her and makes her way back.
Ahsoka meets Yoda outside of the server room. Obi-Wan is still in the middle of recording his message to the surviving Jedi, so they hold their conversation outside in the hall.
"Young Tano," Yoda says. "Foreseen this, you have and warn us, you did, despite the wrongs we have done you. And here you are still, despite no title."
"This was my home," Ahsoka says. "My leaving doesn't change that, and neither does a title."
"Weakened, the Jedi Order is. Irrelevant, titles have become." As he says this, Yoda looks incredibly old and weary, like he might crumble any second. "If we are to survive, then trust in the Force, and in our friends, we must. You are a good friend to the Jedi, Young Tano."
"Master Yoda?" Ahsoka asks.
"By the right of the Grand Master, and by the will of the Force." Yoda reaches into his robe and takes out a Jedi Holocron. He holds it out to Ahsoka.
"Master Yoda!" This is highly inappropriate for at least three reasons.
"Complete the set, you should," Yoda says, and Ahsoka's mouth closes with a click. "If balance is what you need, then it is balance you should seek."
"How did…." Ahsoka tries to think of something to say, but Yoda watches her expectantly, so she accepts the holocron with trembling hands. "Thank you."
Yoda hums with approval.
Obi-Wan walks out of the server room, very pale, with his outer robe pulled around him. "It was Barriss. Barriss Offee attacked the temple with a corps of clone troops."
"What?" Ahsoka asks. Yoda closes his eyes and bows his head. "No! She couldn't, she was in prison."
"She did it, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan's blue eyes soften. "I'm sorry."
"Destroy the Sith, we must," Yoda says. "Obi-Wan, find Skywalker, you will. His help more than ever, we need."
"He is the Chosen One," Obi-Wan says, "but how am I to find him?"
Both Yoda and Obi-Wan look at Ahsoka.
"I don't know where he is," Ahsoka says. "I told him not to tell me just in case this exact situation happened."
"Search your feelings, Obi-Wan, and you will find him," Yoda says. He turns to Ahsoka. "Will you help us, Young Tano?"
"Yes. Do you need me to go with you to face the Sith Lord?"
"No." Yoda's eyes fill with pity. "Face Young Offee, you will."
Ahsoka cringes, her body heavy with dread. "Please don't make me do that, Master."
"There is no one else," Yoda says. "It must be you."
"You can say 'no,' Ahsoka," Obi-Wan says. "I can fight Barriss while you find Anakin."
"No. Master Yoda's right," Ahsoka says. "Someone has to stop her, and I'm it. I can find her, but you can't."
"How will you find her?" Obi-Wan asks.
"We have a Force Bond," Ahsoka says, and Obi-Wan's eyes widen in surprise. "I tried breaking it after I left the Order, but Barriss just repaired it."
"The existence of a Force Bond between the two of you, let alone one that tough is…that's er, that's…."
"Yeah, I know," Ahsoka says. She can't look anywhere else but down at her boots. People can't blow weapons factories up and fight off brainwashed troops together and not come out of it without some kind of connection, Force-based or otherwise.
"May the Force be with you," Obi-Wan says. The three of them go their separate ways.
Ahsoka calls R7 on her comlink. "Where are you?"
R7 whistles. He's in the Jedi Temple hangar, and he's found a working starfighter.
"What? No, get out of there. We're not stealing a starfighter."
R7 growls and beeps, sounding almost mad. He's put so much effort into prepping this starfighter and she's not going to fly it?
"Okay fine!" Ahsoka takes an elevator going up to the hangar and meets R7. The starfighter is in pretty good shape; the hardware checks out and the software systems are online. But before they can fly it out, Ahsoka must get rid of the Jedi logo, so she burns a few panels with a few careful scrapes of her lightsaber.
Riyo and Magnus meet Padmé and Bail Organa outside the Senate building.
"Hello Padmé, Bail," Riyo says.
"Riyo." Bail's eyebrows go up in surprise. "I didn't expect you back for another five days."
"The Chancellor is adamant that the entire Senate attends this session." Riyo turns to Padmé. "Padmé, I thought…." But her quick eyes catch a small, freshly-healed cut in the skin just before the ear, where the jawbone hinges to the skull. Magnus has a similar cut. So does Titon. It's for a special comlink that's embedded into the skin, one that's usually paired with a small microphone stuck to the inside of the collar of a shirt or jacket. Magnus uses these comlinks to coordinate his security team.
"Oh."
Padmé's eyes flicker, as if she's listening to something only she can hear, then her gaze softens. "Still figuring out great secrets, I see."
"Not quickly enough." Riyo feels like the biggest eopie. Padmé leans forward to whisper in her ear.
"My lady is still impressed."
When 'Padmé' straightens up, she leaves Riyo an indigo mess.
"Um." Riyo looks down at her feet. Gods damn it, she thought she was over this. "Thank. You."
"Oh dear." Padmé's double puts a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
The three of them make their way to the Senate chamber together, which is already full of Senators. Usually, about a third of the pods are empty, and holograms of the telecommuting senators are projected in them. Today, there are hardly any empty pods. Riyo, Padmé's double, and Bail must share one. Camera droids, owned by the news outlets, hover within the chamber, recording everything and broadcasting it live over the Holonet.
"Has been foiled," the Chancellor is in the middle of saying. He wears a black robe with a deep hood that hides his face. The more he talks, the more horrified Riyo feels. By the looks on the people in the pod with her, she isn't alone, but they're the minority. Most of the Senate hangs on to every word that drops from the Chancellor's lips, and when the Chancellor—wait no, he's the Emperor now—finishes his speech, the Senate bursts into applause smattered with boos.
Riyo leans back in her seat, somewhat numb. What-uh what do…what do they do now? Ahsoka…is—Anakin told the Jedi who the Sith Lord was and they went and attacked the Emperor? Then that would mean…black bags. Wait. Uh. There is no such thing as a bloodless regime change. Stop! That's not the point. Ahsoka's in danger. Riyo herself is also in danger, but she's not going to be shot on sight (she hopes). She needs to…she needs to….
"Breathe, Riyo," Bail says.
Riyo takes a deep breath. "Thank you. I…what do we do now?"
Bail looks around the Senate chamber, searching for other pockets of dissent like theirs. "We resist."
Admiral Tarkin, along with a couple other high-ranking military and naval officers, and a few politicians, sit at a long, black table in a dark meeting room. There are ten of them, five along each side. The Emperor, or Darth Sidious, as he must now be called, makes the eleventh, and he sits at the head of the table.
"The Senators cannot represent the interests of their systems and the interests of the Empire at the same time," Sidious says. "There must be another body, one that will protect the Empire, fulfill its goals, and invoke my will throughout the galaxy. Sector Governors, if you will, with the title of 'Moff.' All of you here, should you choose to accept, will be that body."
"It would be an honor, my lord," Tarkin says. The other men give vague noises of agreement and Sidious smiles under his hood.
"Very good! Very good. You will answer only to me and to one other. She's postponed a mission to Mustafar to meet you all. Darth Kayip, please enter."
The door off to the side opens, and Barriss walks in.
"Yes, my lord?"
"These men have all agreed to be Imperial Moffs. They are at our disposal. My friends, you will defer to Darth Kayip as you would to me. Her orders will be followed as if issued from my mouth."
A murmur of discontent ripples through the room. With the exception of Barriss, everyone here is a human man. The one sitting furthest away, General Zoldayo, raises his voice.
"My lord, I must protest!"
It releases a flood of complaints from some of the other men, and their words fill the room. Something flickers across Barriss's eyes, but she doesn't move a muscle.
Sidious claps his hands for silence. "Why so hesitant, General Zoldayo? Speak your mind."
"She is only a girl. And a Mirilian to boot. I very much doubt anyone on this council will take orders from the snot-nosed bitch you picked from the gutter!"
In the blink of an eye, Barriss is on the table, running down to the other end. She kneels on the tabletop before General Zoldayo and activates one of her lightsabers.
THUD.
Zoldayo's severed head bounces over the tabletop and rolls to a stop in front of a politician, who shrieks and falls out of his seat. The other politicians scream and retreat from the table, and the other military commanders tense up, but Tarkin just raises an eyebrow. Sidious gives a cruel chuckle, like he's watching an unfolding opera.
Zoldayo's body spasms for a couple seconds longer before it goes still, and Barriss stands up and regards the rest of the room. She puts away her lightsaber.
"If I may, my lord?" Barriss asks.
"Go right ahead," Sidious says. Barriss turns to the surviving Moffs and gives them a warm smile.
"I have lead before, and I am used to taking suggestions from more experienced subordinates, so I hope that you will bring any questions and concerns to me so that I may address them. We must work together to make the Galaxy a better place."
The smile drops from Barriss's face. "But if any of you brings up my species, or my gender, as negatives, I will kill you." She summons Zoldayo's head into her hand and holds it aloft by its hair. "Just like I killed this man. Now if any of you spineless sacks of poodoo have anything else to say, NOW IS THE TIME!"
There's a moment of silence where almost everyone stares up in terror at Barriss. The pungent smell of urine wafts through the room.
THUD.
Barriss drops Zoldayo's head onto the table and reaches into her tabard for a handkerchief to wipe her hands.
"That's what I thought."
Riyo makes her way down to the lower levels of the Senate Office Building, near the bunker. None of the Senators have offices down here, because the offices here either have terrible views, or don't have windows to begin with, and since there aren't any senators, there aren't any staff here either.
So when Ahsoka asked for a safe place to meet, Riyo suggested one of the rooms down here, confident that it would be deserted enough to be secure. She didn't expect it to be so eerie though.
The deeper Riyo goes, the more unsettled she feels. She's not particularly good at sneaking around; that was proved when she and Ahsoka saved Papanoida's daughter from the Trade Federation ship a couple years ago, but she's going to have to get used to doing all this espionage stuff if she's going to be a part of the Rebellion (with a capital 'r' even, that's how quickly Bail and Mon Mothma are moving).
Riyo opens a custodial closet and steps inside. The door shuts behind her, washing everything in complete darkness. She can't move for fear of bumping into something, but she can still hear something shift in front of her.
"Ahsoka?" she whispers. She relaxes at the flash of green pupils and she reaches out to her. "You're alright!"
"I'm alright." Ahsoka pulls Riyo into a tight hug and murmurs into her ear. Ahsoka is warm and real against her and for one moment, the entire galaxy narrows down to just them. Ahsoka flicks on the lights so that they can see each other.
"I have something to tell you," the both of them say at the same time.
"You go first," Riyo says. Ahsoka tells her about her mission to fight Barriss.
"That's cruel," Riyo says. "How can they ask you to do that?"
"If that's how I can help, then I'll do it. Maybe…I don't know, maybe I can reach her somehow?"
"That's an idea. What about Luminara Unduli?" Riyo asks. "She can't help you?"
"She's probably in hiding too. All the survivors are in hiding. It'll be hard to reach her and this has to be done as soon as possible."
"Ahsoka, be careful," Riyo says.
"I will. What did you want to tell me?"
Riyo tells her about the special session of the Senate, and of the Rebellion.
"None of that will last long if your mental shields aren't up all the time," Ahsoka says.
"But I'm terrible at that. Weren't you supposed to teach me at some point?"
"Oops," Ahsoka says, cringing. "I can still give you a crash course."
"Oh joy," Riyo deadpans.
"No, I'm serious. Your shields are decent, you just gotta get used to keeping them up all the time." Ahsoka whispers a quick rundown of technique into Riyo's ear and unclips the silka bead bracelet from her wrist. She holds it up between them.
"Is that your padawan braid?" Riyo asks.
"Good, you recognize it. The problem with your shields is that you forget about them and then they fall. So this will remind you to keep them up." Ahsoka takes Riyo's hand and clips the braid around her wrist. "Padawan braids are for Force-users, and you need to protect your mind from them."
"Got it," Riyo says. Two seconds later, they blush almost simultaneously. Riyo pushes past her embarrassment first.
"Is this what it takes to give me jewelry, Ahsoka? Mortal peril?"
"Oh Force." Ahsoka blushes for a different reason. She just gave Riyo her padawan braid. Her braid! Granted, she forgot since she's been wearing it on her wrist lately, but still.
"I'm teasing!" Riyo tries to catch Ahsoka's eye. "It's sweet. Thank you."
But Ahsoka's blush only deepens and a low whine escapes her throat.
"What is it?" Riyo asks.
"Uh, you remember how Togruta have a thing about the head and the things worn…on…the head?"
"Yes, why?"
Ahsoka gives a pained smile. "I just gave you my padawan braid and that thing's been on my head for years."
Riyo shrieks and hurries to undo the clasp of the bracelet. "Oh Gods! Take it back!"
"But you need it more than I do!"
"Take it back! I can't accept this, you didn't know what you were doing when you gave it to me."
"You accepted it and you didn't know what it meant either."
"Well, I know what it means now." Riyo struggles to unclasp the bracelet, but can't do it with one hand. She's about to resort to using her teeth when Ahsoka covers her wrist and hand with both of hers.
"Don't."
"Ahsoka?" Riyo's eyes dart back and forth from their hands to Ahsoka's very serious face.
"Don't take it off," Ahsoka says. Even though she's stumbled into giving it, the thought of Riyo returning the bracelet is, by far, the more painful outcome. She shifts her weight from one foot to another. "I want—I want you to have it."
Riyo's eyes widen in astonishment and Ahsoka hurries to explain.
"It's not a knife, okay? I mean, I'm not ready to make a knife and you're probably not ready to get knifed either, so I'm not…you know."
"But it's very similar, yes?" Riyo asks.
Ahsoka's lekku stripes burn dark, dark blue. "Yeah. You wearing that bracelet…people would see it. They wouldn't know what it means, but still."
"Oh." Riyo's voice is carefully controlled, and she bites on her lower lip as if to keep from breaking into a smile. "I see."
She reaches up to wrap her arms around the back of Ahsoka's neck and pulls her in for a kiss.
Mustafar is a bleak planet. The sky is blocked out from both ash from the millions of volcanoes, and from the pollution belched out of the processing plants and mines that drive Mustafar's economy. This thick blanket of clouds and smoke traps in all the heat the planet produces, and the temperature of the environment skyrockets as a result. As soon as Ahsoka lifts the canopy of her Jedi starfighter, she's hit with a wall of dry heat and almost swallows a mouthful of ash. It's like stepping into an enormous, hellish oven.
"Ack! Ptth!" Ahsoka leans over the side of the ship and spits. "Gross. Monitor your air filters, buddy. They might need to be replaced when we leave."
R7 chatters.
"No." Ahsoka takes off her poncho and drops it into the cockpit. "Stay with the ship, R7."
R7 beeps and huddles deeper in the astromech socket. Ahsoka gets halfway down the wide catwalk leading from the landing pad to the main building before she spots a familiar figure walking towards her.
Barriss looks different dressed in all black, almost like a different person altogether. Thankfully, her eyes are still blue, tinged warm from the dim light of the lava around them.
Ahsoka's reminded of her vision on Ilum, and like then, dismay pools in her stomach at the sight of her former friend.
"Oh, Barriss," she whispers. She feels the difference in the other woman more than she sees it; the closer Barriss comes, the colder the air feels until Ahsoka expects to see her breath condense in the air. She's hard-pressed to remember the natural searing heat of the planet at all.
Some part of her hoped that what she's heard about Barriss was wrong. That she didn't lead an attack on the Jedi temple. That she didn't kill those younglings. But Ahsoka can't deny the proof that seeps into her bones.
"Ahsoka," Barriss calls out. She actually smiles, warm and genuine. "You came."
"I'm here," Ahsoka says. What she's here to do, she doesn't want to admit to yet. "Why me? Why did you frame me for the bombing?"
"I saved you," Barriss says as lightly as if they're talking about the most recent development on a holonet show. "You were trapped in the Jedi Order. They ensnared you with their hypocrisy and lies, but I showed you how they really are."
Oh, Ahsoka knows what this is. Asajj mentioned it before. Still, she bites back on a flood of indignation and takes a deep breath to center herself.
"You would condemn me to death to set me free?"
"You think I would abandon you to the mercies of the Republic? You know that no prison can hold either of us; you taught me that. If you were convicted, I would have broken you out."
"Broken me out? Barriss, I would still be a convict, what kind of life is that? And you don't-you don't get to throw me away like that and then pretend that you care."
"I have always cared about you!"
"If that's how you treat the people you care about, then I don't want it. And what you've done since? You killed Jedi! Knights, masters, younglings! You led troopers into the Temple, you slaughtered our family! Did you do that out of the kindness of your heart too?"
"Knits breed lice," Barriss says. "The Jedi Order was hurting the Force by fighting in this war, and I had to stop it. All of it."
"The Force was out of balance long before the Clone Wars started, and the Jedi were not responsible for that."
"You cannot deny that there is something wrong with the Order."
"Of course the system is flawed, it's run by flawed sentients! We can't be perfect, but we can strive to be better. We—oh Force—you could have just left! You should've left. Or at least you could've said something. To Master Unduli, to me, to anyone."
"No one would have listened to me."
"You don't know that because you didn't even try!" Ahsoka shouts. She wonders how Riyo and Padmé get through discussions like this without raising their voices. This is infuriating. "I would have listened. I would have listened and you didn't talk to me. I'm not a person to you, I'm a pawn."
"False," Barriss says. Ahsoka drags her hands down her face.
"On Geonosis…everything we've done together, was it a lie?"
Barriss steps back. "No!" She says, "Ahsoka, I've always thought of you as my dearest friend."
Rage wells up like bile in Ahsoka's throat, but she swallows it down so she can hold out her hand. She can do at least this much.
"It's not too late, Barriss. I can still help you."
Barriss eyes Ahsoka's hand. "The screaming would stop."
"Yes," Ahsoka cautiously says. She may not know what Barriss is talking about, but that doesn't mean she can't help.
"I would have to go back to prison."
"You're already a prisoner of the Dark Side."
"The Dark Side grants me unimaginable power and I cannot be a prisoner while I have it. I can show you!"
Ahsoka drops her hand. "Show me? Will you have to blow someone else up to teach me the Dark Side too?"
"You joke because you don't understand. Ahsoka, come with me. Think of what we could do together!"
Ahsoka's mouth tightens into a thin line. "That's not the kind of power I want, Barriss. Please stop this."
"Why? Because you'll kill me if I don't?" But when Ahsoka stays silent, Barriss's face twists into a snarl and the temperature around her plummets to freezing. "I did it all for the Force, and I did it for you! Why can't you just let me do this for you, Ahsoka?"
"Because it's wrong. It's wrong and even though you won't admit it, you know it."
"My conscience is clear!"
"Then why are you crying?"
It's true. Barriss started crying soon after Ahsoka offered her hand, and the tear tracks running down her face glisten in the dim light. Barriss takes one of her lightsabers in hand and ignites it.
"I will not show you any mercy," Barriss whispers. Ahsoka summons her lightsabers into her hands and activates them too. The white blades are bright against the angry red haze of the planet. They salute to each other, then settle into their stances.
Ahsoka leaps forward and slashes down on Barriss's blade. Thus, their fight begins.
Barriss, like Luminara before her, and Obi-Wan, has roots in Soresu, the most defensive style of lightsaber combat. Fighting against Soresu is like trying to bash through an impenetrable wall, only when you've tired yourself out, the wall punches back.
Barriss catches Ahsoka's lightsaber in a block and pushes forward, jabbing the tip of her blade at Ahsoka's head. Ahsoka dodges and steps away. She reminds herself that Barriss has always had solid technique. All that drilling that Luminara put into her schedule had to be good for something. On the other hand, Ahsoka more often threw herself into sparring matches with fellow padawan. Or with knights. With anyone really. She'd learn new techniques that way and practice them afterwards.
Ahsoka steps forward and tries again. She once entertained the idea of switching styles to Soresu (probably because she has never come close to beating Obi-Wan in a match), but found that she has no patience to play continuous defense. She's got to do something in a fight, she's got to attack, and so has continued to use the reverse Shien style. It's fast, and it's aggressive, as befits her and Anakin.
When Barriss catches Ahsoka's main blade in a lock and tries to jab again, Ahsoka moves her head to the side and steps in, letting their blades slide against each other, then swipes at Barriss's middle with her shoto lightsaber. Barriss jumps back, but not before Ahsoka cuts part of her tabard across her stomach.
Of all the styles, Shien has the highest number of counterattack maneuvers. It's kind of balanced that way.
Barriss looks down at her ruined clothes, then back up at Ahsoka. She scowls, and lowers into her stance again. When Ahsoka next attacks, she finds her lightsaber blades bouncing off of Barriss's blocks, flinging her arms out and leaving her wide open. She steps back again and again, giving up precious ground. If she doesn't do something soon, she'll be backed into a corner. Barriss is blocking with the power of someone a hundred pounds heavier than she is, and Ahsoka figures out that she's actually filling up her body with the Force, similar to what Maul did on Malachor. Barriss is faster and stronger for it, but she has nowhere near the same level of finesse and control that Maul had.
She's not the only one with a new trick. In the middle of a blade lock, Ahsoka lifts her pinky off her lightsaber handle and pulls on Barriss's knee, destroying her balance. Barriss falls out of the blade lock and backflips away. Right before she lands, Ahsoka tugs on the soles of Barriss's boots, making her slip and fall on her butt. Barriss gives the most undignified squawk.
"Having a little trouble there?" Ahsoka asks with a humorless smile.
Barriss shrieks and sends a Force push down the catwalk, but Ahsoka senses it coming and leaps over the push and down to Barriss. She slashes down with both lightsabers, but Barriss blocks her.
Ahsoka's suddenly very aware that she's standing right next to Barriss's feet, but before she can move away, Barriss deflects their lightsabers off to the side and arches her body up. She lifts her foot and kicks Ahsoka in the stomach. Ahsoka staggers back, winded. She gasps for air and her chest begins to ache.
Barriss jumps back up and begins bashing down on Ahsoka's shoto in furious chopping strokes. Ahsoka retreats under the onslaught, and in her blind panic, she doesn't realize that Barriss has switched her last chop for an uppercut. She steps in and her pommel smashes into Ahsoka's lip, splitting it open.
Iron and pain explode into Ahsoka's mouth and she stumbles back, holding the back of her hand over the cut to stem the bleeding.
The two young women pause, panting from exertion. Barriss looks at Ahsoka's lip and her eyebrows wrinkle together in a familiar look of quiet anxiety.
"Look what you made me do," she finally says. She clenches her teeth and attacks again. Ahsoka grimaces as she fends Barriss off, launching attack after attack, but in vain. Barriss's 'saber-work is fast enough to block all of it, and Ahsoka finds herself retreating into the nearest building, which is deserted, but operational. The walls are lined with control panels and holoscreens, all lit up with a plethora of buttons and switches.
Ahsoka lifts her pinky and begins to reach out with the Force, tugging on Barriss's heels, pushing an elbow out of place, even tapping her chin up, forcing her head back. Barriss's frustration leaks into the Force, and as her technique suffers, the pressure she puts on Ahsoka eases until she's only just able to block a strike that would've gone right through her arm.
Barriss opens her left palm and Force pushes Ahsoka, sending her flying across the room and into a control panel. Ahsoka's lightsabers gouge the panel under her, making them spark and fail. Pain radiates through Ahsoka along her back, but a quick check assures her that nothing is broken. Barriss crouches, preparing herself to leap at her, but Ahsoka flicks her wrist, throwing her off her feet and crashing into a holoscreen. The screen shatters to pieces. Barriss bounces off another control panel and tumbles to the floor in a shower of glass.
"Ah!" Ahsoka gets to her feet and slices through the room environment control pad that's embedded in the wall, taking out the lights and the air conditioning. She deactivates her lightsabers and jumps up to cling to the darkened ceiling. Barriss stands up and ignites a lightsaber to see.
"I know you're in here," Barriss says. The light from her lightsaber doesn't reach high enough to illuminate Ahsoka's hiding spot. Ahsoka suddenly feels like she has all the time in the galaxy, and she takes a moment to ease her breathing and wait for the pain to leave her chest. Barriss isn't going anywhere.
Ahsoka reaches out with the Force and opens up one of the doors on the other end of the room, making Barriss look that way. Then, she drops to the floor behind Barriss's back, as silent as a ghost. Ahsoka slowly slinks up behind Barriss. When she gets close, Barriss stiffens and turns, swinging her lightsaber down at her head. Before she can finish the swing, Ahsoka catches Barriss's wrist in her left hand and punches Barriss in the face with her right, snapping her head back.
She punches her again, just in case.
While Barriss is still reeling, Ahsoka wraps her hand over Barriss's fingers and twists, loosening her grip on her lightsaber. It rolls into Ahsoka's hand and she rips it away. She twirls it around and holds it before Barriss's throat. The both of them freeze.
"You are beaten," Ahsoka says. "Yield."
"I cannot," Barriss whispers. A dark bruise is already forming around her eye.
"Yield, Barriss. I won't kill you."
"You must." Barriss's eyes snap up to meet Ahsoka's, her irises a clear, brilliant blue. She's crying again, and two tears drop from her chin and sizzle on the blade of the lightsaber. "Do it while you still can."
Ahsoka turns off the lightsaber and tosses it away into the gloom, plunging them both in darkness again. She twists Barriss's arm, forcing her to bow from the strain. She could easily break Barriss's arm in this position.
"Yield!" Ahsoka yells.
"Your mercy is wasted on me!" Barriss uses the Force to pull Ahsoka's feet out from under her, then Force pushes her out of the open door to the balcony outside.
Ahsoka bumps into the metal railing and falls to the floor. She staggers to her feet and takes her lightsabers in hand.
Barriss walks out to the balcony with her lightsabers restored. She comes at Ahsoka with both blades this time, and Ahsoka must defend against a flurry of attacks. Barriss isn't as good at Jar'Kai, however. There is no method, no technique, only constant, furious movement. Ahsoka can deflect most of the attacks with her shoto and with slight movements of her main lightsaber.
Time for something crazy; Ahsoka begins attacking with her shoto blade. One slash, two slashes, meant to establish a pattern to catch Barriss off guard. After the third, she swings her main lightsaber from the bottom up and to her left. Barriss leans back onto her heels to avoid the tip of Ahsoka's lightsaber.
Ahsoka steps in and slashes again. Barriss, who's off balance, cannot dodge in time. She blocks with one lightsaber and Ahsoka spins to the right, using her shoto to slice through the emitter shroud of Barriss's lightsaber in a shower of sparks.
Barriss's scream is cut short. The parts of her ruined lightsaber clatter over the floor, but Ahsoka doesn't notice, because Barriss instinctively releases a pulse of energy, barreling Ahsoka over and sending her tumbling montrals over heels down the balcony. Barriss falls to her knees, her hand over her throat. She coughs and wheezes and when her hands come away, her palm is covered in black blood. Her eyes, now sickly Sith yellow and red, flicker up to Ahsoka, who straightens up, ready.
"AHSOKA!" Barriss rages, but all that comes out is a wet gurgle. Ahsoka runs forward, but doesn't reach her in time. Barriss drops her remaining lightsaber and draws upon the Force, her face screwed up in pain and concentration. The air around her cools to near freezing a split-second before she unleashes Force Lightning at Ahsoka.
Ahsoka's vision is filled with bright crackling light and she goes down, her nose filled with the sharp smell of ozone. Too late, the Force rings an alarm in her head. When Ahsoka hits the floor, smoking, she shouts more in surprise than she does out of pain, but the agony hits her an instant later, ripping through her nerves and muscles like wildfire. Her lightsabers fall from her hands and onto the floor, and she stares up at Barriss in horror.
Barriss lowers her hands, only able to hold the lighting for a little more than a second. She too, watches Ahsoka with her mouth agape. Ahsoka wills herself to get up, and her body screams in protest, but it moves to comply anyway. Barriss's shadow falls over her, and she looks up at the lightsaber in Barriss's hand. She realizes that Barriss will never have a better chance to kill her.
But instead, she turns and runs. Ahsoka picks up her lightsabers and tries to follow her, but she collapses, hitting her head against the floor.
Barriss once treated an engineering clone trooper who had a missing hand and a nail in his head. He told her that the pain from losing his hand was so unbearably all-consuming that he put a nail-gun to his head in order to distract himself from the first pain. If he had two pains competing for his attention, then maybe they'd be tolerable. Barriss thinks about how right that clone was as she stumbles onto her shuttle, holding her throat.
The pain is so great that she wants to retch, but manages to keep it in as she sets the autopilot on course for Coruscant. That done, she throws open a storage closet and summons the first aid kit. She carries it with her into the refresher, where she sets the kit into the sink and unzips it open.
Barriss glances up and sees yellow eyes looking right at her, hateful and enraged. She stumbles back, bumping into the wall. When the eyes widen in response, she realizes that she's looking at her reflection.
Pain forgotten, she lifts a trembling hand and brushes the outline of the bruise around her eye. Sith. She's Sith now, like she's wanted for a long time. She's worked so hard for it.
Something twists in her gut and out of the simmering anger grows uneasiness. It's been there for a while, plaguing her system, but while she's been able to ignore it in the past, she can't ignore how urgent it feels now.
But reflections will have to wait. Barriss takes up the scissors and cuts through her hood up the side of her neck, then drops the scissors to the floor and rips off her hood, revealing the charred and bloody ruin of her throat. The damage is concentrated at the top, right under her chin. It's not deep enough to catch the tendons and muscles in her neck, nor her major arteries, but it is enough to destroy her voice box.
Fresh anger roils through Barriss. How dare Ahsoka do this to her? When she was just trying to help!
A protocol droid shuffles down the corridor of the ship and stops at the door of the refresher.
May I be of service? He asks. Barriss stares at him for a moment, then whips out her lightsaber and slashes him in two. A few more deft cuts in the droid's head reveals his vocoder, and she summons the small part into her hand. She drops it into the first aid kit and takes out a bottle of alcohol. She twists the top off the bottle first, and covers part of the opening with her thumb. She raises this bottle and shakes it over the vocoder to sterilize it, then shakes over her throat, dousing her neck and the front of her clothes with alcohol.
Fresh agony envelops Barriss and she drops the bottle to the floor in order to clench the rim of the sink, her mouth open in a silent scream. Alcohol spills everywhere, splashing against her boots and making a mess on the floor.
When the pain dulls into a sting, Barriss picks up the half-empty bottle and douses herself again for good measure. A string of silent expletives fall from her mouth, and this time, she throws the bottle onto the floor. The ship rattles around her and a small crack appears in the edge of the mirror. She realizes that she can't perform surgery on herself like this, she'll tear the ship apart, so she rummages through the kit again and comes up with two Bacta anesthetic syringes.
Barriss removes the cap off of one needle and jabs it into her neck, between her injury and one of the tendons. When it's empty, she pulls it out and drops it onto the floor with the bottle. She does the same with the second syringe, only she jabs it in on the other side of the injury. She picks up a scalpel and looks at herself in the mirror as she waits for the anesthetic to take effect. She's bloody and tired, and furious at herself for running away. She's angry at Ahsoka for doing this to her, and angry at Luminara for not being here. The memory of Luminara's voice, annoyingly calm, sounds through her head.
"What treatment do you recommend for this patient, Barriss?"
Cut out the burned flesh and the ruined voice box. Implant the vocoder. Stitch the wound closed and protect the wound with a Bacta patch, which must be changed once a day, or more depending on bleeding. Take pain killers and antibiotics until the wound finishes healing.
Barriss taps on her throat to test the effect of the anesthetic. When she decides that it's sufficiently numb, she lifts her chin to better see in the mirror and brings her scalpel up to begin her surgery.
Note Bene: Christ, Barriss. What am I gonna do with you, you sad asparagus? Uuuuuugh. You could've had it all, but you playin'.
That pseudo proposal was NOT IN THE OUTLINE, AHSOKA. WTF. Like, okay, I talk shit, but it's actually amazing when you're writing and characters surprise you like that. That's how I know that I've developed chars well.
Offee vs Tano, who won? Who lost? Why?
Wow, that's 10k words in this chapter. Amazing. Please let me know what you think! I had a blast writing this story and I wanna know if you're having fun reading it. Be safe, readers.