Chapter 21 – Arrival on Kiros
I'm done with both of the chapters. This is Barriss' side of the story of their arrival on Kiros. She will meet with Ahsoka again in the last part of this chapter.
Hope you enjoy.
;-
Barriss stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. The shower had been refreshing, but it hadn't fully gotten rid of the horrid feeling that she had. She finished drying herself off and sat down on the floor. She opened herself to the Force and in order to release her emotions into the Force.
Everyone on board had gone to rest after they had departed from Coruscant. She had as well, but sleep hadn't really come to her. A nightmare had plagued her rest. She looked down at her arms. There were still a few scars left from where the Sith had tortured her. She had relived that time in her nightmare. She still wasn't able to remember what exactly had happened, the nightmare had not stayed with her. Only a dark feeling had remained.
She sighed and got up. Releasing her emotions into the Force had managed to ease her thoughts quite a bit. Walking back into her room onboard the cruiser, she grabbed a set of her robes and put them on. After she had them on and had gathered all of her things, she went towards the mess hall to eat something.
As she stepped out of the room, a memory played through her mind. Ahsoka's voice telling her that she couldn't enjoy the momentary peace and sleep, instead suggesting to go eat echoed through her head. She couldn't help but smile at the memory.
;-
She was about to walk past Master Ti's quarters when the door opened and the Togrutan Jedi Master stepped out. She paused and bowed. "Good morning, Master Ti." She greeted her.
Shaak Ti nodded at her. "Good morning, Padawan Offee," She replied. "May I have a word with you?" She asked as she gestured to her quarters.
Barriss nodded slowly. "A-alright, Master." She said a bit confused. Shaak Ti walked inside her quarters and Barriss followed her. They both sat down. Barriss was a bit unnerved by the look Shaak Ti was giving her.
Shaak Ti observed her for a moment with the Force. "How are you feeling, Barriss?" She asked.
Barriss was a bit surprised by the question. "Does she know…?" She wondered silently. "I guess that I'm alright, Master." She replied, keeping her voice calm. "I'm a bit nervous about the mission, but I have faith in our troops and the other Padawans. It will turn out alright."
Shaak Ti nodded, but then shook her head. "That is good to hear, but it is not what I meant." She explained. "I could clearly sense that you experienced something unnerving. What was it?" She asked gently.
Barriss looked down a bit and averted her eyes. She should have known that Shaak Ti would have been able to sense the truth. "I had a terrifying nightmare just now." She replied. "I can't remember any of it, but I do know that I relived my time as the Sith's captive. I don't remember, but the horrible feeling stayed with me. It has frightened me quite a bit, I'll admit."
Shaak Ti nodded understandingly. "It is not unheard of for memories suppressed either emotionally or by the Force, to resurface in dreams. While the events of the dream may not remain with someone, the feelings of it will." She explained to Barriss.
"I understand Master." Barriss replied. "I read about such things during my medical studies. I know it can happen, but to experience it myself is not very pleasant."
"So how are you holding up now?" Shaak Ti asked. "Do you feel you can still participate in the mission? I do not want to pressure you, Barriss, but I do have to know." With the fate of the people of Kiros at stake, she had to be certain. She also needed to make sure that Barriss wouldn't relapse to the Dark Side. Luminara had told her that Barriss had come a long way, but she would need to confirm this herself. Which was also one of the reasons why she had allowed Barriss to join on the mission.
Barriss knew exactly what Master Ti meant with her question. "I'm a little shaken up right now, Master, but I'll pull through. I won't let this undo all of the progress I've made. I won't let myself fall again." She replied confidently.
Shaak Ti nodded. "Good, keep reminding yourself of that." She said with a light smile. "Now, I suggest that you take it easy, get something to eat and prepare for the battle. We will be arriving in a few hours."
Barriss nodded. "Alright, thank you Master Ti." She replied. Shaak Ti nodded back and Barriss left her quarters.
;-
Barriss entered the mess hall aboard the Republic Cruiser. She moved to the kitchenette and grabbed herself some food. She looked around the mess hall for a place to eat. Barriss smiled when she saw her old friend James Dahn wave her over.
She made her way towards him. He was sitting with one of the other padawan, a Twi'lek girl with yellow skin. "Hey Barriss, come on, sit down." James said when she reached them.
"Thanks James." Barriss replied as she set down her tray and sat down at the table. She looked at the Twi'lek. "Hello, I'm Padawan Barriss Offee." She introduced herself.
"Hello Padawan Offee, my name is Lierra Nooram." She replied.
Barriss could sense that Lierra was a bit apprehensive about her presence. James seemed to have noticed this as well. "Hey Barriss, I've wanted to ask you this for a while now." He began a little nervously. "From what I've heard, the bombing at the Temple… I don't know all of the details, but…you didn't willingly do that, right?" He asked.
She looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry, but I just have to ask." James added when he noticed her reaction.
"I understand, James. Don't worry." She replied. "You're right, I never wanted to do such a horrible thing. I did however, disagree with the path the Order was following. The Council has made some bad decisions and it saddened me greatly. We're losing our way as Jedi. I wanted to change that." She explained to the two other Padawans. "One on of my missions, something horrible happened and it really upset me. I didn't talk to my Master about it and I still don't know why. My thoughts grew darker, but before I could do anything about it…I…" She paused and took a deep breath.
"What…happened?" Lierra asked a bit concerned.
Barriss looked at her. "I had gone for a walk outside the temple a couple of days before that whole mess started." She continued her story. "I was almost back at the Temple when there was someone in my path."
Both Padawans were a bit confused by this. "Who was he?" James asked.
Barriss shook her head. "I can't be completely sure, but what he was is no secret." She replied. She noticed their questioning looks and continued. "He was clad in a long dark robe that concealed all of his features. I stopped walking as I sensed a very strong darkness through the Force. Next thing I know, I see Force Lightning flying towards me. It caught me and I lost consciousness." She sighed. "After that, my next memory is waking up in a prison cell with my Masters Unduli and Skywalker, Admiral Tarkin and some reporter, my body marked with the scars of torture."
Lierra was shocked to hear that. "You were tortured? By this Sith?" She asked stunned. James also looked horrified.
Barriss nodded slowly. "I have no memories of it or the time during the whole bombing incident." She replied. "I looked everything back from the recordings. It was like watching a bad movie, seeing 'me' commit such horrible things and frame my best friend, almost getting her killed." She shuddered a bit. "It was just awful. Learning about all that, hearing that Ahsoka had left the Order because of what I put her through, it upset me greatly."
"I heard about what happened to Padawan Tano, that was a real shame." Lierra said. "I saw her and Master Skywalker spar once, she was easily one of the most promising Padawans in the Order." A thought crossed her mind. "Have you heard anything about her after she left?" She asked curiously.
Barriss nodded and smiled slightly. "Yes, I have." She replied. "Should I tell them the whole truth? I don't know how they feel about the Code." She thought about it for a moment. "I met her again during the battle on Felucia. She told me that she was living on Shili now. She was on Felucia to rescue the princess of Shili. They succeeded so I think that Ahsoka has a pretty good live now."
James laughed a bit at that. "Saving a princess, that probably sets you up pretty good." He said with a smile. "So what else have you been up to?" He asked. "We haven't seen each other in years, so this is a nice time to catch up."
Barriss smiled back. "Yeah, you're right. I've been through quite a bit. Where to even start?" She asked herself.
;-
A few hours later
Barriss and the others had just arrived on Kiros. She and the other Padawans were down on the planet. They would be fighting alongside the Clone Troopers and make sure that the droids wouldn't be able to enter the bunker in the city and harm the civilians.
Right now they were standing around the holo-projector with their clone captains. Master Ti had just informed every one of the battleplan. Originally, the Padawans would be split in two teams of two and a single Padawan. With her now being a part of the mission, there would now be three teams of two. To her relief, she would be with James on this mission. Master Ti would return to the lead cruiser to oversee the battle from space.
Master Ti was about to continue her briefing when a clone walked up to her. "Excuse me General, there's something you should know." He informed her as he saluted.
"What's wrong, trooper?" Master Ti asked the clone.
"We are picking up two cruisers about to drop out of Hyperspace." The clone replied.
"Two cruisers?" Master Ti asked surprised. "The Separatists shouldn't be here yet. Apart from that, their force was reported to be larger than that." She pulled up the cruisers scanner on the holo-projector. It showed two spots were the space was being distorted, a clear sign of ships emerging from Hyperspace. "Have the communication lines ready, I want to contact those cruisers the moment they leave Hyperspace." She ordered the troopers on the cruiser.
"Yes General." A few similar voices replied in unison. The troopers began to work on it immediately.
A short minute later the two cruisers dropped out of Hyperspace. Shaak Ti took a pair of binoculars and observed the ship. To her surprise, the cruisers had the markings of the Shilian Royal family on them. A trooper informed her that the communication line was ready. "Unidentified cruiser, this is Jedi Master Shaak Ti. You are entering a combat zone. Identify yourself and state your intentions." Shaak Ti said through the communication line, hoping for a positive answer.
"Master Jedi," A hologram of a male Togruta appeared on the projector. "I am general Seithe Madine of the Shilian army. We are here to aid our brothers and sisters of Kiros." He introduced himself.
The Padawans and the clone captains looked at each other in surprise. Shaak Ti looked at the general. "I was not aware that the people of Shili were aiding the population of Kiros." She commented. "Still, I welcome your assistance greatly."
The general nodded. "We were not able to help our people last time, to our great shame." Seithe replied. "Fortunately, we found out about their schemes in advance this time. We are very grateful that the Republic has send its troops to help our people."
Shaak Ti nodded as well. "We do not want to see a repeat of the previous tragedy. We are here to make sure the people of Kiros are safe." She said.
"That is good to hear, Master Jedi." General Seithe replied. "We will begin unloading our troops and supplies now. We have both ground and space forces ready to fight the Separatists. They will not take our people again."
"I will inform my troops to let you all pass through. If you can join me later after you've set up, we can discuss strategies." Shaak Ti said. The general nodded and the transmission ended.
;-
Barriss and the other Padawans stood in the city's center, looking at the Shilian transport ships dropping of Togrutan soldiers all across the city.
Lierra looked at a transport that had landed close to their position. "I'm actually a little surprised at the appearance of the Shilian Army." She said to the others. "I thought that Shili was a neutral planet?"
"They are." Barriss replied. "But the Separatists have already attacked them once. They kidnapped the kings daughter." She looked at Lierra. "Kiros was neutral as well, remember? And still the Separatists attacked them. Even though the people of Kiros couldn't defend themselves." She said in a sad tone.
James nodded. "I guess that the people of Shili have had it with the Separatists attacking their people. It's perfectly understandable, if you think about it." He replied.
"I guess so." Lierra said as she shrugged. She turned her attention to the transport that had just landed next to them. "Oh wow, look at those guys." She said as she pointed at a group of Togruta walking down the ramp of the transport.
Barriss looked over at the transport. A number of Togruta were walking down the ramp and around the transport, but she quickly figured out just which Togruta she was talking about. A group of Togruta wearing a forest green armor just walked down the ramp of the ship. "It's them again." Barriss replied.
James and the other Padawans looked at the transport as well. "Who are you talking about?" He asked a bit confused.
Barriss pointed at the ramp of the transport. "Do you see the Togruta in the green armor?" She asked him in return. James and the others nodded. "Those are the same warriors that were on Felucia. They're called the H'Raani M'Kai, the Shilian Royal guard. They are incredibly strong warriors." She explained.
Jana Starr scoffed. "They're just a couple of Togruta. How strong can they be?" She asked uncaring.
Barriss looked at the human Padawan. "I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you." She replied. "I've seen them in action before. They could easily stand up to several members of the Jedi Council."
The others Padawans were a little bit stunned by that. "Are you really being serious?" James asked her.
Barriss nodded. "I am." She replied. "They are all incredibly skilled. They were wrecking the droids without any difficulty. And…" She paused as she saw another familiar face walk down the ramp of the ship. "Ahsoka…"
The others looked at the ship again. They had all heard about the former Padawan that left the Jedi Order. Seeing the Togruta here surprised all of them.
"Ugh… What is she doing here?" Jana asked in disgust.
Barriss just ignored her and started walking to the transport. The others followed her swiftly, eager to find out just what the former apprentice of the Chosen One was doing on Kiros.
As they came close to the transport, Barriss could see Ahsoka smile at them. Ahsoka had already sensed her presence. The Togruta walked off the ramp and waited for Barriss to get there.
"Hello Barriss, it's great to see you again." Ahsoka greeted her friend.
"It's great to see you as well, Ahsoka." Barriss replied with a warm smile. She looked at her friend for a moment. Ahsoka was wearing a forest green outfit, it looked somewhat similar to a pilots outfit. "I had a feeling that you would show up here." Barriss told her friend.
Ahsoka opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a sneer from Jara. "Why are you even here?" The Human Padawan asked in a dirty tone. "You're not a Jedi. You shouldn't be here." Jana moved her right hand towards her lightsaber. "There's no way that we can trust you. You're just a renegade who should be locked up!" She taunted Ahsoka.
Ahsoka merely rolled her eyes. "So I can't be trusted, hmm?" She asked sarcastically. "Funny, the king and queen of Shili seem to trust me completely." She said absentmindedly as she checked her fingernails.
Jana wanted to say something again, insult her again, but then a male Togruta walked off the ships ramp.
Barriss had no idea who he was, but from his appearance, she thought he was some kind of technician. He obviously asked Ahsoka something in Togruti. She nodded and told him something in reply. The man nodded back and went back into the ship.
"So, will you be joining us in the battle here?" Barriss asked, not giving Jana another chance to say something stupid.
"Yes and no." Ahsoka replied as she turned her attention back to Barriss. "I will be a part of the battle, but I won't be fighting on the ground. I'll be joining the pilots of Eagle squadron. We'll be taking down as many ships as we possibly can in order to make your job a bit easier." She explained to her friend.
At that moment, a number of Togruta walked off the ramp. A couple of familiar devices floated along with them. Barriss recognized the machines instantly. "Ahsoka, are those…?" She asked.
Ahsoka smiled and nodded. "Yep, we brought some shield generators with us." She replied. "Just do me a favor and don't ask where they came from."
Barriss gave her friend an odd look, but before she could ask further about them Ahsoka changed the subject.
"So Barriss, what exactly brings you to Kiros?" Ahsoka asked. "I know you're here to fight in the battle, but that's not really what I imagine you doing."
Barriss nodded. "You're right about that." she replied. "I don't really want to fight battles anymore, but this is different. This is about protecting innocent people, not conquering territory or obtaining resources. Protecting people is what a Jedi is supposed to do." Her expression turned a bit grim. "And I remembered what you told me about what happened to the people of Kiros before. I want to prevent that from happening again."
Ahsoka smiled when she heard that. "Thank you Barriss." She said. "I'm glad that you and everyone else is here."
Barriss noticed that Ahsoka's attention then turned to someone else. She looked in that direction herself and spotted Master Shaak Ti walking towards them. "This might be bad, I don't know how Ahsoka handles being around a member of the Jedi Council." Barriss thought worriedly.
Shaak Ti reached them. "Ahsoka Tano, in a certain way, I'm not that surprised to see you here." She greeted Ahsoka. "I assume that you are here to help the people of Kiros as well?"
Ahsoka nodded. "That's right Master." She replied. "We've known about the attack for a little while now. Our scouts and the people of Kiros reported Separatist activity. Also, the horrible vision I had told me all I needed to know." She let her gaze wander over the other Padawans and the clone soldiers all around them. "I'm really glad that the Republic came to help." She admitted.
Shaak Ti nodded in return. "As am I, Ahsoka. The fact that I could not help my people last time was difficult news to take." She said. "I'm glad that you and the people of Shili are here to help as well. And I noticed that you brought a group of shield generators with you. Where did you get those?" She asked.
Ahsoka sighed. "I'd rather not say." She replied.
Barriss frowned a bit. "Why wouldn't you want to tell us?" She asked a bit confused.
"She probably stole them from a Republic base somewhere." Jana commented with a mean look towards Ahsoka.
Barriss just ignored her, as did everyone else. "So where did they come from?" She asked Ahsoka again.
Ahsoka didn't immediately reply. Barriss gave her a questioning look. A few seconds later Ahsoka sighed and gave in. "Alright then." She replied. "They came from a Separatist transport ship that just happened to crash on a planet near Florrum."
Barriss was a bit stunned to hear that. "Florrum?" She asked herself. "Isn't that the planet where..."
Ahsoka continued. "Hondo Ohnaka and his men just happened to be there and salvaged the goods on board. We made a little deal and now I have a bunch of shield generators." She explained to them.
"I see..." Barriss replied. "Oh well, doesn't really matter. We'll be sure to put them to good use."
"Indeed." Shaak Ti said. "They will certainly go a long way in protecting the people." She gave Ahsoka a questioning look. "Were you and the people of Shili involved in the other defensive measures here as well?" She asked.
Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, we took advantage of the building skills of the people of Kiros to build a defensive wall and obstructions to prevent the Separatist ships from landing around the city." She explained. "We went to get the shield generators in order to protect the city from orbital and other long-range bombardment."
Shaak Ti smiled a bit. "It's good to know that you are all this well prepared." She replied. "I'm just about to meet up with your General and discuss the battle plans. If you would all join me?"
Ahsoka, Barriss and the other Padawans nodded and they followed Shaak Ti to the command center.
;-
After all of the plans had been discussed, everyone had gone into place for the battle. Shaak Ti had returned to the main cruiser of the Republic force. Barriss and the other Padawans had taken up positions in the city. The Togrutan soldiers had taken up positions with the clone soldiers. Ahsoka had also traveled back to one of the Shilian cruisers to prepare her fighter for the battle.
Everyone was now in place and ready for the battle. Now, they were waiting for the Separatist ships to begin their attack.
;-
That's the end of this chapter.
In the next chapter, the battle will take place. I have most of it planned out already, but it will take some time to write everything down.
I intend to write both chapters again and then upload them at the same time. There will be a short, general opening that is the same in both chapters. After that, this story will follow Barriss on the planet.
Until next time.