Chapter 25

Barriss Offee sat in her cell on her hard metal cot, counting down the hours, seconds, and minutes until her execution. Today, in less than a hour, she would die. And she regretted her actions. If she could back and stop herself, she would, but she had become so disillusioned by her hatred for the Council that she had made the stupidest decision anyone could make. And to make matters worse, she had implicated her friend, a girl that had been there for her, that saved her life at one point. And that was unforgivable.

When a clone had come to her cell and taunted Barriss, he told her that her last request had been denied. She could not apologize to Ahsoka Tano because Ahsoka Tano was dead. She curled into a ball that night and cried herself to sleep and finally came to the realization that yes, she deserved to die.

Barriss opened her eyes and heaved in a deep breath. Fifty-two minutes until her execution. She sat up and immediately jolted back. Standing in front of the door to her cell was two figures in a white cloak, faces obscured by their cowls. Their clothing suggested political officials, but she couldn't think of any reasons as to why a political figure would visit her in the hour before her death. She stood slowly, her black dress brushing against her legs.

For several moments, the figures just stood there, and she briefly wondered if this was some sort of nightmare or a vision. Finally, the shorter of the two turned their head and peered up at their partner. No words were exchanged, but the taller nodded and walked away. That just left Barriss and the short official.

She tensed when the figure reached up with white-gloved hands, pulling down their hood. With a soft gasp, Barriss braced herself against the sink. A ghost haunted her, mocking her and everything she failed to accomplish. "Ahsoka," she breathed out softly.

"Barriss," Ahsoka said back in a voice that was so distinctly hers that Barriss's belief in the spirit wavered.

"You're-"

"Dead?" a sly smile slipped onto the Togruta's face. "So they say. I guess the Council prefers that little lie to the truth."

Her smile immediately fell again, her face settling into the picture of perfect neutrality. Barriss stepped closer to the barrier separating them, "And what's the truth?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

The Miralan winced at the harsh bite in her former friend's words. "I deserved that."

Ahsoka inhaled and looked away. She seemed much more mature than she had been the last time Barriss had seen her. Barriss reached out with the Force, blinking rapidly when she found that she could not feel the signature of the supposedly dead Jedi. It explained why she hadn't sensed her approach or the approach of her companion. But she didn't understand how it had been accomplished. And, she realized with a heavy heart, she may never know. Her death was quickly approaching with forty-six minutes to spare. "What do you want?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer, but maybe a little excited for it. Perhaps Ahsoka meant to kill her in what she hoped was a more merciful death than that by firing squad. Or perhaps she was here to free Offee. She wasn't a Jedi anymore, if her falsified death was anything to go on, but was she a Sith?

"I came to thank you."

Barriss's head jerked up in surprise. Out of all of the things the Togruta could've said, that was not one of them. "For what?"

"For getting me expelled from the Order," Ahsoka clasped her hands behind her back. "It was the beginning of something new."

The two young women stared at each other for several silent seconds. Forty minutes.

"I'm sorry," Barriss blurted out. "I'm so sorry for everything. What I did was wrong, I see that now. I was just so angry and misled and I let my emotions cloud my judgement-"

"Emotions don't cloud judgement," Ahsoka interrupted, startling Barriss into silence. "It accentuates it. You just let the negative ones control you."

Barriss opened her mouth to respond, but Ahsoka raised a hand and silenced her again. "I didn't come to hear your apologies. I came to thank you and now that I have done that, I have nothing left to say to you. I want nothing more to do with you. I have the closure I need and I will give you yours," she paused, listening to approaching voices of the clone troopers that were going to prepare Barriss for the execution. Another voice mingled with the uniform ones, arguing with them. Ahsoka's eyes dragged back over to her. "I forgive you, Barriss Offee. Good day."

She ducked her head and pulled her hood back up as her companion and the clones approached. Ahsoka approached her partner, who Barriss could now clearly identify as a male, and grabbed his arm. He fell silent as one of the clones walked up to her. "The prisoner needs to be prepped for execution now, Lady Ryzin and Lord Winmor. Please, allow me to escort you out."

"Thank you," Ahsoka hooked her arm through her partner's and they walked away without a backwards glance.

Barriss turned back to the clones as they unlocked the door. Thirty minutes.

Ahsoka and Anakin watched the execution in silence. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest, but something else remained. "We can't save everyone, Snips," Anakin said next to her, entwining her fingers with his.

"I know," she responded quietly, her gaze darting to the Council as they oversaw the execution. They were far enough away from the two lovers that no one would recognize them, but the apprehension still remained, especially with the other Jedi prowling through the crowd, ready for some kind of Sith or a sympathizer to try something stupid. "I wish we didn't have to."

The uproar of the crowd signaled Barriss's arrival. Ahsoka watched with bated breath as she was led to a single metal post. Blindfolded and dressed in a pure white that starkly contrasted her usual black attire. Force inhibiting bracelets flashed on her wrists. She clutched Anakin's hand tighter.

Ahsoka blocked out the rest of the world as she watched the blaster fire rip through her former friend's body until all that remained was slivers of charred flesh. The crowd cheered and booed in a cacophony of sound and Ahsoka even noticed some of the Jedi whooping. Barriss Offee didn't deserve to die, but... Ahsoka turned away and walked back into the crowd. She didn't deserve to be saved either.