Warnings at end of chapter.

Chapter 26: Collision

Barriss tucked the two red lightsabers on her belt at the small of her back with the small packet of explosives, under her cloak, before she left for the room of a thousand fountains. Foolhardy? Maybe. But if they found her with the explosives, they would hardly need the additional evidence. In a way, she was safer keeping them on her person than she would be if she left them in her room, unguarded. Not that it really mattered now, but at least this way, she'd know if someone discovered them.

Perfectly sensible.

She'd claimed an errand when her Master - Luminara, she'd asked Barriss to call her by name now she was Knighted - attempted to catch up with her earlier, saying they could do so later, once Luminara had got some rest. After all, she was just back from the front, she must be tired. And Barriss had had an errand: picking up the explosives.

Not nano droids this time, and she had to admit she felt relief at that. Nano droids had been necessary in the first bombing to make sure Jakar was none the wiser, but their use had given her nightmares, the night after the hanger blew up. She'd woken up as the hands clamped over her face in an attempt to block anything from getting in fell limp from lack of oxygen, automatically taking gasps of air even as she desperately tried to stop herself, lift her arms so she could claw away the things that were wriggling their way inside her, controlling her, exploding until she was just a smear of gore like she'd seen too many times with the clones after battles - And then she'd realised she was in her room at the Temple, that there were no nano droids crawling under her skin, no brain worms sliding up her nose to take control of her.

She'd never got the chance to catch up with Luminara. Before Barriss' excuses could begin to run out, the older mirialan had been called out urgently by the Council. Something to do with the search, judging by the quick message that had been sent to Barriss' comm a few minutes before. Autopsy, Barriss supposed. Ahsoka and Kenobi must have been caught and killed.

No announcement had been made yet, though, and there were a few suspicious looks directed her way as she traversed the halls. That was now normal now, she reminded herself with slight satisfaction of a job well done, fear was now a normal part of the Order. Especially since Kenobi had broken Ahsoka out, and it had become popular opinion that really anyone could be a traitor.

She wondered if that act redeemed Kenobi.

No, one right act couldn't redeem all the Darkness a Council member would have been party to over the last year. But she appreciated that he had made the effort. It was more than anyone else had done. And it had opened some Jedi's eyes to how deep-rooted the corruption of the order was.

She still rather hated him for causing Ahsoka so much trouble, creating associations in the Jedi Council's minds between her togruta friend and the Sith, though. That, and messing up her grieving. But the Force had judged him now. It was enough. It had to be enough.

The room was slightly overgrown, the Jedi who had tended it too busy away fighting or being dead to care for it. She'd spent a lot of time there recently, attempting to infuse some order back into the overgrown wildness of the flower beds. She hadn't nearly succeeded, and the sight of them now filled her with disgust that she was careful not to show on her face or in the Force as she passed Yoda leading a group of younglings in meditation.

She disappeared from sight as she entered the tangle of hedges near them, circling around until she was almost beside Yoda, who shouldn't have allowed all of this to happen, and the youngling's who's ears he was filling with lies. Peacekeepers.

A bitter smile wanted to edge its way onto her face, but she didn't have the energy. Instead, she just made sure that she seemed further away that she really was, and pulled the explosives out, moulding them into shape. She'd learned how to shape explosives, because of the war.

They'd regret that, she promised herself.

She wouldn't be able to leave them. The danger the explosives represented would be clear to Yoda should she move away, her shadow of a concealed Force signature no longer hiding the small, deadly package under its cloak.

Eveliina would be furious with her. Barriss didn't particularly care. It had been a split second decision upon hearing her Master had been called out: if Ahsoka was dead, safe from the Jedi's darkness, then she could show the Jedi just how far they had fallen. The deception was no longer needed.

Then the alarms went off.

Her hands faltered for a moment. What? The only ones that the Council would set that alarm off over were Kenobi and Ahsoka, but-

Logic crystallized in her mind from the pieces of shattered belief. She'd assumed. Ahsoka and Kenobi must have survived, Master had been called out to tend the wounded Jedi. Unbidden, a shiver of pride in her friend ran through her. It was awfully inconvenient, but defeated Jedi were a good thing. Maybe they were dead, even. Ahsoka probably wouldn't have, but Kenobi had been a Council member, and if she'd realised anything these last few days, it was just how little compunction Council members had about turning on those they had fought beside.

So, they found out it was today, she mused, continuing her work calmly, methodically. Dependable Barriss, not at all concerned that the Sith were attacking the Temple. She knew they weren't. This still works. Everyone will blame the explosion on them initially - and it'll kill more, the drill for this alarm was never altered from the original when they reinstated it after Kenobi returned from Naboo, everyone will be gathering in a few central places - and then, once the "invasion" is over and they're dead, they'll realise it was me.

She did smile, then. It was utterly devoid of anything but grim anticipation.

Mace Windu froze at the snipers' report as Yoda remotely sounded the alarm, it all suddenly crashing together in his head. The three Council Masters had been left alive: that would draw their backup in the Temple out to retrieve and protect them, leaving the Temple less guarded. There were barely any fighters here, with the war, and those that were were mostly the wounded or the inexperienced, and neither of those would be able to take on a Jedi Master fallen to the Dark side.

Shouting at Luminara Unduli to retrieve the injured Masters by herself and not return until she was contacted with an all clear, he raced through the Temple, cursing himself for not seeing it. So this was the reason the Sith had left them alive - and to think he'd thought - he'd hoped -

He cut off that line of thought with brutal swiftness, running through the drill for this alarm in his head. Everyone would gather in the nearest pre-selected large room (they were scattered about the Temple, places which had been built to withstand an attack of the kind that had levelled the Jedi Temple that had stood here before this one, since it had been impossible to build the whole Temple to that standard), which should only take minutes considering these were Jedi with Force speed at their disposal, and defend them.

He strained his senses, searching for a hint, just a whisper that would let him know where the threats were, relying on that to sense any Jedi near him, rounding a corner and almost crashing into a pair of Temple Guard Sentinels. They jumped aside at the last second, and he skidded to a stop as they kept on running, his eyes narrowing rapidly. Sentinels with no Force signatures…

They'd taken out some sentinels at their entry point, the sniper had reported. His eyes flew wide and he drew his lightsaber, barking "Halt!"

A body barrelled into him from behind, flattening him, and he rolled his feet to see another figure in a Jedi robe do the same between him and the fallen padawan and Sith Assassin, flinging back the hood to reveal none other than Kenobi himself. "Go! I'll hold him."

The two hesitated, before tearing off down the corridor. Mace reignited the purple 'saber he had barely managed to avoid impaling himself on in the fall, hoping, hoping that the others would be able to deal with them. At least he had the main threat right here. "Kenobi."

The Sith sighed, sounding faintly exasperated. "I don't suppose we could talk about this?"

Talk to the being who had the audacity to wear the face of his friend, who would have killed Plo and Ki-Adi and Kit and Saesee were it not for an accident of timing and had this plot to invade the Temple not required them to be left alive? "No," Mace said flatly, the hint of a snarl curling his upper lip, slipping into the Vaapad ready stance, the Force becoming almost visible around him as he channelled his rage at this being who looked like Obi-Wan but could be nothing other than Obi-Wan's murderer. He saw the Sith swallow.

"Right." The being ignited the lightsaber in its hand. "And I don't suppose you'd believe me if I told you I'm not a Sith, and that there is a bomb about to go off in this Temple at any moment."

"I wouldn't put the second past you," Mace replied darkly, feeling his insides go cold at the thought. "You've show yourself capable."

Something flashed across the Sith's face, before it closed off, and it stepped back into the personalised Soresu stance Obi-Wan had favoured, the blade held up at his forehead instead of across his torso. "I see."

A look passed between them. It was a look that didn't contain any sentiments, simply a recognition that neither was going to back down from this, neither was going to surrender - and that only one of them was going to walk away from this fight.

Then Mace attacked.

Ahsoka pounded through the empty hallways, Ventress hot on her heels, the wailing of the alarm almost unbearably loud as she whispered pleas to the Force to let Obi-Wan survive in her mind. She got nothing in return. No soft reassurance, no mournful brush informing her that her grand-Master was going to come home in death, just…nothing.

Ahsoka skidded to a stop. "She's in there."

`There` was the Room of a Thousand Fountains, where they could both feel several hundred apprehensive Force presences.

"I see." Ventress tore off the robes, her face pinched. Ahsoka's mouth dropped open behind her mask.

"What are you-"

"They'll know who we are," Ventress interrupted her. "And I prefer to fight without ridiculous costumes blocking my peripheral vision."

Ahsoka wondered whether the blocking peripheral vision was something symbolic to demonstrate that the Sentinel guards needed the Force more than their eyes, and relied on the more accurate of the two as she attempted to decide how much Ventress was insulting Jedi tradition. She decided to ignore it, because, well…she'd thought the same thing on the way here. Why were these outfits still used?

She pulled off her own disguise. It had got them there, and no one they'd passed but Master Windu had realised. "Oh, fine." Beat. "Are we just going to charge in there?"

Ventress' smile was all teeth. "Why not?"

Why not indeed. She had done similar things with Anakin, in the past. Quite often, in fact, if in slightly different situations. Anakin was capable of sneaking around, but far preferred direct tactics. Ahsoka clipped the pike to her belt and took her saber and shoto in hand. (She probably wouldn't use her left arm that much, but it wouldn't be good to be visibly injured.)

In answer, she used a Force push to blow the doors open and sprinted in, most definitely not gulping as a forest of lightsabers ignited as they sprinted past, heading for the place where she could sense Barriss - Obi-Wan's Force techniques combined with her former friendship enough to let her get an idea of where Barriss was, the Force doing the rest. She Force-shoved a path clear through the crowd, blocking a few thrown lightsabers and hoping the deflected blades didn't hit anyone. A Knight with pink, recent scar on his cranium limped into her way, and she skidded under his guard on her knees, springing to her feet as soon as she was past. Ventress had blocked his strike and sent the man flying, and suddenly they halted, faced with a small green troll with a very displeased look on his face.

Ventress swore loudly. There were several gasps from the children that various Masters, their faces drained of colour or their species equivalent, were ushering away deeper into the throng of Jedi that were recovering rapidly from the surprise of them charging past instead of at them and were now surrounding Ahsoka and Ventress - though none approached, an invisible barrier keeping them back from the space where Ahsoka, Ventress and Yoda stood. Ahsoka could feel the seconds slipping, a whisper that every moment wasted might be one too many, adrenalin superseding fear and any other emotion that she might have otherwise felt.

"Tano, your lightsaber."

Ventress voice was strained as she dropped the pike she'd been holding in her left, it deactivating as it hit the floor with a clatter. Instantly realizing with no little astonishment what Ventress was doing, Ahsoka handed it to her, replacing it with her shoto and taking the pike she had clipped to her belt in her off hand.

"Get her quickly," Ventress snarled, then attacked with both blades and danced out of the way of the retaliating blows as Ahsoka leapt high in the air with the Force, soaring over a multitude of heads to alarmed shouts and landing at the edge of the group of Jedi. Dodging the lightsabers hurled her way, following the Force, she slashed with all her strength through a hedge (a hedge?! The Force wanted her to destroy a hedge?) with her shoto and one end of the pike -

Revealing Barriss Offee and a small explosive device that she was setting the timer of.

Everything slowed.

Barriss looked up, her eyes widening, face twisting, a feral scream of rage and grief tearing itself from the mirialan's throat as she moved with lightning speed while everyone turned towards or stared at her, hurling the device straight at Ahsoka and there was a small green blur and an explosion of noise. Then nothing.

…The galaxy was ringing.

Ahsoka forced her eyes to open again, finding herself slumped on the floor, face down with her arms over her montrails.

The explosives had shot up into the air, veering off their course, going off above the crowd, she realised after a moment of fuzziness, though the thunder of the explosion echoing in her head. Yoda. It had been Yoda to divert it.

Training kicked in. Assessment. She seemed to have escaped serious internal injury from the shockwave, and was relatively uninjured compared to what was generally accepted as the standard for someone in the primary or secondary blast zone of an explosion, though she felt like a AT-TE walker had stepped on her, her shoulder had been jolted and was complaining fiercely, and her head hurt from the noise. Moving made her head worse, she quickly discovered, but she forced herself up anyway, rolling unsteadily to her feet, ignored in the chaos.

There were people down. It didn't look like there were dead, like she and everyone near her would have been, but those closest to the blast had burns, and quite a few looked unconscious, healers kneeling among them, their mouths and hand moving urgently but no sound coming out.

A flash of red caught her eye, and she shook off the lingering haziness as she saw Ventress, blue and green lightsabers in hand, clashing up against Barriss.

It was Barriss.

She'd known. She'd known. Since Obi-Wan and Ventress forced it out of the terrorist leader.

She'd known.

They looked to have only just started to fight, still testing the others reflexes and getting a feel for a skilled opponent.

The Knights that had been further away from the explosion finally got their act together and started to surround the pair in a wide circle, lightsabers out, locking both combatants in. Ahsoka started to thread her way through them, shoto gripped tightly in her right hand.

Would they let Ventress out? She realised with a bit of a start that she was actually rather worried about that. Ventress wasn't doing badly, the Jedi around them had all seen what was actually happening even if a large number of them still looked confused. As she scanned the crowd she caught a glimpse of Yoda getting to his feet, looking singed and battered and the most shocked she'd ever seen him. It was hard not to feel a small thrill of vindication, though it was quickly eclipsed by shock and cold fear as he doubled over, coughing up something green that might have been blood.

He'd taken the shockwave. And even Yoda couldn't deliberately absorb a large portion of that without being injured.

Her fist clenched tighter around her shoto against the stinging in her eyes.

Some of the Jedi backed warily away from her as she went, but she didn't let herself focus on it, directing her attention to the fight. Ventress was doing fine. Ahsoka, on the other hand, was injured and deprived of her favoured weapon, but she wanted to be there. She had to be there.

She could still fight. Not up to her normal standard, but she could fight. So she watched for the opening she could use to join in.

A.N. Just a few more chapters to go… ;D

Next Chapter: The outcome of the fights.

Warning: attempted terrorist bombing targeting children. Character injury.