AN: I apologize that this was not up sooner. I had the chapter almost done 3 weeks ago and then I got sick. I could make more excuses but I will say that I got the new Pokémon game 2 weeks ago and pretty much everything fell to the side after that. But anyway here is a new chapter up for you and I hope you enjoy reading it. For anyone who is interested in knowing I will say that I plan on making this a full story with sequels that may pertain to either movies, shows, or some of the other books. Depending how this ends I could do a sequel as a replacement to the Ahsoka book. But that still would depend how this story goes. Thanks for sticking around and reading anyway.
Obi Wan was going through a lot of emotions at the moment and his mind was in turmoil. Everything during the mission had gone wrong. This was supposed to be a turning point in the war for the Republic. Take out Dooku and maybe Grievous and the Separatists would be on the run. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew a mission to take out the leaders would do a lot to put an end to the war. A war that has caused a lot of innocent suffering. But instead, a good friend of his turned on his allies, they were ambushed, and Dooku revealed his new apprentice. The tables had turned for the war and it was not in their favor.
He entered his quarters where he would make the call to report the mission to the council.
Obi Wan appeared as a projection in the council chambers where they waited for his report.
"News, you bring us." The grand master stated. He leaned forward to listen as did the others.
"Unfortunately, it is not good news." Obi Wan admitted.
"What happened?" Master WIndu cut to the chase.
Obi-Wan then relayed the events of the attempt to the council and how it fell apart. He told them everything from his point of view and what the others had said to him afterwards. The council was largely surprised about the mention of Barriss and her association with Dooku. This had many of them worried about what the future could bring with a new enemy aiding Dooku.
That was when Mace Windu asked something that Never even crossed Obi-Wans mind. "Do we need to be worried about Ahsoka and Ventress? From what it sounds like, Ahsoka was barely fighting Barriss and they were talking the whole time with the two of them being close friends, while Ventress was fighting a highly regarded Jedi Master who was taken by the Sith. Are you sure they are not working with Dooku and were the ones who set the ambush?"
Obi Wan sighed. He wanted to be surprised by Master Windu's actions but he wasn't. This was getting old between the bombing, Barriss escaping, and now this. Ahsoka had become the council's escape goat for when they didn't have answers of what happened.
"No. Both of them may dislike the Jedi and especially the Jedi council but they would never side with Dooku for an ambush. They were just as surprised as we were and that is what kept us from victory. What I am worried about is how Dooku found out about the mission. He also somehow knew about Barriss's transport and no one here can say that Ahsoka had that information to give to Dooku." Obi Wan finished getting annoyed.
"That is concerning." Master Koon stated. He was one of the few that didn't think Ahsoka was behind everything. He looked at her as a daughter even if that was not the Jedi way. It was why Ventress was knock him out so easily since he was distracted by having to arrest Ahsoka. "Do you think it could be a Jedi?" He asked.
"It could be." Obi Wan stated. "But none of this speculating with out evidence or information will help. What are we going to do about Vos."
"We need you and Skywalker to return to your troops. There is an attack on Felucia that needs to be stopped. I believe Master Vos would agree that a planet of innocents is more important than his life." Interjected Master Fisto.
"We do not have the resources to mount a rescue right now. Master Vos is lost." Added Master Mundi.
Obi Wan hid the warring emotions well. The connection cut from the council and he was left alone in his quarters wondering where they had gone wrong and what to do next.
The council let out and the master's went their separate ways all with different ideas going through there mind on what is going to happen next.
The two temple guards standing out side the chamber to keep people from entering left as well. One of them walked down a corridor and into an empty room before removing his helmet revealing his pale white features and yellow eyes common to the Pau'an race.
He pulled out a communicator.
"Hello Master Offee." He stated.
"My apprentice." Came the voice over the communicator. "What information do you have for me."
"The council is spread to thin. They will leave Vos to his fate." The guard stated.
"Good. The plan is going to schedule." She replied.
"When will we kill Dooku." He asked.
"Soon." Barriss said before ending the call.
Ahsoka had left the group and returned to her room on the ship to try and think over everything. She had never thought that she would ever see Barriss again.
Barriss had escaped prison and joined up with
Her friend that had inspired her so much was now a Sith bent on destroying the Jedi. Ahsoka thought that she had put everything that had happened with her being framed for the bombing behind her but seeing Barriss brought it all back. The betrayal still hurt especially seeing her standing there with Dooku.
She felt arms wrap around her and knew Asajj had followed her back to the room.
"Do you want to talk about what happened?" Came a soft voice from the bounty hunter that no one else was privileged to hear.
"What is there to talk about?" The sarcastic venom quite clear in the former Jedi's voice. "The woman that was my best friend, that I looked up to, and that I was in love with is now Dooku's new apprentice? Although it is kind of ironic since my new best friend and the woman I love was Dooku's last apprentice." She comments smirking a little at the coincidence.
Asajj just sighs and rolls her eyes at Ahsoka. "The first part smart ass."
Ahsoka chuckles before leaning back into the embrace her partner had held her in. "It hurt more than I thought. She offered her hand to join her." She added.
"Did you want to accept?" Asajj asked.
"No. I just….. I just wanted to see if there was any of my old friend still in there." She said.
"Was she there?" Although Asajj knew the answer, she also knew Ahsoka needed to acknowledge it as well.
"No. The Barriss that I knew was gone and would be horrified at what she has become. I do understand why she wanted to point out the hypocrisy of Jedi but bombing them and joining with Sith. She has fallen too far." Ahsoka said sadly.
"Then hold onto that." Asajj said fiercely. "This will not be the last time we see her. I am willing to bet that Dooku recruited her because you teamed up with me. It was meant to keep us away from him. We will meet with them again and when we do you can't hesitate because she used to be a friend, because it will come down to one of you surviving and it better be you." Asajj warned her.
"Don't worry I will stop her for destroying my friend." Ahsoka replies determined. Asajj nods in approval.
The doors to the room opened. "Revenge isn't the Jedi way Snips." Said Anakin while entering the room.
"I'm no Jedi." She says sadly looking at her former master.
He smiled a little knowing how false that statement was. Anakin knew Ahsoka was no longer a Jedi by title but he knew she was more of a Jedi than anyone in that temple.
"Was there a reason you barged in here Skywalker." Asajj interrupted.
"Yes. Obi Wan wants to see you." Anakin said.
"Did he finish with his report to the council." Ahsoka asked?
"I think so and he didn't look too happy." With that Anakin left the room.
The couple soon followed to see what the Jedi master had to say and the group met in the common area of the ship and found a pensive Obi Wan.
"Anakin and I have a mission. We are leaving." He stated.
"What about Vos?!" Anakin asked harshly.
"He is to be considered lost and the Jedi are short resources." He replied bitterly.
"We can't just leave him." Anakin just bit out.
Obi Wan Looked over to the other two in the room.
"I don't want to leave him either Anakin. He's my friend." Obi Wan was looking very worn down. He reached into his pocked and pulled out a bag of credits. "Would this be enough to hire you for the job?" He asked the bounty hunters.
Ahsoka took the money and looked inside. "I thought Jedi didn't need material possessions, oh great Jedi master?" She asked in a slight teasing tone.
"They don't. dosent mean that having some credits isn't helpful from time to time." He replied quirking his lip slightly.
Ahsoka handed over the bag to Asajj who nodded her assent.
Ahsoka turned back to the Jedi master. "We will do what we can but there are no promises. We have to find where they have him figure out how to infiltrate and possibly hire help. It could take awhile and by then he could be dead…. Or worse." Ahsoka told him gravely. She had learned quickly not to promise anyone anything in this world because rescues always work on the kidnappers time table.
Obi Wan agreed. He knew it was a long shot and wasn't expecting a miracle but he still had to at least try something. He had lost too much in this war and hoped he could get his friend back.
The group flew back to Pantora where they sperated. Obi Wan and Anakin both left back to Coruscant while Ahsoka and Asajj went to their ship to start their search.
Anakin was in a room with Padme while on the way to Coruscant.
"Ani, what happened?" Padme asked. She didn't know anything about the mission but knew it was important. Then add on seeing Ahsoka again and the fact she wasn't blind to the missing passenger. She knew something was up and it had affected her husband greatly.
"I can't talk about it." He said.
"I'm not asking for mission details Ani. I just want to know what is causing this mood. Is it because of Vos? Ahsoka? Or is it something else?" She persisted. She knew Ani got broody and quiet when something was wrong and it really had to be pried out of him to get him to talk.
"All of the above." He replied and paused for a minute. Everything that had happened going through his head. "Have you ever thought about what would happen after the war?"
"What do you mean?" Padme asked confused.
"What do you want to do? Are you going to stay in the senate? Stay on Coruscant? Or go back to Naboo? What about us? Are we going to keep hiding this?" He asked.
"Where did this come from?" Padme wouldn't lie and say she never thought about that. She always liked planning ahead but she had yet to come up with an answer for both of them.
"It's just seeing Ahsoka. I was worried about how she would do out on her own. Then hearing that she was with Ventress made me worried for her and I was ready to save her, but seeing her now and hearing what she has been through makes me jealous." He admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"The freedom she has. She of course looks over her shoulder for enemies and fights but its what she chose. She doesn't have to hide herself from her friends and those she cares about. I want that." He admitted with a huge weight being lifted of his shoulders.
"You want to stop hiding that we are together?" Padme asked shocked.
"After the war." Anakin said with conviction.
She smiled at him. "Ok. But what about the Jedi."
He looked to his side to where she was. "If they have a problem then I will just leave. Ahsoka showed me that I can survive without them. If I leave the Jedi, then it will give us more opportunity to be together. I am sure Naboo is in need of a good mechanic."
With that she gave him a kiss.
Outside the door Obi Wan walked by pondering many things. One of which was whether his apprentice really thought he was being sneaky about his relationship with the Naboo senator.
Asajj and Ahsoka sat in the cockpit of their ship as they left Pantora after a goodbye to Riyo. Asajj still didn't like the peaceful senator and it had nothing to do with how close she was to Ahsoka.
"Where are we going to start?" Ahsoka asked referring to looking for Vos.
"Dooku has many prisons but only a few are made for holding a Jedi." Asajj recounted her information. "The only thing we need to do is find any information on where Dooku is and any sightings of him. It would immensely help with narrowing down the area he went to after capturing him."
Ahsoka agreed. "What do we do when we find him? Last time he tried to kill you and even if it is the two of us, trying to execute a prison break with a reluctant and hostile escapee while also possibly dealing with Dooku might be a little much."
"I am aware of that. We will need a little bit of help." Asajj replied she turned the ship to the only place where she could get the information and help. They were on their way to Tatooine.
Obi Wan was sitting in the cockpit when Anakin entered and sat next to him.
"Anakin. We need to be careful even inside the temple from now on. The council may not believe me but there is a spy. We need to find out who."
"Who should we trust?" Anakin asked. Usually he was brash and sarcastic but with everything that has happened since Ahsoka leaving he was wary of the halls too.
"I think I know a few we can trust but I am not confident enough that they would keep anything a secret from the council. Right now, only trust the two of us and Ahsoka. She will be a useful ally to have in what is to come. The war is going to end soon. I just don't think we are going to be as happy about it as we think we will." Obi wan stated.
"What do you think is going to happen?" The apprentice asked.
"I don't know, I just know that the enemy is too well informed."
With that the two spent the rest of the trip in silence.
Screams echoed down the hall of the building and she entered the room to see her master working on his prisoner. "Is he ready yet master." She asked.
"Almost Barriss. Be patient."
"I am worried that your master will suspect something. He made you get rid of the last apprentice so you wouldn't get powerful enough to overthrow him now you have me and Vos." She explained.
"And your pet. Don't think I don't know about him. A Sith should be just as wary of his enemies as their allies." He said smoothly. "It is why the Jedi will fall to my master's plan. Just that I will be the one to complete it." He explained without looking up from what he is doing.
"Then the Jedi will fall."