Mace was concerned that the Director ordered everyone to meet in the citadel and not the Stone Rain, but with the recent security risks, he agreed anyway. Cayde sat at his desk while Slick, Fives and HK-47 stood around the central holotable, all looking up the schematics of Chorus City. Suddenly, the elevator door opened, allowing Barriss, Plo and Korkie to waltz through.
"Barriss!" Mace said in shock and relief.
"Master." She nodded, raising a hand to stop anyone from walking closer.
"What happened, kid?" Asked Slick.
She sighed, clearly irritated. She had a look of urgency mixed with fear and determination. "I know you all have a million questions, so I'll explain what I can in the brief time that we have."
Everyone looked to each other, then Cayde said. "Okay… I think I speak for all of us when I say we want to know what happened to you?"
She walked to his desk and sat upon it to face the crowd of her friends. "I was brought before the Emperor-"
"The Emperor?" Mace was the first to interrupt, clearly concerned with what he was hearing.
"How did you escape?" Fives then followed up, he himself struggled to escape when Palpatine was merely pretending to be a weak old man.
"What happened?" Slick then asked, wanting to get to the point.
"ENOUGH!" She shouted, drawing silence from every man in the room, she knew she didn't have much time. "Sorry… He let me go. We… struck a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Mace asked with skepticism and disappointment. How could she make any sort of deal with the sworn enemy of the Jedi? Anything he has to offer must come with strings attached.
She sighed again, she knew that this inevitable conversation wasn't going to be an easy one. "We will no longer be hunted by the Empire, so long as the three Jedi in this room remain in the unknown regions. He knows about you, the Yuuzhan Vong, all of it. He formed the Empire to unite the galaxy against them... this was his plan all along. Orchestrating the clone wars, the Jedi purge, all of it was leading towards making sure that the galaxy was ready when they eventually attacked."
"Impossible." Plo said in disbelief.
"Barriss, can't you see that he is deceiving you?" Mace asked rhetorically in frustration.
"Let me finish!" She demanded, to which everyone complied. "What we do here in the unknown regions to slow them down benefits all life in the galaxy, not just his Empire, so he is allowing us to continue in our efforts. He even gave me a tip on where they might hit next."
"Call me a skeptic, but I wouldn't trust a word that comes out of that man's mouth." Fives spoke up as he crossed his arms, he off all people knew how deceiving he could be.
"The longer we stand here arguing about this, the less time the people of Harok-Two have." Barriss argued before heading towards the holo table, she then opened up a schematic of a planet that no one recognised. "A planet bordering the unknown regions only a few hours away. ISB has reported Vong scout ships in the area, they're likely their next target."
She then quickly turned off the holo table and headed towards the elevator. "I'm going. Anyone who wants to come along is welcome to do so." She spat.
"Barriss, wait!" Slick shouted as he caught up to her. "We'll take the Resolute II."
"Optimistic Request: May I join you in your conquest?" The ancient assassin droid asked as he began to walk towards the pair.
"And you are?" She asked plainly.
"Designation: HK-47. Proficient in multiple forms of ranged and close quarters combat. At your service, Master."
"Hey, what happened to Meatbag?" Fives shouted.
"Statement: This one shows many qualities fitting of a leader. I have decided that she is now my Master."
"Then I'm coming too." Fives followed up as he nudged the droid. "You talk a big game, I wanna see you live up to it."
The four of them then entered the elevator as the doors closed behind them. Mace, Plo, Korkie and Cayde all looked to each other, unsure of how to react to how quickly the situation changed. "Do we go and help her?" Korkie asked his new master, clearly showing that he wanted to go.
"It's a big if, but if it's true, then she'll need our support." He planted his hand on his new apprentice's shoulder, urging him to go. He then looked to Mace.
Windu didn't stray from his stoic position, not once. "Someone has to stay here and coordinate our forces." He finally spoke.
"That's not your concern, Jedi. It's mine." Cayde spoke up. "Go with your apprentice, she needs you now more than ever. Master Plo, you can stay here in a bacta tank and heal as much as you need to." He forced a smile to seem empathetic, to which Mace nodded and followed the group, clearly disturbed by the sudden turn of events.
Korkie looked to his new master for approval before receiving a nod from the Kel Dor, encouraging him to go with his friend. This left the scarred Jedi Master and the Czerka Director alone in the office.
"Do you think he'll be alright out there?" Cayde asked, referring to Korkie.
"It's not him I'm worried about."
"How so?"
"Young Offee is different, clearly changed. I sense great darkness in her, it was clear to everyone. Even you cannot deny that something felt different about her." He began.
"She's just been through alot." Cayde attempted to defend her.
"That's not all. With her taking half of our army, we're now vulnerable if the Empire attacks. They surely know of our position." He added.
"We still have the Brotherhood in orbit and the Stone Rain on the ground, we have the shield as soon as that's repaired, we'll have Boil coordinating the troopers that we still have here. The Empire wouldn't waste an asset like us... It's not the end of the galaxy just yet, Master Plo. We've made it this far, we can keep going." Cayde said with reassurance as he placed his hand on the Jedi master's shoulder.
Reluctantly, Plo gave a small smile through his mask in return before continuing with business. "Have you begun construction for Karrde?"
Cayde pulled up the blueprints of Outbound Flight. "You mean in the last day since Windu gave me these plans? Yeah, I've started. But Outbound flight wasn't built in a day." He remarked.
"Well soon have the ships, the only thing we need to build is the central ring." He explained, expecting his point to be simple.
"It's still a big undertaking. A few days, at least." Cayde sighed in frustration. "I know we don't have that sort of time anymore, but it's the best I've got."
Plo returned the gesture of placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Your best will have to do then... Your sister would be proud."
The Director turned instantly and stared into the master's eyes, shocked. Plo then followed up. "I never forget a face... Even after so many years have passed."
The Resolute II was an hour into hyperspace, the black and blue lights shining through to the bridge, illuminating controls all around the room. Korkie walked up to Barriss who was already looking out into the galaxy. She had requested to be alone so that she could meditate before their mission. Despite Windu wanting to talk to her about her ordeal with the Emperor, he understood that meditation was the best corse of action.
"Are you okay?" He asked sincerely, trying to reach out to his friend.
"I'm fine." She said bluntly, still wanting to be alone.
"You know you don't have to be." He insisted, placing a hand on her shoulder in hopes to get her to look him in the eye.
She knew she couldn't keep everything in forever, this wasn't the way of the Jedi. Even in the old order, emotions weren't to be simply kept in, they were to be let go, usually through meditation. But seeing as it didn't look like she was going to get to meditate anymore, she finally let in a deep inhale through a shuddered breath and released. "Korkie, none of us are ever going to be okay… Not while the Vong are out there. Tens of thousands of people are going to die long before we stop them." She could feel her face getting warmer the more she worried.
Even before the young mandalorian said a word, he was looking straight at Barriss, studying her expressions, using his newly discovered ability to feel her emotions. Even with her hair completely gone, though one wouldn't normally be able to tell with her mirialan hood atop her head. He now focused solely on her face, how the gleaming blue light of hyperspace reflected off of her skin, outlining her features. He was mesmerised for a moment, but still found the words to speak. "It's natural to be afraid, no matter the circumstance. I know the Jedi might say something different, but that's where they failed time and time again. Emotions can distract you from your goals, sure, but they also bring out our best nature, I find. Except jealousy, that looks ugly on anyone… and those weird bucket shaped hats." He tried to joke.
"Okay, I'll bite. How so?" She smirked at him. She couldn't remember the last time she truly felt comfortable, let alone being around someone to encourage humour within her, it may have been because there was some mutual attraction between the two. Sure, there was Cayde, but they had a relationship that she didn't know how to describe, it wasn't romantic in any way, but she knew that he would do anything to keep her safe. In fact, she looked back on their time together and realised that he was that way with nearly everyone, in many ways, she figured it made sense. Cayde lost his sister early on in his life and wasn't able to protect her, he built Chorus City to provide safe haven for as many people as possible, he would protect the entire galaxy alone if he could, she knew he saw her as another sister.
Korkie smiled back, then looked to the tunnel of hyperspace. "Name one person who looks good in it. Nobody, that's who." He began to laugh before cutting himself off. "But no, there's one emotion that is always seen as the cause of all the negatives that follow. Anger, jealousy, fear, hatred, they all stem from one emotion in particular, but so does joy, happiness, excitement, bliss… Can you guess which?" He locked eyes with hers, he was confident she already knew what he was going to say.
"It's love." He smiled once more. "Love what you do, love how you do it, love for another as family, as friends, as something more in its purest form. From love, a million other fantastic and wonderful things can become reality. Families are created, people are saved, wars are ended… My mother taught me that when I was very young so that I was never afraid to show how I feel about something… I guess now I know why when I think about my father. He wasn't afraid of his feelings, he was just… I guess conditioned to keep them to himself. She didn't want that for me, I see that now."
"What are you saying?" Barriss' pupils widened slightly as she slowly reached her pale green hand up to his face. She wasn't sure why this instinct began to slowly creep over, but she made no attempt to stop herself.
He gently grabbed her wrist, ignoring the looks from the various clones and Czerka droids working on the bridge. "Barriss. We spent night after night training together, discovering more about each other. I know you're not the same person who did those things, and I admire how you never let yourself forget about it either… I know this isn't the time or the place, but when you were taken, it felt like someone reached their arm down through my throat and crushed my chest. I know Jedi are supposed to control their emotions, but I don't think I want to do it if that we're to happen again. I don't want to keep anything in, I… I think I…" He tried to say.
Barriss lowered her arm, bringing his down with it and brought up her other hand to place her index finger on his lips to silence him, she then leant up close and planted a small but gentle kiss on his cheek. She hadn't been this close with anyone, deep down, she knew what she wanted to do, she had seen others kiss before, but no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't distract herself from the mission... Not just yet, anyway. He blushed hard in response. She then spoke quietly. "I know." And smiled before continuing. "We can talk about this later, I promise. But right now, we have a job to do, okay?" She blushed back, he nodded and smiled ecstatically. It wasn't quite what he had hoped for, but it was something very close.
"Care to explain what's going on here?" Windu asked rhetorically as he emerged from the shadow of the war table in the back room.
"Master?" Barriss said all flustered in surprise.
"I heard enough, young one… Korkie, I think it would be best that you go and prep along with Slick and the others, don't you?" He heavily suggested to the young man.
Without wanting to say anything to further antagonise the Jedi master, Korkie gave Barriss a quick but faint smile, then headed towards the bridge elevator.
"What were you thinking?" He almost shouted, ignoring the looks from the officers surrounding them.
Barriss backed up against the glass. "I wasn't." That wasn't a defense, it was a statement, she didn't feel that she had to answer to him after everything they've been through.
"Barriss, I knighted you. You upheld the ideals and beliefs of the Jedi, showed great compassion, great strength! For you to risk everything over a childlike crush is beyond stupid, it's-"
"It's what? Natural? Something so plainly simple and natural that a Jedi must surpress it?" She answered back, not wanting this conversation to drag out over days or possibly weeks, she wanted to make her point right there and then.
There was a fear to deeply shrouded by anger and disappointment in his face "I shouldn't have to remind you that giving into your emotions leads to the dark side. It happened with Dooku, it happened with Vos, it happened with Skywalker! How many Jedi must fall before you understand that?" He borderline shouted as he scolded the girl.
"And what about Master Kenobi?!" She shouted back. It was safe to assume that all officers aboard the bridge were now invested in the confrontation between master and apprentice. Barriss then continued. "That young man down in the hanger is living proof that everything you think you know about the light and dark side of the force is wrong. Kenobi had a child! He formed an attachment and had to watch as she was taken from him! He never turned, he never gave into his anger, his sorrow, his rage, not once! I'm honestly insulted that you don't think I'm capable of doing the same." She folded her arms and turned away from her master.
"Choose your next words carefully, young one." He warned while raising his hand towards her as if accusing and calling her out on something.
Barriss tried her best not to show it, but she was terrified of her master, the Emperor himself didn't scare her as much as the sheer anger she could feel emanating from Windu. He spent decades perfecting his balance between light and dark, that anything that would set him off would be balanced out by his training, but that wasn't happening here. Right now, she could feel hatred pulsing from his core, but it wasn't directed at her, she could sense it was directed within.
He hated himself.
For all his success, his wisdom, his skill, he had failed the Jedi Order. Because of his actions, he played right into Palpatine's trap, he painted himself and the entire Jedi Order as the villains of the Clone War, an idea that the galaxy quickly grew to believe because of their distrust of the Order, something he was just as responsible for.
"We have a job to do, Master." She said dismissively as she paced to the elevator, exacting her master to follow. She knew this discussion wasn't over, but it couldn't happen now.
Before anyone could say another word to each other, one of the clone officers on the bridge had informed them that they would be coming out of hyperspace over Harok Two in five minutes. "What do we know about this world?" Mace then asked, also in an attempt also to drop the previous conversation for the sake of the mission.
Barriss led Windu to the elevator to meet their crew in the main hangar. "It's a togruta expansion colony set up after their ordeal with the zygereans." She murmured.
"How do we know this is the Vong's next target?" Mace then asked as the elevator descended.
"Neighbouring planets have reported abnormal asteroid sightings, they've been testing the waters, so to speak. Same thing happened with Rogato according to the ISB." She continued to explain.
The elevator then opened to the hanger bay where four hundred clones had assembled in front of Slick, Fives, Dogma and HK. The general began his speech. "Right men, I'm not going to lie to you, this battle may be bloody, it may be brutal, it may even cost us our lives! But what makes this battle different than any other battle in the war that passed, is that we have the right to choose to fight! We all made the decision when we liberated ourselves from the clutches of the kaminoans, we made the decision when we knew the galaxy as we know it was in grave peril, we made the decision to fight because it was our decision to make! Are you ready, my brothers?!" He raised a clenched fist to the air.
The brave men of the 617th raised those fists in solidarity. "Yes Sir!" They simultaneously shouted in return. Slick then turned to the three Jedi walking his way.
"Quite a speech." Barriss smiled. Out of everyone she had come to call her ally since the Empire formed, Slick was the friend she didn't know she needed, someone who had also fallen from grace, who put their people in danger, who had gone above and beyond to make things right.
"Given what we know about the Vong, they need the pep talk." The general said back before turning to his lieutenants. "Fives, Dogma. I want you two taking point with the ARF troopers. HK, you'll be with the Jedi."
"Confirmation: Of course, meatbag. I cannot wait to start killing."
The upper hanger doors slid open, revealing the planet before them. It was smaller than anyone had previously imagined, most would consider it the size of dwarf planet or even a small moon with its own atmosphere. Five and Dogma took a gunship and quickly headed out before the rest, it would be useful to have any sort of recon, given the situation.
The teams later loaded into multiple LAAT gunships and began their decent. "Radars picking up nothing in orbit, commander." One of the pilots relayed to Barriss.
"Query: Did we miss the fun already, Master?"
Barriss frantically and narrowly looked from left the right as she tried to figure out what was going on. "Somethings not right. They should be here."
"Whoa, look at that!" Korkie shouted with awe and excitement as he pointed through the gunship doors towards the world below. All eyes turned to see an abundance of gigantic trees that would tower over skyscrapers, their branches reaching out for miles upon miles.
Despite the overwhelming stress and anxiety she was feeling, Barriss was dumbstruck. "I can't believe it, I thought trees like this only existed on the wookie homeworld… they're beautiful."
"Almost beautiful." Mace said with caution as he also began to point. "Down at the base of the trees, there's a landing pad surrounded by what looks to be a fungal infection."
He was right, rotting wood as black as tar crawled up the gargantuan trees in a pattern resembling lightning itself, slowly spreading to the landing pad Mace had identified. "Is the colony in the trees?" Korkie then asked.
"I don't know. The details weren't all that precise. I was only told that this would be their next likely target, okay?" Barriss almost snapped.
Korkie could read her better than most, she was frustrated, anxious, scared. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Okay then." He then opened his comm to the pilot. "Sweep, take up down to that landing platform halfway down the first tree."
"Yes sir." The pilot replied.
Four gunships then landed on the elevated platform after the scouting party, dropping off thirty soldiers along with the Jedi and assassin droid. As they emerged, the first thing that hit them all simultaneously was the smell, save for HK-47. Despite the planet's seemingly beautiful appearance, the smell of what could only be described as a mixture of rotting meat and pungent, salty dead fish occupied the entire tree.
Barriss placed a temporary oxygen mask over her face immediately after smelling the foul odor. "By the force- Is that coming from the tree?" She wheezed.
Mace knelt down to inspect the black fungal infection near the tree itself, gently rubbing it between his finger and thumb as it disintegrated into dust. "It appears the smell comes from this growth… but I've never seen anything like this."
All focuses on the tree and bacteria were interrupted by Dogma and an ARF trooper returning to the landing pad through an opening within the tree. "Sir!" Dogma shouted.
"What did you find?" Barriss asked the ARC trooper.
"Deep in this tree there's a large natural hollow, Fives is set up there. But sir… we've found the colonists… and Yuuzhan Vong." He looked deeply worried when he said their name.
"Take us there."