Chapter 14 – Calm before the Storm
Text written "like this" means that people are speaking in Basic. Text written /like this/ means that people are speaking in Togruti. I hope that this doesn't make things too difficult to read.
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/We're almost at Felucia. We're dropping out of hyperspace now./ Cira informed Shaden and Ahsoka. They were on the bridge of the assault ship of the H'Raani M'Kai, a heavily modified Shilian transport ship. Not only did it have superior engines, the weapon systems were extremely powerful. They had departed for Felucia the day before and were close to reaching their destination.
/According to our scanners, there is a large military force stationed here./ Aurora said as she pointed at a map of Felucia. /Good, then we'll plot a course to that location./ Shaden replied. Ahsoka looked at the display monitors. "This is it, no going back now…" she thought to herself.
/Ahsoka?/ a voice from behind her asked. She turned around and saw that it was Gaven. /Yes?/ she replied. /Do you know what the Republic troops are doing on Felucia in the first place?/ he asked curiously. Ahsoka looked down and shrugged. /I'm not really sure, but it definitely involves the Separatists. We'll find out soon enough./ She said. Gaven chuckled a bit. /Guess you're right about that./
One of the screens started flashing, indicating that there was an incoming message. Cira looked at the screen. /Sir, the Republic troops are asking for identification./ She said. Ahsoka looked up and moved to the transmitter. /Allow me, I know the different codes they use. I'll send them the code for 'outside assistance'. That will allow us to land without any difficulty./ She replied. Shaden nodded. /Good, go ahead./ Ahsoka nodded back and entered the code. Shaden moved to the center of the room and activated the ship's intercom. /Alright, initiate the landing sequence. Everyone, prepare yourselves to disembark./ He said through the intercom. Everyone left the bridge and readied their weapons and equipment and got ready for their arrival on Felucia.
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Their landing had been smooth, thanks to Ahsoka's code they had been able to land without any difficulty. The Republic forces had sent them directions to a landing site. They had touched down and were now ready to disembark. They lowered the ramp and left the ship. They walked down in formation, two at a time. First the male warriors followed by the females. Ahsoka followed behind them.
As she walked down the ramp she could see several clone troopers standing around the ship. Masters Unduli and Secura were waiting. Ahsoka gulped, Barriss was also standing there. She took a deep breath and walked towards them. The other warriors took positions at the bottom of the ramp while Shaden walked along with Ahsoka to meet the Jedi.
"Hello Master Secura, Master Unduli, Padawan Offee." Ahsoka said as she reached them. "Ahsoka, what are you doing here?" Luminara asked confused. Ahsoka smiled. "I can ask you the same thing." Aayla smiled as well. "Very well then, we are here to rescue a group of Senators and their staff that were captured by the Separatists." She replied. "And you?" she asked. "Among the captives is the princess of Shili, Zaa Vashee. I am here with the H'Raani M'Kai at the request of the king to rescue his daughter." Ahsoka explained. Luminara and Aayla looked at each other. "And how were you planning to do this?" Luminara asked. "By joining Barriss and her team as they infiltrate the base." Ahsoka replied. As she said that all three Jedi looked shocked. "How do you know that?" Luminara asked surprised with the fact that Ahsoka knew of their plan. Ahsoka chuckled a bit. "The Force showed me a vision of what's going to happen. That's how I know." She explained. "I see…" Aayla said. "Alright then, your help is greatly appreciated. Come on, we'll inform you of our plan of attack." She said with a smile. Ahsoka nodded and gestured at Shaden. "This is Shaden Zadane, the leader of the H'Raani M'Kai." He gave them a short salute before turning to the other warriors. /We will discuss the strategies with the Jedi, all of you get ready for combat./ The rest of their team saluted in return and began to unload some gear from their ship.
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Ahsoka sighed. They had just finished the briefing with Masters Unduli and Secura. Their plan was a simple yet solid one. Their forces were going to engage the Separatists head-on to create a distraction, so she and Barriss could sneak into the base and rescue all of the captives. She had noticed that Barriss had stayed back during the briefing. Shaden had asked them for some further data regarding troop movements, evacuating procedures and the terrain. After they had everything sorted out they had gone back to their ship to inform the rest of the team about the plan. With the map data provided by the Jedi, they had memorized the layout of the base and formulated an effective way to take the whole base out.
The attack would start in less than two hours. Ahsoka was sitting on the ramp of the ship looking at the clone troopers preparing for the attack. /Are you alright Ahsoka?/ Shaden asked as he took a seat beside her. She looked at Shaden. /Yes, I'm fine. Seeing all of this is just bringing back a lot of memories./ she said gesturing around the base. /It still hurts you, doesn't it?/ Shaden asked. Ahsoka nodded. /Don't worry, things will work out./ he said encouragingly. Ahsoka smiled at him. Her smile faded when she sensed someone approaching. She turned around and saw that Barriss was walking towards them. /I'll leave you two to talk./ Shaden said as he got up walked back inside the ship.
"H-hello Ahsoka." Barriss said when she reached her. "Hello Barriss, how've you been?" Ahsoka asked. "Alright, I guess…" She replied softly. "And you?" Ahsoka shrugged. "Pretty good I'd say." she replied. Barriss gulped nervously. "Ahsoka, I… uhm…" she began. Ahsoka interrupted her. "Barriss don't. What happened in the past is in the past. You weren't responsible for your actions." She smiled. "You're still my friend, aren't you?" Ahsoka asked. Barriss felt immensely relieved and a warm smile spread across her face. "Oh Ahsoka." She said softly. "Yes, I'm still your friend." Ahsoka's face lit up as well. "Come here." She said as she got up, holding out her arms. Barriss moved closer and Ahsoka pulled her into a hug. After a short moment they parted, both smiling widely. Ahsoka looked down. "I see that you got your lightsaber back." She said. Barriss nodded. "Yes I got your letter, I couldn't believe that you had already forgiven me." She replied. Barriss looked down and noticed that Ahsoka also had her lightsaber back. "Ahsoka, how did you get your lightsaber back?" she asked confused. Ahsoka chuckled for a moment at Barriss' confused expression. "Rex found it among the rubble in that factory. He gave it to Anakin and Anakin gave it to Lux. I'm not sure how he figured out that Lux knew where I was, but I'm really glad to have my lightsaber back." She explained. Barriss rubbed the back of her head nervously. "I sorta gave Anakin the idea that Lux might know where you were." She gave Ahsoka a cheeky smile. "I remembered the way you talked about him before." She said in a teasing voice. Ahsoka's lekku darkened visibly. Ahsoka playfully punched Barriss' arm before they both sat down on the ramp.
"So Barriss, we have some time left before the attack." Ahsoka began. "So, what have you been up to these past few weeks?" she asked. Barriss sighed. "I've mostly been busy trying to recover from having the Dark Side take me over. It's been difficult, but I'm managing." She replied. "A lot of people are still wary of me and I'm under constant observation by the Council. I've been asked to teach the younglings about the dangers of the Dark Side and I've done so for some time. After that I went to train a bit but a group of angry padawans beat me up." Ahsoka gasped. "What?" Barriss nodded. "Luckily, and somewhat creepily, Master Windu was watching me. He stopped them from doing serious damage to me." She explained. Ahsoka raised one of her eyebrow markings. "So Master Windu was watching you while you were training and probably longer… That's kinda creepy…" she said in a suspicious tone of voice. They both laughed for a moment. "You're right, it is rather creepy." Barriss said as she stopped laughing. "Nevertheless, I'm still in one piece because of it. When I recovered from that mess, Master Luminara and I went to Ryloth to help rebuilding the planet. It was a very welcome change from all of the endless fighting." She shrugged. "Then this happened and we're regrettably forced to fight again." Barriss finished her tale. Ahsoka nodded thoughtfully. "It seems that no one can escape the fighting during this war." She said with a hint of regret in her voice. Barriss nodded as well.
Barriss looked at Ahsoka. "And what about you Ahsoka? What have you been up to?" she asked curiously. Ahsoka smiled. "Well, your suspicion about Lux was right." She admitted with a slight blush in her lekku. "Oh?" Barriss replied cheekily. "When I left Coruscant I went to visit Lux on Onderon, hoping he would help me. I stayed with him for a while, I really enjoyed being with him. But, he had to return to Coruscant and I just couldn't go with him. So, Lux helped me with finding a different solution, I did something I was curious about for a long time." She explained. Barriss nodded for her to continue. Ahsoka smiled. "I went home." She said. Barriss' face turned to shock. "You mean…?" Ahsoka nodded. "I went back to Shili. Back to my family." "Wow…" Barriss replied softly. "That's quite something." Because of the rules of no attachment, no Jedi knew about their families. Every youngling in the Temple had a period of extreme curiosity of course, but they didn't act on it. "You're definitely right about that." Ahsoka said. "I can't really explain the feelings of happiness I've felt when I was reunited with them. Being back with my parents, my sisters and meeting my little niece, it's been great." Ahsoka explained. Barriss smiled, she could just sense the happiness emanating from Ahsoka. "Some time after returning home, I had that vision of these events. I offered my help to the king and queen of Shili and now here I am." Ahsoka finished her story. Barriss looked in surprise at Ahsoka. "Being reunited with your family, I don't even think that I can imagine that." She said softly. Ahsoka nodded. "Believe me, it was a very big change for me, going from a Jedi's life to, well, normal family life. However, I don't regret it at all." She said with a smile.
After sharing their stories with each other they continued to talk for a little while. They then parted ways to ready their troops for the attack. Barriss went to gather her troops while Ahsoka and the warriors she had brought with her readied all of their equipment.
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Shaden and his fellow H'Raani M'Kai stood in attention besides the ship. Each had readied their standard equipment and their own personal choice of weapon. Now, they were waiting for the battle to begin. Ahsoka had gone in the ship and equipped her own set of armour that Shaden had ordered to be made for her. When she was ready she left the ship and approached the gang of warriors.
/Ahsoka, is it time?/ Shaden asked. Ahsoka nodded. /Yes, is everyone prepared?/ she asked in return. She looked at the group and everyone nodded. /We are all ready to go and save the captives./ Shaden replied. Ahsoka smiled. /Alright then, it is almost time to begin the battle. We need to go and team up with the troops of Commander Offee. Then we will proceed to our designated departure point. When Masters Secura and Unduli give us the signal, we will infiltrate the base and rescue the princess and the other captives./ She explained to the group. They all saluted in return. Shaden nodded and stepped forward. /Good, everyone, move out./ He ordered. They all moved out to the part of the base where they were going to meet up.
After a few minutes they arrived at the location where Barriss' team had assembled. Ahsoka chuckled a bit when she saw Barriss' surprised reaction at armour Ahsoka was wearing. /Those are the soldiers of the republic's team? They look like seasoned fighters. Good."/ Shaden said.
Ahsoka walked up to Barriss. "You ready for this Barriss?" she asked. Barriss nodded. "Yes, I'm prepared. How about you? You look more than ready." She replied as she gestured at the armour. Ahsoka smiled. "It was a little gift from Shaden and the others. Now then, shall we get this over with?" Barriss nodded. "Alright, let's go." She replied.
Barriss signaled her men and Ahsoka did the same. The group of twenty-six set out towards the designated departure point. As they moved out, so did the main army of Master Unduli and Master Secura.
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"Barriss, are you and Ahsoka in position?" Luminara's voice was heard through Barriss' comlink. "Yes Master, we are ready to begin." Barriss replied. "Good, our attack will commence in ten minutes. After the battle starts, wait five minutes. Then, begin making your way to the base. Infiltrate it and rescue the hostages." Luminara's voice said again. "Understood Master." Barriss replied again. "Alright, then may the Force be with us." Luminara said as she ended the transmission.
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That's it for these two chapters. Up next, the battle and the rescue.
Both chapters will start with a 'general' opening. I'll tell things from the same third-person type of view as I've written before. After that, the rest of the chapters will be written from either Barriss' of Ahsoka's point of view, depending on the story. This first person type of view will be a new thing for me, so it might take me a bit longer to write. I do know how I want everything to go, but putting everything 'on paper' is a whole other thing.
I think (hope) that I can finish these chapters by the end of next week/start of the weekend.
Until next time.