Chapter 43 – Aftermath

The next chapter is here. I'm glad everyone like the space battle, it was interesting and a little challenging to write. It's far too easy to constantly repeat 'fighter shoots other fighter'.

"Text like this," is in Basic and /Text like this/ is in Togruti.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Ahsoka walked through the streets of her people's city on Kiros. There was an overwhelming sense of happiness in the streets around her. It made her feel very good despite the fatigue from the long battle.

After they had gotten the signal that all of the droids had been cleared from the planet, they had traveled down to the planet. Master Shaak Ti and a number of the other Republic leaders had gone to visit Governor Roshti and his staff. The leaders of the Shilian troops had done the same.

Ahsoka knew it was a mostly political meeting. She had checked with Varon and she would not be needed there, so she had gone out into the city to take a look around.

Families were returning to their homes to check the damage. While there was a sense of loss over the damage, there was also a great sense of relief that everyone was safe again. With help from the soldiers, people had already begun cleaning up the mess.

After a few minutes she arrived at the governmental building as well. She had promised her mother that she would contact them when the battle was over. She was now on her way to do just that.

;-

Ahsoka waited for the holotransceiver to make the connection. Now that everything was over, all communications had been restored to normal. Looking around, she wasn't the only one who wanted to contact their relatives.

She only had to wait a few seconds for the transmission to establish. Then, just as she expected, the holographic image of her mother appeared. "Ahsoka!" She said with relief. Footsteps were heard in the background and the image of Lilo appeared as well.

"Ahsoka, are you alright?" Lilo asked quickly. "And what about the people? Is everyone alright?"

Ahsoka resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her sister's rapid questioning. "Calm down, Lilo," she replied slightly amused. "I'm fine. Everything went well. I'm not hurt, just tired is all. It was a really long battle." She smiled. "The troops in the city, both Republic and Shilian, did their job really well. They didn't let the droids get anywhere near the people. There's some structural damage in and around the city, but nothing that can't be rebuild. Everyone's safe, that's what most important."

Lilo sighed in very obvious relief. "Thank you Ahsoka, thank you so much," she said with slightly watery eyes.

"There's no need to thank me Lilo," Ahsoka replied. "There are others that did so much more than me."

Lilo shook her head and smiled. "I doubt that we would've been this prepared had it not been for your help and your visions. You did do a lot, Ahsoka, even if you're too stubborn and selfless to admit it,"

They all laughed a bit at Lilo's comment. "When will you be coming back home, Ahsoka?" their mother asked. "Everything is over, right?"

Ahsoka nodded. "The whole battle and droid cleanup is over, thankfully," she replied. "It's only a matter of some politics between the commanding officers and Governor Roshti and his staff. I'm not needed there, so I'll be onboard the cruiser heading home later today." She looked at Lilo. "The other cruiser is going to stay here, their troops will help with rebuilding the damaged parts of the city."

"That's good to hear," their mother said. "Do you know what time you'll be back here on Shili?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "I'm not exactly sure. It'll depend on a couple of things," she replied. "I'll be sure to send you a message when I know."

"Please do, we'll come and pick you up," their mother said.

"Alright, I will," Ahsoka replied. "I have to go now, others want to make some calls as well."

Their mother nodded. "Okay sweetheart, we'll see you later."

"Bye Ahsoka, and thanks again," Lilo said as the connection ended.

Ahsoka smiled and stepped out of the booth, so someone else could use it. As she left the building, she reached out with the Force to find Barriss. She wanted to talk to her friend before they parted ways again.

;-

Ahsoka walked through the streets of the city, looking for her friend Barriss. With a bit of help from the Force, she quickly found her in the center plaza of the city. As she made her way into the plaza, Barriss obviously sensed her presence in the Force, because she turned around and smiled. Ahsoka smiled as well when Barriss began walking towards her.

"Hey Barriss," Ahsoka greeted her friend. "I'm glad I found you again before I left. I was a little worried we wouldn't get a chance to talk."

"It's good to see you as well, Ahsoka," Barriss replied. "I was hoping we'd get a chance to talk." They moved to a nearby bench and sat down. "It wouldn't have felt right to just leave without at least saying goodbye. Fortunately, we still have some time," she said with a smile.

Ahsoka smiled as well. "I'm glad for that," she replied. "So how did everything go during the battle?"

"Everything went well enough, as I'm sure you've heard," Barriss said. "The only bad thing is that my friend and old clanmate James was wounded during the battle."

"Oh no," Ahsoka replied shocked. "Is he going to be alright?" she asked concerned.

Barriss nodded. "Yes, he will be. Don't worry, he's a tough one," she told her friend.

"That's good to hear," Ahsoka replied with a smile. "I'm really glad that all of you were here. I don't really want to know if things would've gone differently if you hadn't been. I've had the most horrifying visions."

Barriss looked at her friend with a bit of worry. "It's probably best not to think of that," she said. "Just be glad that everyone is alright."

Ahsoka smiled widely at her friend. "Oh, I am," she replied. "I'm really grateful that everyone is alright. Everyone looks so relieved."

The two of them looked around the plaza for a bit. A lot of people and soldiers were carrying supplies and materials around. They could both sense the relief of everyone clearly through the Force.

"I'm glad I decided to go to Kiros," Barriss said after a moment. "I still don't like the fighting, but we were able to prevent another great disaster for the people of this city. I'm really glad that I could be a part of that."

Ahsoka smiled at her friends words. "Anyone that thought she would never recover from the Dark Side should see her now." The thought made her quite happy. "So how have you been doing, Barriss?" She asked.

Barriss smiled a bit. "I think I'm doing better each day," she replied. "I've had a lot of help from my Master and my friends in fighting off the Dark Side. It's all going well." She shrugged. "Some people still don't like or trust me very much, but I won't let that bring me down."

"Good to hear that, Barriss," Ahsoka said. "I'm sure you'll overcome it. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

"Thank you, Ahsoka," Barriss replied. "And what about you? How is life on Shili? How is your family doing?" She asked curiously.

"Everything is going fine," Ahsoka replied. "I've been training a lot with the H'Raani M'Kai, the royal guards. Their training regimen is intense and a great way to stay in shape. I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do know, but until that time I'm welcome with them." She smiled again. "My family is doing great. I'm sure you might see one of my sisters on Coruscant someday." For now, she decided to not talk about what she discovered about Marina and the prince.

Barriss nodded and smiled. "That's nice to hear, Ahsoka," she said. "It's still a really strange idea to me, being with your family." She looked at Ahsoka, a little smirk appearing on her face. "So, how are things with you and Lux?" She asked innocently.

Ahsoka looked away slightly and her lekku darkened a little. "I'd say things are going pretty well between us," she replied.

Barriss gave her a teasing smile. "Does that mean that I'll be calling you misses Bonteri soon?" She asked in a teasing tone.

Ahsoka was momentarily stunned by what Barriss just said.

Barriss looked her over. "I'm sure you'll look really great in a wedding dress," She teased her friend.

"Wha… I…" she stuttered a bit, taken aback by her words. She really wasn't expecting that from her friend. From Anakin or Padmé maybe, but definitely not from Barriss. "Oh, shut up!" Ahsoka playfully hit Barriss' arm as they both laughed.

"Seriously, though, I don't think that something like that will be happening soon," Ahsoka admitted after a moment. "We both have a lot to deal with right now."

Barriss nodded in understanding. "I see."

Ahsoka now smirked at Barriss. "But when it does come to that, I'll be sure to invite you to the wedding," she said with a big grin.

Barriss smiled back at her. "I'd like that, thank you Ahsoka," she replied. "By the way, that maneuver you guys pulled with that bombing run was insane. I thought that you were going to crash into the ground. Those Vultures sure did."

"I know, right?" Ahsoka said a little excited. "The design of those fighters is unlike anything I've seen before, especially the wings. Because of that, they can pull off crazy maneuvers like that. They're incredibly agile and fast, those Vultures in space couldn't even keep up with us. The cruisers also had problems tracking us during our attack runs."

"Impressive," Barriss replied. "The people of Shili keep surprising me. First those elite royal guards on Felucia, now that pilot squadron. You're all full of surprises, aren't you?"

Ahsoka laughed a bit at her friend's question. "Living on Shili has been great. I've seen a lot of great things and learned a lot about my people's ways," she replied. "I especially like studying our traditional fighting styles. They're very interesting."

"So you're going to keep getting stronger, huh?" Barriss asked. "You've got to show me those styles sometime, they do sound interesting."

"I'm sure I will do that someday," Ahsoka replied with a smile.

The two of them kept talking for a bit more, until Ahsoka got a message from Varon that they were almost ready to depart.

"I guess this is goodbye for now," Ahsoka said as she put her datapad away.

Barriss nodded. "I suppose it is," she replied. "Still, it was great to see you again Ahsoka." She held out her hand at her friend.

Ahsoka gave her a look that said: "really?". She smiled and pulled her friend into a hug. Barriss smiled and hugged her back.

"Good luck with everything Barriss," Ahsoka said. "You'll become a great Healer and skilled Jedi someday, I just know it."

"Thank you, Ahsoka," Barriss replied. "I may not know what the future holds for you, but I'm sure you'll be fine." She smiled. "I'll come visit you if I ever find myself on Shili."

Ahsoka smiled back at her. "You'd better," she said. "Until we meet again, may the Force be with you, Barriss."

"And with you as well, Ahsoka," Barriss replied. The two friends gave each other a small bow and parted ways again.

;-

A couple of minutes later

Ahsoka walked up to the shuttle that would take her back to the Shilian cruiser, so she could travel back home. She spotted Silara waiting for her by the shuttle and walked up to her.

/Ah, Ahsoka, there you are,/ Silara said when Ahsoka reached her. /Ready to go back home?/ she asked.

Ahsoka nodded. /Yes, I'm ready,/ she replied. /But don't expect much company from me during the flight, I'm probably going to be asleep the whole time./ she joked to her fellow Togruta.

Silara laughed a bit. /Sounds like a perfect plan to me,/ she said. /This was one of the longest battles I've ever been in./ She pointed at the shuttle. /Come on, let's go./

Ahsoka nodded and they both boarded the shuttle.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

I know, these two chapters aren't as long as others. There just wasn't much more to add in these chapters. The next ones will be longer again.

I'll either update Rebirth of Light or A Hidden Truth next. It'll depend on which one is easier to write. After that, Tale of a Togruta will be updated again. Then it will be Barriss' turn again.

In the next chapter, Ahsoka will be arriving back home. A few decisions will be made and a secret will soon be revealed.

Until next time.