Chapter 5 – Trouble brewing
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Barriss looked out through the windows of the transport speeder. Several parts of the city were heavily damaged. "Hopefully Master Luminara and I can fix this." She thought. They arrived in a different area of the city. This part of town was fortunately still in good shape with minimal structural damage. Barriss smiled in relief.
She finally arrived at the hospital. After leaving the speeder Barriss entered the hospital. She was greeted by one of the chief surgeons. He introduced himself and a number of the other staff. After that he informed her of the situation in the hospital. There were simply to many patients for them to take care of.
One of the female surgeons escorted Barriss to one of the small offices. She interviewed Barriss' medical skills before leading her to the preparation room. "One of our senior doctors will accompany you to assist you with your first patients, just as a safety precaution for our patients." The woman explained. "When he has fully determined your skills he will move on to treat other patients." Barriss nodded. "I understand." The female surgeon nodded back. "Good, I hope you're as good as I've heard the Jedi Healers are. This isn't going to be pretty." She sighed. "I just heard that a few transports on their way to the city rode into some mines that were left by the Separatists. They will be brought here soon so we need to get ready." Barriss nodded. "Alright then, lead the way."
After reaching the prepetition room, Barriss prepared herself to spend a long time in the operating rooms.
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Barriss entered the hotel room she and her master shared in the hotel Cham Syndulla had arranged for them to stay in. With a tired sigh she sat down on the couch in the small living room. It had been a long day treating many patients. The amount of wounded people had troubled her. Even though the fighting was over, people were still being injured by the weapons the Separatists had left behind.
She smiled as she sensed her master enter the room. "Hello Master, how did your day go?" she asked. Luminara smiled as she sat down on the couch next to her padawan. "It went well Barriss, we were able to make good progress with the repairs. How about you?" she replied. "I'd say it went well," Barriss said, "I was able to help a lot of patients and saved numerous lives." Luminara chuckled. "You look very tired." She said with a hint of a tease. Barriss chuckled as well. "Is it that obvious?" she replied. "But," Barriss began, "Somehow, I do feel slightly better than I did yesterday." Luminara smiled. "That is a good thing, isn't it?" she asked. Barriss nodded and smiled back. "I think I'm going to bed. I've got another long day tomorrow." Barriss stood up and made her way to the bedroom. "Good night master." "Good night Barriss, you did well today." Luminara replied.
Luminara smiled and relaxed on the couch. Barriss hadn't noticed it herself yet, but her aura was already a lot lighter than it was a few days ago. Helping other people and easing their suffering was always what Barriss wanted to do, it's why she trained as a healer in the first place. Mending the hearts of others will help her mend her own heart. "She will conquer the Dark Side and make a strong Jedi Knight and healer." Luminara thought to herself.
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Barriss let out a deep breath of relief. She had just taken a refreshing shower after a long day of helping patients and the staff at the hospital of Ryloth. She and her Master had been on Ryloth for a little over a week now. "Funny how fast time goes by." She muttered to herself. With the help of Master Unduli and their troops the other hospital had been fully repaired two days ago. So now, they were able to receive patients again. This would hopefully lessen the pressure on the staff. Barriss got dressed in her standard Jedi robes and headed towards the cafeteria of the hotel
She got a drink and sat down in the cafeteria, thinking about the time she had spent here. The time she had spent in the hospital helping the patients had really done her good as well. She was a healer, helping people was in her blood. The more people she helped to recover the more she recovered as well. With each passing day she felt more balanced and relaxed. The rage and pain she had felt before was getting less and less. Barriss couldn't help but smile. Yes, there is violence in the Galaxy and there will always be, she understood that now. But there are different ways to deal with it. One can spread violence or try to lessen its effects. She had chosen the wrong path before but now she knew which road to follow.
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Luminara smiled as she made her way back to the hotel. It had been another productive day. They had been able to repair much of the infrastructure around the hospital so it would be more accessible. Things were going well for the planet Ryloth. With the help from the experienced clone troopers the locals had not only been able to repair the buildings around the city, but also terminate the remaining droids and traps the Separatists had left behind. Peace was finally returning to the planet.
As she entered the hotel a clone trooper ran up to her. "General Unduli, there is an urgent transmission from the Jedi Council." He reported as he came up to her. "Thank you trooper." Luminara replied. He saluted and walked away. Luminara went towards the communications room. She activated her comlink to contact her padawan. "Barriss, do you copy?" "Yes Master, what is it?" Barriss' voice sounded over the intercom. "There is an urgent transmission from the Council, please meet me at the communications room." Luminara informed her. "Understood Master, I'm on my way." Barriss replied. She cut the transmission and continued onward.
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"Understood Master, I'm on my way." Barriss replied. She quickly finished her drink and went towards the communications room to meet with her Master. "I wonder what could be happening." She thought to herself.
She reached the communications room at the same time as her Master. They both went inside. Luminara activated the transmitter and the holograms of the Jedi Council appeared. They both bowed and waited for them to speak. "Master Unduli, Padawan Offee, good to see you it is. A troubling situation, brewing it is." Master Yoda spoke up. "Senator Organa and several other political figures have been captured by the Separatists." Master Windu explained. "There aren't many Jedi available to participate in the rescue. That's why we need you two to join the rescue effort. You will need to attack the Separatist base and rescue the captives." A look of worry appeared on Barriss' face. "Padawan Offee, are you capable of joining this fight?" Master Secura asked her. Barriss looked down and thought about her answer for a moment. She had been making progress in her efforts to resist the Dark Side and return to the Light. Being surrounded by violence no longer affected her as much as it used to. She looked up again and made her decision. "Yes Masters, I am capable of keeping my demons in check and aid in this mission." She replied with a strong and determined voice. Master Yoda smiled. "Good, then join the mission you will." Luminara smiled. "Barriss has really come a long way." She thought to herself. "Luminara, my troops are gathering at the refueling base orbiting Alderaan." Master Secura said. "We will rendezvous there and discuss our strategies." Luminara nodded. "Alright then Aayla, we'll meet you there." They both bowed and the communication ended.
Luminara sighed. "Come on Barriss, let's prepare the men for departure." She said slightly disappointed. "Master, I'll go and inform Cham Syndulla of our departure. I'll explain the situation to him." Luminara nodded. "Alright Barriss, meet me back here at the hotel later." "Yes Master." Barriss replied.
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Luminara arrived at the barracks their troops were staying. She went to the command center where Captain Gree would be. When she entered the room all of the present soldiers immediately saluted. "At ease, men." Luminara said. "Captain Gree, there is something we need to discuss." Gree walked over. "Yes General?" he asked. "I'm afraid that we're going to have to leave here. The Separatists have taken a number of political figures captive and we are one of the few available to help." She explained. "Barriss is explaining the situation to Cham Syndulla. We have to prepare for departure." Gree nodded. "I understand General. I'll inform the troops." He replied. Luminara nodded back. "Thank you Captain."
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Barriss went inside the bar she had been told Cham Syndulla was. She immediately spotted him sitting at a table with a few of his friends, playing Sabbac. As she walked up to them Cham Syndulla greeted her. "Padawan Offee! Come and play a few rounds with us!" he said excitedly. She smiled. "I'm sorry, but I can't do that." Cham looked a bit surprised. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Barriss sighed. "I'm afraid that we have to leave Ryloth." She replied. Cham and his friends were shocked. "Why?" they all asked almost at the same time. "A number of Senators and their staff have been kidnapped by the Separatists. We are the only ones available to help them right now." Barriss explained to them. Cham nodded understandingly. "Then you have to go and help them. I knew that you wouldn't be able to stay here for a long time, but I had hoped that it would have been a little bit longer…" he replied. Barriss smiled. "I would've preferred to stay a bit longer as well. Being here, helping other people has done me a lot of good as well. But don't worry, I'll ask the Council to send other Jedi to help you as soon as we get back to Coruscant." "Thank you padawan Offee." Cham replied. "Good luck rescuing those Senators." Barriss bowed. "Thank you, good luck here on Ryloth as well." She said as she started making her way back.
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Luminara and Barriss stood in the hangar of their flagship. The departure from Ryloth had been swift and without problems. They had made good time and just exited from hyperspace near the refueling station where they were to rendezvous with Aayla Secura. Their ships docked at the station and they took a transport to Aayla's flagship to discuss their plan of attack.
When they arrived on the ship two clone soldiers escorted them to the bridge. The doors opened revealing the Twi'lek Jedi discussing the battlefield with her clone commander Bly. "Good day, Luminara, Barriss." Aayla greeted them as they entered the bridge. "It is good to see the both of you." Both Luminara and Barriss gave a kind nod. "It is good to see you as well Aayla." Luminara replied. "What are we looking at here?" she asked as she and Barriss moved next to the holoprojector. "Commander Bly?" Aayla said as she looked at the clone soldier. He nodded. "Yes General." He pushed a few buttons on the projector and called up a tactical map of the area and the base. "The Separatists have retaken one of their old bases, because of this, we have the complete schematics of their base. However, they've probably altered the defenses considering the fact that they're keeping the prisoners here." He explained pointing at the prison area of the base. "How are we going to get inside?" Luminara asked. "We've come up with a plan that might work." Aayla replied. "Luminara, you and I will lead a frontal assault on the base. This attack will serve as a distraction while your padawan takes a small squadron of clone troopers and infiltrates the base." She looked at Barriss. "You and your squad need to locate and evacuate the hostages. When you are clear we will use our heavy artillery to take down the base. Are you up for this task?" Aayla asked her. Barriss nodded. "Yes Master Secura, I can do that." The Twi'lek nodded and smiled. "Good." Luminara placed her hand on her padawan's shoulder. "I'm sure you'll do fine Barriss, I don't doubt you." She said encouragingly. Barriss smiled back at her Master. Aayla smiled. "Alright then. Luminara, you and I will stay here on the bridge and discuss our full battle plan. Barriss, you go and assemble a team to help you infiltrate the base." She told them. Luminara and Barriss both nodded. "Very well then, however, Aayla…" Luminara began, "Where exactly are we headed?" she asked. Aayla smirked a bit mischievously. "I hope you both brought some bug spray, because we're headed to Felucia."
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That's the end of this chapter.
These two chapters took a bit longer than I had intended. I've got two weeks of holiday now so the next ones will hopefully be a bit faster.
Soon Ahsoka and Barriss will meet. In the heat of battle, how will their old friendship hold up? We'll find out (I hope) soon.
Until next time.