Chapter 18 – A Mission Completed

It's been a few months since I last updated this story, sorry about that. Things with school and whatnot took a great deal longer than I had expected. I will be continuing this story now and updates will hopefully be faster.

Note: there are spoilers in this chapter for the Medstar Books. I will discuss several items of these books. Some things will be a little different, but most of the events will be the same.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Luminara Unduli stood in one of the hangars of the Republic shipyards on Coruscant, waiting for the ship carrying her padawan to arrive. Her composure did not show it, but she was worried for her padawan's wellbeing. The last report they had received from Drongar was that the Separatists had suddenly pushed a massive offensive, forcing the Republic troops to pack up and run.

The report mentioned that the troops had managed to evacuate with minimal casualties, which was good news. Luminara had expected nothing less from her padawan, but it wasn't Barriss' physical condition she was worried about. Through the Force, she had been able to sense that Barriss had struggled immensely with the Dark Side. Although she had not sense her padawan fall, she was still worried.

Luminara knew that Barriss was doing all she could to resist the Dark Side and purge the corruption from her mind, but that was not an easy task. She just hoped that the Council wouldn't judge her too harshly for whatever it was that happened to her.

One of the shipyard's crew walked up to her. "General Unduli, the ship you asked about is scheduled to arrive in docking bay B4 in fifteen minutes." The man informed her.

Luminara nodded in response. "Thank you." She replied. The man saluted her and walked off. The Mirialan Jedi then made her way towards the docking bay.

;-

Barriss Offee walked of the ramp of the ship, relieved to be back on Coruscant again. The past weeks had been incredibly eventful and tiring and she was looking forward to catching a break back at the Temple.

Even though there had been a lot of long days in the Medstation and she had struggled with the Dark Side, there had also been a few good moments to her mission. After all, she had made several new friends and they had had some good times.

Despite the good memories, a wave of sadness crept through her as well; Not all of them had made it back safely. The Separatists had executed several fierce and deadly assaults, forcing them to relocate their facilities. During such a relocation, one of her new friends and colleagues had died. The loss had been especially hard for another one of her new friends, but he had been able to find comfort with someone.

Barriss smiled as she saw the two of them standing a couple of feet away. She walked up to them. "Hello Jos, Tolk." She greeted them. Jos Vondar was a human male from Corellia and Tolk le Trene was a female Lorrdian. The two of them were part of the Republic medstar unit that she had joined during her assignment. The two were skilled surgeons and during the chaos on Drongar they had developed a strong relationship.

Jos and Tolk turned towards her and smiled back. "Hello Barriss, how was the flight?" Tolk asked her.

Barriss shrugged. "It was okay. I've had a lot worse flights in the past." She replied. "At least no one was shooting at us anymore."

The two surgeons laughed a bit at her comment. "That's certainly a relief." Jos admitted. He looked at the Mirialan padawan. "So what's in store for you now, padawan Offee?" he asked curiously.

"I'll return to the Temple and continue my studies." She replied. "Hopefully that all goes well; The Council still doesn't fully trust me after what happened before." Barriss said with regret in her voice.

Tolk gave her a comforting smile and patted her on the arm. "Don't worry too much about that." She replied. "You've certainly done a lot to make up for the past these last weeks. And if you need someone to speak in your defense, please do not hesitate to contact us." She offered her.

Barriss smiled at her offer. "Thank you both. I hope that it doesn't have to come to that, but it's nice to have some support." She replied. "And what about you two? What are you going to do now?" she asked them.

Jos looked up in thought. "First, I'll definitely take a long shower. I can certainly use one after such a long time on that swamp planet." He replied. "After that I'll probably sleep for forty hours straight." Tolk rolled her eyes at his words. Jos smiled and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Then we'll spend some quality time together." Tolk looked at him and smiled back.

Barriss shook her head. "Well, the two of you have certainly earned a break after all of the crazy hours you had to work. I hope you have a good time." She told them both.

The two nodded. "Thanks Barriss. Maybe we'll see each other again someday." Tolk said with a smile.

"I'd like that." Barriss replied. "Goodbye for now." The three of them said their goodbyes and the two surgeons left.

Barriss felt a familiar presence in the large hall and looked at its source. She smiled when she saw her master waiting for her. Barriss picked up her bags and made her way towards her master.

Luminara smiled when she saw her padawan approach. Barriss looked glad to be back, but at the same time she had an air of tiredness around her. Luminara could clearly sense that her padawan had been through a lot these past weeks.

"Good afternoon, Master." Barriss greeted her as she bowed respectfully. "It's been a while. How are you doing?" she asked.

Luminara bowed back. "It's good to have you back, Barriss." She replied. "I'm doing well, how about you? I can sense that you're rather tired." Luminara asked her padawan in return.

"That's an understatement, Master." Barriss answered with a sigh. "These past weeks have been incredibly intense and trying. Still, given everything that happened, I'm quite glad with the way everything turned out."

"That is good to hear." Luminara replied. "Come on, let's go back to the Temple. I have a speeder waiting just outside. The Council is expecting a full report from you tomorrow, so I think it's best if you get some rest." She told her padawan.

Barriss nodded. "Alright Master." She replied calmly. Despite that, Luminara could clearly sense some slight hesitance in her padawan about speaking to the Council. The two of them left the hangar.

;-

The following morning

"And that summarizes it Masters, the spy was unmasked and killed shortly after. After that we had to escape the planet due to the fierce Separatist assault." Barriss informed the Council. She had just finished recounting the details of her assignment to the Council.

"You've done well, padawan Offee." Plo Koon replied a moment later. "But can you tell us why the Separatists suddenly pushed such a fierce assault?" he asked her. "It was my understanding that the herb Bota was such a fragile plant and that heavy battles would disturb it. So why did they suddenly attack like that?"

"You're right, Master Koon." Barriss replied. "Bota is indeed a very fragile plant. It also has the tendency to mutate rapidly. Some research indicated that the plant was mutating again, causing it to become completely useless. The Separatists learned this, so they quickly moved in to secure whatever Bota they could." She explained to the Council.

"So that is what caused it." Ki-Adi-Mundi said. "Speaking about the Bota," he began. "A rather peculiar droid delivered a vial containing the herb and notes about it to the Temple a little while ago. It claimed to be sent here by you."

A small smile appeared on Barriss' face. "That would be I-5YQ, or I-Five." She replied. "You're right, Master Mundi, he's a very interesting droid." The droid had been assisting them in the medstation. It had lost its memories and was trying to restore them. It certainly was a very lifelike droid. Much to her surprise, it had even gotten drunk, resulting in an angry Wookie ripping its arm of. "I thought that I wouldn't be returning to Coruscant this soon, so I asked him to deliver them to you."

Master Yoda nodded. "Interesting uses, this herb had. Your experiences, tell us about them." He requested her.

"Yes Master." She replied. "First of all, one of the other doctors at the medstation discovered that the Bota in processed form was highly effective in treating various illnesses and conditions. He went out a few times to harvest a few small patches of the herb and processed it himself." Barriss paused a moment. "I agreed with his words: there was so much of the herb growing that we could easily harvest a bit and use it on the planet to help the wounded."

She took a moment to think about how to explain the rest before continuing. "I've used the vials that doctor created a few times myself and the results on my patients were very effective. I was trying inject a patient, but he suffered from severe spasms. As a result, I accidentally injected myself with the herb."

Barriss looked briefly at her arm where she had stuck the needle in. "All of a sudden, my connection with the Force became incredibly strong. It's difficult to explain just what I felt, but I could feel so much more that I normally could. I was able to sense almost everything that happened around me. I was connected to the Living Force in a way I never imagined possible."

She looked up at the Council again. "A couple of days after that incident I deliberately injected myself with the Bota in an attempt to learn what the great danger I sensed was. I was able to sense danger normally, but I couldn't place it. At the moment I thought that with the aid of the Bota I would be able to figure it out."

"And did you?" Master Ti asked when Barriss paused.

Barriss nodded. "Yes, I was able to foresee the attack that was about to take place. I warned to people in charge and they were able to avoid massive casualties." Barriss took a deep breath. "When the Separatists attacked, I thought that I would be able to defeat them if I used the Bota again. I was about to inject myself with it when I came to a realization." She stopped talking for a moment.

"And what was this realization?" Master Windu asked after a few seconds.

Luminara looked at her padawan. She could clearly sense a trace of fear and uncertainty in her.

Barriss took another deep breath. "I realized that using the Bota as a powerdrug was a hyperspace lane back into the Dark Side. That immense power easily corrupts. I can feel that I've sunk into it again. I am just incredibly relieved that I was able to figure out what was happening to me before it was too late." She explained with shame in her voice.

Luminara placed her hand on Barriss' shoulder. "Are you alright, Barriss?" she asked concerned.

Barriss looked at her master for a moment. "I've felt a lot better." She replied honestly. She then turned back to the Council. "Masters, can I be excused from combat duty for a while?" she asked them.

"Explain your request, if you would." Master Yoda asked her in return.

Barriss nodded slowly. "I can feel that the Dark Side has a stronger hold on me again. Being in battles usually makes me feel rather uncomfortable. I don't know if I will be able to resist falling to the Dark Side again if I have to participate in all kinds of violent battles." She sighed. "When I was helping in the medstation, practicing my arts as a healer, I felt calm and at peace. I couldn't sense the Dark Side around me at all. So now, I'd like to avoid battles and focus on my skills as a healer and purge the Dark Side from myself. I do not want to lose myself to the Dark Side again." She looked down at the ground, waiting for a reaction from the Council.

Luminara studied the members of the Council for a moment. It was obvious to her that they had some mixed reactions amongst each other. Master Windu looked like he wanted to protest or say something else, but a few looks from a few others in the Council silenced him.

"Granted your request is, withdrawn from active combat duty, you will be." Master Yoda said after a moment. "Take time to recover, you may."

Hearing this put Barriss in a slightly better mood. "Thank you, Masters." She replied. "I will do whatever I can to recover from this." She promised them.

"Very good." Master Yoda said and he closed his eyes. "Sense the Dark Side lingering in you, I can. However, in its hold, you are not." He looked at Barriss again. "Take the time, and find your light, you should."

Barriss was a bit surprised that Master Yoda offered her such advice, but she was certainly grateful. "Thank you, Master Yoda." She replied with a small smile.

The elder Grand Master nodded. "Dismissed, you both are." He told the master and padawan.

Luminara and Barriss both nodded and respectfully bowed before leaving the Council chambers.

;-

A couple of minutes later Barriss and her master returned to their quarters. Barriss walked in and sat down on the couch, letting out a deep breath. Luminara followed her and sat down in the chair opposite her padawan.

Luminara studied her padawan for a moment. She could clearly sense the turmoil in the girl. She was a bit hesitant to trust herself with the Force in certain ways. The Dark Side was present in her, but it wasn't as powerful as it was right after the bombing. She had no doubt that Barriss would be able to overcome this setback.

"Don't worry too much, Barriss." Luminara told her. "We have gotten through this before and we can do so again. I will stand by you."

Barriss looked at her Master and smiled. "Thank you, Master." She replied with relief in her voice. "I'm just glad that the Council understood. I was quite worried that they would draw another wrong conclusion like they did with Ahsoka." Curiosity took hold of her. "Have you heard anything about her, Master?" she asked.

"I have not heard anything from her personally." Luminara replied. "But I understand that Masters Kenobi and Skywalker saw her a little while ago. You can ask them tomorrow if you want to know. They aren't in the Temple right now."

Barriss nodded. "I'll be sure to do that then." She said. "Did I miss anything interesting while I was away?" she asked.

Luminara shook her head. "No, not really. Things have been relatively quiet here, in a good way, fortunately." She replied with a light smile. "I have spent quite some time teaching the younglings. We mustn't forget to teach the next generations of Jedi."

Barriss smiled at that. "That's true." She said. "Any possible healers amongst the younglings you taught?" she asked.

Luminara chuckled a bit at her question. Barriss would certainly become a skilled healer one day and Luminara didn't doubt that she would be teaching others about healing in the future. "Speaking about younglings, I have another class to teach later today." She informed her padawan.

Barriss nodded. "Alright Master. But is it alright if I stay here?" she asked. "I'd like to take it easy for a bit and catch up on recent events."

"Of course, Barriss." Luminara replied. "You just got back from a mission. Take the time to rest." She gave her padawan a small smile. "I can sense that you're still tired."

"Thank you, Master." Barriss said. "It has been one crazy mission and we had to run incredibly long shifts in the medstation." She explained. "Despite the tiring hours, I felt…good. I was really in my element there." She said with a smile.

Luminara could clearly sense the sudden change in her padawans feelings. She clearly was a lot more comfortable performing her duties as a healer. They continued discussing more aspects of Barriss' mission and several of the friends she's made until it was time for Luminara to head towards her class. Barriss remained in their quarters to rest and catch up on recent events.

;-

A few hours passed and Barriss found herself searching for an article on the holonet. She had contacted her friend Nyla earlier and learned that she was now allowed out of the Halls of Healing for a portion of the day as long as someone accompanied her. So she, Naria and Alyva had gone for a walk so Nyla could get some fresh air.

Barriss smiled when she had heard the overflowing positive energy in Nyla's voice. She was really glad to be able to go out again. "I'm glad for her." Barriss thought to herself. "She reminds me a bit of Ahsoka at times. I'm sure those two would have gotten along perfectly." The thought amused her greatly. The two of them would've gotten themselves in plenty of trouble, she was sure of it.

Right now, she was searching for an article that the trio had hinted to her about. She found the page of the Galactic Wave and searched for the article titled: "Hidden heroes of the Republic."

To her surprise, it was an article written by Den Dhur, the Sullustan reporter that she had met on Drongar. To her even greater surprise, it was an article about the healers of the medstations, including her.

As she read through the article a large smile spread across her face. Den Dhur had written a large report about the 'secret' heroes of the Republic: the healers that worked tirelessly to treat the countless wounded of the war and save their lives; The people that fought behind the frontlines.

Barriss couldn't help but smile. This article was a lot better than all of the countless stories of violence and death that were published each day. It was a great relief to her to finally read something that was about helping people instead of them being hurt.

After she had finished reading the article Barriss put her datapad away. Her mood had definitely increased. Feeling her confidence increase, Barriss sat down in a meditating position and readied herself to immerse herself in the Force; new determination to overcome the Dark Side filling her being.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

I know that after the Medstar books, Barriss became a Jedi Knight. However, she will not yet become one now. As I said, I will be changing a few things. Due to the exposure to the Bota, Barriss has sunk back into the Dark Side again. She will first need to recover from this and overcome the Dark Side.

I have a pretty good idea with how I'm going to write her recovery. It will take some time, but I think that it will make for some great chapters.

The characters mentioned in this chapter were from the Medstar books and they belong to the authors of the books.

Until next time.