Chapter 23 – Aftermath

The next chapter is here. It's good to hear that everyone liked the previous chapter (and the rest of the story).

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Barriss Offee walked through the halls of the temporary medical station the Republic had set up on Kiros. The cleanup of the droids on the planet had gone smoothly. With the combined effort of the Republic soldiers and the troops from Shili, the remaining droids had been located and destroyed.

Barriss couldn't help but smile a bit. The battle had gone better that she had originally thought. She was relieved that she had been able to maintain a clear head during the battle. By focusing on the fact that they were protecting the people of Kiros, she had managed to keep her mind clear of dark thoughts.

The only thing that tormented her now was the fact that her old friend James had been wounded. She had briefly examined the wound during the battle. Fortunately, the wound didn't look that serious. However, she still wanted to know for sure, which is why she was now on her visit him. Besides from that, she also needed to return his lightsaber to him.

Barriss briefly reflected on what she had discovered during the battle. For some reason unknown to her yet, she was now capable of dual-wielding at quite an advanced level. "I only had some minor practice in dual-wielding, to learn how to defend myself better against a duel-wielding opponent. Other than that, I never really did it. So how did I do that on the planet?" The question plagued her quite a bit.

She was glad that she would be returning to Coruscant soon. Barriss had no doubt that she would be able to find some answers inside the Jedi Temple. Luminara might be able to help her out as well.

She pushed the thoughts away as she approached the room where James was in. Barriss could sense another presence in the room, so she knocked before entering.

As she walked in, Barriss saw James lying in the bed. Lierra Nooram, the Twi'Lek Padawan that was with them before, was also in the room, sitting next to the bed. "Hello James, Lierra," she greeted them.

"Ah Barriss," James said. "How did everything go? Did you miss me on the planet?" He asked with a smile.

Next to him, Lierra rolled her eyes. "Hello Barriss, is there any news?" She asked.

Barriss smiled and sat down at the other side of the bed. "There's no news yet, as far as I know. I just came to check on James," she replied. She looked at James. "It was a big adjustment after you… became unavailable," she told him. "But we were able to hold our position. It took quite a while, but eventually the remaining Separatist cruisers were forced to retreat." Barriss quickly looked him over. "So how are you doing?"

James shrugged slightly. "I've been better," he replied. "According to the medics, I should be fine in a few days. It could've been a lot worse."

"Good to hear that," Barriss said. "Oh, I suppose I should return this to you now." She took James' lightsaber out of her pocket and handed it to him. "I forgot to give it to you when the clones carried you away."

James smiled as he took his lightsaber back. "Thanks Barriss," he replied. "I was wondering if you still had it." He looked at her for a moment. "Was it any help to you? You were doing some impressive dual-wielding back there."

Lierra looked a bit surprised at what he said. "I didn't know you dual-wielded?" She asked.

"Neither did I?" Barriss replied hesitantly. When she saw the two confused faces, she knew she had to explain. "I have never practiced dual-wielding that much. Definitely not to be able to do it at such a level. I have no idea how it did that."

"You just… dual-wielded without practicing?" Lierra asked. "How is that even possible? It took me a long time to master using just one lightsaber."

Barriss shook her head. "I have no idea," she replied. "I hope to find out with my Master when we're back in the Temple."

James nodded. "That might be the best way to go about it," he said. "From what I've heard, Master Unduli is very wise. I'm sure she can help you."

Barriss smiled. "That's true, she really is," she replied. "And if she doesn't know, I'm sure that we can find out together."

;-

The three of them kept talking for a little while more, about a couple of different subject. Before she left, Barriss reminded James that he would need to rest for a while.

She walked around the central plaza, taking the opportunity to see the calmly see the sights a bit. This area of the city had fortunately remained undamaged, so she was able to see for herself what Ahsoka had told her about the planet before.

As she walked around, her mind wandered a bit and she found herself thinking about the friends she had made. "For someone training to be a healer, I sure made a lot of friends that would rather get out of a hospital as soon as possible." The thought amused her quite a bit.

Suddenly, she felt a flicker through the Force and a familiar presence nearby. She turned around and saw Ahsoka walking towards her. She smiled and made her way towards her friend.

"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. "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. "I also remember her being with someone else." A little smirk appeared 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.

"Sorry Ahsoka, but I just can't resist." 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.

;-

Barriss was making her way back to the spot where the Republic transports had landed. She had just gotten a message from Master Ti that they would be returning to Coruscant soon. That is, the majority of them would be returning for now.

Three of the padawans would be staying on Kiros for the time being, along with a few squadrons of clone engineers. They were going to help with the rebuilding where needed.

Because of this, she herself would be needed at the debriefing with the Council. "Especially now that James is wounded." She thought sadly. A part of her would rather not talk with the Council about the battle, but she knew that attempting to get out of it wouldn't do her any good either.

She knew that the Council would want to test her, see how she reacted to being in a battle again. They would see that she was determined to see it all through. She had already promised her Master and Ahsoka that she would never let the Dark Side get hold of her again.

With some renewed confidence, Barriss boarded one of the transports, ready to return home.

;-

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, Barriss will be back at the Temple. She will be present at the Council meeting about the battle. After that, she will tell a certain Jedi Knight who she encountered on Kiros.

Until next time.