Chapter 24 – Reporting the Battle

Hello everyone, it's been some time since my last update. I've been really busy with my study these past few weeks. Fortunately, the only thing I have left do to now is pick up my diploma.

In this chapter Barriss and the others give their report about the battle of Kiros to the Council. Afterwards, Barriss tells Anakin who else was on Kiros. How will he react to that?

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Barriss Offee stood inside the Council chambers. Master Shaak Ti had asked her and Padawan Lierra Nooram to join her with the debriefing. Barriss suspected that is was a request of the several other members of the Council, they probably wanted to assess her, see how she was doing.

It didn't bother her that much. Barriss knew she was doing alright. So she stood by calmly, listening to Master Ti explain how the battle went.

"A few hours before the battle, we were joined by a detachment of the Shilian army," Shaak told the Council. "They brought ground and space troops to aid us in the battle."

"What were the people of Shili doing on Kiros?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked. "Shili is still a neutral world, correct?"

Shaak nodded. "Yes, Shili is still neutral," she replied. "However, it would seem that they've had enough of the Separatists threatening their fellow Togruta on Kiros. They learned about the battle in advance and set out to help their people." She looked at her fellow Council members, pausing at Plo Koon. "Ahsoka Tano was on Kiros as well."

Beneath his mask, an expression of surprise spread on the Kel Dorian's face. "Ahsoka was on Kiros?" he asked, doing his best to keep the curiosity out of his voice.

"Yes, she was," Shaak replied. "From what she told us, she's been involved in organizing the defenses on Kiros. She assisted in getting proof of the incoming attack, so they could petition for Republic help, and she obtained a number of shield generators that proved to be invaluable."

"From where did she obtain those shield generators?" Mace Windu asked indifferently.

Shaak looked at Obi-Wan. "She mentioned someone you might know, Master Kenobi," she told him. "A certain pirate called Honda Ohnaka. Apparently he raided some Separatist transports. "

Obi-Wan shook his head, a little bit amused. "Yes, that sounds like something Hondo would do," he said to the group. "How resourceful of her."

Shaak nodded in agreement. "Thanks to those shield generators, the Separatists were unable to bombard the city. They were forced to engage our troops on the ground, running right into our defensive positions. They were unable to break through and in the end, the battle was ours."

"Done well, you all have," Master Yoda said. "Glad I am, that able to help the people of Kiros, we were." He looked at Shaak. "Unexpected, Ahsoka's help was, but appreciated it certainly is. Doing well, she is. Relieved I am, at that."

Shaak, Plo and Obi-Wan nodded in agreement. The others of the Council didn't pay much heed to the second part of the Grandmasters words.

"Tell us more about how the battle went," Mace Windu requested.

Shaak nodded. "The battle in space started in our advantage. The Shilian troops ambushed the Separatist forces," she explained to the Council. "The moment their ships left Hyperspace, the Shilian troops unleashed a devastating surprise attack, wrecking two cruisers instantly and disabling a third. Because of this, we were able to keep the advantage during the battle, despite the numbers of the Separatist force." She looked at Barriss and Lierra standing next to her. "As for the battle on the ground, the Padawans can tell you more about that."

"I see," Mace replied. "Padawan Nooram, how were the defenses of the city organized?" he asked her.

"The people of Kiros had already prepared for the attack, Masters," Lierra began to explain. "They had set up barricades and walls to hamper the Separatist Forces. They were forced to land their forces in one location, so they could only approach the city from one direction. Inside the city, there were three roads that lead to the governmental building where the people were for their safety."

She paused a moment before continuing. "Because there were six of us Padawans, two of us each took one road to protect. Everything went well, with our troops and the Togrutan soldiers combined, the Separatist forces were unable to break through our formation. I understood that there was some trouble at the location of Padawans Barriss and James, but she was able to take command and ensure that the position held."

The Council looked at Barriss as Lierra said this. "Padawan Offee, can you tell us what happened at your location?" Mace Windu asked her.

Barriss could easily tell that the Council had mixed feelings about her being in charge during the mission, but she tried not to let it bother her. "The battle started well in our favor," she began. "Our position was very strong and from our location we could clearly oversee the entire street." She smiled a bit. "James had a nice plan to thin out the droids a bit. He and his men brought big crate of droid poppers and the two of us used the Force the hurl them at the larger groups of droids. We had quite the advantage over the enemy forces."

Her mood darkened a bit. "In the midst of the battle, we were suddenly ambushed by a group of commando droids. They had managed to find a route to flank us." She sighed. "James was shot by them, but I was able to take care of them with the help of a few soldiers. I examined James and fortunately he wasn't seriously wounded. However, he couldn't continue in the battle, so I had to assume command of our location."

She paused for a moment, letting the thought that James was safe in the Halls of Healing comfort her a bit. "The rest of the battle went quite well. We were able to prevent the droids from flanking us again. During the battle, I suddenly felt a dark sensation in the Force. It worried me greatly, so I jumped up to a higher vantage point to scout things out. I spotted several heavy tanks headed towards the city. Those tanks could've easily destroyed the city if they got into the shield, so I called Master Ti for air support." She looked at the Togrutan Master for a moment. "A short moment later Ahsoka contacted me. She and a group of other Shilian fighters performed a crazy maneuver and bombarded the tanks before they could reach the city. After that, we just had to hold out until the Separatist cruisers fled the system."

For now, Barriss decided to leave the part of her being able to dual-wield out of her story. She figured that the Council would probably take that news the wrong way. Still, she wanted to try it out more for herself first.

She could feel the Council judging her with the Force. She didn't let it bother her. Barriss knew she was doing fine. Even if she had been feeling slightly down after the battle, her conversation with Ahsoka had made her forget about that.

The eyes of the Council were still on her, but they remained silent. Eventually, Master Yoda broke the silence. "Feel how, after the battle, you do?" He asked her. "Be relieved of combat duty, you wanted to, yet volunteer for this battle, you did."

Barriss nodded, she understood why he would ask her that. "All of the fighting and the fact that James was wounded put me in a rather bad mood, I'll admit that," she replied. "However, walking through the streets after the battle made me see very clearly what me managed to avoid. Seeing the happiness of the people made those feelings disappear quite quickly. I'm feeling fine now."

"Very well," Master Yoda said. "Dismissed, you and Padawan Nooram are. Rest, you both should. Earned it, you have." Barriss and Lierra both bowed and left the room.

;-

After a short elevator ride, Barriss and Lierra parted ways. Lierra was going to meet her master, but she was certain that they would see each other again. Barriss smiled a bit. Lierra wanted to get together for some sparring someday. Barriss' form was not one the Twi'Lek was very familiar with, so she wanted to practice with her a bit. The thought made Barriss quite happy as well.

Barriss made her way to the mess hall first. She had received a message from Luminara earlier. Her Master would be back a bit later, so Barriss had some time to herself now.

;-

A few hours later

Barriss walked through the halls of the Jedi Temple. She was on her way to see Anakin Skywalker. She was certain that he would like to know that Ahsoka was on Kiros. A memory of him pacing around after learning of Ahsoka's presence on Felucia ran through her mind, filling her with amusement.

She had just spend a few hours with her Master. The two of them had discussed the battle, as well as Ahsoka's presence on Kiros. She had also spend quite some time meditating with Luminara. Meditating together helped her to really put her mind at ease in these dark times. She wouldn't have minded to continue meditating with Luminara for a longer time, but her Master was needed elsewhere. With the current shortage of Masters in the Temple, those who were available had to teach the younglings on more occasions than normal.

Barriss had thought about joining her Master with the next class, but it was lightsaber instruction and she was a bit too tired for that now. She would help in another lesson, her Master had several more scheduled for the coming days. She was going to visit Anakin and probably call it a day.

;-

Barriss was standing at the door of Anakin's quarters, waiting for him to answer the door. She quietly wondered how he would react to hearing that Ahsoka was on Kiros. She figured that he would panic after hearing the whole story.

Anakin opened the door a moment later. "Barriss, good to see you," he said.

Barriss looked at him a moment. From the look of his robes, he had been working on his ship again. There were a number of oil stains and smears on his robes. She had seen his new ship-project in the hangars when they got back from Kiros. "I don't see how that thing will ever properly fly…" she thought amused. "Hello Master Skywalker, do you have a moment to talk?" she asked him.

"Sure," he replied. "Come on in." He stepped aside and let Barriss walk into the room. She walked in and sat down on the couch. Anakin sat down in the chair opposite her. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked her.

"I was on Kiros to defend the people there from the Separatists," she told him. "As you know, they learned in advance that the Separatists were trying to take over their planet again. We went there with our troops, but we weren't the only ones going there."

"Who else was there?" Anakin asked a bit confused. Anyone else being there didn't really seem logical for him.

"The people of Shili send a portion of their army as well," Barriss replied. "They really helped us in the battle."

"The people of Shili went to Kiros to fight the Separatists?" Anakin asked. "I thought that they were neutral."

Barriss nodded. "Yes, they are still neutral," she replied. "However, they have clearly had enough of the Separatists targeting their people. They came prepared to fight and ambushed the Separatist cruisers right at the start. They immediately lost two of their cruisers. The people of Shili weren't happy, that's for sure."

Anakin smiled a bit and shook his head. "I can definitely understand them having enough of the Separatists, especially after that previous mess with the Zygerrians," he said with some disgust in his voice. "But why are you telling me this personally?" He asked. "I could've easily read the mission report later if I wanted to."

Barriss smiled at him. "I know," she replied. "But I thought you'd like to know who else was there," she told him. Anakin gave her a questioning look. Barriss chuckled a bit. "Ahsoka was there."

As she said it, she could sense Anakin's emotion shifting quite rapidly. A lot of thoughts were suddenly racing through his mind. It amused her quite a bit.

"Ahsoka was on Kiros?" Anakin asked in a mixture of emotions. "W-what was she doing there?" His head started spinning with all kinds of scenarios involving Ahsoka, most of them not good.

"She was joining the battle, of course, you know her," Barriss replied. "She was involved with a lot of the planning for the battle. She mentioned that she had struck a deal with Hondo Ohnaka in order to get a bunch of shield generators. They really helped us."

Anakin was staring at her with a look she couldn't place, so she decided to just continue. "Ahsoka didn't join us on the ground, she was fighting in space," Barriss explained. "She was with a group of very skilled pilots. They pulled of a crazy move when they came in to bombard a group of tanks. I thought that they were going to crash for a moment, but they made an impossible maneuver and the tanks were quickly annihilated. It was an impressive move."

Barriss looked at Anakin for a moment, he was still processing everything, much to her amusement. "The battle lasted for quite some time, but we won in the end," she continued. "Thankfully, we were able to prevent any harm from coming to the people."

Anakin shook his head and looked at her. "Was Ahsoka alright?" he asked in a mixture of emotions.

Barriss nodded. "She was doing fine," she replied. "I saw her again after the battle. She appeared to be doing really well." She smiled. "Ahsoka was definitely very happy that her people were saved."

"I can't believe Ahsoka would just do such a thing," Anakin said worried. "I thought that she would stay safe on Shili."

"Come on, Anakin," Barriss replied. "You know Ahsoka, she would never just sit around like that when others are in danger."

Anakin looked at her a little surprised. "Yeah, you're right, but…" He said a little frustrated. The fact that she had suddenly joined a massive battle worried him greatly. "Why couldn't she have contacted me?" He asked himself.

Barriss sensed his mood change rapidly, again and again. He was obviously trying to look calm. However, despite his mental shields, Barriss could tell that he was anything but calm. She chuckled a bit. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Anakin," she told him. "I'm going to call it a night."

"Uh, yeah. Good night," Anakin replied distracted. Barriss smiled and got up. She took one last look at Anakin and left his quarters.

Barriss waited outside Anakin's quarters for a moment and concentrated on the Force. After a few seconds, she could sense Anakin erupting into a panicked frenzy. She couldn't help but laugh, she knew that his calmness was just a mask.

For a moment, Barriss wondered if Anakin would storm of to Shili. "No, he wouldn't be able to." His 'ship' would probably still need weeks of work before it would be able to go anywhere. And the chances of him being allowed to borrow a Jedi shuttle were very small.

She shrugged and walked off, leaving Anakin to panic in his quarters.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

I wanted to add more to the conversation between Barriss and Anakin, but I forgot what else I wanted to add. I know Anakin was left here in a blind panic, this is just to set up the next chapter for Ahsoka.

I have also uploaded a short chapter for a different story, something to get me back into writing.

I'm going to write a new chapter for Ahsoka next. I've been wanting to write that chapter for some time now, so that's why I'm going to write it first.

After that, I'll probably write a new chapter for Rebirth of Light.

Until next time.