Chapter 28 – Joining the Journey

I know, updating my stories took a long time. However, I decided to throw some things around. Instead of making two or three separate chapters, I combined a number of scenes into one chapter for Tale of a Togruta. This way, I can advance the story a bit faster.

Because the storyline of Tale of a Togruta has progressed a lot faster now, I've also made a new, short chapter for A Mirialan's Story. This small chapter serves to set up the next two chapters for my stories.

Hope you enjoy this little chapter.

;-

Barriss stood outside of the Council chambers, waiting to be summoned in. It had been little over three weeks since she had seen Ahsoka on Naboo and it had been a pretty good time for once.

Along with Naria and Alyva, they had helped Nyla out some more with her practice. She was getting back to her old self and although she wouldn't be allowed on missions yet, Barriss figured she'd be cleared for light duties any day now. "Or perhaps she has been already," Barriss mused a bit.

She had only just returned to the temple the day before and hadn't had the time yet to check on her friends. She had volunteered for a relief mission over a week ago and had spent that week helping out on a small planet, rebuilding the cities and helping the medical staff. It had been a busy week, but she had enjoyed it immensely. It was definitely what she preferred to do over all of the fighting and battles that this war had created.

She heard Master Yoda call her in, so she walked into the Council chambers. Much to her enjoyment, she saw Nyla standing in the center of the room. She moved to the center of the room and bowed. "Good afternoon Masters," she said respectfully. She then turned to her friend. "Nyla, it's good to see you standing here," she said with a smile.

Nyla smiled at Barriss as well. "Thanks Barriss, it's great to be standing here again," Nyla replied eagerly. "I'll be going on my first mission again soon."

"That's wonderful Nyla," Barriss said before she turned back to the Council.

Master Yoda studied her a moment. "Padawan Offee, a request you have, hmm?" he asked her.

Barriss nodded. "Yes Master," she replied. "I found out that the next trip to Ilum is in a few days. I wanted to travel along with that." She could tell that her request surprised the Council a little.

"Already have a lightsaber you do, Padawan Offee," Master Yoda told her. "Accompanying the journey, Padawan Sonter will be, so required to travel along you are not."

"I am aware of that, Master Yoda," Barriss replied. "The reason I want to travel along is because I want to enter the caves myself so I can build a second lightsaber." She paused a moment. "I found that I am rather skilled with dual wielding, so I want to build a second saber so I can use those skills in my duties as a Jedi."

That intrigued a few members of the Council a little. "I don't recall ever having seen you practice dual wielding, Barriss," Master Kenobi said.

"You're right, Master Kenobi," Barriss replied. "I never did do much dual wielding before. Only some practice with Master Unduli to learn how to defend myself against opponents using dual weapons." She paused again, wondering for a moment how the Council would think about this. "However, I watched the recording of myself fighting Master Skywalker under the control of the Sith. 'I' was dual wielding against him, but I definitely did not have the kind of practice necessary to fight like that."

"I wanted to look into the matter further, but that is when those Padawans attacked me in the training halls. I didn't do much with it after that," she continued to explain. "It was only during the battle of Kiros that I suddenly realized my dual wielding abilities. After James went down, I instinctively called his lightsaber towards me and used multiple duel wielding techniques against the droids. During the rest of the battle, I used those techniques as well."

Barriss paused and looked around the room. Pretty much all the Council members were studying her now. She wasn't sure if she was comfortable with a few of the looks she was getting.

"So you suddenly gained the ability to dual-wield?" Shaak Ti asked. "Do you know how you gained this ability? Did you research the matter further?"

Barriss nodded. "I did try to research the matter further in the archives, but I wasn't able to find anything useful," she replied. "After I explained my situation to Master Unduli, she helped me practice with it more and get comfortable with it."

"So you have no idea how you acquired these abilities?" Master Plo Koon asked her.

"I did have a theory about it," she replied a bit nervously. "I suspect that the Sith that captured me before wanted to turn me into some kind of assassin. He must have used some Dark Side technique to do something to do." She paused and took a deep breath. "I feared that it meant that I was being corrupted by the Dark Side again, but Master Unduli assured me that she didn't sense any darkness in me." She looked at Nyla. "I continued training with Master Unduli and with Nyla and our friends. I now feel far more comfortable with this ability, so I decided to build a second lightsaber and use these skills as a Jedi."

For a few moments the room was silent and it made her a little uncomfortable. Then Master Yoda broke the silence. "Hmm, brought you closer to the Dark Side, this has not," he said. "Sense only a greater resolve in you, I do."

"Thank you Master," Barriss replied with a grateful smile.

Nyla looked at Barriss, feeling a little bit worried. "Hey Barriss, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, Ilum might be very rough," she asked with concern.

"Yeah, I know Nyla," Barriss replied. "I'm fully expecting to face a great challenge on Ilum." She looked down a bit. "Ever since I made the decision to build a second lightsaber, I've been feeling a sharp edge in the Force. I feel that I will face a test there that will either make me as a Jedi, or it will break me."

"And you are alright with this foresight?" Master Stass-Allie asked her.

Barriss looked up and nodded. "Yes Master, I am," she replied. "I want to face this challenge of the Force, for it will be the definite proof for me of whether or not I have truly overcome the Dark Side."

Master Yoda looked around the room. Considering he was leading this journey to Ilum, he knew that the final decision about this was his. Still, he always valued the input of his fellow Council members. Seeing that none of them seemed to have any objections, he made his decision. "Very well then, Padawan Offee, join Padawan Sonter and myself on the journey to Ilum," he told her.

Barriss smiled and bowed. "Thank you Master," she replied.

"Go now and prepare, you both should," Master Yoda said. "In two days, depart with the younglings, we will."

"Yes Master," both Barriss and Nyla replied. They bowed and left the Council chambers.

;-

That's it for this chapter.

Like I said, a short chapter to set up the next one. Barriss travels along with the Gathering to build her second lightsaber. Her feelings tell her that she will face a great challenge there. Knowing Ilum, that'll like come true.

I'll first write the epilogue for Rebirth of Light. Regarding this story, I might make the epilogue a bit shorter than I had originally planned. However, I may leave this story 'open', so I can write additional chapters for it later. Those chapters will be set during and after the five year interval in the story. I'll have to see how I do it.

When that epilogue is done, I think I'll write the Ilum chapters. I've been wanting to do those for a while now. Barriss and Aisha will both enter the caves, alongside the others travelling there. In the meantime, Ahsoka will wait there along with Master Yoda.

I might also decide to write a chapter for a new story idea I had. It's an alternate version of Rebirth of Light. Ahsoka wakes up alone in the morgue and follows the Force's guidance, trying to get away from everything that happened. She'll make her way to Shili, hoping to find her family, where she'll find out something about her heritage that she could have never imagined.

It's a bit of a random idea that I had, pretty similar to what I had for Mysterious Ways, but I think it can make a nice story.

That being said, I have a few more ideas for stories, both longer ones and possible one shots, but It's difficult to find the time to write everything down. I don't know when I might start a possible new story, because I really want to move Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story along.

I think that's enough of me for now. Until next time.