Chapter 34 – Surprise Encounter

It's been some time since I've uploaded something. More on that at the end of the chapter.

Hope you enjoy the chapter.

;-

So far, she was certain that she had made the right decision in signing up for the medicine courses on Coruscant. Yes, the academy on her home planet was good. No one could really deny that, but in some ways, it just couldn't compare to the one on Coruscant. It was a big chance to study on Coruscant, so she had been surprised and happy when the opportunity to study there was offered to her.

Now she was excited to be here. The courses were very interesting and often had a guest lecturer in the form of a skilled doctor sharing stories of difficult and unusual cases that they had been through. Coruscant seemed like a gathering point for them. Being able to discuss rare cases with those doctors was quite unique and a great way to learn more. Apart from those courses, there was also the chance of special excursions, like the one she was a part of now.

She followed the doctor and the others through the halls of the hospital. So far this tour and the introduction to the work in a hospital had been very exciting. Sure, they weren't allowed in the active surgery rooms for obvious reasons, but there was still a lot to see. Seeing as she wanted to work in a hospital later, getting a tour through one of the largest hospitals in the galaxy was incredibly exciting.

;-

They were looking around in the observation rooms above the special operating theaters when the doctor leading them around called for everyone to join him.

"Ah, everyone, quickly gather around," the doctor called to them. He gestured at the observation window next to him. "We have quite a rare opportunity here. This is something you don't see every day, even in our field."

Everyone gathered by the window and looked into the room. There was a teal-colored Twi'Lek woman lying unconscious on the hospital bed, a multitude of sensors placed on her, especially around her face and her damaged lekku. There were two others in the room. One was obviously a nurse of the hospital, but the other stood out quite a bit. This young Mirialan woman was wearing the robes of a Jedi! Especially seeing the lightsabers on her belt had everyone looking closely at her.

"The poor woman you see lying there suffered great neurological damage when she got caught up in an accident at her workplace. We have been working on healing her wounds, including those on her lekku. So far we haven't had any complications with that, but reversing the mental damage is something that is beyond us. We are very fortunate, therefore, that she is able to help us out occasionally," the doctor explained. "The woman you see there is Jedi Knight Barriss Offee."

That suddenly had her full attention and she moved a bit closer to the glass to study her. Was it really her?

"Jedi Knight Offee is one of the Healers of the Jedi Temple. Some of my colleagues might scoff at or mock the Jedi and their Force abilities, but I have seen myself what she can do. Those healing abilities of the Jedi, what I wouldn't give to be able to put them in a syringe." The doctor shook his head. "Just watch the screens monitoring the patient's brain waves. You'll see what I mean soon enough."

She studied the monitors just like the others did. From the readouts, it was easy to see that there was barely any brain activity in the young woman. Everyone paid close attention as Knight Offee laid her hands on the woman's head and closed her eyes. Her hands glowed a blue color, surprising all of them. To their amazement, the woman's brain activity started to pick again up slowly. Over the course of about twenty minutes, the readouts of the monitors were in the normal ranges again.

"That's incredible!" one of the others commented. Everyone muttered their agreements.

"Indeed it is," the doctor agreed. "Those healing abilities are something else. I was a little skeptical myself at first, but after witnessing it all myself, I was convinced. Now, whenever we have a situation like this poor woman, we try to contact the Jedi Temple and see if one of their healers can assist us. In several cases, their help has been invaluable."

They once again looked into the room. Jedi Knight Offee was finishing up and the monitors showed healthy mental readings again. "Amazing, isn't it?" the doctor asked the group again. "Come on, there is still one area left to show you now." The others nodded and followed the doctor. She lingered a short moment to look at the Jedi before following them as well. Perhaps she could meet up with the Jedi before she left here.

;-

Barriss Offee walked through the staff speeder lot of the hospital. She was glad that the Circle of Healers made those arrangements with the hospital. In difficult or unusual medical situations, the doctors would contact the Circle for assistance. The Force could sometimes succeed where other medical practices could not. She often volunteered for such cases when they came up. Being able to help those people was part of being a Jedi Healer after all.

It certainly made her feel a lot better than she had in the past with other assignments. She didn't have any problems with helping the clone troopers recover in hospital ships, but being part of an emergency triage center in an active war zone had been hitting her harder mentally than she had first thought it had. Only after her 'experience' with the Dark Side had it become clear to her.

Being there in such a center was horrible. Clones being wheeled in one after another after a heated battle with the droids. There she was, quickly looking over the incoming clones and judging them: 'This one needs treatment now or we'll lose him,' 'Yes, his arm has been ripped off and he's in great pain, but it's not serious. Just give him a pain shot and put him aside' and 'No, he won't make it. Just put him down and recycle what body parts you can for transplants'.

"Like some kind of butcher judging pieces of meat," she thought somberly. That was not the kind of scenarios she had envisioned when she had started with her healing lessons. Looking back, she could understand now why the Dark Side had been able to take such a hold on her. With so much death around her all the time, she had become almost numb to it and it had been a scaring revelation.

Thankfully, she was now far more connected with the Light Side again. It had been a long journey, but she felt fully confident in calling herself a Jedi again.

She was about to step into her speeder when a voice called out behind her. "Excuse me? You are Jedi Knight Barriss Offee, right?" a female voice asked. Barriss turned around and saw a Mirialan girl standing there. The girl was probably two or three years younger than she was and she had a similar green skin as her own, a common color for Mirialans really. She had two small diamonds tattooed on her cheeks, along with a few other marks that signaled that she was an advanced student of medicine. She didn't know who this girl was however.

"Yes, I am Jedi Knight Barriss Offee," she answered. "Who might you be?"

A large smile spread on the girl's face. "It is you! I was wondering if I would have a chance to see you when I planned to travel to Coruscant for my studies. I can't believe that I actually got to meet you!" she said excitedly.

Barriss gave her a slightly confused glance. A lot of people had reacted in many different ways to her in the past, especially after the mess with the bombing of the Temple, but the way this girl was talking confused her somewhat. "I see," she replied.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm rambling on," the girl said a little embarrassed. "My name is Evana. Evana Offee, I'm your little sister! It's really nice to meet you."

;-

Later that day

Scout was sitting on the couch in the quarters she shared with her Master. She was studying some of the materials from older lessons. Back then, she had always struggled with those lessons and on several occasions, her instructors had just excused her from the classes. But now that she was stronger in the Force, courtesy of her Master, she could do these exercises properly. She was eager to revisit those past courses.

Her new Force potential was already helping her out greatly. The Padawan tournament she had participated in had been incredibly exciting. She didn't have to rely on some of the trickery that she had used in the past. Instead, she could fight genuinely. She had ended second in the tournament. In the final match, she had been defeated by another Padawan named Whie Malreaux.

Whie had made sure not too underestimate her. After all, she had used some trickery to defeat him in the last tournament they had both been in. The tournament that had seen her assigned to her previous Master. They had also been on that mission with Master Yoda together. Both of them had lost their Master to the Sith assassin Ventress, but in the end, they had completed the mission, more or less. They knew what the other had been capable off and Whie had prepared well when he had learned that she was now much stronger in the Force. It had been a long duel, the longest of the tournament, but in the end, he had managed to catch her off guard and win.

She had been a little disappointed with her loss, but Whie had just been a little better than her. So, she had congratulated him on his win and vowed to defeat him the next time.

She was about to start another practice exercise with the Force when she noticed her Master come inside their quarters. She was about to greet her, but paused when she saw her occupied expression. That confused her a little, because she hadn't seen her so occupied with something before. "Master, are you alright?" she asked cautiously.

Barriss snapped out of it a bit at the question and looked up at her Padawan. "Oh, Scout. Yes, I'm fine. Just thinking some things through," she answered.

Scout studied her Master a moment. Whatever it was had shaken her up quite a bit. She could tell that through their bond. "Did something happen? Can I help you with something?"

Barriss sat down and was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry Padawan, but I don't really know. I just… received some surprising news that I'm trying to process. I'm not really sure what do to about it."

"Did something bad happen?" Scout asked slightly concerned. With the war still raging on, every day sadly had a chance at some very bad news.

Barriss shook her head and smiled softly. "No, it's nothing like that, don't worry Scout," she replied. "It was just something that I had never really expected to happen, to be honest."

Scout looked at her Master. She hadn't really seen her like this before. She seemed to be really struggling with something, but she had no idea what it was. She wasn't sure if she should ask her Master either. That thought did give her an idea. "Maybe you could ask Master Unduli for help?" she suggested. She had had a few opportunities to talk the Mirialan master and she had been very impressed by her.

Barriss smiled at her Padawan's suggestion. "A good idea Scout. I believe that I will go and see her later, once she is finished with her classes for the day," she replied. "So what have you been doing while I was at the hospital?"

Scout's worry eased a bit with that. "I was practicing telekinesis a bit more, revisiting some old lessons. There's still so many subjects and lessons that I want to repeat now that I'm stronger in the Force," she said with an eager tone.

"It's good to see you so excited for your studies. Some of my old clan mates could have used that enthusiasm," Barriss replied with a slight shake of her head. "Alright then, show me how your practice is going."

"Okay!" Scout replied excitedly. She quickly moved to set her training items back again in order to repeat her earlier practice with her Master.

;-

Luminara Unduli led her former Padawan Barriss into her quarters with a small smile. It was good to see her after such a long day of teaching younglings. However, she knew that Barriss was worried about something. During the meditation practice she had with a youngling clan, she had felt a sudden shift in her old Padawan. Something had seemingly shocked her quite a bit.

After offering her a cup of tea and them settling down on the couch, she decided to see what was wrong. "So, what's troubling you Barriss? I can tell that your mind is occupied with something," Luminara asked her.

"Yes, Master, you're right, I…" she paused a moment. "I find myself struggling with a possible decision that is quite against the Jedi Code and… I'm just not really sure what to do."

Luminara studied her former Padawan a moment. She was a bit surprised that Barriss had such a decision suddenly presented to her. "I see. So tell me, how did this decision come to you?"

Barriss looked at her former Master. "Earlier today, as I was leaving the hospital, someone suddenly approached me when I was headed to my speeder. It was a Mirialan girl, a few years younger than me who…" She took a deep breath. "She introduced herself as my younger sister."

Luminara's eyes widened in surprise as Barriss told her about their meeting.

;-

Earlier that day

"Oh! I'm sorry, I'm rambling on," the girl said a little embarrassed. "My name is Evana. Evana Offee, I'm your little sister! It's really nice to meet you."

For a moment, Barriss was stunned. Sure, her Jedi training had prepared her for all sorts of different and unexpected scenarios, but this wasn't something that she would have ever expected to happen. "You're… you're my sister?" she asked shocked.

Evana nodded. "Yes, I am," she replied eagerly. "It's great to finally meet you! I was wondering if I would have this chance when I decided to take these courses on Coruscant and now here we are."

Barriss reached out with the Force a little. It was easy to determine that the girl in front of her wasn't trying to deceive her. There was no malice or dishonesty in her whatsoever. She studied her face a bit more closely. With her medical training, she couldn't deny that this girl indeed shared a lot of similarities with her. "I… I never even knew I had other family. I mean… the Jedi Code doesn't allow for such attachments, so I never…" she paused, unsure of how to continue.

"Yeah, I heard about that part of the Jedi rules. It's a real shame if you ask me," Evana replied. "You're not allowed continued contact with relatives because of those 'attachment' dealings right? But does a one-time visit count as well? I mean, I'm staying here on Coruscant now with our mom. I'm sure she'd love to see you now, even if it's just once."

"Our mom?" Barriss asked slowly. There wasn't really anything in her Jedi training that had prepared her for something like this. What was she supposed to say?

Evana looked at her older sister a moment. She had already figured that meeting her like this would go against her sister's teachings. She couldn't help but feel a little bad. She didn't want her selfishness to cause her older Jedi sister problems. "Hey, don't worry Barriss. If you can't, I understand. I just wanted to see you at least once. But, if you can, at least come and visit us once. Here, this is our address," she said as she gave her sister a small data card.

Barriss accepted the data card from her sister. In some way, she expected the Force to tell her to reject the card, seeing as it was against the Code. However, It didn't tell her to. She closed her hand around the card, an unsure feeling resonating in the Force. "Thank you, I… I can't make any promises, but… I'll see what I can do…" she replied a bit unsure.

Evana smiled at her sister. "I'm glad to hear that. Just, don't get yourself in trouble because of me, alright?" she asked. "In any case, it was nice to meet you Barriss, even if it was just this one time."

"Despite the fact that I never expected to meet any of my family, it was nice to meet you as well Evana," Barriss replied honestly. "Maybe we'll be able to meet again some other time."

"I'd like that and I'm sure that mom would be happy as well," Evana said with a big smile. "Hopefully see you then. Goodbye!"

"Goodbye," Barriss replied as she watched her sister turn around and head towards the exit of the speeder lot. She looked at her retreating form before she turned around and moved to enter her speeder.

;-

"And that's the story Master," Barriss said. "I'm not sure what to do know. I mean, I know what the Code says about such matters, but…"

"It's a rather unusual situation indeed," Luminara agreed. "The Galaxy is a large place, so it is quite rare for a Jedi to encounter their birth family. The only Jedi I really know that has met members of their family is Knight Secura, but her encounters were not very positive." She paused a moment. Barriss had always followed the Code closely, so she wondered why her former Padawan was experiencing such doubt with this. She had a slight suspicion. "So tell me Barriss, do you know where this confusion comes from?" she asked her.

"Well, yes, I do Master," Barriss replied slowly. "It… all has to do with Ahsoka and the things that she's told me."

Luminara nodded. "I had a feeling that it would be. She was proven innocent, but after she left the Order, I have heard numerous Jedi comment that they were certain that she would succumb to the Dark Side now. That she would be consumed by rage and desire some form of revenge against the Council and the Republic."

"I have heard similar comments Master, but the truth is quite the opposite," Barriss replied. "The times I met her after she left the Order, Ahsoka's presence felt brighter than many other Jedi I see daily. She lives with her family, has embraced attachments and her emotions and she is most definitely not dark. She's with her family and she's in a relationship. Not to mention, she's also teaching her adopted little sister who could have been heavily traumatized after all that she's been through, but she isn't. When I spoke to her on Ilum, she seemed really happy and bright." She took a deep breath and shook her head. "I have to admit, that seeing how it all changed Ahsoka's life, it's… I can't deny that it has made me question certain parts of the Code."

Luminara was a little shocked by that confession, but at the same time, she could understand her former Padawan's train of thought. Because of the war, they all had done things that went against the Code. It had brought many of them pain and suffering. Ahsoka herself had also suffered greatly, perhaps more so than other Jedi, considering some of the very violent campaigns that she had been part off. And yet, the emotions that the Code said made one susceptible for the Dark Side had only made her stronger with the Light.

"It is rather curious when you look at it. And I can understand why it would make you question certain parts of our Code," she admitted to her former Padawan. "We have done many things that are against the Code in this war. Something like attachment doesn't seem like such a horrible thing to be honest, especially not compared to some things that have happened during the war." She thought it over a moment. "I'm not sure how I can help you with this Barriss. All I can tell you is to trust your feelings and listen to what the Force tells you. If you believe that meeting your family is right, then perhaps you should."

Hearing her former Master say that surprised Barriss quite a bit. "I must confess that I wasn't expecting you to say that Master, but I can understand your reasoning," she replied. "Going to meet my family doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as some other things we have done during this war." She thought it over a moment. "Thank you for your advice Master. I'll meditate on what to do and follow what the Force tells me."

Luminara nodded. "In the end, we all follow the Force. As Jedi, what It reveals to us surpasses even the Code," she said. "I will keep this talk between us Barriss. You follow what the Force tells you."

"I will, thank you Master," Barriss replied as she stood up. She bowed at her former Master and left her quarters.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

I suppose it's obvious what the next chapter for Barriss will bring. My original plan was to include the meeting with her mother in this chapter, but things changed for me.

My own mother has sadly passed away after a long struggle against cancer. I can't really bring myself to write a meeting scene between Barriss and her mother. Family is quite a big part of my stories, so it was just a bit difficult for me to continue them.

I decided to split up this chapter and post the part that was mostly done. I want to pick up my stories again in the new year. First, I might go through all of my existing chapters of Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story again, in order to make some changes here and there. This'll include changing the formatting, correcting some errors here and there and maybe add in some small things (probably nothing major in terms of story, just little things to add to the scenes themselves). I feel it'll help me get back into them.

Until next time.