Chapter 35 – A Family Visit

I'm still struggling a bit with getting back into my stories, but I've finished a new chapter for Barriss. This one is mostly dialogue. Later chapters will have some more action again.

Continuing from the previous chapter, Barriss has given her sister's invitation some thought.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Scout was confused as she followed her Master. Ever since her Master had come back to their quarters yesterday, she had been struggling with something in her mind. She had gone to see her former Master to discuss whatever it was and after she had come back from that, she had only mentioned to her that they were going to take a little trip the next day.

One thing that had confused and somewhat intrigued her is the fact that her Master had asked her to keep this little trip between them. She had agreed, of course, but she wasn't really sure why. She figured it was all connected, but it seemed that she'd just have to wait.

The two of them were now walking through a residential area in a different part of Coruscant. It was a bit away from the Temple, but Scout knew that it was relatively close to the hospital that her Master often volunteered and worked at.

"Master? Where are we headed exactly?" she asked after a few minutes of walking. She had seen her check some things on a datapad, so she obviously had a destination in mind.

Barriss thought it over a moment and gestured for them to stop. "Yesterday, as I was leaving the hospital, someone came up to talk to me," she explained. "It was a conversation that I certainly did not ever expect to have. It left me with quite an interesting decision. After talking it over with Master Unduli and meditating on it, I decided to follow up on it."

"Okay, but, what are we doing then?" Scout asked. Yes, her Master had explained the reason why, partially, but she still didn't know what they were doing now.

"I think it will be a bit unbelievable if I told you," Barriss admitted. "Sorry Scout, but you'll have to wait until we get there."

Scout wasn't entirely happy with her answer, but she could sense that her Master meant this through their bond. "Alright then," she replied, a little annoyed, but she would wait.

Barriss nodded, grateful that her eager Padawan didn't push the matter further. She would get her answers soon enough.

;-

Barriss was nervous. Very nervous. She wasn't going to deny it. Scout and her had just arrived at the address her sister Evana had given her the day before. The address where her sister lived with their mother.

Some part of her couldn't believe that she was actually here to do this, yet here she was. It went against a lot of her teachings, but when she had meditated on this matter the day before, the Force had encouraged this course of action, so here she was.

She rang the doorbell and waited. She could sense the movement inside the apartment and the door opened, revealing her younger sister Evana Offee. The moment she saw who it was at the door, her face lit up immediately.

"You're here!" she said with a large smile. "Come in! Come in!" She gestured excitedly into the apartment and walked back inside. "Hey mom!" she called out.

Barriss couldn't help but give a small smile at her excitement. Still, she began to feel a little nervous too. This would be the first time she would meet her mother since she was a little girl.

Scout turned to her Master in confusion. "Master? Who was that girl and why did she look so much like you?" she asked, unsure of what to make of this.

Barriss looked at her Padawan and gave her a little smile. "She's my younger sister," she replied. If she wasn't so nervous about this, the look of shock on Scout's face would have made her laugh quite a bit. She took a deep breath. "Come on, let's go inside," she said quietly as she began to walk inside. Scout followed after her, a little bit shocked, but did remember to close the door behind her.

Barriss walked over to what she assumed to be the living room, considering she could hear her sister's voice coming from there, somewhat loudly and excited. "There was someone I met at the hospital yesterday! You won't believe who it was! And she's here now!"

"Evana, calm down. Who are you talking about?" she heard an older voice reply.

Barriss took that as her sign. She slowly walked into the living room. Inside it, she was greeted by the sight of her younger sister and an older Mirialan woman who looked like both of them. The woman was dressed in traditional Mirialan clothing, with several tattoos decorating her face. She looked from Evana to Barriss and back to Evana again. Seeing the younger girl's eagerly smiling face and the familiar features of the older girl, realization slowly dawns upon her.

She gasped slowly. "Is it.. No… B-Barriss? Is it really you?" she asked.

Barriss nodded and gave a small smile. "Yes, it's me," she replied softly, struggling a little to find her voice. She took a few steps towards her, but her mother walked faster and pulled her into a tight hug. Barriss hesitated a moment before she eagerly returned the hug.

She had shared a few hugs with her former Master in the past, but they had often been simple and quick. Sometimes they were longer and more comforting, like after a rough mission. Ahsoka had also been a bit insisted on a few hugs from time to time, part of her social nature. It had been different and her friend's excited nature had left her a little confused or flustered then.

This was very different. There was a clear rush of warm emotions. It was a rather unfamiliar sensation to her. And yet, in her mother's embrace like this, a very clear revelation also came to her. "This is nothing like the Dark Side," she thought with absolute certainty.

After a few minutes they pulled back again slightly. Barriss couldn't help but notice she was a bit taller than her mother. She still had a smile on her face as her mother studied her face, gently tracing some of Barriss' tattoos. She studied her mother's tattoos in return. She had multiple intricate tattoos that spoke very clearly about her skills as a nurse. She couldn't help but be a bit amused as she realized that she had followed in a similar path as her mother, despite the fact that she barely had any memories of her.

"I thought that I would never see you again. Look at you," she whispered as she studied her daughter. She pulled back from the hug, looking Barriss over completely. "How did you know we were on Coruscant?"

"A chance meeting to say the least," Barriss replied. She looked over at Evana. "Being a healer, I sometimes volunteer at the hospital where Evana is studying at. She and her class saw me when I was working on a patient. After that, she approached me when I was leaving the hospital. It was a big surprise, that's for sure."

"So that's why you were so happy when you got back yesterday," their mother said as she looked over at Evana.

Evana nodded eagerly. "That's right!" she replied happily. "At first I wasn't sure if it was her, but it was! I was able to meet up with her before she left the hospital. I know what the Jedi rules say about family, but I asked if she maybe could stop by once. And she did!" she smiled widely at her sister.

"Yes, I did," Barriss said with a smile at her sister. "I have to be honest though, if we had met several months ago, I doubt I would have done the same. But… well, a lot has changed for me, including my opinions about the Force and the Jedi Code. We were always told to avoid attachments, as they would cloud our judgment and lead us on a dark path. However, one of my closest friends left the Order and was reunited with her family after a series of horrifying events. Now she's easily one of the brightest shining people that I know."

Her mother smiled at that, but before she could comment on it she noticed the young Human girl standing a little stunned a little bit behind her daughter. She looked at Barriss again. "Who did you bring with you?" she inquired gently.

Barriss' eyes a bit and she turned back to the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to forget about you," Barriss apologized to Scout, slightly embarrassed. She gestured for Scout to come closer. She nodded and walked up to her. Barriss rested her hand on Scout's shoulder and turned back to her family. "This is Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy, but everyone calls her Scout. She's my Padawan learner."

Scout was obviously still a bit stunned by everything she had just witnessed, but respectfully bowed her head. "Hello, it's nice to meet you," she said politely.

"It's nice to meet you as well. My name is Maris Offee and this is my daughter Evana," she introduced herself and her daughter.

"You have a learner? That's so cool! It's great to meet you," Evana said eagerly. "How long have you been together? I heard that Jedi and their Padawans spend years together. Is that true?"

"Yes, that's true. Scout and I have only known each other for a few weeks though, but my former Master Luminara Unduli and I were together since I was eleven. She was a great Master and taught me a lot," she explained.

Scout smiled. "Barriss is a great Master as well. She has already helped me out so much! I'm really happy that she chose me," she said with some excitement, getting over the initial shock a little.

The four of them took a moment to sit down in the living room. Maris and Evana grabbed some drinks for everyone. "So how did you two meet?" Evana asked her sister and her Padawan after she sat down.

Barriss gave her Padawan a little smile. "Well, I guess it was another little chance encounter. As we say in the Order: 'the Force works in mysterious ways,'" she replied. "Unexpected things can always happen. I had just finished reporting my latest mission to the Council and was on my way back to my quarters, but when I turned the corner…"

;-

Later in the evening

Scout and her Master were back in their quarters in the Temple. This day had gone very differently that she had expected. Still, meeting her Master's family had been a great experience. They had ended up staying over for dinner. She had never really had Mirialan cuisine before, but it had been really nice. "Definitely better than the food from the Temple," she thought amused.

Yes, she knew that this whole trip was technically very much against the Jedi Code, but she was already doubting it if she was honest with herself. She already knew about her friend Ahsoka now living with her own family and, according to her Master, it had done wonders for her. She was definitely with the Light side of the Force. Her Master had admitted that Ahsoka had felt lighter than many Jedi in the Order, as did her little sister and learner.

She wasn't really sure how her Master now felt about this journey. Barriss was a lot better than she was at controlling her emotions. One thing that she could tell through their bond, her Master definitely wasn't Dark all of a sudden. Meeting her family and accepting those attachments had not affected her in any negative way. Still…

"Master? How do you feel about everything from today?" She asked, keeping her voice somewhat neutral, despite her curiosity. "I thought they were very nice."

Barriss looked at her Padawan and smiled. "Yes, they were," she replied. At first, she hadn't been certain what to expect from this trip, but it turned out a much better experience than she had thought. The Force had felt quite bright during the whole time they were there. After the things she had previously experienced, it honestly made her question the Jedi Code even more, but not in a bad way, thankfully. Still, she was doubtful. "Maybe I'll have a chance to discuss all of this with Ahsoka. I'm sure she could give me some advice," she thought.

"It was very nice to meet them both," She admitted to her Padawan. "I honestly didn't expect to ever meet someone from my family, but it was a good experience. I'm glad I encountered Evana when I did." She paused a moment. "After everything that has happened to me, I've been wondering about the role we Jedi play in the war and the Code. Meeting my family is considered heavily against the Code, but I don't feel Dark now. I know what the Dark Side feels like and this is definitely not it."

"If anything, you feel a little brighter," Scout admitted. "I remember Master Yoda saying once that we never stop learning and that something that once is true, can change over time. Do you think that it could also be true for the Code?"

Her Padawan asked it as an innocent question, but she basically nailed something that Barriss herself was struggling with. What if the Code is no longer true? Or at least, not entirely? The Order had already violated so many parts of it by fighting in the war. Should it be changed? And in what ways? She couldn't help but wonder about it.

"Who knows, it might be true. Perhaps the Force has willed it to change, but we missed It's call to do so. We've missed quite a bit the past few years," Barriss told her Padawan. "I think it might be best if we don't discuss this outside of our quarters. Some might see it as heresy, especially coming from someone like me." Scout looked like she wanted to protest to, at least a part of, what she just said, but nodded understandingly nonetheless.

"I'm hoping to have a chance to discuss all of this with Ahsoka," Barriss confessed. "She's been living with her family for a while now. I'm sure that she'll have some insights to share about it."

"I hope so too! That sounds like a great idea. It would be nice to see her again," Scout replied excitedly. "I wonder if I'll ever encounter my family someday."

Barriss looked at her Padawan. "The galaxy is a big place, sometimes the strangest things can happen." With that, her mind drifted briefly to an strange surreal story that Ahsoka had told her about, something that definitely seemed impossible to her, but Ahsoka swore it was the truth. "Master Unduli told me that Knight Secura has had some run ins with members of her family, but they weren't very positive. But who knows, maybe you'll run into someone from your family one day Scout," Barriss said. "Do you remember anything of them?" she asked out of some curiosity.

"Well, the only thing that I really know is that my family was very poor. Even though I tested just barely strong enough in the Force, my parents begged that Jedi recruiter to take me with him. They hoped that I would have a better life with the Jedi than what they could give me," she explained to her Master.

Barriss gave her a light smile. "It sounds like they wanted what was best for you," she replied. "I'm sure they would be proud to see you now." Scout smiled at hearing that. "Now then, it's been a longer day than we originally planned. How about we get some rest? After all, we were supposed to do a lot more training with Form III tomorrow, remember? You insisted we did so."

"I remember," Scout replied quickly as she got up with a slightly excited spring. "I'll be ready for it! Good night Master." She gave a quick bow and made her way to her room.

"Good night Scout, sleep well," Barriss replied as she watched her Padawan leave the room. She got up as well and made her way towards her own quarters.

;-

I'm going to end the chapter here.

Barriss has met with her family and it has left her with some more doubt regarding the Jedi Code. It's something that will be on her mind quite a bit in the coming weeks.

Now then, both Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story are at the same point in time again. So, that means it's time for some double updates again. The events for Ahsoka and Barriss will take place at the same time. Will that mean that they will see each other again soon? Definitely. The Force has plans for everyone (and so do I).

I have been working on the next chapter for Gift of Light, so I'll be alternating between these chapters a bit. I'm not sure which story will be updated first. I may finish a different chapter first. I still have an idea for a different AU-type story. I've written out a part of the first chapter of that, so maybe I'll finish that in between the other chapters. I have too many ideas that I'd like to write out.

Until next time.