Sidious did not smile as he viewed the Jackals from his transmission, sent to them from his hidden location.
"The influence of the one known as 'Ahsoka' continues to grow. I have foreseen that our schemes will be halted if she is not dealt with!" he scowls.
Captain Oil Fin did not flinch, but almost smiled at the challenge. His fellow Jackal and dark conspirator, the warrior Seveten, averted his eyes from the shadowy leader. He was not scared, but Sith Lords were ones to be treated with the deepest respect, and Sidious was formidable no matter how far away in the galaxy he was.
"Ahsoka will be eliminated!" Fin calmly replied "We have several pawns in place to wreck havok on the Jedi, and when the dust clears on what's left of the Temple, this young Jedi will be another casualty of the war, and the Chosen One will fall from grace!"
"You must see to it she dies a horrible death. Anakin is the key to the destruction of the Jedi, and I want his fall to be the darkest cut against Master Yoda and that pathetic Council!" The hooded man's mouth curled in hate as he talked his scheme to them.
"Yes, Lord Sidious!" Fin bowed.
"Can you defeat this young Jedi? Are you certain of victory?"
"One on one, yes." Fin whispered "Because I know who trained her. She will be broken, then she will fall."
"The key to Anakin's fall is killing Ahsoka!" Seveten added "The key to killing Ahsoka...is the Jedi Barriss Offee. We will destroy her, and break this Togrutan!"
"And so...in the matter of Barriss Offee?" Sidious' scaly voice curdled with contempt at the sound of the Jedi's name.
Seveten smiled enthusiastically "As the resident expert on Barriss Offee, I am...certain she can be corrupted. Or destroyed. It will be done."
Captain Fin and Warrior Seveten walked away to prepare for their scheme. Fin opened one of the pouches on his utility belt and held up what looked like a Snow Globe. He shook it and smiled as the sparkles of snow scattered inside it. Tiny noises came from the snow globe, like little screams of torment.
"Soon, I will have more souls for my collection. Jedi souls!" he laughed.
Conradin Hadranus woke up in his sparse room on a cool bright morning. Just a bed and a table with two chairs. It was spartan living for him at the Jedi Temple, but he was made comfortable by those who kept him as a political prisoner. Every day he reviewed combat reports and logistics, and gave as much info as he could to the Council on each battlefront.
He kept to himself for most days, but once in a while, he enjoyed the company of new friends. Every other day, he would have a lunch with Barriss and Ahsoka, and they talked of the war and politics, and the dangers of ideologies that twisted men's minds. Ideologies like those held by the Separatists, and more fanatical members of the Republic. They talked of the flaws of beings like Nute Gunray, but also of the rigid personalities like Tarkin.
He could see the war taking its toll on the Jedi, the council, and his friends, though he still looked to them and saw hope for the Jedi and the Republic. Barriss and Ahsoka helped lead the new padawans in the Temple. Jedi across the galactic conflict were dying, and there were so few left, it fell to the younger Jedi to help keep the traditions alive.
Barriss and Ahsoka went to meditate with another Jedi, Master Le Won. He was an older man, a little on the large side, but he always kept a smile ready for the newer, younger students. Le Won was skilled in the arts of physical meditation, slowing down his heart rate and transcending consciousness. Most of it was therapy to relax Jedi, to dispose of all the anxieties that might disrupt harmony. In war, he was sadly either underused or stretched to his limits trying to help Jedi who experienced the more traumatic excesses of war.
Barriss, in particular, frequented his chamber to help cope with the strains.
She walked with Ahsoka to meet Master Le Won. They did not hold hands in public, but their words were filled with just as much expression of love.
"Are you doing okay? You look a lighter shade of green today." Ahsoka half joked.
Barriss partially smiled "I did not sleep well." She whispered cryptically "I think we need to have a talk with General Hadranus. I think he still...looks to me for inspiration."
"What do you mean by that?" Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.
Barriss blushed, embarrassed to be the center of the discussion, looking down at the floor "Three times now, when I have opened the door to my room in the morning...I have found flowers. They are lovely flowers, but...I suspect he still displays this as a token of affection. It must be him. I know you would not show such displays..." She gently took Ahsoka's hand and smiled a little, but could see the expression in her Lover's eyes. This revelation has become awkward for both of them.
"Do not be so harsh with him." Barriss tried to calm her down, but Ahsoka walked fast towards the General's chamber.
"I will go talk to the General, right now!" Ahsoka was gentle but assertive. She was not normally given to flights of jealousy, but such an action was unacceptable, especially in the Temple itself. "Go meditate with Master Le Won. I will join you shortly.
Barriss entered the chamber of Master Pepin Le Won. The Jedi Master sat down and set a small metronome device to make a rhythmic ticking. They sat together and clsoed their eyes, purging all the stress they held from within. Master Le Won went into a trance without a word, and Barriss breathed slowly to relax. They did not speak, but understood each other very well without words. Dealing with the war and its atrocities took tremendous effort and will power to overcome. Barriss felt the strain, but came to trust Le Won's techniques. She could feel the burden lifting every time she put her mind to rest in the deepest concentration.
Ahsoka's mind, on the other hand, was anything but restive. It was racing with not only stress from the war, but with irritation at Conradin's suspected attempts to stay involved with Barriss on some delusionally romantic level. It was already difficult enough to keep their love a secret for the sake of the Jedi Order and their own feelings without a 3rd person getting emotional, and a Separatist at that.
Ahsoka marched up to his door and pounded on it.
"Oh, Ahsoka...I was getting ready to go eat dinner. Everyone else is in the cafeteria. Coming?" Conradin answered a bit surprised.
Ahsoka did not go with small talk, but pushed her way into his quarters and locked the door.
"Okay, Conradin. I know I have not been friends with you as long as Barriss has, but I need you to answer a question, and I need you to be dead honest with me!"
"Excuse me?" Conradin finally sensed her distress and hostility. He stood there and listened, realizing this was not a simple social call.
"Are you sending flowers to Barriss outside her door every morning? YES or NO?"
He stared at her for a moment, not knowing what was going on, but could tell this was a serious question.
"No. I have not sent any flowers to anyone, and I can truthfully say I do not know what you are talking about." She took two steps towards him aggressively. "You know me well enough, Ahsoka. I don't play games, certainly I do not cross the line in that way. You two made it very clear."
"Somebody is sending her flowers, and I want it stopped! There's too much at stake right now, and she does not need this kind of attention."
"I would agree." Conradin frowned.
Ahsoka eventually relaxed and sighed "Sorry. Maybe we should check up on her and go check the security systems to see if we can deduce who is doing this."
He nodded, also relaxing "Good idea."
They left to make their way to Le Won's chamber.
Barriss was completely enveloped into her meditation. She transcended to a peace of mind rarely felt, and could almost feel her soul dancing, free of the physical world, and free from all forms of distress. She had just enough though to wish Ahsoka was here with her, so they could dream dance together. Oh, how she wished they could dream dance in this state forever.
She sensed Ahsoka from afar, but sensed others in the room. Le Won's presence became energetic somehow, and there was another presence. Another Jedi? Who ever it was, she somehow sensed the aura to be more...malevolent.
That's when she felt herself jolted out of the peaceful trance. She was awoken suddenly and harshly with a brace around her neck!
"Don't struggle, Jedi Offee. You are wearing a nullifier. You ability to use your Jedi powers has been...temporarily diminished."
"What is this!? WHO ARE YOU!?" She spoke quick, but speaking was almost all she could do. Whatever this thing brace around her neck as, it made her limbs heavy and her movements sluggish.
Master Le Won opened his eyes and just looked at her "Tell your Master that the deed is done!" He stood up and stretched.
"Master?" Barriss felt confused at his actions that seemed to betray all notions of his Jedi disciplines. She saw the young Mandolorian warrior smiling as he called in Captain Fin.
"What is happening?" she insisted.
Captain Fin entered discreetly "Phase two is finished, phase three will begin shortly, and Master Sidious will have his prize!"
"Then I will leave, with my money!" Le Won looked at the two mercenaries, intent on his reward.
"Master Le Won! You would sell me for money!? I am no one's prize!"
Captain Fin looked at her, a little irritated "This isn't about you. Well, not entirely. We're talking about Master Skywalker."
Le Won looked at her with fake sadness "I'm so sorry my dear. Do not take this personally. You are...a part of a greater scheme. One I do not wish to witness. I have gained your trust, you and Ahsoka Tano's. Oh yes, I know about your disgusting affair. I know you two are lovers! I have not only sold your life for a great sum of money, but the Jedi Order. They are corrupt, and wish to keep fighting and bring the Republic to ruin. I will punish them. And retire a wealthy man.."
"But...!" She pleaded to his reason "You were helping us cope with the war!"
Pepin Le Won shrugged "Yet you would break the rules of the Order in secret. Your betrayal is far worse than mine. You and Ahsoka, engaging in your filthy, selfish love! At least I have gained something from my choices. You and the Jedi have only yourselves to blame for what is about to happen!"
"What?" She said in shock. His words have cut into her heart, and she desperately wished Ahsoka was here now to stop what seemed to be a grand and terrible plot.
Fin walked behind Pepin and smiled "Now, Master Le Won. About your 'reward!"
Fin blasted the Jedi in the back with his disruptor pistol. A blast through the heart that burst through Le Won and bloodied his chest. Barriss gasped at the senseless violence. She tried to squirm free of the device, but the smiling Jackal Seveten held her down.
"He served his purpose! As will you!"
"That blast will be heard! The Jedi guards will come after you! There will be no escape, assassins!" She growled as Master Le Won fell to the ground dead.
"Not quite, my dear. I will explain, but first...I want to collect this soul!"
Fin held out his snow globe device and held it over Le Won's mouth. A bright snowflake of light floated from the dead man's mouth and was absorbed into the snowglobe, as if drawn to the device. Fin truly felt he was Master of the fate of others. Even in death, he controlled them.
"A soul catcher, made by Mother Talzin herself. Amazing toy. I have hundreds of souls, and I love playing with them every once in a while!" He seemed to comment more to himself than to the others as he watched the blizzard of sparkling lights swirl in the small orb he treasured.
Fin smiled again and helped carry Barriss from the room. The halls were empty. Nothing stirred, though she sensed Ahsoka somewhere in the Temple.
"No one will be coming for you, except maybe Ahsoka Tano. This plan was in phases. Phase I, I drugged the food supply for the Temple. Everyone will be asleep for a short time. Long enough for us to commit to phase II, which is to frame you for the death of Ahsoka Tano. Ahsoka will be coming back to Master Le Won's room. I have left a bomb there as a parting gift. Nanobots inside the body of Master Le Won. Ahsoka's destruction and your light saber left there will point this deed to you. The Temple will be thrown into chaos, and Phase III will be about the rebirth of another great Jedi. General Skywalker will die and be reborn, remolded by the true master of this war. And Skywalker will be shaped by the plans of Darth Sidious!"
"You're a monster!" Barriss was in complete shock at the mad scheme. More importantly, her heart sank, knowing that Ahsoka would be almost at the Meditation chamber in seconds.
Seveten and Fin carried her to the Jedi garden as the sun set on the horizon. The Alderaanian blossoms filled the air. Their white petals blew in the wind like a gentle spring exodus from the trees. The scene would be almost be beautiful beyond words if it were not for the quiet terror about to take place. Barriss struggled, never giving up, but the brace wore down her energy. Her limbs were so heavy.
Seveten shook his head "There is no future here for you, Barriss Offee. The Jedi will hunt you down like a killer. This is how it was meant to be."
"What makes you think I would ever join you!?" She grew agitated, breathing fast, now terrified that she might only have seconds to warn Ahsoka "Why don't you just kill me!?"
"You are special, Barriss. I do not wish to see you dead. There was a plan to finish this with you being blown up as well, but Fin did not want to end you that way. Truth is, I asked him about you. I have given you a second chance, my lovely! But how silly of me. I have not properly introduced myself. Call me Seveten."
Barriss felt horror building inside her as she saw the young man smiled. "You...you sent the flowers! you're obsessed!? How did you even get past our security!?"
Seveten shrugged "I'm a Mandolorian. Sort of. It was easy sneaking past your Jedi guards. I'm surprised more people don't attack the Temple. They must be afraid of the Jedi. But I am not. Yes, I sent you flowers. You have so much potential as a warrior. It is wasted here with these goody goody two shoes. Such a dull place. Surely, you will become more exciting when you shed this boring image!"
"NO! Here is what will happen! Ahsoka will find me! Ahsoka and I will meet again despite your efforts, Mandolorian!" Barriss struggled harder to break free, but felt weakness from the brace. "AHSOKA! AHSOKAAAAA!" She cried out in desperation "FIND ME, AHSOKA!" her desperation could not stem the dread tide of hopelessness as time was running out. All she could do was think back on all her adventures, when she met Ahsoka on Geonosis, when they confessed their love, their first night spent together in the greatest secrecy, the growing of their secret desire to be together. All memories forged in war, forged in innocence. She would not let that die out in her heart. And yet, there was now a terror of it ending. Ending with Ahsoka's death.
"Ahsoka and Barriss. Will they meet again? An interesting story, Jedi" Oil Fin smiled as he toyed with his sparkling bauble "Unfortunately, it is not a story we plan to tell anytime soon."
Fin looked at his time piece. The explosion erupted within the Temple! The ground shook and the blossoms swirled in the air around them. Barriss tried to reach out in the Force to find Ahsoka, find someone. All she could sense was chaos.
Barriss screamed in terror, not knowing Ahsoka's fate as the explosion created plumes of smoke. She went silent as Fin activated a control on his wrist, summoning a shuttle to make for their escape. The Jedi would awaken very soon, and the scandal would rock all of Coruscant and the Republic. Seveten prepared to pick her up.
"You see? Hate and anger will soon be in your heart, and you will accept the darkness. You may even come to like it!"
Barriss went silent, unable to stop her tears as the smoke billowed thicker. She could not sense anything.
A voice from the other side of the garden orchard called out to them "Let her go, Assassin! You scheme has ended!"
Conradin Hadranus stepped into sight, visible in the dying orange glow as the sun went a little further down. "Ahsoka is alive! And she will be here with more Jedi! You have failed!"
"AHSOKA LIVES!" Barriss cried out, her voice choking back relief and happiness to see her friend.
Seveten stepped forward to face Conradin "Old man!"
"Young pup!" Conradin answered as they faced each other.
"You're unarmed" The warrior smirked
"I don't need to fight long. Just long enough to hold you." Conradin held himself in a martial arts position of readiness. Seveten snapped into his own martial stance.
"Beating you will be a pleasure, even if the battle is short!" The Mandolorian launched himself at the General. Both sparred with fast punches, kicks and fancy jumps. They circled each other and tried to use their energies to disable the other.
"Conradin, STOP! He's trained in the killing arts of Mandolore!" Barriss tried to warn him.
"Come on, finish this, Seveten! We must hurry!" Fin warned. The shuttle was landing, and Fin prepped to leave. But Seveten's arrogance would get the better of him. The young lion hoped to beat the old, worn out lion.
There was truth in Warrior Seveten's punches. Conradin was more of a saber duelist like Dooku. His hand to hand combat skills were a little less than Seveten's brutal speed and power.
"You will always be weaker than I!" the younger warrior bragged "Always believing in honor, and all those outdated notions about walking the path to the light. Well, I got news for you..." Seveten punched the weary Conradin, and kicked him into a tree. The older Conradin gasped for breath. He was outclassed in this combat, but he stood on his feet again and prepared to take another beating. He would keep fighting as long as he could to stop the Jackals from taking Barriss.
"I'm faster and smarter. You should have embraced a darker path. You would have lasted longer. Felt more power. How does it feel to be on the losing end of this war?" Seveten punched him a couple more times, sending him to the ground.
Conradin was still young by anyone's standards, but he was worn down by the long conflict, his soul beaten by the cynical wounds the Clone war had given him. Warrior Seveten was invigorated by the conflict, his Mandolorian philosophy helped him adopt to the brutality of change that engulfed the galaxy, a galaxy that Conradin had loved and tried to save. Seveten had embraced the fire of this war, and his strength overpowered the General not just physically, but emotionally as well. Conradin and his idealism faced defeat. The fight felt like it took forever, but was over in moments. The veteran beaten by the faster, younger newcomer.
"How does it feel, General, failing to save the Jedi from ruin? You can't even save THIS Jedi. She is destined for a greater fate!" Seveten asked again as Conradin lay on the ground, wheezing.
But Conradin was a stubborn old gundark "You're a dumber dope than you look, boy! Maybe my idealism is my weakness, but your arrogance will be yours. The difference between what you and I stand for will define us long after this war is forgotten for a new one! I did everything in my power to save the Republic from chaos and darkness. I did it for love, something you just don't have! Even your obsession with Barriss Offee is an emptiness. There's no joy in what you stand for. All you are doing is helping this mercenary next to you! Helping him destroy all that is good and right with the Jedi and the Republic! It's true, I cannot win this battle. I will be beaten here. Maybe even die trying, but I will still have love in my heart, even for the people I cannot save. It's more than what you will ever have!"
The Jackals had a good chuckle at his useless bravado. Fin pulled out his gun in one hand, and his snowglobe in the other "I got this soul catcher from a witch of Dathomir. Mother Talzin herself! I'm going to enjoy adding you to my collection..."
Barriss looked down at the blossoms as the landed around her feet. The peace that passeth all understanding was almost gone. But Barriss would not let it end like this. Not with her heart in darkness. Barriss used every last ounce of strength to break from where she was. Every agonizing ounce of strength. It hurt to move, but move she did, and she moved with an angel's grace to attack Fin.
Fin responded in anger and contempt. Much to Seveten's dismay, he decided to change the plan, shooting Barriss in the heart. She gasped and closed her eyes in pain. breathing hurt. Breathing became impossible. Numbness and cold grew inside her like poisonous roots taking hold. She fell down and looked up at the blossoms falling around her.
Conradin was in shock, so was Seveten. The girl Jedi that both cherished in their hearts, was dead. Two opposing points of view that hoped to pull her to them. Both lost her. Seveten simply accepted it as the will of Fin, whom he followed regardless of the cost. Conradin's devastation broke his heart, and he wished he had died instead. He wished to die still, especially...seeing Captain Fin lean down and prepare to take Barriss' soul into the Snowglobe. It would be the final stroke of insult and despair to witness her imprisonment in his hands forever.
Conradin watched in horror as a bright sparkle of light floated out of Barriss' mouth to be captured by Fin's abominable orb.
"NO!" Ahsoka screamed. She had returned too late with Jedi guards. Waking them had been a challenge, though she worked fast and raised an alarm all over the Temple. The Jedi were still recovering. She had not been fast enough. Her love was gone, about to be pillaged by twisted magic in the hands of a mad man.
Ahsoka screamed, her power in the Forced completely focused on the abhorrent invention. She made it explode before he could take the very essence of everything Ahsoka loved. The explosion cut fragments of glass into Fin's hand and arm. But it also burst forth with hundreds of sparkling souls, like a blaze of lightning, the flakes of light swirled and filled the garden, swirling with the blossoms in a dazzling display. The blazes of light began to make noise, joyful noises as the souls celebrated their freedom
As the night almost fell, Ahsoka walked up and gripped her fists as she poised herself, ready to fight the arrogant warrior Seveten. The blossoms stirred and fell around them in a breeze. The blazes of souls watched, hanging in the air, witnessing this final battle for the last soul summoned by Fin.
"You will not touch her again! Her life is NOT YOURS TO GIVE OR TAKE!"
Ahsoka's face curled into despair and anger. Tears fell, but she was completely focused.
Seveten sneered "At least she didn't die a cheap death!"
Ahsoka's heart nearly crumbled at his nihilistic eulogy. She cast him away with a blast of the Force. More than just a blast. She carved her own soul into the attack as she screamed a battle cry, sending the young warrior into a tree with such force that he fell and did not get up again. He groaned, but did not move much.
Ahsoka leaned down to Barriss as the bright sparkle of her essence hovered above her body. Ahsoka cupped the beautiful little ball of light and could feel Barriss in it. Everything that she ever was and ever would have been was encompassed in it.
"Well...here we are." she let tears fall as she held the light, trying to say all the things she could not say when they were hiding their secret together. "You look so...beautiful. And you know what? I do not sense any fear, Barriss. I can feel your presence! I CAN FEEL IT and it feels like...like you are flying!"
Everyone watched now. The Jedi, Conradin, the assassins. Watching as she gazed on her love.
"I wanted so much! There wasn't enough time. I wanted to be a Jedi, but I also wanted you! I wanted to break the rules, but I wanted stability! You were always so wise and cautious, while I ran around...reckless and...and..." Her face scrunched as the chaos of tears flooded her face. "You saved my life before I even knew I needed saving. Barriss...I can't do this without you...I can't keep fighting against...the war, the rules, all the things that keep holding me back...I can't...not without you..."
Her thoughts were interrupted by Fin's gun as he cocked it in her direction. Even trapped and surrounded, Fin was an assassin to the very end.
Ahsoka let go of the light, but it floated in place as the other lights waited to see Ahsoka confront Captain Fin.
Her rage built up and burned hotter inside her. She was ready to lose control. He aimed his gun, but she let her rage smash it with the power of the Force.
"You still want to face me?" She looked at him with a death stare.
Fin was a little intimidated, but his manhood was at stake, and he would not cower in front of a small girl. He prepared for hand to hand combat. No doubt he was tough, and his punches would hurt as he charged her, but she had nothing to lose.
They fought ferociously and, Ahsoka starting slipping into the darkness of revenge. But then she heard a voice singing.
As the final combat was heating up, a voice reached out to her heart, and sang with sweetness for Ahsoka and Barriss. It was one of the sparks of light.
They paused again as the blossoms fell around them. Ahsoka smiled and closed her eyes and listened, thinking of Barriss and their love "She sings for us." she whispered.
Soon, the hundreds of other souls joined in. Having felt joy, peace and love after being freed of the prison, all of the little sparks of light became a chorus for Ahsoka. They swirled with the blossoms, blazing bright so Ahsoka almost appeared white.
Fin tried to keep fighting, but Ahsoka found peace in her heart and countered all of his attacks.
"Can you hear them?" She asked him quietly "All these people who lived in terror of you and your judgement? All these people whose lives were taken, sacrificed TO YOU...can you hear them singing?"
Barriss' light, encouraged, floated back down to her body, back inside. Her light was followed by the hundreds of others. So moved by the love between two helpless Jedi, a love deeply cherished yet always attacked, the souls of other victims reached down to the body covered in blossoms, and were determined that this love would not die. It would not be taken away by dark powers and cold hearts.
Fin tried to attack again, but was pushed back as Ahsoka's attacks now subdued his aggression
"Oh, you like to think you're a God? But you're not a god, you're just a parasite! Stealing souls with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others! YOU FEED ON THEM! You feed on the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow, so...so...come on, then. Take mine. Take my soul, if you can! But I hope you got an orb big enough to hold it, because I have lived quite a life in a short amount of years! And I've seen a few things!"
Fin's attacks were wilting away and Ahsoka kicked and pushed him back each time he tried. The souls entered Barriss' mouth and glowed within her as Ahsoka pushed back Fin.
"I've held baby Jedi in my arms, watched them grow! I've seen good people cut down by evil! I watched the birth of alliances and watched as time ran out for heroes holding off the enemy! I fought hopeless battles and defied horrible traps created by the minds of mad men!"
Fin tried to attack yet again, but Ahsoka's fast punches broke his nose and made him spit teeth.
"I've watched whole worlds freeze and exploding suns burn! I HAVE SEEN THINGS YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE! I HAVE LOST THINGS YOU WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND! And I know things! Secrets that must never be told! I've held a love that I could never speak of! A LOVE THAT WOULD MAKE PARASITE GODS BLAZE! SO COME ON, THEN! TAKE IT! TAKE IT ALL, BABY! HAVE IT! YOU HAVE IT ALL!"
But Fin could not fight any longer. He fell to his knees, defeated.
Ahsoka blazed a bright white as the hundreds of souls glowed now from within Barriss. Barriss Offee opened her eyes and began to shine white as well.
"Ahsoka..." She breathed a whisper, alive again, awake.
Fin and Seveten were grabbed by the Jedi guards and carried away, defeated. Conradin, bruised and with some blood on his face, stood up and watched as Ahsoka and Barriss returned to a more normal color. Ahsoka now faced Barriss. The glow left, the souls spent their energy to bring her back and were no more. Barriss and Ahsoka grabbed each other in an embrace. One that would make parasite Gods blaze with envy.
They wept together. A miracle had overturned disaster, and not even the Force could stop what they held in their hearts. Time after time, danger upon danger, through the war and its horrors they triumphed. They triumphed because the power of Love made it so. A notion few could fully grasp, and even they did not realize the power they had. All they knew was they could not exist alone, could not live without each other. Not without each other.
There would be consequences. The secret was in the open, and scandals would rock the Jedi Order. The Council witnessed, and the two small Jedi would soon be made accountable for their feelings.
But they did not care.
Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee sealed their fate as Jedi with the deepest kiss, unhidden and unrestrained.
Their faces together, their hug unbreakable, they looked to the Jedi watching them. Barriss smiled with heavy breaths excited. Ahsoka, in true fashion to who she was and ever shall be, looked out at the council and uttered two words. Conradin smiled. They were words he would hold in his heart until the day he died. Words that would be felt throughout the Temple, and repeated by the people of Coruscant. The words would also reach Sidious with the greatest intention to be heard, so that he would know he had utterly failed. The Sith Lord's rage over Ahsoka and Barriss would be epic indeed.
Two words, as she held hands with her Love: "We Defy"