'ello, peoples of the earth!
Thank you to katierosefun, CaylithTheGolden, and Lux's Sister for reviewing. Lux's Sister, I actually did consider leaving Kira undercover until Ahsoka was cleared, but there's a scene I wanted to use in Chapter 9 (to be posted on Thursday) that I couldn't write if Kira was still undercover. But you came really, really close, so kudos to you, my friend!
I now present Chapter 8 of I Know Places! Hope y'all enjoy!
That afternoon, Caleb, Cadena, and Kira met in a training room. They had a quick two-round sparring session, quick because none of them really did very well (even though Kira ended up winning the match).
"I think that's probably enough sparring for today," Cadena remarked, sitting down on the bench. "I don't want somebody to get hurt because we're not paying attention."
Kira sat next to Cadena after attaching her lightsaber back to her belt. "I don't think I could pay attention to anything right now," she admitted.
"Even destroying some tinnies?" Caleb asked. He sat on Cadena's opposite side.
Kira offered a small smile. "Maybe that."
"Are you going to the trial?" Cadena asked.
Kira shook her head. "Master Kenobi has forbidden it. He says it's no place for me."
"He knows you'd probably try to jump out of the stands and free Ahsoka in front of everyone," Cadena joked.
"I would." Caleb said this with a grin.
Kira laughed a little before her face turned somber again. "Well, as much as I would like to do that, I wouldn't be brave enough to try."
"Sure you would." Cadena bumped Kira's shoulder with her own. "You were brave enough to speak in front of the Senate."
Kira shrugged. "That was more necessity than bravery."
"Wait, wait, wait. When did you speak to the Senate?" Caleb asked, looking extremely confused.
Cadena sighed. "When Kira and I went on the mission the other day, we went undercover as a senator and her handmaiden. Kira had to give a speech."
Caleb's eyes practically popped out of his head. "Really?"
"Yeah," Kira replied, feeling sheepish.
Caleb gaped for a moment. "What was it like, being a senator? Did you have a bunch of servants that obeyed your every command? Did you have a ton of free time? Did you sleep until noon?" His cerulean eyes sparkled as he attacked Kira with questions.
Finally Kira held up a hand. "Yes. I had all these things, and I could've slept in if I wanted to. But you know what?"
"What?"
Kira leaned over Cadena to whisper in Caleb's ear, as if she was telling a secret. "I hated every minute of it."
At that, Cadena burst into laughter, and Kira joined in, leaving Caleb confused and wondering what galaxy Kira was living in that she did not enjoy her temporary life of luxury.
Suddenly, the sounds of people yelling interrupted the students' laughter. The three took quick glances at each other before Caleb ran to the door, Kira and Cadena close behind.
The first thing Kira saw was the bright neon flash of the Temple Sentinels' lightsabers. Then she saw Anakin wielding two blue lightsabers. She couldn't see his opponent, but she could see the red blades. Her first thought, that a Sith had infiltrated the Temple, made her gasp aloud.
Kira was ready to grab her transmitter (thank the Force she kept it with her at all times) and contact Obi-Wan until Cadena cried out, "That's the healer that performed your procedure, Kira!"
Horrified, Kira looked up. Sure enough, Anakin's opponent had the same short hair and dark robes the healer had had. She watched as the healer surveyed the area, and, seeing that all her escape routes were blocked by Sentinels, ran for the window behind her, using her red sabers to break it open before she jumped through. Shards of glass rained down upon the floor.
"Barriss!" Anakin shouted, jumping through the window after the healer.
So that's her name, Kira thought. Barriss.
Cadena raced out into the hall and to the broken window, looking down at the two duelists. Caleb ran after her and peered over her shoulder. Kira was the last to make it to the window.
The three watched as Anakin pushed Barriss past a group of younglings, then pinned her down with a saber lock. At the last minute, Barriss drew her blades back and made a desperate attempt to regain an offensive position. The attempt failed, and Anakin dropped one of his lightsabers so he could grab her wrist and knock one of her sabers from her hand. Then he used the Force to push Barriss back against a tree. She struggled to escape his grip as the Sentinels, who'd made their way to the site of the duel, surrounded her and took her other lightsaber.
Without even thinking about it, the viewers at the window cheered. Anakin looked up and gave them a small smile and a two-fingered salute before he gave the order to take Barriss away.
Later, Kira was trying to read through research materials Obi-Wan had downloaded onto her holopad. Separatist activity was growing in the Saleucami system, and he felt that Kira should brush up on her knowledge on the area.
Kira would've found the material interesting had she not been so concerned about the trial going down in the Senate right at that moment. Licking her lips nervously, she glanced at the view outside the window. The sun was sinking lower and lower in the sky, and Kira was starting to get really worried. What exactly was going on in that trial? Anakin had captured Barriss an hour ago.
Finally, Kira couldn't read anymore. Shutting down the holopad, she left it on her bed and headed into the corridor. She made her way to the turbolift, stepped inside, and pressed the button.
Kira was going to one of her favorite places at the Temple – the roof.
Sometimes, Kira, Cadena, and Caleb would head to the roof if they wanted to have a conversation without anyone overhearing. Sometimes Kira would go to the roof to think.
Right now, Kira was going to the roof to keep watch.
The turbolift opened, and Kira exited into the cool evening air. A gust of wind ripped strands of hair from her braid and blew them around her face, making it difficult to see. She pushed them behind her ears as she headed to the edge of the roof and sat down, dangling her legs over the side.
Time passed. The sun set completely behind the horizon, and the sky turned dark blue. Lights appeared in the Coruscant skyscrapers below and seemed to make the skyline sparkle. One by one, stars appeared. Kira glanced up at them, wondering if she could see Humbarine from here.
Kira lost her interest in the stars when the sound of a speeder's engines reached her ears. She looked down and inspected the approaching vehicle as it parked outside the Temple. She counted the figures that emerged. One, two...
And the third was a Togruta.
Kira didn't wait. She abruptly stood and ran back inside the turbolift, almost slipping as she went. Inside, she rocked on the balls of her feet as she willed the turbolift to drop faster. When it finally reached the ground floor, she raced down the corridor all the way to the front entryway just as the door opened. Her Master was the first to enter, closely followed by Anakin. Next to him, his arm around her waist as if he would never let go, was Ahsoka.
Kira had to hold back relieved tears. "Ahsoka!" she called, running to greet her friend. Ahsoka gently disentangled herself from Anakin's grip and rushed forward to meet Kira. The girls met in an embrace that almost knocked Kira off her feet.
After the girls separated, Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Do tell me that you weren't waiting here the entire time," he said to Kira.
"Oh, no, Master!" Kira exclaimed, shaking her head. "I read through some of the materials you gave me, too."
"Good."
Anakin spoke up. "Ahsoka, are you coming?"
Ahsoka sent an exasperated glance at her former Master. "We discussed this on the way, remember?"
Kira's gaze flicked between the two. "What are you talking about?"
Ahsoka sighed. "The Council, for some reason, feels the need to discuss things some more in the morning. Anakin wouldn't let me stay the night in a hotel or something, but I did tell him I wanted to stay overnight in the Bergruutfa sector instead of his quarters," she said, the last comment spoken with a pointed glare at Anakin. "He doesn't need to watch over me all the time."
Anakin raised his hands in surrender. "Fine, Snips, I get it. Will you at least let me walk you there?"
"If you promise not to be like this the entire night."
By this time, Anakin had put his arm back around Ahsoka. They talked a little more as they walked down the corridor, then they lapsed into silence. It was the first time Kira had seen them not being playful with each other.
Wordlessly she turned to Obi-Wan, who watched the former Master and Padawan go. He finally looked back at Kira, who was sure her question was written on her face. "If you want to stay the night in the Bergruutfa sector with Ahsoka," he said slowly, "you may."
Kira wanted to hug Obi-Wan but refrained. "Thank you, Master."
At Obi-Wan's nod, she turned and raced toward the turbolift, on her way to their quarters to grab a change of clothes.
"I wonder if this is what sleepovers are like," Cadena said, sitting cross-legged on her blanket.
Ahsoka, Kira and Cadena had gathered in Cadena's quarters after the rest of the clan greeted Ahsoka, many greetings including hugs. The girls had taken blankets from a closet, pillows from Cadena's bed, and mats from the training room to make beds on the floor.
Kira shrugged. "I don't know. I never thought about it."
Ahsoka lay on her blanket, staring up at the ceiling. "If you two weren't Jedi, what would you be?" she asked suddenly.
Kira was startled at the question. She knew exactly what she'd be if she hadn't been taken from Zygerria five years before. She'd still be a slave, probably still working for Atai. She shuddered at the thought. Her time as a slave felt like a lifetime ago, but the hold the slavers had had on her was not easily broken. Kira didn't think she'd ever stop waking up before dawn, a habit begun on Zygerria when she'd become old enough to work.
Kira looked over at Cadena, who was staring down at her hands. Kira wondered if her friend had once been a slave as well.
Ahsoka finally spoke. "Not what you think you would be," she said, probably remembering what Kira had told her about being a slave. "What you would want to be. Imagine this: you're a normal citizen of the Republic. What do you do for a living?"
Now that made Kira think. She really didn't know.
Cadena spoke. "I'd be a mechanic, I guess. I don't know."
"Yeah?"
"I think so. A security guard, maybe, running around and capturing all the criminals in the lower levels." Cadena looked over at Kira. "What about you, Kira?"
Kira just shrugged again. "I don't know. I never really thought of anything outside being a Jedi." She sighed. "I mean, the Order is my life. If I've got the Force, and I can use it for the good of others, why wouldn't I?" She went quiet for a moment. "And I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have Master Kenobi, or you and Ahsoka and Caleb. I truly don't know."
Maybe it was just the light, but Kira was certain she saw a tear sparkle at the corner of Ahsoka's eye. She reached over and put a hand on the Togruta's shoulder. "Ahsoka? Are you okay?"
Cadena glanced up, too, concerned.
Ahsoka nodded. "I'm fine, Kira. Let's go to sleep." She pulled her blanket over herself and turned to face the wall.
Ahsoka's Force signature didn't feel fine, and her voice had sounded choked, as if she was struggling to breathe.
Cadena and Kira exchanged a look before Kira decided it would be best to leave Ahsoka alone. With one last look at their friend, Kira slipped under her own blanket, Cadena following suit.
Kira didn't fall asleep for a while. She sensed something was going to happen very soon, something involving Ahsoka.
And whatever that something was, Kira was not going to like it one bit.
Next come the tears and the feels and all that ish. Good luck with that, peoples.
Kira: I really don't understand why you write certain things if they make you cry.
Me: Writers have emotions, too, ya know.
Kira: Really? *raises eye marking* You could've fooled me.
Me: Very funny.
Cadena: Hm hm hm...*scrolling through files on my tablet* Wait, WHAT!?
Me: Wait, WHAT!? Give me that! *swipes tablet away*
Ahsoka: Wait, is that the next chapter? I want to see!
Me: NO WAY!
Kira: Cadena, what happens!?
Cadena: Ahsoka-
Me: *slaps hand over Cadena's mouth*
Cadena: MMPH!
Obi-Wan: *runs in* What's all the ruckus about?
Cadena, Ahsoka, Kira and me: *starts talking at once*
Obi-Wan: *holds up hand* Amy, who's doing the review notice?
Me: Kira. I said she would on Saturday.
Kira: *groans* Review if you liked it, hated it, or wanted to light it up and watch it burn. There.
Cadena: Mmph-hm!
Me: Promise not to spill?
Cadena: *nods*
Me: *lets go* Thanks for clicking in, everyone! May the Force be with you always!