Respite!, leaving Marikane to clean up the mess on Geonosis Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, along with his padawans Barriss Offee and Ahsoka Tano, head back to the Jedi temple for some much needed rest. Upon reaching the temple, our intrepid hero's are called in front of the Jedi council for an evaluation of their latest mission, or so they think.

Chapter 13: The First Date

Barriss followed her still limping master into the councils chambers, Anakin was doing his best to hide the pain he was in but she could see right through the charade. It didn't help that the guys arm was still in a sling either, but if she had learned anything these past few weeks it's that a limp wasn't going to put her master out of commission.

With a slight bow she took her place at the side of her master, Ahsoka did the same on Anakin's opposite side. Anakin tried to bow but fought back a moan through the entire ordeal "you wanted to see us masters"

Obi-Wan nodded from his seat "Anakin your injuries need time to heal, we've decided to grant you a week long meditative retreat"

Barriss looked up at her master expecting to see a look of joy, a meditative retreat was a very rare occurrence since the start of the clone wars, but for some reason Anakin looked almost disappointed "if that's what you think is best"

Obi-Wan was swift in his response "it is, while you rest your padawans will be going with me to Mandalore. It seems that Deathwatch have once again reared their battle ready heads".

All three bowed and turned to leave but the familiar voice of master Unduli forced Barriss to turn back around "Barriss, what happened to your lightsaber?"

Barriss opened her mouth to answer but Anakin walked up beside her "her lightsaber was...destroyed while attempting to keep the Geonosians from overrunning our camp, the paired sabers were the only replacement we had at the time"

master Unduli smiled a bit "I remember when I lost my first lightsaber, sorry to hear that Barriss"

Barriss returned her old masters smile "it's okay master, although I don't have much training with paired sabers"

Obi-Wan rose from his seat and offered his hands, Barriss un-clipped the lightsabers from her side and handed them to the master. She watched in astonishment as master Kenobi activated both sabers and swung them around like he'd used them for years, after a few rather flashy moves he handed the weapons back "I can teach you a bit on Mandalore, be ready you two, we depart in the morning".

"Well I guess this is goodbye for a while, try and stay out of trouble while I'm gone" Barriss and Ahsoka both bowed to their master and watched him walk away, once he rounded the first corner towards the temples exit Barriss led her friend down the hall.

They walked in silence until they reached the mess, James walked out into the hall with a serious look on his face. Just when she considered asking the boy what was wrong the door slid shut behind him and he exploded into a fit of laughter, Barriss shared a odd look with Ahsoka before she spoke up "having a good day James?"

James put a hand up as he continued laughing, after a few more moments he finally straightened up and turned to Ahsoka, still laughing a few times as he spoke "oh man you two missed it, I just asked master Fisto if you were single"

Ahsoka almost jumped out of her skin "what!, are you insane!" the Togruta looked to her friend for help but Barriss had to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing, all she could do was shake her head disapprovingly towards James.

James led them a few paces away from the door "relax Ahsoka, Fisto thought it was pretty funny. You need a sense of humor girl, anyway all he did was tell me about the Jedi code. I acted all bummed and walked away, I think that's three Jedi we can add to the fooled list now. Is there anyone else you think we should get before the big scene?"

Barriss finally found the will to speak "you're having way too much fun with this James, I hope you haven't forgotten what's at stake"

"of course not, but I mean, come on. I'm faking a relationship with a hot Togruta, that's the stuff bad holovids are made of"

Ahsoka waved a hand for all to follow "we shouldn't talk about this here, we have Skyguys quarters to ourselves for the night anyway"

James started back towards the mess "I'll meet you two there, I just have to close up for the day. Oh and I'm not knocking this time, you've been warned"

Barriss sat down on the couch just as James rushed through the door "sorry!...oh damn it. I'm helping with the whole relationship you could at least let me walk in on something"

"Ahsoka's in the refresher James, she'll be out in a minute"

James took off his jacket and hung it by the door before setting down on the couch "so can I be serious for a moment here?"

"I don't know, can you?"

"funny, I was just wondering. How did this all start?, you and Ahsoka"

Barriss thought back, her lips forming a smile "I'm not really sure, I mean our first kiss was on the senates roof if that's what you meant. But as far as the feelings themselves, I guess they were always there"

"huh, you really care about her don't you?"

Barriss wasted no time in answering, it was one of the easiest questions she was ever asked "I love her James, and she loves me"

"and the Jedi council is really against true love?, that just seems...inhuman"

Barriss pulled her hood down and ran a hand through her hair "attachments are forbidden for a reason James, they can be used against us. As much as I hate hiding my relationship with Ahsoka I know full well why it has to remain a secret, the wrong people find out and it's only a matter of time before me or Ahsoka are captured or killed to get to the other"

James was quiet for a minute, the boy kept his eyes to the floor as he took in the words presented to him "it still doesn't seem right, it should be your decision to make your relationship known or not. Even if you would still keep it a secret, love is every beings right"

Barriss looked at the boy sitting in front of her with a bit of surprise "I didn't realize you'd feel so strongly about this James, just a few weeks ago I would've argued with you, said that because we're Jedi we should somehow push past such feelings. But that was before..." she waved a hand back the hall "before her, I don't know, maybe giving up love is too much to ask"

James locked eyes, now fully engrossed in the conversation "so what's it like?, being in love"

"..." for one of the few times in her life Barriss found herself without an answer "I don't know how to explain it James, I'm not sure it can be put into words. But just knowing someone cares about you so deeply, knowing that if you had to plunge yourself into total darkness that someone would be right there beside you. It's unlike anything I've ever experienced, and I feel it every waking second of my life"

James leaned back into the couch "man, one more question, if you don't mind?"

"of course not James"

"how far have you gotten?"

The boy asked the question with such a straight face that it took Barriss a minute to realize what he'd said "James!"

"oh come on!, I got nothing else going on, you gotta give me something"

Barriss shifted uncomfortably in her seat "I don't think Ahsoka would appreciate me answering that question James, and frankly you asking it is a little insulting"

James threw his hands into the air "pfft, I've had enough friends to know what that means"

As much as she wanted to drop the subject Barriss let her curiosity get the better of her "what do you mean?"

"you've gotten no where"

"what!, for your information...wait...nice try James that's not gonna work"

before either person had a chance to say anything else Ahsoka walked into the living room "what's not gonna work?"

James rose from his seat and pointed judgmentally at Barriss "she won't tell me how far you two have gone, I think after all I've done I deserve to know" just like her it took Ahsoka a minute to understand what the boy was talking about.

Barriss prepared herself for a slew of bad language and high voices but instead she felt an orange hand pull her to her feet, before she could say anything in protest she was pulled in and met with the familiar taste of Ahsoka's lips. She'd tried to fight her instincts, to pull away from the strange situation, but even in the presence of the now speechless James she couldn't do anything but return the kiss.

As sudden as it had happened it was over, Ahsoka pulled back and moved to her usual spot on the couch, Barriss stood on rubber feet, afraid to move for fear of falling over. Once she finally found the strength to sit back down she did her best to avoid James' eyes, the boy sat in silence, sinking back into the couch and wrapping an arm around the back of each girls head "do I pick good friends or what?"

Barriss couldn't help but smile, as awkward as the present situation was it was still nice to have someone who she and Ahsoka could be themselves around. Someone who they didn't have to hide anything from, as the three sat in total silence she couldn't help but think 'I'm glad James found out about us'.

It was Ahsoka who finally broke the silence "now that that's out of the way, James I believe we have a plan to discuss" when the only answer she got was more silence she spoke up "James!"

James had to shake himself off the couch "right, the plan" still obviously a little shaken the boy turned to the window "so far we've gotten...uh, focus James, focus...so far we've gotten masters Plo Koon, Obi-Wan, and Kit Fisto. Anyone else you think should be suspicious before the big scene?"

Barriss nodded "as much as I hate to say it Skywalker should probably have his suspicions, but he's on a week long meditative retreat so it'll have to wait. Other than him I'd say we're good to go"

James turned away from the window "what about master Yoda?"

Ahsoka let out a small laugh "no way we'd be able to fool him, all we can hope is whatever you do in front of the council is enough to convince him of our supposed attachment"

"which reminds me, what is it you intend to do in the chamber?" Barriss asked

James moved a bit closer to the couch and waved a finger playfully in front of Barriss' face "uh uh uh, if you know what's gonna happen the council will sense it. You'll just have to trust me"

Barriss pushed the finger away a little more force than she meant to "you touch her and..."

James took a step back "relax Barriss, I wouldn't dream of touching your girlfriend, well okay that's a lie. I would dream about but I'd never do it, never picked you for the protective type but rest assured you have nothing to worry about"

Barriss had to shake free her clenched fists before standing to her feet "no I know James, and I'm sorry, I'm not sure where that came from"

James was already glancing at the clock above the door and heading for his coat "don't worry about it Barriss, I realize I can be a bit overly sarcastic but I'd never do anything to hurt either of you. I really am sorry but a I have to go, just make sure to contact me next time you're heading into the council chamber. Stay beautiful you two".

With a slight wave James slipped his jacket on and disappeared out the door, only to walk back in a second later, when seeing both girls in the exact same place as they were when he left he slumped his shoulders and walked back out the door "maybe teenage girls aren't as horny as the holo-net led me to believe?".

Barriss simply shook her head as she watched James drag his feet out the door, she waited until it was apparent the boy wasn't returning to turn to Ahsoka "please never do that again"

Ahsoka seemed genuinely confused "what kiss you?"

"what?, force no. I meant in front of James, just the way he looked at us afterwords" Barriss felt a shiver go down her spine "I could feel his eyes on me, I know the boy means well but he is still a boy"

"point taken, but we both know he wasn't going to shut up until that happened"

"well I can't argue with that, what do you suppose his obsession is with seeing us together?. I mean it does nothing for him so why obsess over it?"

Ahsoka rose from her seat "the first night we have completely to ourselves and you want to spend it trying to figure out a boys motives, if I learned anything from my short time with Lux it's that you never really understand what goes on in a boys mind"

Barriss couldn't hold her tongue for any longer than a few seconds "what do you mean your short time with Lux?"

"geez James was right you are the protective type"

"can you blame me?, I see the way other people look at you"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes "oh please, you really think you don't get those same looks?. Ever since you starting wearing you hood down every head we walk past turns in your direction"

Barriss ran a hand through her hair "really?, you think it's the hair?"

"aw does little Barriss feel pretty?, we're reaching pathetic levels here" with another roll of her eyes Ahsoka walked forward and took her friends hand. Without a word to explain herself she started pulling Barriss towards the door.

Barriss allowed herself to be led out the door and into the now pitch black hall, choosing to whisper her question into Ahsoka's montrals for fear of being overheard "where are we going?"

the answer rang clear as a bell as Ahsoka's thoughts buzzed through her head 'this is the first night we've had without any supervision since we admitted our feelings, I want to make the most of it'

'what did you have in mind?'

'how about a date?'

Barriss felt a lump form in her throat, which for some reason made even thinking the next words harder 'a...date'

'that's right, I think it's about time...don't you?'

The look on Ahsoka's face made it impossible to answer, all Barriss could do was tighten her grip on the girls hand as they made their way to the main entrance of the Jedi Temple.

Master Obi-Wan watched from the window of his quarters as the two padawans sprinted out of the main entrance of the Temple and disappeared into one of the many walkways leading into the deepest reaches of Corusant "are you sure we should let them go master?, we do have a mission in the morning after all"

Master Yoda nodded thoughtfully from his hover-chair "have their fun they will, be back in time in for the mission, they shall. Provide an excellent opportunity to study the depths of their attachment, this situation does. I shall go alone, block my presence in the force from them, I can"

Obi-Wan held his tongue until Yoda had made his way to the door "master, what you're suggesting...it would mean completely changing the code we Jedi live by"

Yoda jumped down from his hover-chair and hid his lightsaber behind his coat "realize this I do, master Kenobi. That is precisely why I need all the knowledge I can gather about this situation" before opening the door in front of him the small Jedi let out an impish laugh "funny it is, even with all the years behind me, still learning I am. Truly understand the force, I fear we never will"

Obi-Wan shook his head as he tried to keep his voice as calm as possible "I'm afraid I can't share you sense of humor master, will you at least let me inform the other members of the council about your visions?"

"no, know they cannot. Not until I'm sure of what I'm sensing, spreading this information would only complicate things"

Barriss barely had time to prepare herself for the blaring music of the nightclub before she was dragged inside, looking around she noticed a far wall was made up entirely of holo-vid screens, all showing a different sporting event. The rest of the club was exactly what she expected, the middle being covered in groups of aliens ranging from twi-lek to gungan while the front spanned a long bar "what is this place even called?".

Ahsoka stepped in front of her and looked around "does it matter?, believe it or not Skyguy actually brought me here once, said he found the place when him and master Obi-Wan were tracking an assassin who tried to kill senator Amidala"

"so what exactly do we do now?"

much to her dismay Ahsoka's eyes were immediately drawn to the further most corner of the club where about a dozen other couples moved their bodies in a series of pulsating motions "do you know how to dance?"

Barriss tried to hide the fear in her voice as she looked at the large crowd of people "no"

"perfect, me neither"

"wait no!, Ahsoka!" her screams of protest were barely audible over the clubs blaring music and did nothing to stop Ahsoka from grabbing her hand and practically dragging her onto the dance floor. More than a few heads turned as the two girls wrapped arms around each others waists "Ahsoka people are looking"

Ahsoka kept her gaze straight ahead "forget them, right now it's just you and me" Barriss met the gaze of her friends crystal clear blue eyes and soon enough blocking out the other people gawking at them seemed as easy at Ahsoka had made it sound.

Even moving her body to the music was made much easier, before she knew what had happened Barriss was swaying and flipping in ways even she didn't know she could. Her body moved in perfect unison with Ahsoka's, each girl copying the others moves without so much as a thought shared between them.

When the song eventually came to a stop a series of applause and whistles brought her head back into reality, looking around the large dance floor she realized she and Ahsoka were now the only two people in the large area. Everyone else had apparently backed away to give them room, with a knot the size of a baby rancor in her stomach Barriss waved to the crowd of people.

Ahsoka did the same, even going so far as too lead her in a small bow before heading off the dance floor and towards the bar. Upon sitting on two empty stools in took almost no time for the bartender to appear, the rather dashing looking twi-lek male offered a warm smile as he approached from behind the counter "you girls know how to put on quite a show, let me get you a drink, on the house of course".

Barriss waved a hand at the bartender as he filled two small glasses with a thick red liquid "we appreciate the thought but I'm afraid we aren't old enough to drink"

The bartender nodded slowly as he passed the glasses to them and went back to wiping the counter "strictly none alcoholic, I've served Jedi before ma'am"

Ahsoka took the glass in front of her and took a small sip before realizing what the man had called them "wait, Jedi...but how?" the young Togruta answered her own question with a quick glance to her waist "we forgot to take off our lightsabers before we left, Barriss everybody here knows".

Before Barriss could answer a hearty laugh from the bartender caused both heads to turn "I wouldn't worry about that young one, you two are probably the only ones in here who aren't drinking"

Ahsoka took another sip from her glass "and what about you?"

"ha, I'm just a simple bartender ma'am. What you two do is your own business, I know better than to cross a Jedi"

Barriss rose her glass in the air "well in that case, cheers!"

Ahsoka gave her friend a strange look but tapped their glasses together none the less "you sure there's no alcohol in these?".

Master Yoda sat on the roof of a nearby building with his Jedi binoculars pressed to his eyes, the two padawans had been sitting at the bar of the nightclub for hours and even his trained muscles were starting to grow weary. Hiding his presence from the padawans had proved less challenging than he had anticipated but that fact did nothing to hide the feeling in the pit of his stomach.

If what his recent meditations were telling him had been interpreted correctly it would mean a complete recharge of the Jedi Order, everything they taught, everything they stood for would have to be looked at in a new light.

But if he knew one thing, it was that the force was never wrong. If this truly is the path the order was destined to take, then the force would guide him there, as it had begun to do just a few nights ago. The one padawan, the young miss Tano, when she was alone he could feel seeds of dark side deep inside her.

But when she was with miss Offee those same seeds seemed to recede into the deepest depths of the force, if an attachment such as the one between these two could literally push the temptation of the dark side from someone as it had miss Tano, perhaps what the Jedi believed to this point, has been wrong.

Barriss walked hand in hand with Ahsoka as the two finally left the nightclub, Corusant's moon had risen to it's highest most point in the star filled sky overhead and a slight drizzle was starting to fall from the few clouds that had formed over the long night. After pulling her hood back over her head Barriss led Ahsoka to the edge of the walkway "I can't believe I let you talk me into this, master Kenobi isn't going to be happy when we show up to the mission briefing half asleep".

Ahsoka shrugged the comment away as she leaned forward on the walkways outer railing "I don't recall having to talk you into anything, don't even try to pretend you didn't have fun"

Barriss inched a bit closer, wrapping one arm around Ahsoka's back as the rain increased in speed "okay maybe I didn't exactly offer any words of protest, but all joking aside I'm glad we did this. It's been so long since I've been able to open up like that, to really be myself, it was fun"

Ahsoka leaned her body into Barriss' arm, pushing their bodies tight against each other "so...a good first date then?"

"of course, in a line of many others to come" Barriss held a hand up to inspect the rain, completely oblivious to the fact that her face was inches away from Ahsoka's "we should probably head back, this rain is only gonna get worse"

Ahsoka brought a soft hand up to the other girls cheek and turned her head to match her gaze "there's nothing else you want to do before the date is over?"

Barriss gazed deep into her friends crystal clear blue eyes, once again the reflection of Corusant's moon shined brightly back at her "well...I suppose there is one thing".

Barriss tried to hold back the fits of laughter as she ran alongside Ahsoka towards the main entrance of the Jedi temple, it wasn't until they reached safety from the sudden downpour in the first hallway of the temple that she found the will to speak "I told you the rain was only gonna get worse"

Ahsoka shook her head, swinging her wet Lekku from side to side in an attempt to dry off "well excuse me but I seem to recall having someone's tongue down my throat at the time"

Barriss attempted to laugh again but almost fell to the floor in the process "you sure there was no alcohol in those drinks?"

"they smelled clean to me, maybe we just need a little sleep" Ahsoka covered her mouth with both hands as a small burp escaped her lips "okay maybe they were a little stronger than I thought"

"just a little" Barriss started laughing again as she took her friends hands and used their combined balance to walk down the hall, after loosing their balance more than a few times the two girls finally arrived at their quarters. With a wave of her hand Barriss led the way inside, she got about two steps into the door before tripping on her own feet.

The second she hit the carpeted floor of the living room Barriss felt another form lay down beside her, before she could object Ahsoka offered a loud yawn and wrapped an arm around her chest as the young Togruta fell asleep in a matter of seconds. With her face still against the carpet Barriss squirmed from under her friends grip "Ahsoka...uh...I'd rather...oh forget it" after letting loose a yawn of her own Barriss pulled Ahsoka's body a bit closer before closing her heavy eyes.

Ahsoka woke up and immediately wrapped a hand around her throbbing montrals "oh force, that bartender was full of crap" slowly realizing her face was pressed against the coarse carpet she stood to her feet, still swaying a bit as she regained her balance "non-alcoholic my ass".

"I thought master Skywalker wanted you to work on your language" Barriss walked into the living room from the hall running a brush through her black hair "you should take a shower, we still have about half an hour before we're scheduled to meet with master Kenobi"

"hey, are you saying I stink?"

"no, but apparently those drinks we had last night were stronger than we were told, I don't think master Kenobi would react very well to us showing up reeking of alcohol"

Ahsoka opened her mouth to reply but caught a whiff of her own breath in the process "a shower sounds like a good idea" walking past Barriss and into the hall she stopped halfway to the refresher and let a sly grin cross her face "care to join me?". The look on Barriss' face was priceless, but what was even better was that for a split second the girl seemed to actually consider the offer, thinking quickly Ahsoka raised both her hands in the air "kidding!, you knew I was kidding right?".

Barriss shook her mind clear of it's most recent thoughts "of course, I'll uh...I'll meet you at the mess" before she could see the puzzled look on her friends face she turned and practically ran out the quarters and straight into the familiar form of Luminara Unduli. No sooner had she hit the ground than an olive skinned hand help her to her feet "sorry about that master"

Luminara smiled down at her "are you okay Barriss?, you seem more jittery than usual"

Barriss began to follow her former master down the hall "sorry master, I guess being around Skywalker for so long gets to you after a while"

"I can only imagine"

"with all do respect master, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

Luminara let out a dry laugh "all this time at the temple must be getting to me if I'm that easy to read, yes there was something young one. I wanted to make sure you aren't taking being assigned to Skywalker personally, it was only meant to be a short transition at first but after..." Luminara gestured to the small limp she still carried with every step"this, I'm afraid I won't be in a condition to teach you for some time".

Barriss looked to the floor, it wasn't like master Unduli to be so direct with her feelings but as much as she would like to say otherwise she was a little insecure about her former masters confidence it her "I'll admit the thought had crossed my mind, but I have nothing but respect for your decisions master. If assigned to Skywalker is where you think I should be, then that is where I'll be".

"thank you Barriss, it...means a lot to hear you say that. So where were you headed to in such a hurry?"

"the mess hall master, care to join me?"

"it would a pleasure, my former apprentice".

Ahsoka walked out of the refresher towards the living room with a long towel wrapped around her chest, no sense for modesty when she was the only one in "master Yoda!" turning her back to the meditating form she immediately put all her will into keeping the towel in place "I...didn't sense you coming in master. Would you mind..." her words were cut short as master Yoda extended a small arm and floated a pile of clothes into her arms.

As she got dressed master Yoda kept his closed eyes towards the window "prepared for a situation before it arises, a Jedi must be"

Ahsoka got her clothes on faster than she knew she could "yes master, I just assumed..."

"a Jedi's place to assume, it is not. Adapt and learn from there mistakes, a Jedi must"

"of course master"

with a long sigh master Yoda rose to his feet and gestured to the couch "come young one, sit". Ahsoka bowed slightly before moving to the couch, without a word shared between them Yoda took the young girls hand and closed his eyes "hmm...a friendship you have with padawan Offee correct?"

"yes master"

"much fear I sense in you, afraid to lose her are you?

Ahsoka swallowed a lump in her throat, she knew full well what she had to say "with all do respect master that question doesn't make any sense" when the only answered she received was silence she took the hint to continue "isn't it impossible to lose someone you care about?, I mean as long as you keep them in your heart they're never truly gone right?".

Master Yoda softly patted the girls hand before releasing it "good young one, very good" turning to the door the Jedi master stopped just inches short "remember one thing you must, fear is the path to the dark side, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate...leads to suffering. Careful you must be, or overtake you the dark side will".

Barriss watched Ahsoka enter the mess at the same time Luminara left, with a warm smile she gestured for her friend to sit "took you long enough" even as she sat down Barriss could tell something was wrong with the young Togruta "you okay?"

Ahsoka nodded "just a run in with master Yoda, I'll be fine"

"what did he say?"

"you know master Yoda, I'll need months of meditation just to make sense of it"

"was it about us?, you think he knows?"

Ahsoka took a quick look around the mess, after realizing they were the only two present she spoke "I'm not sure, he referred to our relationship as a friendship but some of the things he said, I don't what to think right now".

Before Barriss could offer any words of comfort a mouse droid stumbled it's way to her with a plate in each hand, after placing a plate of food in front of each girl the droid turned and started back towards the kitchen. Barriss looked into the nearby kitchen and offered a light wave in James' direction before turning back to Ahsoka "I think if master Yoda knew we wouldn't be sitting here in the temple to talk about it"

From the look on Ahsoka's face she could tell her words had hit home a little more than she wanted them to "Ahsoka I didn't mean..."

"trouble in paradise" James walked up to the table and started to rub Ahsoka's shoulders, after being immediately shrugged away the boy pulled a cloth from his pocket and began to wipe the table "well I got something that might help lighten the mood, just got the call last night, I'm picking my mom up from the hospital right after my shift ends"

Barriss could sense a mix of emotions flow through her friend, happiness, remorse, grief, obviously there was more surrounding this than he was letting on but she knew better than to press the subject "that's great James, does this mean you'll be quitting your job here?"

James rolled his eyes as he passed the now dirty cloth to a nearby mouse droid "please Barriss, I don't know how this place got along without me. These mouse droids are worthless without someone to guide them, besides, we still have the situation with you two to solve"

Ahsoka's interest in the conversation seemed to peak at the last few words "that reminds me, do you want this necklace back"

James looked at the jewelry around the girls neck for a second with a hint of recollection in his eyes before shaking his head "that was moms, it was the only thing I was able to save from the fire. Besides her of course, keep it, please"

Ahsoka's eyes widened "I had no idea James, I'd be honored to keep it".

As the boy turned to walk away Barriss brought a hand up to stop him in his tracks "wait James, you've done so much to help us, I think it's high time we returned the favor. What exactly happened to your mother?"

James muscled tensed as he kept his back from the table "I...I don't want to talk about it" before the boy could take another step away Barriss floated him off his feet, rather than struggle he simply lowered his head "just one time I'd like to talk to you two without my feet leaving the ground, fine, if you really want to know then just let me down".

Barriss let the boys feet touch the ground before releasing him, after unfastening his apron and throwing on top of a nearby mouse droid James walked to the table and sat down beside Ahsoka "about a year ago my dad decided he was going to volunteer for the Republic army, he was a general before but retired long before the start of the clone wars. Well mom didn't agree with his decision, some words were shared, some things were said that...well shouldn't have been said, and he left".

Both girls sat in silence as he continued "everything fell apart after that, without dad around mom just couldn't handle being the houses only provider. Credits got more and more scarce as time went on, I knew that something had to be done before we went completely broke. The Clones offered me something that at the time no one else could, a solution"

Barriss raised an eyebrow "the clones, you mean the Republic troopers?"

James let out a dry laugh as he shook his head "no, sorry should have been a little clearer. The Clones are...well were...a gang, they basically controlled the entire district I used to live in"

"so you joined them?" Ahsoka asked

James let his gaze drop to the floor "it's not something I'm proud of...but yes I joined them, I took the nickname Clips and went on to do a number of things I'll never be able to forget. Mom never asked were the credits were coming from, I never told her either. For a while everything worked out pretty well, given the circumstances"

Ahsoka wrapped an arm around the boys back "but..."

"but one night we got a tip about this new store that just opened up, apparently it was family owned, perfect uh...perfect target. The job went well enough, no one got hurt and I made enough credits to support me and mom for a good few months. It wasn't until about a few weeks later, when fellow members started...disappearing, that we learned the store had been under the protection of the Hutts"

Barriss shook her head "impossible, when Ziro the Hutt was killed the Hutts lost their only connection to Corusant"

James let out a dry laugh "yeah, tell that to the Clones. Every single member of that gang was killed in just a couple weeks, granted most of them were street trash, people the galaxy would be better off without. But a few of them were my friends, they didn't deserve to go out like that"

Ahsoka rubbed the boys back as his fists clenched on top the table, taking a few seconds to calm himself he continued "I was the last one left, and I knew something was coming, do you have any idea how bad it is to know death is out there looking for you?, stalking your every move" as he talked James gaze seemed to leave the room altogether, as if he was seeing the words as he spoke them "I was in the kitchen when it started, a barrage of laser fire from outside. Just thank the force my mom was upstairs at the time, when the laser fire finally stopped I thought maybe it was over, maybe they'd just assume I was dead and move on".

Barriss was already shaking her head "whoever the Hutts hired would never be that stupid, they'd do something to make sure there was absolutely no chance of you surviving"

"to this day I have no idea what they threw through that damn window, whatever it was erupted the second it hit the floor. The place we lived in then was small, it was engulfed in flames in a matter of seconds. It took all I had to make it to my mom, she was unconscious when I found her. With no way back I didn't know what to do, but I knew inhaling the smoke any longer would kill me even if I did escape. I smashed out a nearby window and threw her out, the fall might have been enough to kill her, but by then I figured there wasn't much stopping that"

Ahsoka took another look down at her necklace "so how did you get out?"

"well after finding that necklace on the floor by the window I jumped, landed almost directly on my head"

Barriss reached across the table and took the boys hand in her own "a two story fall, on your head, into the cement that paves Corusant's roads. James no offense but you should be dead, no ordinary person could survive that landing"

James shrugged the words away "guess I was lucky, but I didn't exactly get out completely unscathed" before either girl could ask him to explain James pulled up the sleeve on his right arm.

Barriss fought back a gasp, the boys entire arm was covered in the unmistakable dark red mark of a very serious burn "James I...I had no idea, why didn't you mention this before?"

James pulled his sleeve back down over his arm "you two have bigger things to worry about, besides it's nothing to get upset about. They told me when I woke up at the hospital that they could replace the arm with a cybernetic implant but I kind of like it this way, reminds me of who I used to be ya know"

Ahsoka moved a hand forward to touch the boys arm but pulled back just short "so what happened after that?"

"well after that I had to scrounge up what credits I could to keep mom in the hospital, she fared a lot worse than me from the fall. It was about a month after the fire that I ran into you two, I'm still not sure why I reacted the way I did around you. Maybe after all the time alone I just wanted some company, maybe I thought I really had a chance at...well you know, either way you know the rest. Probably not what you expected, but there it is"

Barriss felt her heart drop "James I'm so sorry, but at least things are looking up now"

James stood up from the table the his usual smile already back on his face "alright so I told you what you wanted to know, but now I'm depressed. Maybe if a certain two people were to...oh I don't know make out, it would put be back in a good mood"

Ahsoka let out a loud sigh "and were back to regular James, you can go now, if I want annoying comedic relief I'll go visit representative Binks"

James threw his hands in the air as he turned towards the kitchen "point taken, but ya know having you two as friends could be a lot more fun than you're making it"