Chapter 11 – Safety

Barriss is on Shili, trying to wrap her mind around everything that happened. Ahsoka in the meantime looks for ways to help her friend.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Barriss Offee was still in the room she had been brought to earlier by Ahsoka and her guards. The sense of danger that had felt on Coruscant was gone for now, so she thankfully had a chance to relax.

The sizeable room had a well-equipped refresher attached to it. Something that was really appreciated after her escape from Coruscant. She had taken some more time then she usually did to freshen up. The areas that she had been forced to fled through were old and rundown. Dust and filth had been everywhere. She didn't even want to know what some of the dark puddles and dirt she had seen were. The actual water shower compared to the sonic showers often found on ships was very welcome indeed.

After cleaning up she had changed back into the clothes she had worn during her escape on Coruscant. The clothes made her uncomfortable. Not just because of how she had gotten them and what had transpired while she had worn them, but also because of the amount of skin they showed. Yes, it had helped her to avoid being recognized, but she just felt awkward and exposed wearing this. Maybe she could get something more… her later. At least the staff here at the palace had washed it for her while she was in the refresher.

She had tried to meditate for a little while, but it proved quite difficult to reach the calm she wanted and needed. She found it impossible to clear her mind. After some failed attempts, she had decided to leave her mind drift across the city instead. To get a feel for what was going on in the city.

She was pleasantly surprised. She had fought in so many battles, seen so many cities and towns ravaged by the war. People depressed and suffering, having lost their homes, their families, their friends, their everything. Being surrounded by such overwhelming storms of emotions was always a horrible experience. This city, this planet, was so different.

There was a very present sense of happiness in Corvala. The people in the city are actually happy. It was such a welcome change from the war zones she had been in. The positive feelings echoing through the Force made her feel much better already. With her struggling to meditate normally, she instead decided to focus on these feelings for a while, to try and let them wash away all of the negativity echoing in her mind.

;-

Sometime later

Barriss was looking out over the city when she felt someone stop outside the room she was in. There was a knock on the door before it opened, revealing a green skinned Togruta girl she'd estimate to be somewhere around Ahsoka's age. She pushed a small trolley into the room in front of her.

"Hello miss Offee, my name is Lyra," the girl introduced herself. "Queen Tano asked me to check on you while she's out. Would you like some tea? We don't have any blends from Mirial here, but milady felt that you might like some of these instead."

"Yes, thank you. That would be nice," Barriss replied as she walked up to the girl. Lyra told her about the different blends she had and she eventually chose one that resembled one she always had in the Temple. After taking a sip, she looked at Lyra again. "Do you mind if I asked you something?"

"No, of course. What can I do for you?" Lyra asked in return.

Barriss paused a moment, unsure of how to formulate her questions. Lyra waited patiently a moment while she found her words. "Is Ahsoka really queen? I mean…" It was quite difficult for her to believe.

Lyra smiled. "Yes, she is. It was a surprise for all of Shili, but a very welcome one. You can take my word for that," she answered. "We are all very blessed to have her as our queen. She made everything on Shili so much better. I'm sure that she will share the whole story with you later."

Barriss couldn't help but be a little amazed. "I almost can't believe it. Last time I remember seeing her was when we both had a small break in the Temple. Then all of this happened and I heard that she had died, only for me to find out that she's queen of her home planet now."

Lyra nodded slowly. "Her story is a really tragic one, but… I'm really glad that she's our queen now," she admitted. "The previous 'king' was an usurper. He violently took the throne. Not only that, he was a greedy, disgusting pig. Shili was in all sorts of trouble because of him, not to mention the personal dangers to us girls that pervert forced to work in the palace. But queen Ahsoka thankfully changed everything. After she became queen, everything got better and people started smiling again."

Barriss smiled a little. "Ahsoka has always been a caring person. Whether she was looking over a class of younglings or working with her troopers, she always took special care to ensure that everyone was looked after." It had been a surprise for her to see the ease with which Ahsoka interacted with her men.

Lyra smiled happily. "She's incredible. In the first hours of her officially being queen, she had all of the people who had lost their homes because of the usurper's greed brought into the palace. There was no way that she was going to let anyone spend another night out on the streets," she explained.

"Yes, that sounds like the Ahsoka I know," Barriss answers with a smile. Lyra excuses herself a moment later to return to her duties.

Barriss walked back to the small table in the room and sat down, continuing to drink her tea. Ahsoka had picked a nice blend indeed. "Guess it's something she picked up from Master Kenobi. Master Unduli always mentioned that about him." She gently set the cup on the table, seeing as she doubted that her suddenly shaking hands would be able to keep the tea from spilling.

She sighed and looked out the window. Her closest friend is thought to be dead by everyone they know, yet she's the queen of her home planet. At the same time, she has no memory of the past weeks, yet just everyone in the Republic and Jedi Order thinks that she's a monster.

She hoped that Ahsoka had some idea of what to make of this. She couldn't even begin to think of something herself. For now she just decided to focus on the positive energy swirling in the city.

;-

With all of her tasks as queen completed (for now), Ahsoka was on her way back to the room where Barriss was currently in. It certainly was a strange situation that they now found themselves in. With her being alive and Barriss being innocent of the bombing after all, the whole incident was a lot more complicated than she had originally thought. She had been framed by Barriss, but Barriss had been framed by someone else, in an even more devastating way.

At least Barriss had been able to break free and escape from whatever dark plot she had been trapped in. She could keep her friend save on Shili. With her being queen, that wouldn't be a difficult task. She had already talked several things over with Senator Corso. T'Rani would work on a statement that would be released over Shili. If Barriss wanted, she could stay here on Shili. She wasn't certain if her friend would want to try to travel back to Mirial in some attempt to find her birth family. Not to mention the little fact that there was a rather substantial bounty on her friend's head.

She very much doubted that it would be wise in any way to try to get involved with any Republic investigation. Considering the fact that she was supposed to be dead and the bounty for Barriss seemed to be more for proof of her death rather than her capture, T'Rani and a few others had advised to leave everything as it was. She had agreed with them. It could cause to many problems for her, Barriss and Shili.

Considering that Barriss was innocent and had obviously suffered greatly as well, she would help her friend in whatever way she could. Fortunately, being queen, she had a lot of options in that regard. She only hoped that people wouldn't see it as favoritism on her part. However, she knew that Barriss wouldn't just accept things without doing something in return. She just wasn't like that. She already had a few ideas that her friend might like.

;-

Ahsoka knocked on the door and let her presence pulse gently in the Force, so that Barriss knew it was her. She stepped into the room and found her friend looking out of the window at the city.

"Hey Barriss, how are you holding up?" she asked as she walked up to her.

"Ahsoka," Barriss replied softly as she turned to her. "I'm not sure, to be honest. I don't know what to make of all of this. Everything that happened, it just feels… impossible. Like a really awful nightmare… But it really happened."

"I know Barriss, I know," Ahsoka said comfortingly. "I've felt the exact same way multiple times. I mean, waking up in a morgue after you've been executed, learning that your family was killed years ago and then being told that you're royalty and that people want you to become queen, yeah, it's been a trying time."

"At least everything here on Shili is a lot better now. I don't know if Lyra mentioned it to you, but that usurper was just a waste of flesh who made everything and everyone on Shili miserable. With him out of the picture, we were able to reverse the damage that he had done. I'm very grateful for all of the support from everyone. I couldn't have done this without them."

"Being queen has definitely been a challenge. Still, whenever I go out into the city to look around and see how everything is going, I can see and feel the general happiness of the people. I like to think that I'm doing a decent job," she said with a smile.

Barriss gave her a small smile. "According to what that girl Lyra told me earlier, it seems like you're doing a fantastic job," she replied. "But, I want to know, what happened to you after… well… you know."

"Well, it's a long story, but thankfully I have the time to share it," Ahsoka said as she gestured at the table and chairs in the room. They both sat down. Ahsoka took a moment to send in a request for some drinks to one of the palace workers before she shared her story.

"I had escaped from the Republic prison. Seeing as no one, especially not that sleemo Tarkin, was going to bother to investigate anything properly, my goal was to find out the truth and prove my innocence. It… turned out a lot harder than I thought. Having every single clone trooper on Coruscant after you doesn't exactly make it easy to move around the planet." Her voice had a dry tone at the end.

Barriss nodded stiffly. "Y-yeah, I… found that out as well," she informed her.

"I tried to learn the truth, but eventually I was captured. I thought that everything was going to be alright when I was told that I was going to be brought before the Council for a judgment trial. I was going to tell them everything that had happened and the few things that I had learned, but… They couldn't even be bothered. They had just listened to Tarkin and, so they would be seen as acting for the Republic. I was willing to let them fully into my mind so that they could see that I was innocent. Did they even ask? No. Before I was even brought before them, they had already decided to expel and bar me from the Order. They stripped me of everything and handed me over to the Republic to face an absolute sham of a trial. Seeing as no one bothered to investigate anything, I had no chance. Padmé tried her hardest to defend me and clear my name, but it wasn't enough. I was sentenced to death and that sentence was executed a few days later."

She took a moment, for her to take a slight break and for Barriss to wrap her mind around things so far.

"Well, then I woke up in a morgue. My confusion quickly gave way to terror and fear. After what happened, all I wanted to do was disappear. People thought I was dead, I was dead, so no one would be looking for me anymore. I decided to try and head for Shili. I figured that I would be able to blend in with my people, maybe join some tribe in the wild lands somewhere or even try to find my family. The Force was thankfully at my side and I was able to sneak onboard a ship that was headed for Shili. Ironically enough, you snuck onboard the same ship that I had snuck on as well."

Barriss was quite surprised at that. "Really? It was the same ship?" she asked.

Ahsoka nodded and smiled. "Unlike you, the crew did find me. Thankfully, they just saw me as a scared girl who just wanted to get back to Shili. They took care of me during the trip and made sure I was able to sneak away after arriving on Shili. After I became queen, I had some people look into who that crew was. I've been making use of their services ever since. They are very reliable and have gotten us a lot of supplies that we needed."

Barriss couldn't help but give a small smile at that. "But how did you end up becoming queen?"

"After sneaking out of the spaceport that they had landed, I walked through the streets of the city, following a path that the Force guided me along. But my strength was waning quickly. I ended up collapsing outside a house. The Force was with me however, as one of the people that lived there was Silara Triball, my mother's oldest friend."

Barriss' eyes widened a bit at that, but she said nothing and let her friend continue.

"Silara, her sister and her family took me in and took there of me as I suffered through a heavy illness. Silara then informed me of my family, how I was royalty and that they had died in an accident five years ago. If everything hadn't been shocking enough already, she then told me that she wanted me to claim the throne, seeing as it was my birthright. As you can imagine, I was shocked. With everything that had already happened to me, I didn't see any way that I could possible do that. But then she and her sister told me about everything that that usurper was doing to Shili and I could clearly sense the horrible mood all throughout the city. With some guidance from the Force, I decided to take up the throne."

"What followed after that was some ride. Silara called together all of her friends and members of the disbanded royal guards. I reinstated them and together we marched on the palace. On the way there, news quickly spread throughout the city and people flooded to the streets. The support I felt was overwhelming. I lighted an old symbol of the royal family, the Spires of Shili, and we continued towards the palace. Once there, we confronted the usurper. Then… he revealed that he had been responsible for the explosion that killed my family. He killed them so he could usurp the throne for himself. He tried to kill me, but I was easily able to dodge it and knock him down. Silara and the others took care of him. Later that day, I was officially crowned as queen."

Barriss was silent a moment as she processed everything Ahsoka had just shared with her. "That was some story Ahsoka," she replied softly. "It sounds so surreal. I'm just struggling to wrap my mind around everything. So many terrible things happened, but I just have this big gap in my memory. I'm just…"

"Deep breaths Barriss, try to not let it all overwhelm you," Ahsoka told her friend. What she felt through the Force worried her. "You were not responsible for what happened. So don't blame yourself for this."

Barriss looked at her, unsure of how to respond.

"Barriss, you were being controlled. You've seen the evidence of that on the medical scan and your missing memory is another clear sign of it. It may have been your hands, but it wasn't you that did the bombing." Ahsoka frowned, annoyance spreading on her face. "And it definitely wasn't you who conspired to see me killed. You weren't the one who willfully hid evidence to see me convicted. You weren't the one who stopped ongoing investigations, it wasn't you that couldn't be bothered to listen to me, it wasn't you who expelled me from the Order and it sure as hell wasn't you that sentenced me to death and executed me!"

Barriss could only look at Ahsoka, a little stunned by her outburst. The Force vibrated strongly around them, resonating with Ahsoka. It was obvious to her that there was more to her story, judging from how her presence in the Force had changed. She felt so much stronger than anything or anyone she had ever sensed before.

Ahsoka took a deep breath to calm down. "Sorry about that Barriss," she apologized. "It's a sensitive subject for me, you can probably imagine that. I'm immensely grateful for everyone's support since arriving on Shili. Without them, I might have lost my sanity because of this. But now, I've grown a lot as a person and in the Force. What happened to me was horrible, but I was able to make the lives of so many people better now. Shili was in a terrible state, but as queen, I was able to change that. With the help of everyone of course, Jedi training doesn't exactly prepare you for a position like this."

"Well, from what I can sense, you're doing a pretty good job," Barriss replied after she pulled herself together a bit. "This situation is horrible, but you seem to be making the best of it. I… I have no idea what to do now. I mean…" She shook her head.

"Don't worry Barriss, I'll help you. I'm sure that we can figure something out together," she said with a smile, but then it faded. "However, I feel like I should be honest with you. I don't think that leaving Shili is a good idea," she admitted honestly.

"What do you mean Ahsoka?" Barriss asked in return. "Did you learn something I should know?"

Ahsoka nodded slowly. "There's a massive bounty on your head. Easily four times the amount that was placed on my head after I escaped the prison following Tarkin's accusations. Right now you're safe, but I fear that if you try to travel anywhere else… Well, all it takes is for one wrong person to spot you and you'll get the Jedi, the GAR and who knows how many bounty hunters and other scum after you."

Barriss paled at hearing that. She had already thought that something like this would happen, but it seemed a lot worse than she expected.

Ahsoka could sense her sudden despair. "Don't worry Barriss, from what we could tell, the Republic and the Council still believe that you're hiding out somewhere on Coruscant. They don't know that you managed to get here to Shili. Considering that we are a neutral world and will remain one, I can take plenty of measures to ensure that they won't find out either. I promise, I'll see to it that you're safe here," she told her friend.

"Ahsoka, thank you," Barriss replied softly. "I just wish there was something I could do for you in return, but, I have nothing right now, not even clothes of my own."

Ahsoka raised an eyebrow marking at that comment. "Not even your own clothes?" she asked.

Barriss' face flushed a bit in embarrassment. "I… I was in a prison uniform. They would have recognized it instantly, so… I had to steal these clothes in order to hide myself. I feel uncomfortable in them," she replied as she rubbed the exposed skin of her arms.

Ahsoka could sense the strain on her friend's mind, so she tried to distract her from it a bit. "Well, they do look good on you. You could do with showing some skin every now and then," she teased, earning her an embarrassed squeak from Barriss. "Don't worry too much about it though. We can get you something else later if you want."

Barriss nodded. "Thank you, I'd like that. It might help me be a bit more comfortable again," she admitted.

"Speaking about being comfortable," Ahsoka began, "you can stay in this room for the time being. It's one of the currently unused guestrooms, so there's no harm in you staying here."

Barriss managed a small smile at that. "Well, this room is more luxurious than any other I've ever seen, so I won't say no to that," she replied. "I just wish there was something I could offer you in return, but…"

Ahsoka waved it off. "Don't worry about that now Barriss," she said. "I'm sure we can work out something later, together. You're still a trained healer, right? With those skills, you can be of great help on Shili. You could become part of the staff here at the palace or perhaps we can see about getting you a position somewhere in the main hospital of Corvala. I'm sure that you'll be able to help out a lot there."

Barriss was a bit surprised with the suggestion from her friend. However, if she was honest with herself, she did like the idea. After the years of fighting in the war and being on constant emergency operating theaters treating clone troopers, being able to be a normal healer for once was very welcome.

"I think I'd like that, Ahsoka," she replied with a small smile. "Just being a healer sounds a lot better than many of the things I've done these past few years. Maybe I can be of help somewhere."

Ahsoka smiled at her. "With your knowledge of medicine and your healing abilities, I'm sure you can be of great help," she told her. "How about I show you around the palace the bit? I'm sure you'll like it. The gardens especially are quite amazing."

"Yes, please. Lead the way," Barriss replied.

;-

Later that evening

Barriss was back in the room that Ahsoka had given her. She was still very impressed with the room and part of her felt undeserving of it. But, she knew that Ahsoka would argue about it with her if she brought it up, so she just let it go.

Ahsoka had given her a nice tour of the palace. It was clear to her that it was built with pride, but not with the selfishness that other rulers have. This palace lacked all of the statues and paintings of the 'great' rulers that she had seen in the past. There wasn't any of that selfish worship here. There were numerous paintings in different areas of the palace, all showing previous rulers, but they were quite modest in comparison.

The palace was quite a sight to see and Ahsoka had definitely been right about the gardens. They had stopped there briefly and chatted with a group of the workers there. It was a beautiful place and very relaxing.

It was a bit odd to see Ahsoka as queen though. Yes, she could still picture her friend with her troops on and off the battlefield. Everyone they passed either bowed or nodded at her and the guards saluted her. Ahsoka seemed to have grown into the role of queen nicely and it was obvious that they respected her greatly.

Dinner had been an interesting experience. Ahsoka had given her a little apology, the chefs of the palace didn't really have the means make something of Mirial cuisine, but she had insisted that the Shilian cuisine was quite delicious. The food was tasty, especially compared to the simple rations and Temple food that they regularly had. Still, the all meat dishes wouldn't really become her favorite.

Ahsoka had explained that she always tried to dine with a group of people. The dining hall was more than large enough for it and the chefs were great at making large meals. So she generally had palace staff and workers, royal guards or the planet's senator at the meal if she was available. It made for a nice social gathering. She had a pretty nice time chatting with the others at the table, even if Ahsoka tricked her into eating something very spicy.

Ahsoka was going to help her get more settled in tomorrow. She had a few duties to attend to as queen first, so she had assigned a few palace workers to see to her needs. Truthfully, hearing that made her awkward. Having always been a Jedi dedicated to serving others, people suddenly serving her was honestly a bit weird. At least it gave her more time to work through everything.

This whole situation was still so messed up, but at least she was safe now. Her best friend was still alive and in a very good position and she was going to help her out. She didn't know what was going to happen from now on, but they would be able to handle with it together.

;-

That's the end of this chapter.

Barriss knows a bit more about what happened to her friend. She'll be safe on Shili now while Ahsoka looks into some options for her.

This was meant to be a smaller story, so I'll likely add in a time skip now. Under Ahsoka's rule, Shili will prosper. Learning about this prosperity, the Republic is eager for the neutral world of Shili to join the Republic. So, they send an open invitation for the queen and senator of Shili to join them at a Senate gathering to discuss Shili becoming a part of the Republic. As queen, how will Ahsoka decide to handle this? Especially considering the little fact that they all believe she's dead…

I'm not sure which of my stories will be updated next. I'm going to work on whichever chapter I have the most inspiration for. I'm hoping it won't take too long, but Tale of a Togruta and A Mirialan's Story will be a dual update, so they both need to be finished and uploaded at the same time.

Until next time.