Good morning everyone!

4thwallbreak: CORRECT

Today's chapter is a little shorter, but it isrich. (I tried to convince my editors to let it be longer but they said the part I added was too much of a beginning to be an end, so it had to be in the next chapter. The next chapter is very long though.

I'm very excited about the interactions and characters in this chapter, so enjoy!

No Mando'a this chapter!

ABSOLVED: CHAPTER 15

Ahsoka.

Ahsoka's eyes flew open at the mental sound of Anakin's voice. Rex didn't stir beside her in their bed. The stone room in Yavin's temple they had shared for four weeks now was still flooded with moonlight.

What's going on? She asked.

She didn't move. She didn't want to disturb Rex if she didn't have to.

It's Barriss. Anakin said and Ahsoka went cold. She says she's made a connection with another Force user, but she refuses to talk to anyone but you.

Ahsoka wanted to ask why the hell Barriss would insist on only talking to her, but she doubted Anakin knew.

I'll meet you outside. Ahsoka told him.

She gently extricated herself from Rex's grip. His eyes opened a sliver at her and a vague question burbled into her head. Ahsoka quickly hid her uncomfortable feelings as to not distress him.

"Jedi stuff." She said, leaning down and kissing his head. "Go back to sleep."

He, being the soldier he was, did not. She felt his mind begin to wake up fully. Ahsoka sighed and with the subtlest touch she could manage, she eased him back towards sleep.

He relaxed again and Ahsoka managed to get out of bed without disturbing him further.

She quickly dressed and slipped out of the room. It was late, and the barracks were full of mostly sleeping clones. One of the guards gave a nod as she left the ancient temple.

Anakin was pacing on the stone pathways. He looked up sharply as Ahsoka approached him.

"Ahsoka." He said. "I'm sorry to do this, but she won't talk to anyone else."

"It's fine." Ahsoka said. "Where is she?"

"Still on the Venator." Anakin said. "Why didn't you bring Rex? Go get him and we can leave."

"Why would I need Rex?" Ahsoka asked, frowning.

Anakin shook his head, clearly agitated.

"I thought you'd want him with you." He said. "You shouldn't meet her alone."

"Don't worry. She's unarmed and I'm more powerful than her. She can't hurt me." Ahsoka said.

"That's not what I meant." Anakin said. "You shouldn't have to."

Ahsoka met Anakin's worried gaze.

"I'm not fragile, Anakin." She said. "I'm a Commander. I am fully capable of talking with her."

"You shouldn't have to." Anakin repeated. "It's like if Rex had to face Krell."

"Which he did." Ahsoka said. "We're soldiers. We can do what we need to."

Anakin's brow creased, but he nodded.

"I can be there if you want me to." He suggested.

Ahsoka hesitated, considering.

"No." She decided. "Anakin, do you honestly think that you can keep your temper with her?"

Anakin's silence told her everything.

"I'd take Obi Wan, but I'm thinking that she won't say anything unless we're alone." Ahsoka said. "I can handle it."

The Venator was eerily quiet as Ahsoka and Anakin made their way to the detention level. They kept a skeleton crew on it, but most of the clones were down on the planet.

"Commander, General." Deck greeted them at the door. "She hasn't made any moves."

"Thanks, Deck." Ahsoka said. "Show me her cell."

Barriss was sitting quietly in the small cell, tinted red by the ray shield. She still had binders on her wrists and was dressed in a simple robe. Her eyes flicked up to Ahsoka as she approached.

Ahsoka's insides seemed to shrink as she met Barriss' gaze. She didn't want to be here, didn't want to relive the hurt that Barris had caused. But she had a duty.

"You came." Barriss said. "I was not sure you would."

"You have information that I want." Ahsoka said.

She tried to keep her voice neutral. She nodded to Deck, who turned the shield off. Ahsoka stepped forward into the cell, and the shield sprang up behind her.

"I do." Barriss said.

Ahsoka waited for her former friend to continue. Barriss simply stared at Ahsoka.

"Well?" Ahsoka asked.

"Do you know why I asked for you?" Barriss said.

Ahsoka felt a flash of annoyance. Couldn't they get this over with?

"No." Ahsoka said. "And I don't particularly care right now. I just want the information."

Barriss continued staring at the ground.

"It is because of all the former Jedi here, you are the one who chose to leave." She said. "You saw the corruption of the Jedi. You might understand."

Ahsoka immediately tensed, feeling apprehensive.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked. "Who are they?"

"They have been cast aside and imprisoned, as I have been." Barriss said. "They have lost everything and they want revenge on those who have destroyed them."

The Force wreathed around them both. Ahsoka felt wary, but not directly threatened. But what Barriss was saying was important, she knew that.

"Who are they?" Ahsoka asked again.

Barriss looked up.

"His name," She said. "Is Maul."

"No."

All the Jedi on the planet, save Master Plo and Master Ti, were gathered in an upper room of one of the temples. It was Windu who had spoken, not Obi Wan. Obi Wan remained completely silent. Ahsoka shared a glance with Anakin. She had never seen Obi Wan so upset. He had gone completely white and his hands were shaking.

"I doubt she is telling the truth." He said.

"I sensed no deception from her." Ahsoka said.

Mace made a sharp dismissive gesture with his hand.

"Nevertheless, this is clearly a ploy in order to enact his revenge on Kenobi." Windu went on.

"He doesn't know Obi Wan's here." Ahsoka said. "Barriss hasn't told him."

"Then he will surely not work with us." Windu said. "Even if we did wish to cooperate with a Sith."

"He is not a Sith." Obi Wan said quietly. "He uses the Dark Side, yes, but- he is not a Sith. Not anymore."

"This is the bastard who killed Qui Gon, yeah?" Gek asked.

"And Master Galia." Windu put in.

"It was his brother that killed Master Galia." Obi Wan said in a dull voice.

"It must be said," Aayla said thoughtfully. "That this Maul fought and killed Master Jinn under the orders of Palpatine, who was the one who abandoned him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, as it were."

"But this enemy of our enemy is also our enemy." Gek said. "Who helped kill Galia on his own time. What could he possibly offer?"

"A sect of extremist Mandalorians." Ahsoka said. "As well as access to a fairly large crime syndicate."

That seemed to give Gek pause.

"Damn." He said. "That would be useful. If we could find a way to use this guy-"

"It should be up to Obi Wan." Anakin said firmly.

Obi Wan started at his name and looked around at the other Jedi.

"I-" He said. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "We should at least start negotiations."

Anakin made a sharp noise in his throat. Obi Wan gave him a look.

"I agree with Master Kenobi." Aayla said. "We will be able to better gauge his intentions."

Gek nodded in agreement. Windu let out a long, annoyed sigh, but did not protest.

"Obi Wan-" Anakin started.

"We will speak of it later, Anakin." Obi Wan said.

He sounded exhausted.

"Ahsoka." Aayla said. "Speak to Barriss, please. Ask her for a direct comm frequency to Maul."

Ahsoka nodded. As she left the bridge, she couldn't help but notice that Obi Wan had completely sealed off his mind.

"They are accepting his help?" Barriss asked with surprise when Ahsoka requested the frequency.

"It's just negotiations." Ahsoka said shortly.

"It is still more than I expected." Barriss said.

She sounded so relieved. Ahsoka considered for a moment how alone Barriss must have felt. She had no friends, no master, and even the Order that raised her had left her. Ahsoka had only felt that abandonment for a brief time, before Rex and the others had come for her. Then she had learned that she had never truly been alone. Her Master, Obi Wan, Plo, Padme, and dozens of clones were willing to risk themselves for her sake.

Barriss did not have that comfort. How long had she been feeling that way?

Compassion swelled in Ahsoka's chest.

"I'll let you know how things progress." She said.

Barriss looked up, eyes wide. Ahsoka had surprised herself too.

"I-" Barriss said. "I didn't know they would want to kill you, Ahsoka."

Ahsoka nodded.

"No," She said. "I didn't think you did."

Gek decided that the worst part about the Jedi Order being fragmented was the lack of other Jedi to do jobs he didn't want to. Like negotiation with a psychopath, who had murdered one of Gek's friends, on a frigid planet that was covered in twelve feet of snow half the year.

Gek shivered again despite his thick winter coat. He wasn't made for this. He trudged after Plo and the small group of winter attired clones. At least they were out of the wind in these ice tunnels. Of course, those presented their own set of problems.

"You do realize that these tunnels were made by a remohaz, right?" He called.

"The scans showed no activity in the area, sir." One of the tube gremlins said. "And we scan every ten minutes."

Gek grunted.

"The remohaz could get us in five." He said.

Gek noticed a few of the troopers shifting nervously.

"Master Gek," Plo said absently. "Please stop frightening my men."

Gek scoffed to himself, but fell silent.

At least he was with Plo, one of the Jedi Masters that he could stand, even if the man was overly nice. But even that had a damper. Plo had changed since the last time Gek had seen him. His mind was elsewhere constantly, barely responding to being spoken to. His clone Commander was constantly at his side, fretting like a nuna hen. The other Jedi didn't bother inviting him to most meetings anymore. It was a wonder they remembered he existed to send on this mission.

Gek still wasn't sure about that, either. Plo was their best negotiator, sure, but Gek thought it'd be kinder to not put this stress on him.

They didn't have much choice, though. That was evident because they were sending Gek. There was no way they were sending Kenobi, that was clear. Skywalker had a worse temper than Gek himself. Windu, as usual, wasn't being helpful and refused to do it. Ti was in charge of keeping the younglings from creating chaos.

Gek didn't know why Tano or Secura couldn't do it. Maybe they were too busy banging their clones.

Gek still didn't quite know how he felt about the clones. The act of cloning was an affront to nature, but the clones he'd met were all individuals in the Force. Most of them seemed like decent chaps, if not overly loyal. They seemed to pick a person, like their General or Commander, and then stick to them like glue.

The Force prickled at Gek.

:"Well, damn." He said aloud. "Remember what I said about the remohaz?"

The clone commander- was it Howl or Bark? Something canine- cursed loudly and pulled out his blaster.

"Which way?" He demanded.

"Coming in front." Gek said, pulling out his lightsaber.

He didn't like killing things in their natural habitat, but he also didn't like getting devoured whole. The clones moved into formation, blasters jutting towards the direction Gek had indicated.

A loud roar reverberated through the tunnel.

To Gek's surprise, Plo moved in front of his troops.

"You are to defend your own lives at any cost." He said. "Take no risks. Master Gek and I will be able to handle this."

Gek grunted and moved to the front of the clones.

"Try not to shoot me in the back, all right?" He told them.

Instead of amusement, the clones' uncomfortable resentment bristled towards him. Gek remembered that a while ago, that was a very real possibility for them. Well, that was their problem. There was no danger of it here, and Gek's joke had been damn funny.

The roar came again and the air began to warm. Gek sighed with relief. That was better. Too bad the source was a raging monster set on eating them.

Plo ignited his lightsaber. Its color had shifted, Gek noted. It was paler than it had been before.

Fear poisoned the air behind them. The troopers were frightened. Gek didn't really blame them. They were made for scrapping droids, not big game hunting.

Hope you're proud, Mom and Pop. He thought dryly as the remohaz barreled into view. Its red hot frills spread wide as it let loose a shrieking roar. Most of its serpentine body was lost in the tunnels behind it. Its many crystalline eyes swiveled, seeking them out.

Gek jumped to one side, Plo the other as the remohaz sprayed a magma-like fluid at them. The clones scattered away from the orangish liquid. Gek bounced off the wall and launched himself at the head. With a sweep of his blade he cut through half of the eyes. The remohaz screeched, nearly deafening Gek.

He let himself fall to the earth, using the Force to cushion his landing. Plo had followed his lead, blinding the creature. The Kel Dor master landed next to Gek. Together they pushed the remohaz into the ceiling of the cave. Shards of ice fell with the remohaz to the floor of the tunnel. Gek plunged his blade into the back of its neck.

Its writhing stopped and almost immediately the heat began to bleed from the air. Gek bade it a sad farewell as the ice drew his precious warmth away. The clones clustered forward like a group of curious younglings.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." One of the clones said.

Gek grunted.

"That was only around a quarter of the fight." He said. "This is a male. See how much smaller than the tunnel it is? Its mate must be around here somewhere."

As if on cue, a lower pitched screech shattered the air.

"And there she is." Gek said.

To Gek's surprise, the angry screech turned to one of pain. He raised an eyeridge as he heard blasterfire and the hum of a lightsaber. Red flashes reflected on the walls of ice.

"Looks like the negotiators are here." Gek said.

Gek had never seen a full-blooded Dathomirian Zabrack before. He'd met a few half-breeds, but none of their markings were as drastic as this man's. In combination with the yellow eyes, Maul looked completely unhinged. Apparently that was a correct assumption, based on Kenobi's intel and Gek's own observations through the Force.

Maul was standing on the head of the female remohaz. Three red armored Mandalorians stood nearby, blasters still smoking. Their helmets had spikes mirroring Maul's, which, Gek thought, looked absolutely stupid.

"So you have come." Maul said, He turned his yellow gaze to their group. "To deal with demons."

Good Force, did this man have to be this dramatic?

"Forgive me if I am not familiar with your names." Maul said, dropping to the floor. "I'm afraid my contact was not told who was being sent."

"I am Master Plo Koon." Plo said evenly, though Gek could sense a feeling of dislike from him. "This is Master Bas Gek."

"Master, Master." Maul mused. "Masters of what, I must ask. The Jedi Order is no more."

"Masters of the Force." Plo said.

Maul tilted his head in a way that further convinced Gek that this man was Sith-spit crazy.

"Surely one cannot be considered a Master of the Force without contemplating all its aspects?" He said.

Gek needed to cut this off before Plo got himself into an hour-long debate.

"We're here to negotiate a treaty.' He snapped out. "Not discuss the finer points of the Force."

"So impatient." Maul said. One of the bulkier Mandalorians leaned his head towards Maul and murmured something. Maul gave a thoughtful nod. "But I suppose we may skip the pleasantries."

"Good." Gek said. "Because I'd very much like to know why we should make a deal with you when you've murdered friends of ours."

"Does a puppet take the blame for the puppeteer?" Maul asked. "I believe the death of Qui Gon Jinn may be blamed upon my former Master."

"Doesn't excuse Galia's death." Gek said.

Maul actually looked remorseful. Gek couldn't tell if it was genuine or not. Damned crazy people were always impossible to read. The only thing he could get from them was the equivalent of a loudspeaker blaring: THIS INDIVIDUAL HAS LOST THEIR MIND.

"If Kenobi had not brought her to confront me, she wouldn't have had to die."

"Has anything been your fault?" Gek asked.

Maul chuckled at that.

"I will admit to wrongdoing. But I excuse myself if only to prove I have no ill feelings towards the Jedi Order as a whole."

"Only towards Kenobi, right?" Gek said. "I have bad news, then. He's one of our survivors."

Maul's expression contorted for a moment, but quickly became placid.

"I had expected this." He said. "And I am willing to put aside my enmity with him- for now."

"The question is what you are able and willing to offer us." Plo said.

"All of the resources that the Crimson Dawn and Death Watch can offer." Maul said, sweeping his hand towards the Mandalorians. They seemed to be glaring at the group of clones. "Which I assure you, are quite considerable."

"And what are we doing in return?" Gek asked.

"Assisting me with my revenge." Maul said. "Not on Kenobi, but on my former Master. Our goals align, Jedi, and you would be foolish to deny my help."

There was a threat in those golden eyes. Gek met his gaze evenly. Part of him screamed to tell this Sith drop-out to kriff off, but that was generally his reaction to being threatened. He let the Force whisper to him. It was inconclusive and he nearly growled with frustration aloud. He didn't want to deal with this. Damn the rest of the Jedi for making him.

Oddly, Maul's eyes shifted to the clones behind them. Part of his malice focused on them. Plo suddenly stepped forward. He was oozing with saccharine protectiveness.

"I believe it would be beneficial for both parties." He said. "Let us discuss terms."

Okay, let's start at the top.

Just a cute bit with Rex and Ahsoka to tide you over as they aren't the focus of the chapter really.

Anakin is NOT okay with Barriss talking to Ahsoka, but he kinda has no other choice. Ahsoka would rather not, but hey, what are you gonna do.

MY BOY MAUL.

I kill him off so early in Fives Effect that I just HAD to have him more in Guilty. He is SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE.

I like the idea that Barriss and Maul were both abandoned and have a connection through that. I'm excited to explore that.

Obi Wan is being extremely self sacrificing as usual. Anakin does not support this.

I do have the feeling that Barriss did not want Ahsoka to die and indeed did not know. She was willing to let it happen, but it was never her intent. Which can be a comfort. And Barriss really was so alone. Luminara didn't fight for her, her clones didn't seem to care, and there was no one else. Even the person she had betrayed everyone her abandoned her. Ahsoka was never truly alone. Barriss was.

AND WE ARE BACK WITH MY BOY GEEEEEEK. Note: Yes, I stole remohazes from Dungeons and Dragons. I do not care, they are cool. If it's not clear, it was a BLAST writing this section with both Gek and Maul.

Plo, if it's not clear, is horrifically traumatized by watching his sons kill each other. And his goals have shifted. I like to think that lightsaber color can shift according to the owner's beliefs, kind of like a patronus. His is more white now.

Savage is still dead, unfortunately, as that happened right after Satine died and that is unchanged. But Maul was still released by the Death Watch. I think Palps went to go kill Talzin too, just because I don't want to have to deal with her.

A quick note: There was a bit of confusion over on Fives Effect and I want to clarify. Nothing before the point I change things is altered. So in this fic, nothing before Anakin not catching Barriss is changed, so those deaths are permanent. In Fives Effect, nothing before Obi Wan deciding to talk to Anakin after Satine's death is changed. Those deaths are permanent. Hope that clears some things up.

Okay, that should be it!

Be safe, remember to review, and have a great week!