II

Only the finest and most advanced weather control could be had for the galactic capital. So much so that clouds, let alone rain, were near as alien to Coruscant as was the light side of the Force to Korriban.

And so, the four moons of Coruscant made for a brilliant syzygy, with each in curiously different phases. The moon Hesperidium was at its perigee and resplendently full.

A pale gold sun within an endless sea of stars.

This sight, along with a cool breeze carrying the fragrance of blossoms and the soft trickling of the waterways carved into the very ultrastructure of the Sky Garden, met Ahsoka Tano when she had ascended into its embrace.

The Sky Garden was quite unlike the rest of the Temple's lofty spires—open towards the heavens and configured as if a labyrinthine amphitheatre of old, with concentric walls of vegetation and stone—from worlds all across the galaxy.

Through the Force, Ahsoka felt the life around her reverberating.

It was a strange yet comforting sensation.

It felt…sacred.

All of this life…a silent chorus singing of the glory and mystery that was the Force.

She knew that the female Mirialan would have situated herself at the very centre of that place. The very heart within which the Living Force flowed forth.

She had never been there, but she reached through the Force—and through that chorus, found Barriss Offee's.

All she had to do was follow.

"Barriss?" Ahsoka Tano called softly into the perfumed night.

It was probably well past midnight by then.

"Come, Ahsoka."

There, Barriss Offee sat in a meditative position in a clearing within the garden, hands clasped solemnly upon her lap.

Under the pale golden rays of Hesperidium and the three Centaxi, Barriss Offee's soft green complexion and the simple off-white gown she had donned glowed, to say nothing of the fountain of light it seemed that poured from her through the Force.

Beautiful, the young Togruta thought, seeing the Mirialan through her mundane eyes and through the Force.

A tranquil smile animated Barriss Offee's face though she did not open her eyes, "I'm happy you came, Ahsoka. There is something you must know…and something I must share with you."

"Anything." Ahsoka replied softly, "you know me, Barriss. Anything."

That soft glow animating Barriss' features seemed to radiate further when she at last opened her eyes.

Ahsoka's breath stilled momentarily—Barriss was nothing short of hypnotic.

Those crystal blue irises shimmered, the pupils wide and welcoming, the eyelashes long and…

Wanting…

"A gift…but words are not enough," the Mirialan near whispered, "I need you…to experience it."

Barriss unclasped her hands and took Ahsoka's into her own. The striking contrast of Barriss' green skin on her red under the moonlight was strangely alluring.

Ahsoka then became aware of her heartbeat and how the forest about her seemed to dance in time with it.

She then felt Barriss' hand gently slip something into her own.

It was a most curious thing.

Soft, leathery and with the appearance of an ovoid honeycomb, the thing Barriss had given her was a striking deep blue that clashed magnificently with her scarlet palm.

Innocuous it seemed, yet through the Force Ahsoka felt it radiate a strange, subtle power.

"This is bota, Ahsoka," Barriss explained softly, "I do not think you're familiar with it."

"No…what is it?"

Barriss laughed softly.

"Something I…stumbled on during my mission to Drongar. You could say…it was the will of the Force."

Barriss Offee then opened her eyes and looked straight into Ahsoka's own. Ahsoka felt herself getting lost in those eyes.

She knew she must not…

This is not the Jedi way.

"Ahsoka…," Barriss continued with the slightest trembling in her otherwise serene voice, "I want to tell you something I've longed to say."

This is not the Jedi way! The oft repeated tenet of the order commanded.

But Ahsoka could not. Not there, with her—with just the Force as their witness.

What were Jedi—what were mere beings to the will of the Force?

"I don't think I can just tell you…how I really feel and..." Barriss continued, seemingly lost for words, "I want to show you. I need to show you."

"You can tell me anything, Barriss," Ahsoka whispered despite herself, "but how will this—bota help?"

The female Mirialan smiled in earnest, and Ahsoka felt a veritable sigh of relief in the Force, no doubt coming from Barriss' deepest self.

From a pocket within the diaphanous gown, Barriss Offee brought out another piece of bota and held it up between them.

"It's a fungus native to Drongar with healing properties that rival bacta. You could imagine how precious it would be for the Republic. While I was there, I studied certain of its aspects. Among Force sensitives, it supposedly strengthens one's connection to the Force. I…got injected with a sample by accident during combat. It…opened my self to the greater scheme of things."

"Barriss?"

Green hands then took scarlet within them, cradling delicately the innocuous pieces of bota.

"I later found out that consuming the bota led to an experience more…profound. I need you, Ahsoka. But to tell you isn't enough."

Green eyes pleaded under the starlight, meeting Ahsoka's blues.

"Please," Barrriss whispered tenderly, "come with me and let me show you…everything."