Chapter 37 – A Battle Over

It has been quite a bit longer than I thought it would be to update my stories. Sorry about that. There's just been a lot of other things that I've been busy with and wanted to do. However, I'll still be continuing my stories when I can. I have enough ideas left and I want to work them out if I can.

Hope you enjoy.

;-

Jedi Knight Barriss Offee let out a tired breath as she walked out of the Halls of Healing. This had been a long day. She wasn't a stranger to long shifts as a medic and while it was true that she had much done longer rotations than this, Drongar and its swampy heat came to mind, this day was just as, if not more, exhausting.

Coruscant, under siege by the Separatists. It was something that she would never have expected to happen. This invasion was horrible. The sensations echoing through the Force had been terrible. The mass panic and fear of the people as the home planet of the Republic was being run over with droids, the horror that radiated as Grievous announced he had captured Palpatine, it had been horrible.

Thankfully, it had all ended well. Reinforcements led by Masters Kenobi and Skywalker had managed to break the Separatist battle formation, giving the Coruscant Defense fleet a momentary break to regroup and focus. This allowed them to finally launch a full counter assault on the invading fleet.

During that battle, the Team had been able to infiltrate Grievous' flagship, kill Dooku, rescue the Chancellor and bring Grievous' monstrous flagship down. This effectively meant the end of the invasion. Without the leadership and coordination from the flagship, the remaining Separatist force had been gripped by chaos and disorganization. The rallying Republic forces had quickly forced them out of the system.

The cyborg General himself had unfortunately escaped yet again, but the loss of Count Dooku would be a massive blow to the Confederacy. She hoped it would mean that this war could end soon. Yes, Grievous was still a threat, but the cyborg wasn't as great a strategist as Count Dooku was. He was good in battles, but overseeing an entire war was not one of the General's strong points. He definitely didn't have Dooku's charisma to lure in new allies to their cause.

The cleanup on Coruscant was going to be a nightmare. The invasion caused massive damage all over the planet. Several sectors were completely ruined and would have to be fully rebuilt from nothing. The Temple was mostly undamaged thankfully, but the area surrounding the Senate building was a gigantic mess. The aim of the invasion was obviously to take over the Senate and use the Senators as hostages to force the Republic and the Order to surrender.

The coming weeks will probably be filled with repairing the damage and hopefully investigating how this could have happened. Coruscant being caught so helplessly off-guard by this invasion and the Chancellor being kidnapped. Either one of those situations should have been nearly impossible, yet both happened. She wasn't one to easily fall prey to wild conspiracy theories, but something was definitely wrong with this. She hoped the Masters would be able to get to the bottom of it.

For her, the coming days will be spent helping all of the wounded currently residing in the Temple. A lot of civilians, clones and other military personnel that were wounded during the invasion were brought to the Temple for treatment, not to mention their fellow Jedi. She and the other Healers will be plenty busy helping everyone. She didn't mind, helping people was what she always practiced and studied for.

Right now she was on her way back to her quarters, where she hoped her Padawan was still resting. The wound Scout had suffered wasn't fatal, but it will hinder her movement for a little while until it fully healed. Provided of course that she allowed it to fully recover and not pull any stupid moves, like Ahsoka. Or Master Skywalker. Or Master Kenobi… Their whole line seemed to have problems with listening to their Healers. She shook her head and continued to their quarters. First check on Scout, then it would be time for a late and well-deserved dinner.

;-

Scout was sitting in the quarters she shared with her Master Barriss Offee. She was doing her best to be calm, but she was still feeling the stress, fear and mixed excitement from the day, not to mention the throbbing from her wound whenever she tried to move the wrong way.

The fighting was thankfully over now, she knew that much from the general holonet announcements and Jedi communications. Still, so much more had happened than she knew about and it unnerved her quite a bit. Just the fact that this could actually happen was terrifying enough. Let alone thinking about everything else that it probably meant.

With all of the defenses and warning systems that Coruscant had on planet, off-planet and in the surrounding systems, the fact that the Separatists could actually launch a surprise invasion on Coruscant… It scared her. It should have been impossible, unless…

"Unless there were people in the Republic who made it possible," Scout wondered as she tried and failed to focus on the lesson she had attempted to study on her datapad. "I've heard enough stories of all sorts of treason. So someone helping the Separatists with this invasion would be possible, but… How many people would they have needed to pull off something this massive?" She trembled slightly, just thinking about it made her feel uneasy. "I wonder how Master feels about this."

She sighed and put her datapad away. There was no way she'd be able to focus on her studying now. She had hoped it would distract her a bit from everything, but her mind was still racing and processing everything that had happened, not to mention the endless stream of thoughts and speculations about it all.

The door to the quarters opening snapped her out of her wild thoughts. She turned around to see her Master enter their quarters. "Master! You're back!" she greeted her with a smile. She quickly looked her over. Despite the easy to sense fatigue and exhaustion that emanated from her Force presence, she seemed fine. She was really glad for that. One of her worries had been that her Master had been called back out to fight again while she was resting. Considering the fate of her previous Master, she just couldn't help but worry.

Barriss could feel the worry echoing from her Padawan and she was a little touched by her concern. Scout was a caring young girl and she was still glad to have taken her on as a Padawan. "Don't worry Scout, I'm fine," she answered with a small smile. "Just tired, that's all. I spend the rest of the time assisting the other Healers with the seemingly endless stream of wounded people. I fear the recovery time from this invasion will be a long one." She shook her head and walked further into the room, taking a seat next to Scout. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Master. Just worried about everything that happened," she replied honestly. "I don't understand how this could have happened and it scares me." Scout looked at her Master, judging her reaction. She hoped she wasn't overstepping any boundaries.

Barriss let out a sigh. "I understand completely Scout," she said slowly. "If you consider everything that happened and the way it did, there's no way this invasion should have been able to succeed. That is, not without inside help." She looked at Scout, seeing the reaction in her eyes. "I can tell that you've considered the same possibility and I agree, it's a scary thought."

Scout turned to her Master fully, suppressing a slightly pained gasp at the strain it placed on her wound. "So what's going to happen now?" she asked worriedly.

"Master Che and I briefly spoke with Master Fisto earlier. The Council suspects foul play as well, so I expect that they will be launching a full investigation into this invasion," she explained. "However, keep this to yourself, alright Scout? The less people know of this, the more successful I hope this investigation will be."

Scout nodded. "Yes Master, I'll not mention it to anyone. I just hope the Council can figure it out. We don't need this happening again."

"I too hope that they will be able to get to the bottom of this," Barriss replied. "This nightmare does not need to be repeated. Fortunately, with Count Dooku dead, this war will hopefully end soon."

Scout's eyes widened in shock. "Count Dooku is dead?" she asked. It seemed nearly impossible. She remembered sensing the Sith Lord's presence during the mission with Master Yoda to Serenno. It was something she wouldn't forgot for a long time. The idea that he has fallen was hard to believe.

Barriss nodded. "Yes, Count Dooku is dead," she confirmed. "Master Skywalker killed him when they rescued the Chancellor. I expect that it will soon be made full public knowledge. I anticipate his death to be fully exploited for the propaganda it brings." She wasn't sure if she agreed with celebrating another being's death like that, but she couldn't deny Dooku's actions as a Sith Lord. Perhaps it was something she could discuss with her former Master later.

She focused on Scout again. "Without Dooku leading them, I expect that the war will turn heavily in favor of the Republic. If Grievous can be taken down as well, I hope it will open up the way for new negotiations to end the war peacefully."

Scout nodded slowly, her thoughts flying in many different directions. "Without them, the Confederacy will be in big trouble. You may be right Master, it could push the Separatist Parliament to negotiate their surrender. They wouldn't be able to keep up the fight otherwise. I hope the war will end soon then."

"Me too Scout. Me too," Barriss agreed. "It has gone on for far too long already. It will take years to repair the damage done because of it. Some worlds have been truly devastated. I'd like to see that the clone army aids us in this as well. The men of Kamino are skilled in a lot of different things and they learn fast. It would be wrong to just… dispose of them once the war is over." She knew there were many in the Republic who saw the clones as less than droids. Those people would be happy to just see them all terminated once their 'usefulness' was over. But no, they were living beings and deserved to have a life after the war. She would help to see it so.

She shook her head. First the war would need to end and it would probably still be a little while. "Have you eaten yet, Scout?" she asked, changing the topic.

Scout was a bit caught off-guard by the question, but then she felt her cheeks redden a little. "Not really, Master. My thoughts were constantly occupied with everything going on outside, I didn't really think of it."

"Then shall we go and have a late dinner?" Barriss suggested. "I haven't had a chance to eat yet either."

Focusing on the thought of food, Scout couldn't deny the emptiness in her stomach that she was now very aware off. "Sounds good Master," she replied.

;-

After a much needed and well-deserved dinner Barriss and Scout were making their way back to their quarters. The Temple was getting rather quiet at this time of night. A lot of Jedi were no doubt resting after the trying time they've just been through. She wouldn't deny the desire to do the same right about now.

All of a sudden she felt a very familiar presence in the Force walking up to them. She looked over and was quite surprised to see none other than Ahsoka Tano and her sister Aisha. She was not expecting to see the Togruta sisters in the Temple. Next to her, she heard Scout gasp in surprise as well.

Ahsoka smiled at their surprised expressions and walked up to them. "Hey Barriss, hey Scout. It's great to see you both!" she said happily.

"Ahsoka!" Barriss replied in surprise, a smile spreading on her face. She calmly walked closer to her friend, while Scout quickly rushed up to the Togruta and gave her a hug.

"It's great to see you again! It's been so long! How are you doing?" Scout said happily and eagerly.

Ahsoka smiled as they separated. "I'm doing fine, just a bit tired after this chaotic day," she replied while studying her friend. "How about you? It's hard to miss this." She gently flicked the Padawan braid in Scout's hair.

Scout beamed with joy. "Master Offee took me as her Padawan! And she was able to help me with the Force too! I'm a lot stronger now! She's a great teacher," she explained happily.

"That's wonderful to hear Scout! You feel a lot stronger. I'm sure you two will make a great team," she replied as she looked at Barriss. "And how are you, Barriss? You feel about as tired as I do."

"It's been a long day," Barriss replied with a slight shake of her head. "We got caught right in the middle of this mess. We went after dozens of droid transports before Scout got wounded and we moved back to the Temple. After that I spend hours helping the other Healers. So, I'm pretty spent." She looked at Ahsoka and the fatigue in her was easy to sense. "Did you get caught up in this invasion as well?"

Ahsoka nodded with a bit of a sad smile. "Yeah, we were right outside the Temple when it started. Aisha took shelter in the Temple bunker while I joined Master Plo and a squadron of clones to get to the Senate building. Our sisters were there, so I wanted to make sure they were alright." She gestured for Aisha to step a bit closer. "Let me introduce you. Scout, this is my little sister Aisha. Aisha, this is my friend Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy." She smirked at Aisha's reaction to the long name. "But everyone calls her Scout."

"It's nice to meet you!" Scout said happily.

"You too!" Aisha replied with a smile. "And it's nice to see you again as well, Barriss."

Barriss smiled at her, taking in the younger Togruta. She felt stronger and more confident. One change especially was obvious. "It's nice to see you too, Aisha. You've gone through some changes, haven't you? Your headdress looks good on you," she said, causing Aisha to smile even wider.

"What brings both of you to Coruscant?" she asked, looking back at Ahsoka. She couldn't help but do a double take at her presence in the Force. Her Togruta friend felt much brighter in the Force.

"Our sisters have some political matters to attend to for Shili. We tagged along, seeing as there were a few things I wanted to discuss with Master Yoda," Ahsoka replied. "I'll meet Master Yoda in the coming days, but I feel that our sisters' talks will be postponed a bit because of this mess. They might not even happen at all in the coming weeks, maybe months."

Barriss nodded. "Yeah… I'm afraid the cleanup and fallout of this invasion will take a long time. I mean, I don't think anyone expected Coruscant of all places to get invaded." She shook her head. "This all just feels very wrong." Scout nodded in agreement next to her.

"I won't disagree with you on that one, Barriss," Ahsoka replied. "I hope the investigations will reveal what happened. I suspect that there is definitely treason involved in this." She shook her head. "But it's too late right now to think about such things. We need to be getting back to our sisters and I think you both could do with the rest as well. You're not too hurt, Scout? Barriss said you were wounded."

"Don't worry, it's not that bad! Barriss already did some healing on it, so I'll be fine in no time," Scout said with a smile.

"As long as you take care to properly rest and let it heal," Barriss added in a slightly strict voice. "I won't have you aggravating the wound again, like some people here have done." She send Ahsoka a look that said it all.

Ahsoka laughed a bit and shook her head. "Yeah, you'd better watch yourself Scout. With a healer like Barriss as your Master, you'll be sedated and locked up in the Halls of Healing if you're not careful," she teased. "We'd better get back now though, otherwise our sisters will send the guards to look for us." Aisha giggled next to her.

Barriss gave a slight nod. "You'll be on Coruscant for some time then?" she asked. "Maybe we can get together soon and catch up."

Ahsoka smiled. "That sounds great Barriss," she replied. Aisha nodded in agreement next to her. "I'm sure we'll plenty of time for that, knowing the usual speed of Coruscant politics."

Barriss resisted the urge to shake her head, even with Scout giggling next to her. "Then I'm sure we'll see each other soon. Right now I plan on getting as much rest as I can."

"Fantastic idea if you ask me," Ahsoka replied. "We'll probably do the same ourselves."

They said their goodbyes for the night and parted ways again. Ahsoka and Aisha continuing towards the exit of the Temple and Barriss and Scout towards their quarters.

;-

About an hour later

Barriss put her lightsabers away and sat down on her bed. After returning to their quarters, she and her Padawan had discussed a few more basic things, plans that they had that would need to be changed now, before they had both headed towards their own rooms.

Scout was already asleep, she could tell that through their bond. She was out like a light when her head hit the pillow. Still, Barriss was proud of her Padawan. This had been a very trying day and Scout had held herself incredibly well through it all. She wasn't sure if she would have been able to do the same when she was Scout's age. She made a point of discussing this with Scout when they were a bit more rested.

Before retiring herself, there was something else that she wanted to do. She took her datapad and activated the messages. Communications were being restored over the planet, so she wanted to see if she had any news from her mother and sister. Knowing her family was still a bit strange to her. Still, she couldn't deny that she had been worried about them.

Her datapad finished loading and she had indeed received several messages from Evana. They were obviously written at different times, some felt rushed and other seemed more calm, but still worried. From the tone of the messages, Evana had obviously figured out that they weren't going through when she was sending them.

Barriss took a moment to read them all through. Her mother and sister were both alright, just some scrapes from flying shrapnel. They had made it to a bunker before anything bad could happen to them. The area where they lived was enough out of the way of any 'important' targets, so they had been able to return home when it was all over. She couldn't help a slight smile when she read that Evana had been helping with treating the wounded in the bunker.

Her last message was a simple, but slightly pleading, request to please update them both once she was able to do so. They were both worried about her safety and were praying that she was alright.

She felt a rush of emotions as she read that they were worried for her. It felt odd, to say the least. However, she decided that it in no way was a bad feeling. Their concern for her was similar to the concern she felt for them. She resolved to meditate on it some other time. For now, she typed up a message to update them.

"Hello Evana,

Forgive me for worrying you. I've only now had a quiet moment to check on my messages. As I'm sure you can imagine, it has been a hectic day to say the least.

I'm glad to hear that you both made it to the bunkers safely. Don't worry, I'm doing fine as well. My Padawan Scout and myself got caught up in the middle of this invasion. We spend some time fighting off the invading droids until Scout was wounded. Rest assured, it's not serious. We have already treated it. All she needs to do now is rest and let it heal.

When Scout was wounded we returned to the Temple. I let her rest while I went to help my fellow healers treat all of the wounded that were being brought to the Temple. We kept this up until the invasion was over and we had finally treated everyone. So, as you can imagine, I am rather exhausted.

I expect the coming days for me will be filled with helping out in different locations over Coruscant. I do not know how my schedule will be, so please do not worry if you don't hear from me in a timely manner.

Barriss."

Satisfied with her message, she send it and then put her datapad away again. Now it was finally time to get some rest.

;-

That's the end of the chapter.

The invasion of Coruscant is over and everyone has a chance to rest. Now we're going to be moving to one major arc of the story. I've had a few scenes with Ahsoka and Anakin planned for ages, since I started these stories really. Finally getting to that point is exciting. My stories became larger than I thought they would when I started.

Ahsoka and Aisha are on Coruscant and will stop by in the Jedi Temple a few times. Some will be happy about that, others will not be. The invasion might be over, but the excitement certainly won't be.

I think I will (finally?) work on Gift of Light again next. I want to write the next part after a timeskip. That will be the part where the Republic learns that Ahsoka is still very much alive.

Perhaps I will later add in short stories following Ahsoka and Barriss on Shili during Ahsoka's reign as queen, but for now I want to focus on the main story.

Until next time.