Chapter Text
The inside of their transport is thick with anticipation as they fly closer and closer to the coordinates they were given for Master Skywalker—and his new Padawan—on Geonosis. Barriss closes her eyes and tries to block it out, centering herself like her Master taught her. She lets the sensations pass over her, only dimly registering Luminara’s instructions to their pilot, Drifter. Their transport swoops downward, close enough to the planet’s surface that dust swirls up and in through the open space in the transport door.
“Barriss, I assume you’ve made the necessary preparations?”
Barriss looks up. There’s a faintly amused tone in Luminara’s voice that tells Barriss she’s being teased—gently—about her tendency to over-prepare. “Precisely as you instructed, Master,” she replies, putting a blink-and-you-miss-it amount of stress on the word “you.” She gives Luminara a small bow, and looks up in time to see the corner of her Master’s mouth twitching up into a smile. Good, Barriss thinks, trying to hide her own smile. It’s her fault in the first place.
(If Barriss had, in fact, tended toward anxiety even in the crèche and developed a vaguely pathological need to prepare for every possible outcome in response, well. That’s no one’s business but her own.)
Around her, troopers spring into action. They grab their blasters, teasing each other about their aim and yelling over the din for a brother to help them fix the sensitivity of their trigger. Barriss watches the whirlwind of activity and sends a silent thank you to the Force for her only weapon being her lightsaber. It requires much less work, although Barriss makes sure to clean hers carefully after every mission. Her weapon is her life, after all.
However uncomfortable that sometimes makes her.
The transport drops a few feet before Drifter brings them to a relatively smooth hover and then landing on the planet’s surface. Barriss follows her Master out, taking her place at Luminara’s shoulder.
She’s unsurprised when Rex greets them. He’s always with Master Skywalker; Barriss privately thinks he must have the patience of a saint, given all of the times Luminara has snorted with laughter into her kaf while regaling Barriss with tales of Master Skywalker’s latest exploits.
“Good day, General,” Rex greets her Master. “Skywalker’s waiting for you.” Luminara gives a stately incline of her head, then she and Barriss both walk toward him. Barriss frowns; it looks almost like he and his Padawan—what was her name again?—are arguing.
Beside her, Luminara sighs. “At it again, are they?” she asks, and Barriss’s frown deepens.
“‘Again,’ Master?”
“Let’s just say they have a penchant for playing loose with regulations and rules of command.”
Well, that much Barriss has gathered about Master Skywalker from all the stories Luminara tells her, but it’s good to know it extends to his Padawan as well. Barriss tries to keep an open mind as they approach.
“… send me back!” the Padawan says, and Master Skywalker shakes his head.
“Oh, don’t tempt me, Snips,” he says. Barriss tries to stop her eyebrows from shooting up in surprise. Luminara never speaks to me like that.
Luminara clears her throat as they approach. “If you’re both finished with your little discussion, we do have a factory to destroy.” She pauses as Master Skywalker and his Padawan both turn toward them, looking like nothing out of the ordinary happened. There’s silence for a moment until Luminara shifts toward Barriss. “Well, Barriss, aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”
Caught off guard, Barriss drops into a curtsey she immediately regrets. Oh, Luminara is going to give me so much grief about that later. “Padawan learner Barriss Offee, at your service,” she says. She keeps her eyes down, as much to show respect as to hide her suddenly burning embarrassment.
A hand stretches down toward her. “Glad to meet you,” the Padawan says. Barriss looks up, her eyes flicking over striking facial markings. She takes the proffered hand, allowing herself to be pulled to her feet. “I’m Ahsoka.” She gives Barriss a small grin; Barriss doesn’t realize she’s mirroring it until Ahsoka’s eyes light up in response.
“It’s good to see both of you again,” Master Skywalker says. Her own Master nods.
“I wish it was under more… peaceful circumstances,” Luminara says, and Barriss’s stomach churns a little. Right. We’re at war.
As if she could ever really forget.
Ahsoka leaps down the cliff to a ledge, then leaps again immediately. She’s aware, faintly, that she’s being reckless, but that other Padawan—Barriss—is right behind her, and there’s something about her that just makes Ahsoka want to prove herself.
Or maybe she’s just riled up from her argument with Anakin about the briefing earlier.
They sprint across the sand—it seems no one on the spit of land spanning this valley sees them, thank the Force—and come to a halt at the opposing rock wall. Barriss closes her eyes and puts her hands on it with self-assured confidence, clearly feeling for something. Ahsoka tries not to be jealous. Barriss has a couple years on her, she thinks, and has certainly been a Padawan for longer. It’s not Ahsoka’s fault Barriss is elegant, and reserved, and careful, and… everything Ahsoka is not.
Barriss suddenly steps back from the wall and ignites her saber. It’s a bright, piercing blue, the same color as her eyes. She levels it at the rock wall and springs forward, driving her saber in. The stone is inches thick at least, but Barriss makes it look effortless, and it tugs at something in Ahsoka’s stomach. Ugh. Jealousy again, she thinks dismissively. She takes a deep breath and tries to get a grip. You need to get over this.
Barriss carves a perfect rectangle into the rock wall—a rectangle, really?—and levitates it out carefully. It thuds into the sand. Both Padawans squint into the exposed tunnel.
“Nice work!” Ahsoka says, relieved when it comes out sounding relatively normal, but Barriss doesn’t respond. Ahsoka squirms a little in the silence. “Well, here goes nothing,” she says with forced cheer, and starts forward.
Immediately, there’s a hand on her shoulder. “I should go in first,” Barriss says. Her hand is cool, but for some reason it feels hot on Ahsoka’s skin, and she stiffens reflexively. Barriss seems to misinterpret Ahsoka’s response, because when she glances backward Barriss is offering her a timid, apologetic smile. “I know the way.”
“Be my guest,” Ahsoka responds. She even manages to make it sound mostly not sarcastic. Barriss nods, glances quickly around them, and enters the tunnel. Ahsoka follows close behind.
The tunnels are… creepy. Dark and complex, they’d be bad enough even without the weird scuttling Ahsoka keeps hearing. Ahead of her, though, Barriss seems undisturbed, so Ahsoka tries to pull herself together. After a few minutes, Barriss’s back straightens abruptly and she quickly gestures toward Ahsoka. They press themselves against the wall. Ahsoka cranes her neck, trying to see what Barriss saw; it becomes immediately apparent, and Ahsoka just as immediately regrets looking.
Massive insects—bigger than either Barriss or herself—lurk where their tunnel dead-ends, holding weapons of some kind. A few seconds later, they move into another tunnel, passing out of sight. Barriss quickly moves after them, and Ahsoka dutifully falls in line behind her.
Those must be Geonosians, Barriss thinks as she creeps forward. I should have realized we might encounter them down here. She takes a deep breath and tries to let go of her frustration with herself for the oversight.
Ahead of her, the Force flashes a warning. Barriss snaps her eyes forward just in time—a sharp spike juts out from the wall right in front of her face.
Barriss gasps slightly and instinctively flings her arm out to the side. She immediately feels foolish; Ahsoka was far enough behind her to be in no danger at all, which they both know, but Ahsoka mercifully says nothing. Barriss takes her arm back with as much dignity as she can as they move forward again, crawling this time. “They’re sleeping.”
“We have to find another way,” Ahsoka says. It’s a statement, but laced with a pleading undertone. Barriss can tell the enclosed space and the Geonosians are scaring her. But they have a mission, and limited time, so there's only one response Barriss can give. Even if she hates herself a little for giving it.
“We don’t have time. This direction is the fastest.”
“Maybe you’re wrong!” Ahsoka's voice is almost shrill, her movements jerky with tension as she glances around them.
“Trust me!” Barriss snaps. Ahsoka’s expression falls, and Barriss feels terrible, but they’re working on borrowed time as it is, and there are lives at stake. She ignores Ahsoka's disappointment and pushes forward.
They round a corner. Barriss pauses, getting her bearings. Ahsoka continues, and Barriss takes just enough time to confirm they’re still going the right way before she follows. She’ll tell Ahsoka when they need to take a turn or—
Something falls on her head and Barriss’s heart stops. With utter dread, she glances up, tracks it back and… Yes. It’s a Geonosian. She silently thanks her Master for her lessons in control; if she had any less, she’d be screaming right now.
“Ahsoka,” she tries softly. Ahsoka doesn’t respond, and Barriss hisses it a little louder. “Ahsoka!”
Ahsoka turns around and her eyes visibly widen. It would be almost comical if Barriss weren’t so terrified. Ahsoka is at her side in an instant. For all her nervousness before, she appears utterly calm now, lifting the limb up carefully and removing the skeletal fingers from Barriss’s face. Barriss doesn’t even have the presence of mind to thank her. She just moves forward quickly, her heart pounding, and feels a rush of relief when Ahsoka follows her without a word. It was good timing for their positions to switch, anyway; the next junction is a turn they have to take. Barriss closes her eyes for a brief second, remembers her training, and leads the way. For Ahsoka’s sake, she tries hard to project a lot more calm than she’s actually feeling.
Barriss hasn’t said a word in the several twists and turns since Ahsoka helped get her out from that … thing. Ahsoka tries hard not to spiral about it; she’d done what Barriss wanted, right? So why isn’t Barriss talking to her? She shakes her head, frustrated. And why do I care so much?
Before her, Barriss pauses. “Left at the next junction,” she says, and Ahsoka tries not to be exasperated with herself when she feels a spike of pure relief from the fact that Barriss spoke again. She swallows, grits her teeth, and follows Barriss forward.
They continue for another few feet before Barriss stops abruptly. She stares at the wall in front of her in what seems like confusion. Ahsoka watches carefully as she opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again. “Dead end.”
Tension shoots back up Ahsoka’s spine. She’s trying so hard not to be afraid, but she can hear the fear in her voice as she responds, “If we make a wrong turn, we may never find our way out.” Then, before she can stop herself: “You do remember the way, don’t you?”
Barriss’s face is drawn in concentration, eyes narrowing as she brings a hand up to her chin. The diamond tattoos on the back of her hand match the smaller ones spilling across her strong nose and down toward her sharp cheekbones. They’re dark, almost the same color as her lips in this light; Ahsoka briefly wonders if that was intentional.
“Of course I do,” Barriss responds, almost sharply, and it takes a second for Ahsoka to even remember her own question. When she does, she feels the rebuke like a punch to the gut. She stands there in silence, trying to figure out whether to apologize, as Barriss glances around them.
“It’s not left, it’s up,” she says after a few moments. Ahsoka follows her gaze to where a circular shaft of light illuminates the tunnel. Barriss is already moving. “It’s this way,” she says unnecessarily, and leaps up with boundless grace. Ahsoka allows herself one more second to feel guilty before she jogs forward and propels herself up after Barriss.
Barriss could almost cheer when she finally spots the main control room. I did it, she thinks, relief sweeping through her body. I did it, we’re not lost. We can finish our mission. Ahsoka’s safe.
Ahsoka leaps out of the pipe with even more enthusiasm than Barriss. They both creep toward the main reactor, which is glowing an ominous red. Barriss can feel the heat coming off of it as she and Ahsoka circle in opposite directions, planting bombs on the side. They finish and Ahsoka hits the activation button, flashing Barriss a grin. “And now, we make ourselves scarce.”
Barriss tries not to smile as she follows her, but the smile she's fighting disappears immediately when a door slides open, revealing Geonosians, battle droids, a tactical droid, and a new type of tank Barriss has never seen before. She ignites her lightsaber half a second before Ahsoka. The other Padawan shifts forward, planting herself between the droids and Barriss. It makes Barriss’s blood run cold, and she wants to yell at her, pull her back behind her. Barriss is older; she should be protecting Ahsoka, not the other way around—
Blaster fire decisively interrupts her thoughts, which is a good reminder for Barriss to stop thinking. She leans on the Force, flipping above the bolts and parrying a few back toward the battle droids and Geonosians.
“You heard His Highness,” the tactical droid intones. “Collect their pathetic little bombs, then we will kill them.”
Barriss’s heart stops for the second time that day. Both of their Masters are outside, half the kriffing GAR is outside, they can’t fail. They can't. No matter the cost. They just can't.
The door that the droids and Geonosians came through slams shut, and the tank starts advancing, firing bolt after bolt. Barriss moves on instinct, her mind searching for a way out. She vaguely registers that Ahsoka is doing surprisingly well in battle—acrobatic, precise, effective despite the unusual reverse grip she has on her saber. She flips backward toward Barriss and pulls her backpack to her front. “See if your stupid tank can take this!”
She rears back and throws a bomb, which lands squarely on the tank directly next to the tactical droid. The droid glances at it and laughs, a sound that is extra disturbing in monotone. “Fool,” it says, turning back toward them. “The super tank is impervious to all weapons—”
The bomb explodes and the tactical droid is blown apart. In the corner of her eye, Barriss sees Ahsoka turning toward her with a broad grin Barriss can't help but mirror, but the moment is quickly interrupted by the tank’s second spray of blaster fire. True to the tactical droid’s words, it’s still entirely intact. Barriss’s heart sinks. Her only consolation is that, for this round, she’s slightly in front of Ahsoka, which is where she was supposed to be in the first place. She grimaces and doubles her efforts; if a blaster bolt takes Ahsoka down, it will only be if Barriss is taken down first.
They’re locked in a standoff for a few long moments before Ahsoka cries out behind her.
“The bombs!”
Barriss follows her gaze to where the Geonosians are removing the last bomb. They sprint forward, but they’re just barely too slow; Barriss swears the Geonosians even manage to smirk as they fly upwards. Barriss watches them go, deflecting another blaster bolt almost without thought, before there’s a rush of movement from beside her. Ahsoka has launched herself upward, grabbing on to two Geonosians’ legs as they fly overhead. When neither stops, Ahsoka is pulled into the air after them, and Barriss’s heart stops for a third time.
Not that she’s counting.
There’s a new sound from inside the room. Barriss glances to the side and sees another Geonosian entering through a pipe. Oh, that’s bad, she thinks faintly. She can hear Ahsoka swearing as she continues on her uncontrolled flight, then an echoing metal sound and a yell. Barriss turns, her heart in her throat, and sees Ahsoka falling, smacking into the body of the reactor once, twice, three times before she hits the ground. Barriss is standing above Ahsoka’s weakly stirring body deflecting blaster bolts before she even realizes she’s moved.
The blaster fire stops as all the Geonosians change direction. Barriss follows the line of movement and sprints forward, but they close the pipe behind them before she can reach it. She skids to a halt as frustration and panic fight in her chest. She’s trying to remember Luminara’s meditation-in-battle advice when she notices the tank moving toward Ahsoka’s prone body and feels a deadly calm overtake her. She lets it sink in, her lip curling and eyes narrowing, and springs forward.
The first thing Ahsoka notices when she wakes up is that her head is throbbing so hard she feels like it might split open. The second thing she notices is that she definitely has bruises all the way down her body. She might have even broken something, or maybe somethings.
The third thing she notices is that there is a tank coming directly toward her.
From behind her, there’s the tell-tale thrum of a lightsaber. It’s followed by a swish of fabric, and Ahsoka glances up just in time to see Barriss land on top of the tank. Even from her perspective on the ground, Ahsoka can tell her teeth are bared. She watches as Barriss stabs into the metal hull of the tank. Oh. She’s beautiful, Ahsoka thinks dimly. When she’s angry. I don’t think I’d seen her angry yet.
Barriss’s cheeks are flushed; it makes her tattoos seem to glow, and the hard set of her brow makes her look carved from marble. She glances toward Ahsoka. Her eyes are a burning blue that makes Ahsoka’s heart skip a beat in her chest.
Another second and Barriss disappears from view. Ahsoka blinks. She pushes herself up on one arm, then smirks to herself as she hears a droid in the tank yell in surprise. She’s sitting up by the time Barriss pushes open the tank’s door, and she grins and leaps inside.
“The bugs took the bombs!” Barriss says immediately. Ahsoka’s good mood is gone in an instant.
“What are we going to do now?” she asks. She turns to look at Barriss, whose face is much, much closer than Ahsoka expected. Her eyes are caught by the single diamond directly on the bridge of her nose. It’s striking, precise; somehow very fitting for Barriss.
Right now, though, Barriss looks uncharacteristically desperate. “I don’t know what to do,” she says, like it’s a personal failing. “Without the bombs.”
Ahsoka’s heart sinks. She knows what to do.
“Well,” she says. Her stomach flips at the way Barriss looks at her hopefully; she’s not about to give a hopeful solution. “This tank could destroy a power generator…” She trails off, her voice dropping almost to a whisper. “And probably us along with it.”
“I guess that’s our only choice,” Barriss says. It has an air of finality to it. Ahsoka’s gut twists and she brings her comm up to her lips.
“Master, can you hear me?” she asks. The sounds of a battle come through clear as day, but there’s no response from Anakin. She tries again, more urgently. “Master?”
“Ahsoka!” Anakin responds. He sounds frantic. “Set off the bombs! We’re trapped.”
“I’m sorry, Master.” Ahsoka swallows. “We can’t make it out.”
“Can’t make it out?” There’s half a second of silence, punctuated only by the sound of blaster fire, before he realizes what she means. He’s even more frantic this time. “Ahsoka, WAIT!”
She won’t cry. She won’t. She grits her teeth and presses a finger to the control screen. “Fire,” she says numbly, and the world explodes.
The moments after they blow up the reactor are a blur of noise and pain. A few seconds in, the floor gives way and they enter free fall. Barriss nearly throws up. They get banged around as the tank jostles, hitting and being hit by debris and the crumbling complex. They come to a stop with a thud that knocks both Barriss and Ahsoka forward. Barriss’s head collides with the top of Ahsoka’s, right in between her montrals. Ahsoka gasps sharply, then collapses.
“Ahsoka,” Barriss whispers frantically. “Ahsoka, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
There’s no answer for long enough for Barriss to think the worst. She forgets literally all of her healer training; clearly, Ahsoka had survived the fall only to be killed by Barriss’s forehead. She’s seconds away from a panic attack when Ahsoka stirs beneath her.
“Force, that hurt,” she groans. Barriss almost cries with relief.
“You’re okay!”
“Well, yeah,” Ahsoka says. She rubs her montrals absentmindedly. Barriss’s hand twitches for bacta, ice, anything to reduce the swelling, but they're trapped in a tank, buried underground, and Barriss is too exhausted and injured herself to be able to heal her.
They sit in silence for a few moments before Ahsoka sighs. “Want some light?”
Barriss nods, and they both readjust, feeling for their sabers in the dark. Once found, Ahsoka reaches for Barriss; she runs her hands along her arms, down her sides, and Barriss is burning, whether from mortification or something else.
“Ahsoka!” she hisses. “What are you doing?”
“Trying to make sure we don’t impale each other with our lightsabers,” Ahsoka says, sounding a little annoyed.
Well. Barriss can’t exactly argue with that. Ahsoka pushes her shoulder back while she tugs at Barriss’s knee; Barriss dutifully shifts, and they ignite their sabers, both of them safely not-impaled.
“How deep do you think we’re buried?” she asks.
“It’s probably best not to think about it,” Ahsoka responds. She seems less panicked than Barriss feels, which is embarrassing. “Hand me that power cell, would you?”
Barriss shifts and reaches over her shoulder. She pulls out the power cell and wordlessly passes it over.
“Thanks.” Ahsoka holds out her lightsaber in exchange. “Mind holding the light?”
Barriss takes her saber and holds it up with her own to try to give her as much light as possible. “Whatever you’re doing, I hope it works,” she says, “because I’d sure rather have died fighting up there than starve to death down here.”
It comes out grimmer than she intended, but Ahsoka seems unbothered.
“Don’t worry.” She grins slightly as she works with the power cell. “We’ll run out of air long before we starve.”
Barriss pauses. “That’s a comforting thought,” she says weakly. “Thanks.”
Ahsoka glances over toward her and seems to realize her joke didn’t quite land. “Master Skywalker has taught me a trick or two,” she offers, an apology. “I think I can get this communicator working.”
“What happens to us now doesn’t matter.” Ahsoka shoots Barriss a look, which Barriss ignores. “By destroying this factory, we’ve saved countless lives elsewhere.”
Something in Ahsoka’s face shifts, but before Barriss can read anything into it, it slides into a grin. “Well, I’m about to save two more,” she announces. She holds up the power cell and comm. When she taps them together, sparks jump.
She starts a faint rhythm of taps. “Master,” she says softly, and Barriss suddenly feels like she’s intruding on something private. Exhaustion spills over Ahsoka's features. “I know you’re up there, and I know you’re looking for me.”
Barriss bites her lip, and before she can stop herself, she offers Ahsoka her hand. Ahsoka sees it and locks eyes with her. There’s something intense in her gaze; Barriss stares back, wide-eyed and frozen. After a beat, Ahsoka slips her hand into Barriss's and slumps back against the wall.
As far as dying goes, Barriss decides, this seems like a pretty decent way. Besides. She came to terms with death a long time ago. She prays for Ahsoka’s sake that they’re found, and she knows her own Master would be devastated if she died, but… She’s been ready to join the cosmic Force since she realized every clone she healed ended up back in front of her within days, over and over until inevitably they died on the battlefield, whether in battle or after, under her desperate hands. And… Well, she thinks it’s only natural she sometimes wishes she went with them.
Ahsoka tries to meditate as she takes long, deep breaths. It’s not working. All she can focus on is Barriss’s hand in hers. She’d been shocked when Barriss offered it; she doesn’t really seem the affectionate type. Ahsoka is extremely grateful, though. She’d needed it more than she realized.
Now, though, it’s almost distracting. Ahsoka supposes it’s because Barriss is the only living thing around. It makes sense their physical contact would be grounding her to the living Force.
Ahsoka tilts her head. There’s something else. Barriss’s presence in the Force is shifting. It doesn’t make any sense for her to be dying—it’s way too soon for that—but Ahsoka’s not a healer; she has no idea what else it could be.
“Barriss,” she says softly. Barriss looks up at her, startled. In the past few minutes, her eyes have gone from frightened to downright miserable. Ahsoka’s heart twists. She closes her eyes and squeezes her hand, trying to send her steadiness and resolve.
A sudden and overwhelming noise above them makes both of them jump, though their hands stay firmly clasped together. Ahsoka looks up, blinking as light pours in. She tugs on Barriss’s hand. “Someone’s digging,” she says, elated, and Barriss squeezes her hand tightly in response. “Come on.” She tugs Barriss to her feet, feeling dizzy with joy. “We’re safe.”
“Barris,” Luminara exhales, her voice above them full of relief. Barriss lights up at the sound, and it makes Ahsoka smile reflexively.
“Ahsoka!” Her Master this time, sounding just as relieved. She glances up in time to see him rush forward to the edge of the hole they’re in; he’s still dirty from the battle, but he grins at her like he’d just watched two hours of podracing holos with Rex. He turns, says something over his shoulder. Ahsoka turns toward Barriss.
“Your Master is waiting,” she teases, and Barriss grins back at her. They’re interrupted by a clone trooper Ahsoka doesn’t recognize dropping down next to them. “Good to have you back, sirs,” he says. “Can I give you a hand?”
Ahsoka accepts the help without hesitation; she’s exhausted, and she’s still pretty sure she broke something when the Geonosians dropped her in the reactor chamber. He helps push her up until she can reach Anakin’s outstretched arm.
“I knew you’d come looking for me.”
“I never doubted you for a second,” Anakin swears. He grips her arms tightly, like he’s reassuring himself she’s actually there. He glances toward the side, and Ahsoka follows his gaze to Barriss’s reunion with Luminara.
“Padawan, you did well,” Luminara says. Her manner is far more reserved than Anakin, but Ahsoka can see the same fondness in her eyes. And Barriss's happiness is clear even in her equally restrained response.
“Thank you, Master,” Barriss says. She looks toward Ahsoka and continues. “But if it weren’t for Ahsoka, we’d still be down there.”
Luminara looks at her as well and smiles. “Indeed,” she says. “Your Master never lost faith in you.”
Warmth blooms in her chest. She looks up at Anakin, who smiles at her, then at Luminara.
Safe, Ahsoka thinks. She glances at Barriss, who’s watching her Master with a faint smile on her face. We’re safe.