Even the Dark Side Can't Take Our Memories

Chapter 3 - Surrounded

Ahsoka ran down a corridor of a Republic Cruiser, hardly containing her excitement.

"Sorry - yup - I - sorry!" Ahsoka cried as unfortunate clones were rammed into by the determined Togruta. The gray walls zoomed by as Ahsoka continued on her speedy ploy, until finally, she ran right into a girl running directly in Ahsoka's direction, and tumbled to the floor.

"Barriss!" Ahsoka shouted, at the same moment Barriss cried, "Ahsoka!" Both girls clutched their stomachs as they giggled at this (unfortunately physically painful) coincidence.

"We're paired together on a mission!" the Padawans shouted in unison. After this uncharacteristic display of enthusiasm and laughter from the Mirialan, Barriss hurriedly stood up and brushed herself off, clearing her throat.

"I believe it is a siege on Ryloth in an attempt to remove Separatist rule from the planet," Barriss said formally.

"You're are so boring," Ahsoka laughed affectionately as she hopped up from the floor. Barriss touched her hand to her mouth as she gave a small smile.

"Let's go hear the mission brief." With a carefully composed posture and clasped hands, Barriss walked alongside Ahsoka, who on the contrary, was practically jumping up and down in excitement for this new mission.

***

After an unsuccessful attempt to convince her Master to let her sit beside Barriss on the gunship, Ahsoka was giving Anakin the silent treatment, much to his dismay.

"Ahsoka. We're going on an important mission, and you need to answer me. I am the Master, and you are the Padawan. You may not disobey me outright like this." Ahsoka rolled her eyes.

"You never reprimand me, Skyguy. You're just doing it to impress Master Unduli." Anakin stuttered for a moment, taken aback. Master Luminara laughed.

"You two have quite the untraditional relationship," she said, obviously using different terms to describe the relationship in her mind. Ahsoka sighed and looked across the gunship at Barriss with a smile. The clones around them looked on in interest.

Finally, the gunship was low enough to the ground for the arguing Jedi to disembark. Anakin, Luminara, Ahsoka, and Barriss each unsheathed their lightsabers, and soared gracefully from the gunship and onto the desert planes of Ryloth, the clone troopers close behind.

Before the Jedi even had a chance to get their bearings, they were surrounded by a battalion of battle droids that seemed to have appeared from thin air.

"On to Plan B!" Anakin shouted.

"There is no Plan B!" Luminara retorted.

"I thought it was obvious; blow up some battle droids!" Luminara and Barriss rolled their eyes in perfect unison, and all four Jedi masterfully spun, flipped, and coordinated their bearings as they deflected the shots being fired at them with their lightsabers. The clones dutifully fired back at the droids.

"Come and get us, clankers!"

"Weren't you programmed to have some sense of aim?"

"Trash talk doesn't have an effect on droids, guys!" Ahsoka shouted distractedly. Barriss laughed, causing Ahsoka to pretend the smile on her face was because of the droids she'd just shot down, rather than the rare tinkling giggle that had slipped from Barriss's typically drawn lips.

For every droid the Republic fighters shot down, another seemed to appear.

"General Skywalker, there are too many of them!"

"We can't destroy them all!" Anakin and Luminara shared a look, and Anakin sighed.

"Retreat! Retreat!" he shouted. He pointed to the gunship, and the clones hurried after him and Luminara. Ahsoka was about to follow as well but noticed that Barriss wasn't coming.

"Barriss?" she said, turning back around.

"Ahsoka, come on!" Ahsoka ignored her Master.

"Barriss!" Barriss was alone in the center of the ring of battle droids, clutching her shoulder, and halfheartedly deflecting the droids' shots. A fire kindled in Ahsoka's eyes and soon began to rage. The young Padawan smashed through the wall of droids, slashing through them with her lightsabers on the way. Once she reached the center of the circle, she threw Barriss over her shoulder and bolted towards the gunship. She was so focused on saving Barriss that she couldn't even feel that she was about to crumble under Barriss's weight.

"My-my shoulder - shot -"

"I know," Ahsoka said, her voice trembling. "J-just - don't waste your breath. Rest, Bair."

"Thank you."

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