Clouded by the Dark Side

Chapter 63 - The End

Author's Note: I'm so sorry. *sobs*

~ Amina Gila

Aniya Skywalker

"What is the reason for interrupting our proceedings, Master Jedi?" Mas Amedda demands.

What are Qui-Gon and Aayla doing here? And why are there Temple guards behind them?

"We are here with evidence and a confession from the one really behind the bombing at the Temple," Qui-Gon explains, stepping aside. The Temple guards push none other than Barriss Offee forwards.

What?!

Shock hits me first, then anger. How could she do something like this? And to Ahsoka? I know I never got along with her, but it wasn't me she attempted to frame in the first place. It was Ahsoka, her supposed best friend.

"Barriss?" the Togruta utters finally, and the betrayal I can feel pouring off her in waves only makes me more furious, "Is that true?"

She doesn't reply, only briefly glancing at her before looking away. "Tell them," Aayla instructs, expression grim.

"I did it," the Mirialan says, talking into a speaker so her voice carries all around the room, "Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize. That the Jedi are the ones responsible for this war. That we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict. That we are the ones who should be put on trial. All of us! And my attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become, an army fighting for the Dark Side, Fallen from the Light that we once held so dear. The Republic is falling! It's only a matter of time."

Even through my burning anger, I can't deny how jarring the words are. Maul mentioned to me hardly any time ago about how he sensed the Sith's plans drawing to a close. And Barriss just said that the Republic is falling, which I think is much the same. Despite everything else I'm currently feeling, a chilling fear runs through me. Are they right? Are the Sith going to win the war? Even with the war looking so much worse for the Republic, actually losing isn't something I've allowed myself to take much time to consider. The thought is far too unsettling. But now... it's not something I can ignore.

"Take her away," Mas Amedda orders, snapping me back to present as the Temple guards lead Barriss away.

We're free. It takes a moment for the implications to sink in. They know we're innocent now.

It's over.

Or is it? I should be more relieved than I am. Well, I am relieved that this whole trial ordeal is over with, but that still does nothing to shake the burning sting of the betrayal still simmering in me. Yes, the charges against us will be cleared now, but that doesn't change what the Council did to us. It doesn't change that at the most crucial moment, they didn't trust us. What happens now?

As much as I want things to go back to being the way they were before, I know that's never going to happen. I can't look at the Order the same way ever again. They abandoned us. It's even further proof of what I've always feared, how they only keep us here for our usefulness.

***

The sun is sinking towards the horizon when Ahsoka and I find ourselves back in the Council chambers. Anakin and Alema stand off to the side, watching. "Ahsoka, Aniya, I'm so sorry, about everything," Anakin dares to apologize for something he isn't responsible for.

"It's not your fault; you know that," I retaliate. There's a hard edge in my voice, and I know he knows it isn't directed at him.

"You have our most humble apologies, little 'Soka," Master Plo adds, and he sounds genuinely remorseful, "And you, Skywalker. The Council was wrong to suspect you." Nice of them to say that now. Maybe he's actually sorry, but that doesn't stop the bitterness rising in me, anyway. Nothing they do or say can change what they did, or the obvious proof that we're no more than tools to be used and discarded when we're no longer useful. Just like Tatooine.