Star Wars: Secret of The Force

Part 2! Chapter 12

I looked around the stormy world as I sensed the Stormtroopers getting closer. I knew that at least one of The Inquisitors was with them. I wasn't far away from where the 'Agent' was, and I had a strange suspicion that they would want her, just as much. I debated going back for her, but I heard the voice of The Eleventh Sister behind me. "Have you figured it out yet?" she asked. I turned, and ignited my Lightsaber. "Why don't you explain it to me...!" I said. The Eleventh Sister laughed; she was enjoying this. She must have realised I knew that. "What gave that away?" she asked. I shrugged. "The fact you're here alone while you leave your Stormtroopers to try and kill any witnesses" I said simply. I knew what she wanted, and I needed to keep the fighting focused on me. "Who are you really?" I demanded. The Eleventh Sister removed her helmet. Underneath was a former fellow Padawan I knew only too well. "Barriss Offee..." I gritted through my teeth. Barriss laughed, and bowed mockingly. "So you remember me Czar?" she asked. I did, and I wished that I hadn't. Before she fell to the Dark Side and betrayed the Jedi Order, Barriss and I had trained together and formed a close bond. "How are you still alive? I thought they'd killed you when Order 66 happened!" I said. Barriss shrugged. "No, I sat in my cell, but my fall to the Dark Side had saved my life. I was welcomed into the fold by the Empire! It promised me revenge on those who had imprisoned me! You're fighting for the wrong side Czar!" she said. I shook my head. "You almost got me killed when you blew up the hanger! Do you feel no remorse for that!?" I asked. I didn't know what I was doing. Barriss smiled a sadistic smile. I knew then and there she'd fully embraced the Dark Side. She returned her helmet to her head and ignited her double bladed Lightsaber. "I see you need a bit more convincing that you're on the wrong side!" she said. We both charged each other. I clashed my saber against the Inquisitor's and I blocked, parried and countered. "We could have served together again; we could have saved the galaxy from pain!" she shouted as I parried and force pushed her away. I laughed, I actually laughed. "Have you seen the galaxy under Imperial Rule!? There are people suffering just so you and your masters can enjoy having power! The Dark Side has corrupted you Barriss!" I shot back the words and blocked her attack as she leaped towards me. I sensed more beings moving towards me as the fight continued. I needed to trigger the ambush I had set up. I flipped behind the inquisitor as Stormtroopers rounded the corner. Before anyone knew any better, I reached out with the and brough down bricks and scaffolding of a nearby apartment block. I hoped no one was too bothered. The Eleventh Sister, I refused to think of her as Barriss Offee, applauded and laughed. I had blocked her from getting to me. I knew she could cut through or maybe leap over, but she didn't seem to care if I escaped. "The Padawan is learning... wouldn't Orion be proud if he could see you now... resorting to such dishonourable strategies to win in a fight!" she said. I glared back. "Why did they choose you? The Empire wouldn't take just any force sensitives or Jedi to serve among them unless they had great skill!" I said, hoping my guess was correct. I judged by her response that I was either right, or she was humouring me. "I got chosen because of my ability to hide the Dark Side, or to embrace it and become more powerful! The Jedi feared everything about it!" she snarled through the helmet. I finally had some information. "You're serving the wrong side! Does none of your time as a Jedi mean anything to you anymore!?" I demanded. The Eleventh Sister scoffed obviously even with the helmet to prevent it. "The Jedi fell to the Dark Side long before I did! It wasn't even this alone which caused me to turn! How many Padawans like you and I were regarded as servants! Children forced to fight a war! The Senate, the Jedi Council, the entire Republic allowed children like us to be dragged off into wars!" she shot back. I finally knew more about my old friend's motivation. "Is that why you framed Ahsoka Tano?" I asked. I finally heard a note of remorse. "Ahsoka could have joined me, she had so many chances to! Of all the Jedi I chose her! As soon as the Council and Military accused her I had everything ready! I had proved to her that the Jedi would cast her aside! Leaving the Order, she could have helped me tear it down and create a new one!" she answered. "Blame everyone but yourself!? Is that it? Everyone else was just expendable!?" I asked. "Not true... I would have carried on until everyone in the republic saw what we were being made to do! The Rich and the people in power? They didn't care about us Padawans, younglings or Jedi as a whole! We solved their problems, we fought their wars, we built their Republic, but as soon as we stopped being useful, they didn't care about us! Just look at how they cast Ahsoka Tano aside!" she said. I sighed. "So you think you know the Galaxy so well do you?" I asked. She laughed. "How couldn't I? I travelled the Galaxy for years pretending to play Peacekeeper for the Jedi! Later I played Soldier before coming what everyone in the republic was realising... the Jedi were becoming war mongers!" she said. I tried one last time to reach any light left in the Inquisitor. "We were raised together Barriss, we played together as younglings, trained together, fought together! Does none of that matter to you!?" I asked. The Eleventh Sister turned. "I remember the shadow of the Dark Side, living under it, being told to never disagree with the system we served when we thought it was wrong! I remember being scared of it corrupting me! I also remember living in the shadow of the Jedi Order's so-called glory!" she answered. I sighed. "All this because you desire power that the Jedi forbade! Don't dress the desire for that up in noble intentions!" she laughed. "I have power Padawan...!" she said, proudly. I grabbed her with the force and pulled her close. "Not here! You give up the Dark Side you give up this poisonous dream! You come back home to Light! To the Jedi!" I shouted before releasing her. She laughed again. "Oh no this isn't poison... you only believe so because you still even now follow the dogmatic and narrowminded view of the Jedi... they kept poisoning themselves before they all finally died!" she said. I glared, which I seemed to be doing more often than not; and tutted before replying. "Wouldn't Luminara be ashamed of what you've become... did she even know it was you who had betrayed the Jedi? She wasn't on Coruscant when it happened!" The Eleventh Sister laughed. "I helped capture Luminara and give her to my superiors! I watched as they experimented on her! Even now, her corpse serves the Dark Side and the Empire! We're all part of something bigger!" I clenched my fist. Luminara was a well-respected Jedi. "What would she say if she could see you now!?" I demanded. "She has seen me, I made sure she saw my face before she died, just before they shocked her and she became a corpse! It gave me joy to see the hypocrisy of her Jedi teachings shatter in that single moment!" she said. "You really have no remorse? Luminara used to think the world of you and all you care about is revenge?" I asked, dumbfounded. She nodded. "Who do you think tried to restrict my mind the most? Besides Yoda she was the biggest thorn in my side, its why I worked hard to make sure I didn't go with her on as many missions! I needed time, and Luminara always was obsessed with the Jedi code!" she said. "I went on enough missions and followed her rules to keep up appearances though!" she said. I finally realised the truth. "You'd been able to keep the Dark Side inside yourself hidden, hadn't you? That's why Yoda and the Jedi Council, or even anyone else, couldn't detect what was happening!" I said. She nodded. "All of it proved how flawed the code of the Jedi believed in is that it's almost tragic!" she said. "What do you want?" I finally asked after a brief period of silence between us. To my surprise, she actually answered. "I want your Master's secret... and I will get it! Did you really think I didn't recognise you when me and The Eighth Brother arrived in that scrapyard? I'm amazed you found a clue to it so quickly! We've both been searching for some time" she told me. "Surely you don't think I'm going to give you anything?" I asked. "Oh I don't think you'd do it willingly... that's the thing about being a Jedi, you're far too concerned about morality and saving others" she said. "At least I can live with myself... you saw the probe footage of me... you know that I'm still strong enough to defeat you and your 'Brother' Barriss!" I said. She laughed. "There are so many more hunting you than just the two of us!" she said. I almost replied, but heard more Stormtroopers approaching from nearby. I couldn't be sure which direction they were coming from! I finally deactivated my Lightsaber and started to walk away. "Do you really think your master trained you well enough to defeat all of us? The rest of my Brothers and Sisters won't care about trying to bring you in alive... I'm trying to save your life Padawan!" she said. I turned and faced her again. "By making me serve the same people you do? I took an oath, you took the same one, I'll never join the Dark Side!" I said, a hint of anger in voice. The Eleventh Sister nodded. "Then you had better start running little padawan..." I did just that, but first, I needed to rescue this agent. I just hoped Kara didn't mind the extra passenger. I quickly contacted her. I would need my armour for this next part.At my request, Kara had managed to secretly stash my Mandalorian Armour nearby. I never learned how Strife had gotten hold of it, but without it, concealing my identity would be somewhat problematic. I quickly put it on. After moving through the city for a while, I finally located my quarry. The 'Agent' was trying to bluff her way through a patrol. I looked on, debating my next move. It was likely something so simple as not having any Identification. I listened in. "You need your Identification otherwise you will not be permitted to move past this checkpoint!" said the trooper she was arguing with. I almost felt bad for him. "Oh right, me walking down this particular street requires an ID when others don't? that's just stupid! Why aren't you guarding them!?" she demanded. I admired her bravado, even if I did think it was going to get her killed. I kept my head down, and started to move closer. If they did try to arrest her I'd rather have a clean shot and not hit any innocents. Eventually, I saw a way this whole thing could be done without another firefight. I was still tired from the past couple of days. I noticed her light armour, and walked over. I hoped she'd know to play along. "Hey, there you are, no sign of our bounty on my side of the city, you?" I asked, catching both the woman's and the Trooper's attention. I waited as she quickly thought over what was going on before she answered. "I was trying to get through to search this next area, but the Imperials are choosing to say no dice" she said, playing along. I shrugged. "Its not time sensitive, we can try again later or another day" I replied. She nodded. "Alright, lets get back to the ship so we can get out of this rain!" she said. I nodded, and we walked off a short distance before ducking into a side alley. She spoke quickly. "Thanks for that, how much do I owe you?" she asked, taking imperial credits from a pocket. I shook my head. "No need for the credits, just your name, and to know what you're doing here" I answered, opting to leave my helmet on. My Lightsaber was still hidden, but I didn't want to take any chances. She bit her lip in thought for a few moments, but answered. "My name is Lena, and I'm here looking for someone, but I'm not a Bounty Hunter..." she said. "Who are you after?" I asked. This time it was longer before she answered. "A Jedi, you heard anything about one?" she asked. "No, afraid not" I answered simply. She finally reversed the question back on me. She was younger than me, maybe by two or three years. "What are you after?" she asked. I finally gave an answer I knew she wouldn't like, but I felt duty bound to do, at least for now. "Maybe to keep you out of trouble..." I said. She scowled. "I've got powerful friends and years on the streets, what do you have?" she asked. I shrugged. "Being trained to fight, shoot and survive since I could walk and talk" I replied. "You have my attention..." she said. I smiled under the helmet. "I help you get off world, you tell me about these powerful friends of yours" I offered. She smiled. "Only if you earn my trust as you do so" she said. I nodded. "Works for me, now, lets get out of here" I said. I started to head for the pickup zone where Kara was waiting. I looked back and saw her standing. "Kid, if your Jedi was here, or even exists, trust me, he's going to be gone by now" I said. She sighed. "I need to find him..." she said. I decided I may as well ask why. "Why? Way I hear it these days, Jedi don't like to be found, they all have high bounties on their heads!" I explained. She shrugged. "The people who asked me to search for him don't want him dead... they want his help. I tracked him here, but everything since has been a dead end, locals aren't talking" she explained to me. I thought this over. "These the same powerful friends of yours you mentioned earlier? If yes, what can you tell me?" I asked. I let her mull her words over. "I can't say too much, but I'll share what little won't get us killed or reported. The group I'm here representing have goals that don't line up with The Empire's. I don't know who leads them, but I do know he has a lot of resources and powerful allies. Him and his allies seem to believe that there was a Jedi here. They managed to get access to an Imperial Probe Droid's recording just after the Empire did. When I was assigned the mission of trying to verify the reports, I had been told that there was no telling who it was in the recording. I report my findings to a Mysterious figure known only as Fulcrum!" she explained. I considered these words. "Then if people are looking for him, he's probably gone, but there's more to it isn't there?" I asked. "I don't trust you enough for any more than that, at least not yet!" she said. I understood, but had no way to confirm my suspicions. If she was what I thought, then things were going to get a lot harder. I also had no plans to reveal myself unless I had no other choice. It wasn't impossible that she was what I suspected, but it was very unlikely. I needed time to asses and understand the situation, and I couldn't do that standing in an alleyway. "Well, I'd suggest we discuss this on my ship its safer than talking about it in this alley!" She nodded reluctantly, seeming to agree. "Where do you plan on taking me?" she asked. I thought it over. I didn't like the idea, it was bad, it was risky, I had no idea if she could fight and if so, how well. I could train her to fight, to shoot, but that would take time, and if the words of The Eleventh Sister were anything to go by, I was fresh running out of it. There were also stealth entrances inside and out. Myself and other Padawans had learned of them largely by mistake. Entering through those hidden tunnels, which I had gone through even after being told not to, could be a safer solution. I just didn't have any idea of the security inside. It seemed unlikely that the Inquisitors would use it as their base. Palpatine, the clones, and whoever was above the Inquisitors, had gone to a lot of trouble to wipe out the jedi. Placing the Inquisitors in the Temple would just make it seem like a new branch was being setup, but one that was loyal the Empire above all else. I could call in a favour, but no one would want to go near the temple for now. I thought it over for a few moments. I needed to go there anyway, and I could test my theory. The pros were ultimately in my favour, and if all went wrong, I was strong enough to get me and Lena out of there if Kara was ready with the ship. It was worth the risk, I just hoped Kara saw it that way, originally, I'd have been going in alone, I hadn't counted on Lena coming in with me. Ultimately, I knew there was no other choice, I needed to know. "If you want to learn about the Jedi, there's only one place you can do it: The Jedi Temple on Coruscant" I said, and she followed me. I just hoped I was making the right choice.The Eleventh Sister was already plotting her next move. She wanted to find the Padawan, kill him if he wouldn't become an Inquisitor. As she sat in her quarters and pondered over a way to turn him, The Eighth Brother entered. "You revealed your Identity to him?" he asked. She nodded. "It will shake him to his core... I would rather recruit him to the Inquisitorious!" she said. The Eighth Brother thought it over. "Does he know about the secret he is searching for?" he asked. She shrugged. "Does it matter? His escape felt genuine enough... and soon the secrets of his master will be enough to earn us both the favour of Lord Vader and The Emperor..." she said. The Eighth Brother nodded. "You had better be right Eleventh Sister!" he said, his voice dangerous. "You would question my plans Eighth brother?" she asked. "Only when I have reason to!" he said simply, and wandered off. She was finally alone. Something the Jedi, Czar, had said had struck a nerve deep inside her. The Eleventh Sister, Barriss, focused on those memories. She wished more than anything Ahsoka had joined her. Blowing up the temple had been to prove a point. Everything had been planned to every small detail. Anakin Skywalker had stood by Ahsoka, which had made the entire plan go wrong. Whether or not she was still alive Barriss didn't know, she wanted to find out, but she wanted to help a system exist that cared about people. Although she and Ahsoka had fought before, Barriss wondered who would win in a fight at full strength. The first time they'd fought, she had been possessed by Geonosian Brain Worms. The second time, Ahsoka was tired, and seemed to have barely slept. After the night of Operation Knightfall, Barriss had been freed, and she had embraced the Dark Side again. Hindsight had shown her she'd been thinking too small. She didn't want to become a Sith, and her raw strength at even matching Anakin Skywalker, and later her new Sith Master Darth Vader, kept her place secure as an Inquisitor. She'd not any limb or body part, in her attempt to frame Ahsoka Tano she had already lost everything. For Darth Vader, that seemed to be enough. As for what happened after she had been removed from the court room, Barriss had been placed in a cell, Palpatine had wanted to try her in court of course, but the Jedi had stated she would be imprisoned for life in their temple. The entire time, she had been plotting her escape and next course of action. She had debated continuing her solo war against the republic after, but ultimately, she'd never know. Vader's Clones had freed her the night of Order 66. After being taken to Palpatine, she had sworn to serve him, so long as she was allowed to punish as many Jedi as possible. He had accepted in an amused fashion, and Vader had begun her training. Once again, The Eleventh Sister banished the memories. They weren't of a different person, but to her, they were irrelevant. However, she would do anything to make Ahsoka see reason, and she wouldn't fail. If she did, then she would kill her old friend!