Chapter 122: 122. Chapter

-From the perspective of Nizzal-

Thankfully, Barriss decided to take up the conversation, after seeing my perplexity and pleading expression. As a result, I could afford the free time to focus on the orange girl clinging to my neck. I whispered my first question to her.

-Ahsoka… how did you end up here?

Noticing my serious tone, she decided to let go of me after she pulled away from our impromptu hug. She looked me in the eye with a confused expression appearing on her face.

-Well… I don’t really know… I was supposed to be teleported to another colony of yours with Rika and a few others who I didn’t really have the time to become familiar with. Instead of that, after the teleportation happened, I appeared in a dark, chilly place… Before I knew what was happening, I was… frozen; quite literally… I guess that’s it really…

I gawked at the girl. She was kidnapped while being under my protection and brought to Korriban… all that through the use of our teleportation devices. This was just wrong, and there was a clear intent behind it. It could not be a coincidence. Someone brought her here with a purpose and I didn’t even know about it… all this time.

I couldn’t hold her trusting gaze any longer. I failed her completely. With that thought, I turned away from her with a growing sense of shame flooding my chest. I had been lost in my own problems, to a level where I didn’t even think about Ahsoka’s wellbeing.

-… I-I am sorry… I didn’t even know about this…

Ahsoka was puzzled seeing how disturbed I became hearing the news. She scrutinized me with her clear blue eyes for a while, frowning at me.

-Were you the one who brought me here?

I snapped.

-No! Of course not… Why would I…

-Then, I don’t see the reason why you should ask for my forgiveness.

I wanted to rebuke her, but stopped myself.

Yeah… she wouldn’t see it that way… Obviously… but she doesn’t know what I know. This whole situation could have been brought on our heads because of me.

The voices whispered in my head… like a flood of thoughts breaking through a dam. I winced from the sudden assault happening inside my mind. Which earned another worried glance from Ahsoka.

I listened to the mixture of intentions, thoughts, expectations and scoldings.

We were not the ones who brought you here… We are not your enemy, girl… It was someone else, but we do not know who… It hides its presence well, and the shadows surround it tightly. You are trapped, in danger… you must flee… Yet you must be careful, the Sith is lurking in the shadows… Our sight is clouded here, we cannot see far… This place doesn’t accept our presence… We cannot help you here… The darkside prefers to serve those who serve it solely…

As I listened to the voices, I felt a sense of relief. If that was true, then it was not them who brought us here… That thought alone made my stiff shoulders relax, as a relieved sigh left me. It wasn’t them…

However, that left us with the question of who was behind all of this? If it didn’t happen under the council’s orders, then who could have possibly arranged something like this? Could someone truly betray us? Or are the masters trying to deceive me? It wouldn’t be the first time, but I felt that was not the case now. Maybe they made me feel like that? No… no, if I started to doubt in every single thought and feeling, I would definitely go crazy.

Who could have done this then? Maul couldn’t have pulled this off alone. Someone must have supported him, someone very powerful and knowledgeable about our order, but who?

I felt as if a hand had found its way to my tightly clasped fists. Following this, a sensation of peace and comfort began to seep into my presence, but it didn’t feel intrusive. It was merely shared with me.

I looked at my hand, clasped by an orange one. I could feel the tension slowly ebbing away, my hand relaxing at last. I turned towards Ahsoka; she was showing me a weak, hesitant smile.

-Since you asked me… I am also curious how did you guys end up here?

-I… we were brought here against our intentions. There is a battle happening around Coruscant, and we were guarding the younglings who were hiding in the recently cleaned lower sections of the Jedi Temple… It was at least partially cleaned after the clones betrayal…

Ahsoka's expression became sour.

-I have already heard some rumors about that from the people who found me… but you need to tell me everything… Did the clones truly turn against the order? What about Anakin? Is he alright? And Padme?

Oh, yeah… she couldn’t possibly know about that…

-I will tell you everything… and yes, last time I saw them they were fine… but, I don’t know how to tell you this… Well… Anakin is no longer a Jedi… he had been kicked out, after the revelation of his oath breaking, and having an intimate relationship with a senator.

Ahsoka opened her mouth, then closed it a few times. Eventually, she sighed and said.

-Well, I can’t say that I am surprised… still it is strange to hear it happening. I always thought that he would somehow wiggle his way out of it at the last second… Just like usual. I guess some rules still apply to him after all. So… what is he up to now?

-Well, you weren’t that far from the truth there… They took away his jedi titles and his lightsaber… but not his rank as a General of the Republic army… So he pretty much does the same as usual. I heard that he even procured a vibroblade of sorts to replace his lightsaber. Still, wouldn’t stop complaining about it…

Ahsoka’s eyes widened, and a surprised laugh broke out of her throat, filling the chamber with a lighthearted mood dispersing the last remnants of the still lingering tension.

As if on cue, a tall figure walked up to us and both me and Ahsoka looked up at the newly arrived person.

A tall middle-aged man with short black hair and dark blue eyes with dark circles under his eyes was standing next to us with a deep frown etched into his face.

-Hi girls, I got the gist of your circumstances from that mirialan friend of yours. To be honest, I find it hard to believe… especially the part when you were teleported here… But, who am I to argue? It’s not like I can find any more feasible explanations. Since you look sane enough, I guess that should suffice for now. Thing is… I don’t like the part where she told me that there is an actual Sith lord here and I am supposed to believe that you were the one who drove him off. Let me ask… was this Sith Lord a kid too?

I felt a spike of annoyance from the way he phrased those words. There was an unmistakable mirth in his tone. I scowled at him and said.

-No… he was not a kid. And I indeed fought him off, but you are not inclined to believe me on that, based on your expression and tone…

He smirked with an unhealthy amount of amusement.

-Am I that obvious? Well, sorry about that girly… Jedi or not, I have this thing lingering in the back of my mind called common sense, which sometimes makes me question certain statements. Especially statements belonging to dirty little girls lost in a cave.

Most of his gang smirked at that, which made his smile grow wider. Before he could say another word, however, a tall blue skin colored togruta woman walked up to him. She stood next to him with a frown that matched his. The woman sighed and said.

-Okay, fine… this is seriously getting out of hand, now there are five of you. It seems we have to get back to the ship. We can’t leave them here, after what that green girl said…

Said green girl was currently staring daggers into her back while saying in a cold voice.

-My name is Barriss Offee and I believe that I have introduced myself properly.

The togruta woman straight out ignored Barriss. That made her frown considerably sharper.

The woman continued without a break.

-…and we don’t have enough supplies at hand to continue this excavation. It’s lucky that we have found a bunch of useful stuff back in that chamber which we definitely didn’t steal… right…

Another man walked up to us. This time, he was a bald, slightly older man with a scar on his left cheek’s lower part. He had small brown eyes, focusing on the cut apart droid laying in front of us.

He spoke up in a deep voice.

-Did you deal with that thing as well? I don’t exactly know the type, but it doesn’t seem friendly. Based on the vibroblade still grasped in its hands.

I nodded at him.

He smiled, giving me an appraising look. His smile was disturbing, but not because he meant it to be. It was thanks to the deep scar that distorted his features. Eventually he said, with satisfaction.

-There might be something to her words. She didn’t even blink, seeing my smile. Most of her age would run away screaming for their mommy.

The other man snorted and added to his partner’s uncalled observation.

-Bamadal… these kids are Jedi padawans, they are not what you would call average. About that, I can assure you. Ahsoka already told us that she had been participating in the war for years now, as a commander none the less.

The bald man smiled again.

-Ligo, are you telling me that we have five republic commanders under our care now? What an honor…

Ahsoka rolled her eyes next to me, and she stood up to glare at the man called Bamadal.

-As a matter of fact, Barriss over there is actually another commander, but the rest are not… specifically. Still, you shouldn’t underestimate Nizzal, because she could likely kick your asses with a hand tied behind her back.

I saw as the aqualish man who was standing in the back tightened his grasp around his weapon while giving me a cold glare.

I was about to facepalm. They might just feel the inclination to try that out if things continue in that direction. I reached up with my left hand, pulling on her clothes to signal her that it was enough.

However, she didn’t get the meaning and only glared at me in the middle of her argument.

-What now?

I stifled a sigh and said.

-Ahsoka… you don’t have to exaggerate…

-I am not exaggerating though.

I winced as all eyes around were focused on me, giving me suspicious glares.

I could only smile under the insinuating gazes. I didn’t want to threaten them in any way. Doing that would have been ridiculous in our current predicament. A wise man, however powerful he might be, should know that making more enemies than absolutely necessary would eventually result in their downfall.

Ligo, who seemed to be the leader of the group, sighed at last. Shaking his head with a helpless gesture.

-Fine, with a bunch of kids, I don’t exactly have any other option than to call it off for now… We are heading back to the ship earlier than planned.

The man reached out his arm towards me. After a few seconds of hesitation, I eventually grasped it and allowed him to pull me up into a standing position. With that done, he turned around and started backtracking their own steps.

The togruta woman, standing by Ligo’s side, showed me a large, toothy grin. She even helped me to shake off some of the dust and sand stuck in my clothes.

-Don’t mind him, he just likes to act annoyed all the time. We would be heading back in an hour or two, anyway. Still, you are quite the surprise to run into. If someone would ask me what the strangest thing was we ever found in a Sith ruin, I definitely know what to tell them from now on.

She laughed, seeing my baffled expression.

-Oh well, aside from looking horrible, covered in grime and sand, you all look fine to me. So step in line now, if you don’t want to stay behind. We have quite some distance to cover. While we walk, you can share your story as well. It might not be an overstatement if I say that we are pretty interested in it, and in a bit more detail than your green friend told us.

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I gave her a cursory look. While sensing another spike of annoyance coming from Barriss’ direction. She spoke up, as she couldn’t contain her annoyance anymore.

-You shouldn’t refer to me like that. You wouldn’t like it if I called you blue woman either.

The togruta woman only raised an amused eyebrow at that in Barriss’ direction. Then told her humorously.

-Aren’t you the creative one? Hmmm…. but be my guest.

- You… sigh…

With that, their conversation was over, and she stepped closer to me while whispering in my ear protrusion.

-Ain’t she a spiky one, eh? I like Ahsoka a lot more; she is fun to tease, almost as bad as Suye, and you… well I don’t quite know yet, there is no hurry though… We will have enough time to warm up to each other on the road.

She winked at me, then stepped back, leaving my personal space as quickly as she intruded on it.

 

Several hours later, in an improvised camp still inside the cave systems.

 

-From the perspective of Lily-

 

We have been walking for almost the entire day. It didn’t bother me at all. With the pace we were traveling at, I could likely continue to move on indefinitely. Well, at least until I became too hungry, and I was hungry now.

I wanted to find something to eat, but when I was about to leave the camp, one of the new companions stopped me and chased me back to the others. Saying that I should not loiter around and go to sleep or at least rest while I can.

I told the bald fool that I was fine, that I was hungry and wanted to search for nutrients.

To that he snorted, saying that I would be a lot more likely to become food for something else. Before I could protest, he threw something towards my face, which I reflexively caught out of the air with my left hand.

That action seemed to surprise him. His facial expressions were indicating a level of mild surprise. An expression that I always had trouble figuring out, but since the Overmind was nesting in my brain, it could teach me the subtle signs, or simply tell me what his expression meant. I seemed to have grown on the mental space intruder over time. He was a lot smarter than me, unfortunately a lot more arrogant too, which was a bit annoying at times.

For example, not too long ago, after observing the behaviors of different alien spices about my body’s age while we stayed in the temple. He expressed his thoughts about me probably being retarded in some ways. I didn’t exactly know what he meant by that, and when I asked what he meant. He said that it was as he feared and didn’t bother to give anymore information.

I was looking at the thing in my hand, but couldn’t quite figure out what that was. Then I heard the grumbling voice of the bald man, whose name I couldn’t bother to remember. However, I know for certain that his name started with "b" just like the word "bald" did. In a sense it was practically the same.

He spoke up bringing my attention back to the ongoing conversation.

-Eat that instead and go to sleep.

My eyes shined a bit, as I looked at the strange thing with a lot more interest now. The man also noticed the change and couldn’t help but shake his head in amusement.

-One would think that the Jedi were starving their young these days…

I looked up at him and said, while leaning my head to the side with wonder.

-They gave me sandwiches. I liked it. However, now that you mention it, the droid server thing, person?… Working in the kitchen became very angry at me when I asked for raw meat instead of the offered choices. He asked if I was joking, and when I said I don’t know what he means, it threw a large spoon at me, which I dodged easily, but that only made it more angry and it chased me out of the dining room. While everyone was laughing…

The bald man was staring at me with a stupefied expression now. Eventually, to my great displeasure, he also started laughing.

-HAHAHA! Kids these days… You asked for raw meat instead of the food he made you with hours of work… Damn girl, you should feel happy that you didn’t end up in the next day’s soup .

That thought made my body stiffen with fear. My eyes widened as I looked at him.

-Wou-would they do that?

The man, seeing my strong reaction, made an evil smile and stated while interlacing his arms in front of his chest.

-Hmm-hmm… yes, they would definitely do that. If I were you, next time I go there I would plead for their forgiveness.

I gulped, trying to moisten my suddenly dry throat, nodding frequently.

-Yes… I will definitely do that…

The man showed me a wry smile, then waved his hand, saying again.

-Kids these days… whatever, now get out of my sight. I don’t need you bothering me in the middle of my guard duty.

I nodded one last time, then before I left, I looked at the shiny bar in my hand.

-Can I ask one last question?

The man refocused on me with a growing sense of frustration, but he nodded eventually.

-How do I eat this? It feels strange… I am not sure if it’s edible. It’s shiny though…

The man blinked. Giving me a long look.

-It’s a chocolate bar… The packaging is supposed to be shiny, and eye-catching… If you don’t like it, just give it back. It was from my own reserves.

-Oh… that is not the case. I like it very much… thank you, but…

-But what?

He asked, feeling even more annoyed now.

-Am… am I supposed to eat the packaging as well?

The man blinked. He was in a state of disbelief based on what the Overmind told me. A few silent seconds went by like that, then he eventually asked.

-What?…

He shaked his head and asked again a few seconds later.

-Why… why would you eat… no obviously, you shouldn’t eat that… it would make you sick…

I asked with similar surprise and a sense of betrayal.

-Are you trying to poison me, but... why? I didn't do anything to you...

He was clearly confused for whatever reason. He stopped again in his talking, looked at the chocolate bar in my hand, then back up at me, asking with a humorous, slightly crazed grin. Well, at least that was how the Overmind described it to me.

-Girl… were you living in a cave until now?

My eyes shined with glee, my face suddenly feeling warm from the unexpected question, reminding me of my first nest. I answered with a happy exclamation.

-Oh, yes! This place actually reminds me of my home… you see… all the different caverns. This one is a bit dry for my taste. I liked the humidity of my own one a lot more.

The man's smile froze, his expression darkening considerably. He asked, while looking at me with a complicated expression.

-Are you retarded?

I was ripped away from the familiar and comfortable memories of my home, as that annoying word appeared again.

I grumbled to myself and asked.

-You are not the only one who referred to me with that word recently…

The man seemed to become a bit uncomfortable hearing that, but I continued.

-I asked them what they meant by that word, and they didn’t tell me… Would you explain it to me?

The man looked away with a sense of growing discomfort. After that about half a minute of silence went by as I was staring at him, patiently waiting for an explanation.

Suddenly he stood up from the rock he was sitting on, stepped closer to me, and snatched the chocolate bar out of my hand. I watched as he ripped off the packaging in a strange motion, then he gave me the part that was hidden under the covering. Now that part felt a lot more edible. It had an overly sweet fragrance. Something that I couldn’t compare to anything.

The man looked at me one more time with this strange expression that was supposed to be pitying based on the words of the Overmind.

He was about to pat my head, but eyeing the psionic receptors covering the top of my head, he changed trajectory and placed his large palm on my left shoulder. He patted my shoulder a few times, awkwardly, then said.

-It means… that you are a bit special girly… Don’t concern yourself about that. If you are hungry, just come to me in the future. I have a few more of that. Now, enough of you, shoo…

I looked at him. Then said.

-I see… thank you bald man. Hunting is boring anyway…

With that, I turned around and walked back to my place. I was resting against the wall next to the other girls. I took a bite from the strange substance in my hand. The next few seconds were a bit blurry, as the sweet flavor assaulted my brain in the form of powerful waves. I couldn’t stop myself and gulped down the entire thing before I knew what was happening.

Still… I vaguely remember someone shouting at me something along the line of did you call bald? Then spouting something about being an ungrateful bastard of a brat…

Was that the Overmind acting up again… well, who cares?

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