Chapter Text
Chapter One: Into the Unknown
Upon hearing the Jedi Council’s request for Obi-Wan, Anakin, herself, and their two respective Padawan’s to return to Coruscant, Luminara makes her way through the medical station corridors to check on Barriss. The Mirialan Jedi Master was already feeling guilty for what happened to her student when the Geonosian droid factory collapsed. Thus, to receive word that Barriss became infected with the very parasite that she herself was presented, her heart continued to sink.
Luminara loved Barriss. If anyone knew how deeply Luminara loved the girl, there would be doubt that senior Jedi would be reprimanded for her attachment. For attachment was seen as a path to the dark side as her own Master has ingrained into her psyche so many times in her youth. But Luminara couldn’t help it. The thought of Barriss dying was powerful enough to bring her knees. Had Luminara not gone into a meditative state, she would have risked losing control in front of a colleague. Bringing Luminara out of her thoughts, she notices Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker leaving her destination with a look of peace on his face.
Luminara took this as a sign that Ashoka has awakened and is well and gave Skywalker a smile.
“I take it your Padawan is recovering well?”, Luminara asked.
“Yeah, she’s a strong one for sure. I’m happy our girls have come out the other side given what they have been through within this last week.”, Anakin replied.
Luminara nods in agreement and continues to enter the room the girls were resting in. She was expecting to see Ashoka awake, however she wasnt expecting to see her curled up next to her still sleeping Padawan. Ashoka immediately sits up with a faint blush tinting her orange cheeks.
“Oh! Master Unduli! I’m sorry I’m sure you’d like some privacy with Barriss?”
Luminara could not help but chuckle at the young Togruta, “No worries Ashoka, if anything I owe you my thanks for saving Barriss’s life. I can tell you from experience that the worms are quite the ordeal, though thanks to your Master and Master Kenobi I was saved from contracting the worm myself. I can only imagine how scary that have been having to fight your friend, so thank you Padawan Tano.”
Waving her hands in front of her hands Ashoka responds, “Oh it was cinch once Master Skywalker told me how to beat the worms. I’m just happy Barriss is okay, I owe her for getting us through those Geonosien tunnels.”
Luminara could not help but smile on how quickly the Padawans formed a strong bond within days of first meeting each other. Of course, meeting each other during a time of war is the last thing the Jedi Master wanted for the young women and yet they persevered. Perhaps a friendship between her Padawan and Tano is what Barriss needs to help cope with the daily stresses they’re all under.
Putting a hand on Barriss’s, Luminara looks Ashoka in the eye and says quietly, “At this rate Ashoka, I’ll be indebted to you in the afterlife for what you have done for myself and Barriss. Your Master has every right to be proud of you.” Before Ashoka can answer the older woman, Barriss begins to awaken. Her deep cerulean eyes looking to Ashoka first and a small smile forms on her face.
“Ashoka you saved me… again. I owe you my life.”
Luminara speaks up, “ No matter, I’ve already informed Padawan Tano that I’ve got the tab.”
Barriss whips her head upon hearing her Master’s voice, “Master, you’re here!”
“Of course I’m here love, why would I not check to see if my student is okay?”, Luminara responds, squeezing the younger woman’s hand. She continues, “I will always be there for you Barriss just like Master Skywalker is to Ashoka. Never doubt that.”
Ashoka grins knowing that she is witnessing a moment rare to an outsider. Ever since her time with the Jedi Master on the Tranquility, fending Ventress off together, the girl held nothing but respect for the Mirialan Jedi. Underneath her cool exterior and by-the book methods lies a compassionate soul that only a few see.
“So what now Master,?” Ashoka asks, knowing that there is most likely a new assignment in order. Barriss also looks to her Master, hoping that they’re not going to separated onto another dangerous planet.
“We were just asked to return to the temple on Coruscant. Perhaps we’ll finally get a break from all the fighting,” Luminara says in a sad tone.
“Well I’m ready to go if you are Barriss?” Ahsoka turns to her friend.
Barriss nods, “Yes, Master we can prepare to leave. I promise I am feeling well.”
“Alright, I’ll let Kenobi and Skywalker prepare our ship and troops. Don’t push yourselves, you both need to rest,” the Jedi Master states as she lets go of Barriss’s hand and turns to leave. As the door closed, Luminara could not help but notice how peaceful Barriss looked in Tano’s presence. Maybe now she can finally take a breath, Luminara thought to herself as she heads back to command. The Jedi Master was starting to lay restless at night feeling the anxiety and sadness within her Padawan through the Force. She will talk to Barriss when the time is right and it can be just the two of them, but for now Ashoka can be there.
Obi-Wan’s POV
“Master Unduli has informed me the Padawans are well enough to depart, I’ve already asked the troops to prepare our ship,” Obi-Wan says to Anakin as they head to the docking bay of the medical station.
“Sounds good. Wonder what our next assignment is going to be,” Anakin replies with a smile, still calm from talking to Ashoka earlier.
“I’m not sure, but it’s rare to be told to simply return to Coruscant these days.” Obi-Wan sighs, his mind drifting elsewhere.
“What’s on your mind Master?” Anakin asks, searching the older man’s face for clues.
Obi-Wan doesn’t reply immediately as he continues to scratch her beard. Clearly there was something pressing on his mind. Anakin decides to bring his Master back to the present by saying something ridiculous as embarrassment always seems to get Obi-Wan’s attention. His subject matter came to him easily as he noticed Luminara in the distance boarding what will be their ride home.
“Look Obi-Wan if you’re going to stare at Master Unduli, you should just ask her to dinner since we’ll be alone together. Maybe a lady will solve your problems!”
As expected, Obi-Wan whips his face to his apprentice, “What?! Anakin I don’t know what you’re implying, but I was just pondering on how you got Poggle to reveal how to stop the worms.”
“Oh c’mon Master, don’t change the subject. Talking about your non-existent love life is way more fun,” Anakin says brushing off the comment.
“Anakin”, Obi-Wan says sternly, eyes narrowing, “I’m serious.”
Both men stop in their tracks and looked at each other. Anakin was no fool in thinking that his Master didn’t have the slightest clue as to how he got Poggle to talk. About a minute goes by before Obi-Wan starts to speak again.
“Anakin, you and I both know what path anger can lead us to.”
Anakin scoffed, “Yes I do! But I had to do something or else Ashoka could’ve been in danger. I refuse to allow anything to happen to her!”
“I know Anakin, and I’m glad you were able to help her but I worry about you sometimes. You’re so quick to make rash decisions that I’m afraid one day you’ll make a decision that I won’t be able to fix,” Obi-Wan responds calmly.
“I don’t need you to fix anything Master! I’m never going to turn to the dark side. I just wish you would trust me!”, Anakin begins to raise his voice.
“Alright Anakin, calm down. I didn’t mean to upset you, I was just expressing concern. Remember we still do not know if there is a Sith Lord out there and the last thing I would want to see is the “Chosen One” alerting the Sith Lord.”
“Obi-Wan… I will never do that. If we ever find out how the Sith Lord is I’ll kill him myself. We will defeat Dooku and restore peace in the galaxy.”
Obi-Wan sighs and says, “Well I hope that day will come soon. I’m growing tired of the constant fighting.”
“I know.”, Anakin says, continuing to walk down the docking bay. Before entering the ship, Anakin couldn’t help himself to another jab at his Master. “So you never answered my question, are you going to ask Master Unduli to dinner?”
“Anakin!”
In all seriousness, Anakin did not know whether or not his Master had an interest in Unduli, but it is always fun to tease Obi-Wan nonetheless.
Ashoka’s POV
As the flagship, the Magistrate, began its journey back to Coruscant, Ashoka was pleased to hear that Master Fisto would be the one to transport Poggle to prison. The young Padawan was not fond of prison duty like she had to in the past with Gunray. She was happy to be bunking with Barriss again knowing she’ll be able to rest more easily now that there were no more parasites to fear. She had to admit, it was nice having another female around her age to talk to. Someone who knows what it's like to be training in a time of galactic unrest. Someone who knows what it's like to feel like a soldier instead of a peacekeeper. As much as Ashoka loves to tease her Skyguy and pull pranks, it was a nice change of pace to be around Barriss’s calm demeanor. Kind of like Obi-Wan. Sometimes she’ll find herself wanting to meditate alongside the Master instead of sparring with Anakin.
“Well it looks like I’ll finally be able to relax now that we don’t have worry about bugs trying to kill us!,” Ashoka jokes looking at Barriss who was currently meditating on her bunk.
“Indeed, I do enjoy the quiet,”, the girl responds between breaths.
“You sound so much like your Master,” Ashoka sighs, hoping Barriss would be down to talk until they slept.
“Oh?”, Barriss replies not offended by the comment.
“Yeah!”, Ashoka scoffs, “You guys are so proper. It's like you two share the same brain or something.”
Barriss smirks and says, “And you’re not like Master Skywalker.”
Ashoka gasps as if someone knocked the wind out of her, “What? No! Unlike Anakin I can actually control myself!”, she states matter-of-factly crossing her arms.
“If you say so,” Barriss shrugs, still meditating and not noticing Ashoka’s glare from the other side of the room. Ashoka still pressed on.
“So you and your Master never act out of instinct? Never crashed? Never done anything risky?”
“Why would we do that? It’s as my Master says, it’s best to always be prepared.”, Barriss continues in the same calm tone.
“I feel like that puts so much pressure on you,” Ashoka sighs, not noticing how Barriss flinched at the comment.
“You have no idea.”, Barriss sighs in return, opening her eyes.
Before Ashoka could speak, the ship's alarms were starting to go off.
Anakin’s POV
“What the hell is going on?”, Anakin says as he rushes up to the command center.
“Sir, it seems like we are being pulled,” Commander Gree states and the ship seems to push to the left. Yet, there are no planets in sight. Anakin turns to see the door behind him open, revealing Obi-Wan and Luminara stumbling in.
“Anakin, what’s going on?”, says Obi-Wan, not seeming to notice his hand was brushing against Luminara’s.
“We’re being pulled Master, but to where I’m not sure, hang onto something!”, Anakin shouts as he runs to the ship’s command panel. Yet the screens show no indication of any damage or sign of incoming Seperatist ships. Only the alarm systems were going, leaving the pilot part of him confused.
“Anakin!”, Obi-Wan shouts again, now holding onto Luminara so she doesn’t fall over.
Before Anakin can reply, the ship drops and plummets towards an unknown place. For what seemed like an eternity, the ship continued to fall and everyone held tight onto the nearest object or seat. As quickly as it dropped, the ship crashed landed into what appears to be another planet. As soon as the ship stopped moving, Anakin quickly got up checking to see if anyone got hurt. His eyes quickly noticed a huge gash on Obi-Wan’s left temple as it seemed like he hit his head against a table corner when he fell to the floor with Luminara in his arms.
“Obi-Wan!”, Anakin shouts running to him, “Are you alright?!”
Luminara gasps at the sight of the cut and almost whispers “Oh, Obi-Wan, please tell me you’re alright?!”
“Yes,” Obi-Wan replies, “Just a scratch, it's nothing.”
The door hisses behind them as Barriss and Ahsoka enter.
“Master where are we? What happened?”, Ashoka yells.
“I don’t know Snips. Something pulled us into another planet and we took a huge fall,” Anakin says, putting a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her nerves.
“Master Kenobi, please let me patch up your wound. You may need some stitches, but nothing too serious,” Barriss says, assessing Obi-Wan’s head.
“Thank you Miss Offree”, replied Obi-Wan who was beginning to stand up.
“Sir, do you want us to scan the area?”, Commander Rex asks Anakin with Commander Gree right behind him.
“Yes, Rex. Scan for any lifeforms and for any information you can find as to where we are,” Anakin orders still watching Barriss get to work on Obi-Wan’s head wound. Luminara appears to be lost in her own mind, holding onto Obi-Wan’s hand as the anesthetic is injected into his forehead.
“Yes, sir,” Rex salutes as he gets to work.
Anakin searches the room for R2. “R2, see if you can get a signal. We’re probably going to have to contact the Council about what’s going on.”
R2 beeps in response as he rolls towards a port.
“Sir, our scanners are not picking up any lifeforms and there is no information in regards to where we are,” Rex reports.
Anakin frowns as the whole ordeal was making no sense. He was starting to think he may be dreaming.
“Artooie, are you getting a signal?”Ashoka asks the astromech.
R2 makes what sounded like a sad beep, which causes Ashoka to wave her hands frantically.
“What? How can there be no signal!?”
“Relax Snips, maybe the atmosphere is dense where we are. Once Obi-Wan is patched up, we’ll scan the perimeter and see if we get some answers.,” Anakin says as he continues to ponder on the situation. Luminara then breaks her silence and says, “Skywalker why don’t we search the perimeter now in case there is a danger outside. We cannot waste time finding answers.”
Luminara was right and Anakin turns to Rex, “What’s the oxygen situation here Rex?”
“The air appears to be breathable Sir, no masks required.,” Rex replies.
“Good, Snips, Rex, and Gree, you’re coming with Master Luminara and I to scan the outside. Everyone else, stay in your positions until we come back. If you don’t hear from us within the hour, try getting the ship out of here and back to Coruscant. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here.,” Anakin says in a serious tone. Turning to Obi-Wan, Anakin says, “Master, I think its best if you stay here on the ship just in case we don’t come back.”
“No Anakin, I couldn’t possibly leave you all out there!,” Obi-Wan protests as Barriss continues to stitch his wound.
“Master, with all due respect, remember what I said earlier. You have to trust me. And if something happens, someone on the Council should make it back and inform the others of the situation.”, Anakin presses as he makes his way to the ramp out of the ship to join Ashoka and the two Commanders. “It’s like you always tell me, it’s going to be alright.”
Obi-Wan’s POV
Obi-Wan knew Anakin had a point as much as he did not want to admit it. Yet, he still did not like the idea of Anakin and Ahsoka going into the unknown along with Luminara.
“Luminara,” Obi-Wan thinks to himself. He was not sure why but an ache began to form in his chest at the thought of her also leaving the safety of the ship. He looks up to see her deep blue/violet eyes looking into his blue ones.
“Please be careful out there,” Obi-Wan says, his words almost wavering. Again he is not sure why all of a sudden he was so concerned over the safety of someone who is a Jedi Master like himself. Luminara can handle any obstacle thrown her way with grace and poise, yet the anxiety builds within him. Perhaps he needs to meditate when things quiet down again.
Luminara softly replies, “I will. Barriss please after everyone until we return.” She then turns on her heel and starts to walk towards the ramp without looking back.
“Yes, Master,” Barriss whispers as she finishes her stitching.
“Please come back to us.” Obi-Wan pleads in his mind.