Chapter Text
“They just don't seem to end,” Ahsoka hissed as she fought to right her fighter after a close call with an exploding missile.
“They have to run out of fighters sometime,” Barriss replied, almost desperately as she destroyed two more Tri-fighters while she covered Ahsoka's recovery.
She did moments later and pulled up beside Barriss so she could check for any serious damage.
“Doesn't look too bad,” Barriss commented as she rolled around Ahsoka's fighter. “Some moderate hull damage, embedded shrapnel and... ouch, looks like you've lost one of your stabilisers and your landing struts, I suggest you return to the Resolute.”
“I can still fight,” Ahsoka countered. “Besides, your fighter is in just as bad condition and I'm not trailing smoke like you are.”
“Fine,” Barriss sighed. “One more pass, then we'll both go back and get repairs.”
“Alright,” Ahsoka said and Barriss could hear the smirk in her voice.
They made another pass through the melee of fighters, destroying at least nineteen between them, though it barely made a dent in the Separatist and Umbaran forces.
“This isn't working,” Barriss muttered. “We need something decisive that takes out a good portion of their capital ships or we need reinforcements.”
Just at that moment, she felt a ripple in the force as someone familiar entered the system.
“Master,” Barriss smiled, opening a comm channel to Admiral Yularen.
“Perfect timing General,” Yularen said. “General Unduli's forces have just arrived and I'm directing them to assist you now.”
“Good, with them we should finally be able to finish off their fleet. How are our ground forces doing?” Barriss asked.
“Not great, the Five-Oh-First is currently pinned down in the airbase they took by an Umbaran counter-attack, I'm sending General Unduli and half of her force there to assist.”
“Do they have a fighter escort?” Barriss demanded.
“Yes, they've got three squadrons taking them in,” Yularen confirmed.
“Alright, tell their bombers to focus on the cruisers, we need to finish this quickly,” Barriss said.
“Will do, General,” Yularen nodded, ending the call.
Barriss flipped back to her command channel.
“Ahsoka, we've got reinforcements coming in, so this should all be over soon,” Barriss told her.
“That's great," Ahsoka sighed in relief “Because I'm not sure how much longer my fighter's gonna hold together.
“If that's the case, I want you to return to the Resolute now,” Barriss ordered. “We've almost won, I don't want to lose you to a mechanical failure now.”
“But-”
“No Ahsoka, head back, I'll join you shortly, once victory is assured,” Barriss retorted.
“Fine,” Ahsoka groaned. “But if you get shot down without me, Anakin won't be very happy.”
“If I get shot down, Anakin being unhappy is the least of my concerns,” Barriss said drily. “Now get out of here, I'll see you back on the ship.”
“I'm going, I'm going,” Ahsoka muttered, turning her fighter around and limping back to the Resolute, allowing Barriss to turn her full attention to the battle, confidant she could easily turn it into a victory now, as a stream of 41st legion gunships flew past her, one carrying the distinctive presence of her Master.
She sent a force nudge her way as a greeting and got one back, then, smiling to herself, she dove back into combat.
An hour later, it was all but over, as the remaining Separatist cruisers were no match for the added weight of the 41st's entire fleet and the fresh starfighter compliments they'd added to the battle, quickly turning the tide of the battle and one by one, destroying each enemy cruiser.
Now all that was left were the surviving droid fighters and what was left of the Umbaran air force, which had retreated to protect the capital.
Something her squadron Commanders could handle, Barriss decided as her fighter began to shudder, almost two days worth of battle damage finally catching up to her.
So she transferred command to one of her senior squadron leaders and made her way back to the Resolute, just barely reaching the hanger before her repulsorlifts gave out and her ship crashed unceremoniously to the deck.
“Ouch,” she muttered as the impact jarred her back, before attempting to raise cockpit.
It didn't respond.
“Typical,” she muttered, pulling the emergency release.
The explosive bolts fired and the canopy popped off, which allowed her to climb out and stretch for the first time in over eight hours.
“Ugh,” she groaned. “That's feels good.”
Then she felt Ahsoka approach.
“Smooth landing,” she teased as she reached her.
“What, you didn't do any better,” Barriss retorted, indicating Ahsoka's crumpled wreck of a fighter that she doubted even Anakin could salvage in the bay beside hers.
“Yeah, but half my landings look like that,” Ahsoka grinned. “The only other person I've seen land like that is Skyguy, but he's usually on fire as well.”
“Don't remind me,” Barriss groaned. “When this is over, I'm going to have a serious talk with him about his teaching methods.”
“Obi-Wan's tried, nothing's sunk in so far,” Ahsoka said cheerfully as they walked away from their fighters.
“I doubt he's tried everything,” Barriss muttered to herself.
“What was that?” Ahsoka smirked, evidently having heard her.
“Nothing,” Barriss said. “How's the ground battle going?”
“Fairly well now that Master Luminara's forces have joined the battle, but it was close and Anakin's forces were almost overwhelmed when your Master went to help him,” Ahsoka said.
“So they're alright now?” Barriss asked, a bit of concern leaking past her shields.
“Yeah, Master Krell reported that their position was secure now and that they were preparing to move on to the capital.”
“That's good, the sooner they surrender, the sooner we can get go back home, though I'm probably going to have nightmares about this war,” Barriss admitted.
“Me too,” Ahsoka said softly. “I thought we'd been through some rough battles before, but they're nothing compared to what we just faced.”
“I know,” Barriss sighed sadly. “Everything seems to be getting worse the longer this war drags on.”
Ahsoka didn't respond, merely placing a hand on Barriss's shoulder and squeezing it sympathetically.
“Where to now?” Ahsoka asked after a minutes silence.
“I don't really feel like eating, so I'm just going to go to my quarters and get a couple of hours sleep before we have to go out again,” Barriss said tiredly.
“I should probably do the same,” Ahsoka agreed with a yawn.
“Alright, I'll meet you... somewhere in a few hours,” Barriss nodded.
“Okay,” Ahsoka agreed and headed off to her quarters, leaving Barriss alone to return to hers.
Anakin couldn't remember being happier to see anyone than when Luminara's gunships flew in low, strafing the attacking Umbarans, before landing and unloading hundreds of fresh troops that bolstered his severely weakened force and quickly drove off their attackers.
And he couldn't help the grin that formed on his face as he walked over to greet her while her troops secured the base and assisted his medics with their wounded.
“Perfect timing, as always, Master Unduli,” he said when he stopped beside her. “Another hour and there wouldn't have been much left of us.”
“My apologies,” Luminara said with a slight smile. “We got here as soon as possible after we received the request for aid, though it seems like I've picked up your Master's flair for dramatic entrances.”
“I'm not complaining,” Anakin grinned, before turning serious. “We still lost a lot of men though, it'll take us a while to rebuild the legion.”
“I know,” Luminara sighed. “And for what?”
“I don't know anymore,” Anakin admitted.
At a glance from Luminara, he elaborated.
“We're not fighting for what I thought we were fighting for,” he said quietly. “Barriss and I have been talking about it and we're not sure we even want to be Jedi anymore after this.”
“I'd say I was surprised, if Obi-Wan and I weren't discussing the same thing,” Luminara muttered.
“Good to know we're not alone then,” Anakin said with a sad smile.
“You'll never be alone,” Luminara promised as Rex and Gree approached them.
“Generals, the base is secure and General Kenobi is trying to contact you,” Gree informed them.
“Alright, thank you Commander,” Luminara said and they all headed over to the temporary command centre that had been set up after the last one had been destroyed by one of the Umbaran tanks.
“Master Kenobi, what can we do for you?” Luminara asked when they reached Obi-Wan and Anni's holo.
“Just checking in,” Obi-Wan said with a faint smile, his one reserved for Luminara. ”And to let you know we're ready to press the attack, when you're ready.”
Luminara glanced at Anakin, who nodded.
“We're ready,” Luminara said.
“Good,” Obi-Wan nodded. “What's left of the Umbaran military has assembled in the capital, so once we take it, it'll be the end of this war.”
“Can't come soon enough,” Anakin muttered.
“My forces will be in position in six hours, if you can do the same, we should be able to end this with one final push,” Obi-Wan continued.
“We'll be there,” Anakin promised.
“Right, I've gotta see to my men, was there anything you wanted to add Anni?” Obi-Wan asked.
“No Master,” Anni muttered, and as Anakin looked at her properly for the first time, he noticed how exhausted and utterly shattered she looked, and, if the way she was blinking rapidly was any indication, like she was about to cry.
He'd have to have a talk with her when they next met up.
“Okay, that's everything for now, see you in the capital,” Obi-Wan said, before hanging up.
“My men will take the lead,” Luminara said, turning to Anakin. “Give yours at least a few hours rest, they've been through hell these last few days.”
“Thank you,” Anakin said gratefully. “We'll rejoin you as soon as we can.”
Luminara nodded.
“May the force be with you,” she said, before walking off to organise her troops.
Gree followed after her, leaving Anakin alone with Rex.
“Tell the men to get as much rest as they can, we'll move out in four hours,” Anakin told him.
“Yes Sir,” Rex nodded and headed off.
“And make sure you get some too,” Anakin called after him.
Rex just waved in response.
“I'm a bad influence,” Anakin sighed, as he turned and headed to the mess to get something to eat, contemplating trying to call Barriss before he had to go back to battle.
Anakin had thought the battles to get to the capital were brutal, but they were like holidays to Naboo compared to what it took to take the Umbaran capital from it's entrenched defenders.
The fighting had been intense, close quarters, with battles fought street to street and sometimes house to house, as Umbarans made them pay dearly for every metre of ground they advanced.
The battle lasted almost three days, but at the end of it all, the Republic stood victorious, not that Anakin could call anything about this campaign a victory.
Not after they'd practically destroyed the once beautiful city. Not when thousands of civilians had been killed during the taking of it. Not when the force screamed with all the deaths that had occurred and fires burned in the ruins of the once great city, fires that, more often than not, were accompanied by the smell of burnt flesh.
Not when they'd thrown aside everything it meant to be a Jedi, all in the name of serving the Republic.
Turning away from the miserable view over the city, Anakin pressed on to his destination, the remains of the parliament building, where all the Republic's leaders had gathered to discuss terms with the Umbarans.
A meeting he was now three hours late for, but couldn't bring himself to care as he trudged up the ruined street, only stopping when he saw a familiar figure slowly walking towards him.
“Hey Anni,” he called out tiredly when he got closer.
She didn't respond, merely looking up at him with tear filled eyes.
“Anni, what's wrong?” He asked, kneeling in front of her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
She stared at him for a long moment and her lip began to tremble as tears leaked out of her eyes.
Then she all but threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his chest.
His arms came up around her automatically and he pulled her close, not saying anything as she sobbed into his tunic, merely rubbing her back soothingly as he waited for the tears to stop.
It took a while, but eventually they did.
With a final hiccup and a deep, shuddering breath, she fell silent, though she made no attempt to move away.
“What happened?” He asked softly.
Anni let out a soft sniffle and her body trembled.
“They're all gone,” she whispered miserably. “My whole platoon, and it's all my fault.”
“What do you mean?” He asked, rubbing her back soothingly.
She sniffled again before answering.
“When were advancing on the city, my platoon was scouting ahead and we came across an Umbaran position,” she began. “We should have fallen back and waited for the rest of the legion, but I thought we could take them,” she paused to suck in another shuddering breath. “There were more of them than we expected, with much more powerful weapons, but by the time I realised that, it was too late, we couldn't retreat or we'd get cut down as we ran. We managed to take the position, but by the time the rest of the company caught up, everyone else was dead or dying, all my men, Rax, Sticks, Cyclops, all dead because of my mistake,” she whimpered.
“Oh,” he sighed, hugging her more tightly. “I'm sorry Anni.”
“They trusted me and I failed them. Now they're dead, all my friends are dead,” she sobbed, fresh tears leaking into his tunic.
He didn't know what to say in response to that, because it was something he still struggled with, so just held her as she cried.
“Have you talked with Obi-Wan about this?” He asked eventually.
“No,” she whispered. “I didn't want to bother him, he has so much he already has to worry about, he doesn't need to worry about me as well.”
“You should,” he advised her. “He's far better at helping with this sort of thing than I am.”
“But he doesn't give as good hugs,” she mumbled back.
“Can't argue with you there,” he snorted and Anni let out a watery chuckle.
He was about to add something else when he felt someone familiar approaching.
They both glanced up to see Obi-Wan picking his way towards them, looking worn out and in need of a hug himself.
“Ahh, there you are,” Obi-Wan said with a not entirely forced smile as he reached them. “I sensed... a disturbance, are you okay?”
Anni pulled back from him and nodded.
“I'm... alright, but...” she glanced at Anakin and he gave her an encouraging smile. “Can I talk to you after?” she asked softly.
“Of course,” Obi-Wan agreed as he shot him a look.
Anakin hesitated for a moment, then mouthed later to him.
Obi-Wan nodded slightly, then turned back to Anni.
“We've finished discussing terms,” Obi-Wan said, with a pointed look at Anakin, who managed to look vaguely guilty. “So there's not much left for us to do here now, Luminara and I were just going to meet up for a bit before returning to the ship and I think Barriss and Ahsoka were going to come down too.”
“Alright,” Anni nodded, extracting herself from Anakin's embrace and walking over to Obi-Wan's side, discretely wiping her eyes again as she did.
Anakin did the same and together they walked to where they could sense Luminara waiting for them.
As their gunship touched down in the still smoking ruins of the Umbaran parliament building, Barriss couldn't help but wince at the destruction she'd helped cause.
Beside her, Ahsoka was too exhausted to notice as she stumbled out, and Barriss just barely caught her before she went sprawling.
“Thanks,” Ahsoka sighed, righting herself.
“You're welcome,” Barriss muttered. “Any idea where they said to meet them?”
“Nope, I thought you knew.”
“No, normally I'd just reach out with the force but...”
“It hurts too much,” Ahsoka whispered.
“Yeah.”
“Can you message them? The jammers should be down now.”
Barriss nodded and sent a quick message to Anakin.
He responded almost immediately with directions to where they were, so she and Ahsoka set off to find them.
They got lost a couple of times, but eventually found them in one of the empty barracks, all gathered around the one remaining table.
Anakin turned as they walked in, a smile forming on his face as he stood to greet them and she relaxed, both physically and in the force as she met him halfway, allowing him to pull her into a tight embrace.
“I'm glad you're safe,” he whispered as she buried her face in his chest.
She didn't respond verbally, just projected similar feelings across their bond.
They broke apart after a minute and Ahsoka pushed her way between them to hug Anakin as well, making Barriss snort as she turned to the others in the room, who were watching them with varying degrees of amusement.
Anni was openly grinning, though it looked like she was also about to cry.
“Masters,” she nodded. “Good to see you in one piece.”
“You as well,” Obi-Wan said drily. “From what we saw down here, you had a pretty rough time of it,” he added, more seriously.
“We did,” she sighed sadly, rubbing her hands over her face. “We lost so many men.”
“And for what?” Ahsoka asked, pulling away from Anakin and moving to stand beside her.
“I don't know anymore Snips,” Anakin sighed, returning to his seat.
Neither Obi-Wan or Luminara had answers either and they all fell into silence for a while.
It was Anni that eventually broke it.
“What do we do now?” She asked quietly.
“The council has ordered us to return to the temple for now, though we'll probably be shipping out again almost immediately,” Luminara said. “Aside from the Five-Oh-First, which needs to be brought back up to strength first.”
“That bad was it?” Ahsoka asked, looking at Anakin, who nodded sadly as Barriss slumped onto the table in despair. She wasn't sure she could take anymore fighting, not after what they'd done here.
“Barriss, are you alright?” Luminara asked with concern.
“Yeah, I'm...” she sucked in a deep breath, then another. “I think I need some air,” she muttered, getting to her feet and almost stumbling to the door.
“I'll come with you,” Anakin said, getting up as well and following her out. “Fives will be here shortly as well,” he said over his shoulder to Ahsoka, who nodded gratefully.
Then they headed outside, neither saying anything as they headed for a secluded area, then, when he was sure they were alone, Anakin pulled her to him and kissed her deeply, desperately.
She returned the kiss with a desperation matching his own and for a long time, they stayed that way, until they had to break apart to gasp for air.
But they still clung to each other tightly, as if letting go of each other would spell their doom, which might be the case Anakin thought, judging by the emotions swirling around them, they were both close to snapping.
Neither of them spoke for a while after that.
Until Barriss broke the silence.
“I don't to be a Jedi anymore,” she said softly. “Not after what we've done here.”
“Neither do I,” Anakin whispered. “But we can't just abandon our friends.”
“I know,” Barriss sighed. “But I'm not going to fight anymore, I can't take it any longer. Then as soon as the war is over, I'm going to leave the order.”
“Me too,” he agreed.
She smiled up at him.
“Are we going to tell our Masters and Ahsoka and Anni?”
“At some point,” he agreed. “Though they're just as likely to follow us.”
“You think so?” Barriss asked.
“Yeah, Luminara told me she and Obi-Wan were considering leaving as well.”
“That's... surprising,” Barriss admitted.
“Yeah, which means things are getting really bad if they don't want to be a part of the order anymore,” he muttered.
“I wish we could just runaway,” she whispered. “I know we can't, but I wish we could leave, find a nice quiet world somewhere in the outer-rim and just be left alone, maybe even have kids of our own, like Padmé and Rex.”
“Then that's what we're fighting for,” Anakin said, tilting her up so he could look into her eyes. “Forget fighting for the Republic, the Order or whoever the kriff else we're suppose to, we're fighting for that dream, our own place, a house on a lake, beautiful gardens, a couple of Anakin Jr's running around,” he smirked.
Barriss snorted.
“You mean Barriss Jr's?”
“Maybe one,” he allowed, still smirking, so she whacked him lightly on the shoulder.
“Seeing as I'd be the one doing all the work, you don't get a say in the matter,” she informed him smugly.
“That's... fair, I guess,” he conceded.
“It is,” she nodded, grinning, before resting her head against his chest again. “I just hope we live to see it.”
“We will,” he promised, kissing the top of her head. “I'll make sure of it.”
“I'll hold you to that,” she sighed, snuggling closer to him.
In a darkened window of a ruined apartment block overlooking the square, a trooper in pitch black armour with the number sixty-six painted on his shoulder stepped back and switched off the holocam he'd been using to observe the couple and plugged it into his datapad, quickly downloading the video and transmitting it off world.
Thousands of light-years away, an old man in a dark office received the video and after watching it, smiled in sadistic glee.
Pushing aside the datapad, he pulled out his holocom and pressed a button.
Moments later, the hologram of Master Krell appeared before him.
“I'm sorry,” Krell said at once, bowing his head. “My mission failed.”
“That is of little consequence now, return to Coruscant at once, I have a new mission for you.”
“As you wish, Chancellor,” Krell nodded.
Palpatine cut the call and his office was plunged into darkness once more.
If Skywalker thought he could defy him without consequences, he was grievously mistaken, he though with a gleeful cackle.