Hope Reborn - Chapter 24

Luke stood in front of the funeral pyre. Ventress stood beside him with a dispassionate look on her face. Iden had joined them as well once the area was clear. The Stormtroopers were either dead or locked in their own jail cells. They hadn't found any signs of other Force Users that had shown up, so it looked like the Inquisitor told the truth about that part.

He had never met Shaak Ti. Jedi sent their dead on their next journey with fire. The tomes he had found later on in his last life said that the belief was that it would hasten the return to the Force. Luke wasn't sure about that, but he wouldn't allow the Empire to use her body to trap more Force Users.

"How long do we stay here?" Ventress turned toward him.

"I don't know." Luke shrugged. "We've paid our respects. I guess we're good now."

"I have the ship prepped." Iden nodded. "What are we going to do about the rest of the troopers?"

"They're locked up." Luke started back to the Falcon. "Someone should check on them soon enough. They would want to keep a close watch on their trap."

He made a direct line to the communication array.

"What are you doing?" Ventress asked as she watched him.

"I'm sending a message to someone who can spread the word." Luke tapped the keys. "I sort of know someone with an information network."

"The Rebellion?" Iden took a seat in the pilot's chair.

"No, a woman named Qi'ra." Luke replied. "She could spread it faster. Plus, I might be able to sell the information for a favor later."

Ventress stepped out of the range of the holo-recorder before the message connected.

"Luke Skywalker." Qi'ra sat at a large desk. "Or was it Amidala? You little rascal, you miss me already?"

"Just Luke will do." He replied with a smile. "I've got some information for you."

"Oh?" Qi'ra raised her eyebrows at the statement.

"The Empire reactivated the Inquisitors." Luke replied.

"I know." Qi'ra filled her words with annoyance. "Is that it?"

"No." He shook his head. "I have word on one of their traps. It's location and setup."

"That sounds promising." She leaned forward. "What is your price?"

"A favor to be named later." Luke shrugged.

"I allow it for my shower-buddy." She inclined her head.

Luke shared the information he had. The location, number of troops stationed there, and the details of the trap. He didn't include the events that had transpired though.

"Using a dead body as bait." Qi'ra shook her head. "Amateurs."

Luke chuckled in reply.

"The information is good enough for a favor." Qi'ra leaned back in her chair. "I'll make it worth your while if you give me good information going forward."

"Of course." Luke flashed his roguish smile. "I'll keep my shower-buddy in mind."

Qi'ra rolled her eyes and disconnected the transmission.

"You know some interesting people." Ventress sat in the open spot next to him. "I'm not even going to ask about the 'shower-buddy' part of the conversation."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Luke turned to face her. "The phrase is pretty obvious."

Ventress stared at him flatly for a long moment.

"What now?" Ventress finally said.

"Bo gave us the information to look for the other force user." Luke replied. "We'll check out the information and do some looking around before. It shouldn't be too hard to spot another trap."

Ventress crossed her arms. She leaned back in her chair and thought for a moment.

"That works." She shrugged.

The trio settled into an easy silence as Luke punched in the coordinates. Iden took the ship out into orbit as she waited for the Navi-Computer to complete the calculations. It took longer than expected even with the work that Luke had put into repairing the ship.

~ ~

In the past Barriss Offee had been a Jedi Padawan, a revolutionary, and a prisoner. Currently, she was just another spacer. The chaos when the temple had been attacked had given her a chance to escape. She had thought her life was over when the Clone Troopers busted into the detention area. They killed the Jedi in the office. The control console had been destroyed in the fighting which opened the cells. She was pretty sure that the only reason she was still alive was the fact that she wasn't wearing her Jedi robes. The troopers hadn't done more than take a couple of shots at her as she ran. They hadn't targeted her specifically, simply aiming for the few escaping prisoners.

Losing her lightsaber was well worth her life and freedom. The lower levels of Coruscant were made for people who needed to disappear. It would have taken the concentrated might of the entire Galactic Army to even make a dent in the vast network of criminals, smugglers, and refugees.

Non-humans were fleeing the planet once the Empire fully took over. Even Near-Human species were suddenly facing an increase in unwanted attention. It was a bad day for everyone else but worked perfectly toward her plans.

She had been known by the name Nalini since she escaped the cells under the temple. Her facial tattoos did little to make her stand out amongst other Mirialan. The strip of diamond-shaped markings was common enough among the more traditional of her people that it didn't draw unwanted attention. Her black hair was now long enough to reach her waist when she didn't have it braided. She took to wearing more generic clothing in place of the form-fitting ones she had as a Jedi. Planets that catered to people who didn't ask too many questions were the obvious place to go with the Central Systems under the boot of an oppressive Empire. She had been on Ord Mantell for a little over five years now. It was a popular hub for trade and had somehow managed to stay out of the Empire's grip.

Currently, she was as a freighter pilot for one of the many docking bays on the planet. Technically, the ship was space-worthy, but she had never taken it off planet. The Freighter had an enclosed cockpit separate from the cargo section. It made the little ship able swap out parts to change with the needs. After all this time she owned it. The ship would need to be altered for any extended travel, on-planet or otherwise. It didn't have a sleeping area or kitchen. She had made sure that the fresher was not only in working order, but top of the line for what she could afford. Barriss had looked into how much it would cost to replace the cargo hold with a connected passenger area. The modular construction of the ship made it a simple swap, but it was still more credits than she wanted to spend. Not to mention it would cost even more to have it converted to a living area.

This wasn't the life she imagined when she had become a Padawan. All that time ago she saw herself as a great scholar and eventual teacher. The Clone Wars had smashed that dream. Then the further corruption of the Jedi Order shattered any hope of anything else. She had hoped that she could gather more like-minded Jedi to her cause. To show them how far the Order had fallen. Instead, she lost one of her only friends.

All those days in her cell had given her time to thing. After everything, the destruction of her friendship with Ahsoka was the only thing she actually regretted. She had heard whispers of a Rebellion, everyone had. The only time she listened was when there was any mention of a Togruta. It made complete sense to her that Ahsoka would help along a Rebellion. Snips couldn't stop herself from helping people.

Barriss smiled to herself. Ahsoka had hated that nickname. Of course, that meant she had started calling her friend that exclusively once she heard Skywalker say it. Her smile faded as she pushed the memories into the back of her mind.

She had no idea why she was feeling so nostalgic lately. There had been a few times she found herself reaching out with the Force like old times. Thankfully, she had stopped herself before she started to search too far. She had always kept her connection with the Force be it levitating things at random or using a Mind Trick to defuse a situation. The bounty on Jedi and other Force-Users was still active, but it also meant interacting with the Empire. They were not known to honor their deals. Anyone who turned a Force-User over would often find themselves locked in a cell, interrogated, and, if they were lucky, released without a single word about a reward. Still, she kept things subtle and had resisted the urge to build a lightsaber.

The merchant lanes had picked up in traffic lately. Whispers of Rebellion seemed to increase daily. The Sith Lord nightmare Darth Vader had all but disappeared. She knew it was too much to hope that he had died. It had taken over a year for her to hear the news that it was Vader that led the Clone Troopers in the Temple Assault. She had never laid eyes on the monster and wanted to make it stayed that way.

Bariss straightened up in her seat. She felt a familiar tingle that she hadn't experienced in years. The few Force Sensitive people she encountered weren't powerful enough to catch her attention unless they were nearly beside her. This was anything but weak. She could tell that there was more than one person. Not only that, but they were trying to mask their presence which made it all the more alarming. If they felt this powerful when masked, how would they feel when they let loose?

It had been too long since she had been other Force Users to tell if they were trouble. Well, she knew they were trouble, but she didn't know if they were looking for her. She scanned the skies in search of the ship. The wedge-shaped monstrosities that the Empire loves so much were nowhere to be seen. Everything she could see looked like the standard traffic.

Barriss closed her eyes and tentatively reached out in the Force. It only took a moment to find the source. A Corellian YT Light Freighter took shape in her mind. She opened her eyes and instantly zeroed in on the ship. Barriss focused on it once more. The ship was in line to request landing. They would have to go through security before they could leave the port. Though a wave of the hand would mean the process would be over in a matter of moments.

A chill ran down her spine as someone from inside the ship reached out to her. They found her before she could even think to hide. Even at a distance she could feel them looking directly at her. To make matters so much worse, she recognized one of the Force Users.

Asajj Ventress.

Barriss pulled her ship into a one-eighty. She punched the accelerator and zipped back to the loading area. Barriss ignored the confused voices nearby as she jumped from the cockpit. She wasn't the first person to drop a job, mid-shift, but no one expected it from her. Barriss wrenched the lever on the side of the cargo hold, dumping the tied-down freight. She scampered under the cockpit of her ship. The Force guided her already dexterous fingers in the process of finding and removing the Registration Beacon with minimal trouble. She would already be gone when Ventress and her friend tracked her back to this dock. If they tried to track the beacon then they would find it on top of the dumped freight. She was back in the cockpit and out of the loading zone before the closest workers got close enough to ask her questions.

Her quarters were nestled among dozens of others. She wouldn't be the first person to vanish in the night. Barriss had tried to keep her life simple in case a day like this ever came. She had a packed emergency bag with the necessities if she needed to leave in a moment's notice. The only thing that gave her comfort was that Ventress couldn't use a Mind Trick to get a landing spot any faster than usual. It was possible over a holo-graphic connection but required visual contact.

Barriss landed outside of her quarters. She lived on the third tier of an apartment block. The levels were terraced to allow for a small front area for each space. Most residents, including her, used them for gardens. Only a few were thoughtless enough to use it as a landing pad. She had never been so happy to have annoying neighbors until today. Her ship jolted to a stop as the inertial dampeners kicked in. It slowly significantly, shifting into a controlled hover, as she landed.

She hurried into her quarters, grabbed her emergency bag, and then started to gather the few things she didn't want to leave behind. Her hidden stash of credits had grown quite a lot over the years. She wouldn't have enough to buy her own ship even if she sold her Freighter. It would be enough to get her a spot on a passenger ship heading somewhere other than here. She could make her funds stretch if she was careful with her money.

Barriss let out a little sigh as she took one last look around the room. It wasn't much, but it had been home. Now, it was yet another in a line of abandoned lives she had to leave behind. The moment hit rough. This had been the longest she had stayed in one place. She would have simply gone dark for a couple of days if it had been anyone other than Ventress.

"Goodbye Nalini." Barriss whispered as she closed and locked the door for the last time.

It was time to run again.