sparky // a padawan story

chapter 49. the wrong jedi.

I pace around nervously nearby the Chamber of Judgement.
This cannot actually be happening.
How could they accuse Ahsoka? She would never do anything like this. She would never kill innocent people. She would never lay her hand on a clone. They're our friends, our brothers. Everything about this situation is so wrong. Don't they know Ahsoka at all? She has to be being framed.
"Arlo? Arlo, what's wrong?" Barriss asks as she walks up to me. I stop pacing for a moment.
"Everything is wrong, Barriss. Ahsoka's being tried by the Council right now. It's not fair, she couldn't have done this! I know she didn't!"
Barriss sighs sadly. "Trust the Council. They are wise, and they will come to see the true light of the situation."
"But the Council has proven time and time again that they're untrustworthy, so how can I be sure?"
"What makes you say that? Your master is on the Council, do you not trust him?"
"I trust him and a few others. But the Council as a whole? Not so much. Didn't you hear how about they lied about Obi-Wan's death to me? That kind of stuff is what makes me weary of them. They're doing this stuff to kids, Barriss. We're teenagers. And there is now a teenager on trial for murders that she did not commit. It's messed up."
"I think you just need to calm down, Arlo. The Council will do what's best, I'm sure of it. I don't want to believe it's Ahsoka, but you have to realize that all the evidence points to her, and it could be a possibility. But I don't want to believe that just as much as you." And with that, she walks away. I huff in annoyance and begin to pace some more, until I see Obi-Wan and the other Council members walk out. He catches sight of me and looks down as he beckons me over to him.
"Let's go for a walk, Arlo." I sigh as I follow him through the halls and out towards the gardens. He sighs heavily as he begins to speak. "I hope you know I did my best. For you, and for Anakin. I did my best to convince them it wasn't Ahsoka before we even decided to have a trial. I know it couldn't possibly have been her. But their minds were made up before we even started the trial. They expelled her, Arlo. There wasn't anything else I could've done."
"What do you mean, 'nothing you could have done'? You stood up for her, right?"
"I tried to convince them beforehand, but I couldn't do anything during the trial. I'm sorry, Arlo."
"I hope you're not trying to tell me you said nothing while they did this, Obi-Wan." He doesn't respond. "Are you kidding me? Obi-Wan, she's one of us! She's family!" I yell.
"They had their decisions already made, Arlo, nothing I could have said would have changed that, because I already attempted to do that—"
"I don't care! You could have at least said something to let Ahsoka know we're on her side! Now what's gonna happen to her?"
He sighs. "She's going to be put to a Republic military tribunal."
"She's what? Obi-Wan, you could've helped stopped this!"
"I've told you before, they—"
"I don't care if they had their minds made up already! You need to stand up for what you believe in for once, and not just follow along with every single damn thing the Council tells you like some confused puppy! I don't understand how you can just stand to the side!" He doesn't respond again. "Now all we can hope for is that they somehow find her not guilty. I understand that there's not a lot you could have done, Obi-Wan, but you could have at least tried harder during the trial."
"I know."
"You and I both know the Council makes mistakes. But this is a new kind of mistake. They're blinded by this war. But surely, now, you have to understand how I feel about them. They're untrustworthy, inconsistent, and unreliable. They're the reason I want to leave this all behind sometimes. The only real reason I'm still here is because of you. But I can't help but think... would you have done the same thing if it was me on trial?"
"Arlo, don't—"
"If I were the one on trial for murder, would you have just stood around and watch as the Council convicted me? Or would you have actually spoke up?" I turn my back to him as I begin to walk away, but I look back one last time. "I'm on thin ice, Obi-Wan. I hope you know that."
—
Obi-Wan and I haven't spoken since Ahsoka was expelled. But now, I stand behind his Council seat in the Court Chamber of the Republic Center for Military Operations. It's a dark and unsettling room. Members of the Senate sit on a balcony below and around us. The Chancellor is on a balcony right to the side of us. I watch as two clones lead Ahsoka in, in handcuffs, out to the center circle. Mas Ammeda clangs his staff on the ground twice on the boat form just below the Chancellor. Obi-Wan strokes his beard worriedly. Ahsoka glances up over at us, and locks eyes with me.
"I'll be okay, Arlo. I promise you."
I take a deep breath and nod as she looks back towards the Chancellor, and the circular platform she stands on moves closer to two others. Padmé walks out towards one of them, while Tarkin walks onto the other, and each of them stand at the end of the walkway. The Chancellor walks towards the end of his balcony.
"Ahsoka Tano, you have been charged with sedition against the Jedi Order and the Republic itself. This court will decide your fate." The Chancellor gestures to Tarkin. "Prosecution, you may begin your arguments."
Tarkin walks across onto his circular platform. "Former Padawan Tano, I shall prove that you were the mastermind behind the attack on the Jedi Temple, and that once your accomplices carried out your orders, you eliminated them one by one. When you are found guilty, I ask the court that the full extent of the law be brought down upon you, including penalty of death." My eyes widen. They can't do that to a 16-year-old, a minor... right? I listen as Tarkin begins spewing out fake facts about the incidents of what has happened over the past few days. It's frustrating that people are actually buying this.
Padmé then begins to defend Ahsoka. Her defense is eloquent and true. It gives me a slight hope that maybe, just maybe, Ahsoka will be found innocent. "Look at the facts. Letta Turmond called Ahsoka to her cell to reveal the name of the true mastermind behind the bombing of the Jedi Temple. Letta told Ahsoka she was afraid. She told her the mastermind was a Jedi, and before she could reveal the Jedi's name, Letta Turrmond was strangled to death by way of the Force. Why would Ahsoka kill Letta with a method that would so obviously die the murder to her? A Jedi may be responsible for the murder, but that Jedi is not Ahsoka Tano. Members of the court, you are prosecuting the wrong Jedi!"
Tarkin begins to mockingly clap for her slowly as he walks back out to his platform. "Well said, Senator Amidala. However, if she is innocent, then why was she seen conspiring with a known Separatist terrorist, Asajj Ventress?"
"Ventress set me up. My master will prove that," Ahsoka argues.
"And where is your master?" Tarkin questions.
"He's trying to find the real murderer!" Ahsoka tells him.
"Then maybe he should be looking at you," Tarkin retorts.
The Chancellor speaks up again as mumbles and whispers fill the crowd. "I'm sure many of you look at this former Jedi and think, 'Surely, she cannot be this murderer or saboteur that they speak of'. And yet, think of all the times we have been fooled by the Separatists, and how the have infiltrated the Republic, and ask yourself, 'Is this yet another Separatist scheme?' Another way to rip the Jedi, and subsequently all of us, apart. Court, it is time to make your decision." I hold my breath as the room falls silent. If the Chancellor is defending Tarkin, then surely that will sway members of the court. But the Chancellor should be unbiased. This court was rigged in the first place. There was no hope after all.
"The members of the court have reached a decision," one of the senators announces. He presses a button on a holopad and it transmits to Mas Ammeda, who hands his holopad to the Chancellor, who sits on his chair.
He stands. I close my eyes and bury my face in my hands. "Ahsoka Tano, by an overwhelming count of—"
"Chancellor!" I look up from my hands and see Anakin barge in the room, followed by Jedi temple guards with their yellow staff sabers ignited, surrounding someone.
"I hope you have a reason for bursting into our proceedings, Master Skywalker," the Chancellor says.
"I am here with evidence and a confession from the person responsible for all the crimes Ahsoka has been accused of," Anakin states. The guards move and turn off their sabers. "Barriss Offee, member of the Jedi Order, and traitor."
My face falls as my eyes begin to burn with angry tears. "No..." I mutter shakily. Only Obi-Wan hears me, as he turns and gives me a concerned, shocked, and sorry look all in one.
Ahsoka wears the same hurt expression as I do. "Barriss... is that true?"
"Tell them the truth," Anakin demands angrily as she steps forward.
"I did it. Because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize, that the Jedi are the ones responsible for this war, that we've so lost our way that we have become villains in this conflict, that we are the ones that should be put on trial, all of us! And my attack on the temple was an attack on what the Jedi have become, an army fighting for the dark side, fallen from the light that we once held so dear. This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time." Anakin pulls her back towards the guards as a hot tear unwillingly falls from my eye. Ahsoka looks down, clearly betrayed. She was closer to Barriss than I, and if I'm this hurt, I can't even imagine what's going through Ahsoka's head right now.
"Take her away," the Chancellor demands with a wave of his hand. The guards ignite their sabers as they lead Barriss out of the room. I back slowly and quietly out off of the balcony and begin to jog through the halls towards the exit.
"Arlo, wait! Where are you going?" Obi-Wan calls as he runs out from the balcony closer to me. I stop and turn back to him, and he stops a few feet away from me.
"Every single time I get close to someone, they end up stabbing me in the back. I know you don't get it. I'm going to talk to her."
"I don't think they're gonna let you—"
"I don't care, Obi-Wan! I really don't. I at least have to try. This happens to me every single time I let my guard down, and I should have never let you make me that way," I state as I choke back a sob and storm out of the hallway.
"Arlo, please!" he calls out helplessly as I turn the corner. I don't respond as I continue out of the Court Chamber building. Towards the Republic military base.
—
"Commander Just, what are you doing here?" Commander Fox asks as I enter the base, to the detention center. He stands behind a glass window.
"Has Barriss Offee arrived yet?" I ask.
"She has."
"Can I go talk to her?"
"I'm sorry, sir, but after the incident with Commander Tano, I'm afraid we can't do that."
"I'm not here to hurt her, I just have some things to tell her. I'm not scheming anything, I swear to you."
"We can't let you go in her cell."
"Can I... call her, or something? You can watch. I don't care."
"I don't know, sir."
"Commander. I have to talk to her. Please, there has to be something you can do for me."
"...Follow me. Thorn, Thire, get the prisoner Commander Offee, and take her to the visiting area. I'll have to ask you to leave your lightsaber here."
"That's fine. Thank you, Fox," I say as I slip my saber through the hole in the window, and he locks it away.
"You will be under surveillance the whole time," he informs me.
"Very well. I assure you this won't take long." Fox leads me to a room with two phones hanging on either side of a window. I sit down and wait for Thorm and Thire to bring out Barriss. They stand on either side of her as she sits down. Fox stands behind me. The two of us pick up the phones and hold them to our ears.
She opens her mouth to speak, but I automatically cut her off. "You remind me of my father."
"What?"
"Yeah. Remember when I told you about him? Oh, no, you were probably planning a bombing in your head instead of actually listening to me. My bad. Barriss, you are a pompous, hypocritical, traitorous serpent. Your attack on the temple was not just an act against the Jedi, but it was an act against innocent citizens who work so incredibly hard to keep our temple operating and the brothers here that are our brave and valiant troopers who put their lives on the line for our Order and our Republic every day. How could you do this? You say we've been blinded by the dark side, but in reality, it's you. You just threw your best friend under the speeder and let her take the blame for something you know she could never bring herself to do. And then you lead me on, trying to convince me that Ahsoka was the one who did it so it all points away from you? Surely you know I would never believe she'd kill a bunch of innocents. Ahsoka has been there for me since day one. Did our friendships really mean nothing to you? We've almost died together. All those days the two of us spent in the library reading our favorite books were probably worthless to you. But they meant the world to me. Because I thought maybe people were finally starting to like me, but now I just feel used. You sat by me on what they thought was going to be my death bed, just so I had company while no one was there, but you were probably trying to find a way to somehow blow up the medbay, too. People like you are the reason why I didn't trust anyone before. And I'm thinking I'm going to have to revert back to that. I've questioned our, no, my Jedi Order before, but I would have never even dreamed of pulling some shit like this. You are a disgusting, twisted person, Barriss Offee. I don't care that you have different views on the the war, and the Republic, even though I disagree with you. It's okay to think differently sometimes, believe me, I know. But the way you acted upon it is completely unjustifiable. And instead of standing up for what you believe in by having a civilized discussion about it, you did the most cowardly thing one could have done. I loathe you, Barriss Offee, and I hope you rot in here." I slam the phone back on the wall and stand from my chair, and I leave the room, followed by Fox, without another glance back at her.
—
I walk back towards the Jedi Temple as the sun begins to set. Dried tears linger on my face from earlier. I cross my arms, practically hugging myself, as I notice Ahsoka walking down the stairs of the temple. She walks with her head down, but looks up at me when she notices, and starts towards me.
"Ahsoka! Are you okay?"
"I will be... eventually," she tells me.
"Did they not let you back in the Order?"
"They did... but I'm leaving, Lo."
My heart drops. "You're... what?"
"It's just what's best for me, Arlo. I'm shaken up, and no one trusted me, or believed me... I can't stay here."
"But what about me, and Anakin? And I know Obi-Wan should've done more, but I already talked to him about it—"
"What's done is done now. I can't change that. I have to go, follow my own path."
"...Then I'm coming with you."
She sighs. "Thank you, Arlo, but you can't do that. I may not belong here, but you still do. You belong here with Obi-Wan, and Anakin. It hurts to think about her, so, so bad, but I'll admit that Barriss did make some points about the Order. The Jedi are wrong in some ways. I need you to stay, Arlo, to bring that to light to the Council. Be the change that this Order needs. If anyone can do it, it's you. Promise you'll stay and do that for me."
I feel a tear fall down my cheek. "I promise. I'm gonna make things right here."
"That you will." Tears begin to form in her eyes, too. "Time flies, doesn't it? Look how far we've come."
"We're so different from what we were, yet we're completely the same."
"Yeah. We really are."
"You've grown from a shy, distrustful little girl into a confident, strong, and independent young woman. I'm so incredibly proud and glad to have been a part of that." She wraps me in a hug, and I cling onto her, as if it's going to keep her from leaving me. "I may not be in the Order anymore, but I will always be here for you. I wish this all would have gone differently, and I didn't have to leave you, but I know you understand. You've always been the person that's understood me best. I'm gonna miss you, Arlo, but I promise you that I'll see you again." She lets go of me hesitantly. "Keep an eye on Anakin for me. And take care of yourself, too, Arlo... I hope you know that you're the best sister that I could have ever asked for." And with that, she turns and leaves for good. I watch as she walks into the horizon towards the setting sun, leaving me at the base of the Jedi Temple as tears streak down my face. Alone.
—
aaand that's the end of part 5 :( thank you all for all the love and support you've been giving me recently. i'll be starting part 6 soon, but as you may know, obi-wan isn't in a lot of season 6, and if he is, it's always very brief, so a lot of this is gonna be stuff that i come up with. i'm also going to try to include the unfinished crystal crisis episodes in this part (if i can even find them again), so that should be fun to do! it's probably gonna be a shorter part, and part 7 probably will be, too, but things are REALLY starting to heat up now, so hopefully it's interesting...
as always, thanks for reading! -a 🪐
(ps i had online school today because of ice on the roads and that's literally the only reason why i was able to publish three whole chapters in one day 💀)
(p.p.s. i completely blame ms luminara unduli for barriss' fall 😌)