Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.9.5

The cell was painfully lit up so there were no shadows to hide in. Cameras were covering all sides of the room, and no less than four of them were trained on Barriss herself.

Her restraints had her facing away from the door, so she couldn't see who was coming or out. At least, not with her eyes. Barriss felt Ahsoka long before she walked in the door. As soon Ahsoka walked in though, her stomach started churning again. She forced it down and walked around so she could see the cage they were keeping her in.

She was entrapped in laser walls, and her limbs were cuffed to the chair she was sitting in. Electrodes were taped to her head, and Ahsoka could see at least three other methods of sedation in the chair. It's like she's an animal, a monster they have trapped in a cage, she thought. Is she allowed no dignity?

Barriss seemed to breathe easier at the sight of her. She looked to the cameras, then made some sort of gesture to Ahsoka. It was a bit awkward with her restraints, but Ahsoka understood what she meant.

"No," she told her, hardening her face. "Either we talk here or not at all. You said you wanted to talk, and now you have the chance to do it."

The Mirialan's face fell, but she swallowed her pride and spoke. "I'm sorry I roped you in, last year. I thought you would want it."

"Why?" She asked, suspicious, but giving her a chance. It was a lot easier when she was in a cell and Ahsoka wasn't. "I've never talked about wanting it before."

Barriss looked again at the cameras but decided she didn't care about them. "Be honest, Ahsoka. You know that the Jedi, the Republic, they aren't right. None of us should have been forced to do their dirty work and get blood on our hands for them."

Oh, she wanted to make this about ethics? Sure, Ahsoka would play along. "That was not your decision to make. I should have been allowed to come to that decision by myself."

"You did decide, but you never would have considered it if I hadn't shown you the way," she chided her, slipping back into her mentor role. The only thing was that Ahsoka wasn't looking up to her anymore.

"By framing me for murder?"Ahsoka confirmed, and she saw Barriss' confidence slip. "And that makes you so much better than them?"

She shook her head, smiling. "I've risen above them, and I'll never sink to their level again."

Ahsoka raised an eyemark. "Their level? Care to define who's on 'their level'?"

"Oh, not you, Ahsoka," Barriss assured her as if she were talking to a child. "Don't worry, I don't-

"Just stop."

"I....stop what?"

"Stop acting like you know everything and I'm clueless," she told her. "Stop acting like I don't understand."

"You don't understand-"

She whirled around to face her. "Okay, then tell me! Tell me what you think happened that night, and I'll tell you my side of the story!"

Barriss groaned in exasperation. "You're still hung up on that? That's not why we're here!"

"No, it is," Ahsoka informed her. "That's exactly why we're here, so make it worth my time. Otherwise, I'm leaving, and I don't think you want that to happen."

That finally snapped Barriss out of her fantasy. She thought for a moment, then cleared her throat and started over.

"I knew that the Republic was failing, better than anyone here. I had to do something to expose them, so everyone would see how flawed the system was and make the people responsible pay. The Jedi would always back up the Republic, so they had to take the fall too. I got volunteers to bomb the hangar, and I saw everything unfold. I didn't expect them to trace it back to the Jedi so quickly, though, so I had to deflect it. I had to choose someone who would see the same way I do, so I chose you. I knew you would understand, eventually. Like you do now."