Timeframe: The following morning
Setting: Deep Temple Trial Chambers – Trial of Decision, Observation Tower
Date: 32 BBY
Alone, But Not Afraid
Barriss stood at the edge of the Trial Chamber's ancient stone archway, heart steady but quiet. She wore no armor. No blade. Only her Initiate robes, a calm breath, and a deep trust in the Force.
Master Fay, Plo Koon, and Windu observed from the hidden upper viewing level, along with Shaak Ti and Master Yaddle.
The room beyond was ancient and filled with an artificial landscape: part forest, part ruined battlefield. Simulated—but completely real to the senses.
Barriss stepped in.
The arch sealed behind her.
The Trial Begins
She first found a fallen Jedi Knight, groaning and clutching his side, pinned under debris. She reached him with calm and clarity, using the Force to ease the rubble off his chest. He coughed, barely alive.
"There's… another," he gasped. "Enemy… wounded. Somewhere… ran."
Barriss stabilized him with her healing knowledge, slowing his heart rate. She could do more—but she needed better tools, a real medkit.
"I'll return," she promised, then followed the trail of blood deeper into the trees.
There, she found the enemy.
A Zygerrian slaver, burned, bleeding from the legs, crying out—alone, afraid, clearly no longer a threat. His weapon lay broken beside him.
When Barriss approached, he raised his arms. "I surrendered. Please… no more."
The Choice
A projection flickered to life beside her—the voice of Master Windu:
"Only one can be saved. You must choose now."
Barriss froze.
The slaver—repentant or not—was a known abuser of innocents. The Jedi—her own kind—was an ally who could be rescued if she left now.
But the Jedi was stabilized.
The Zygerrian was bleeding out now.
She knelt beside the slaver.
"I don't know who you were before," she whispered, "but I see who you are now."
She wrapped his wounds, humming the Jedi healing chant softly beneath her breath.
Completion
She returned to the Jedi Knight minutes later—he was gone. Not dead. Simply a holographic fade. The chamber stilled.
Barriss fell to her knees.
And smiled through quiet tears.
She had not passed by choosing the right answer.
She had passed by trusting the Force's answer.
The Council's Reflection
High above, the Masters observed in silence.
Plo Koon was the first to speak.
"She sacrificed optics for spirit. Others would have saved the Jedi and claimed wisdom."
Shaak Ti nodded. "She chose mercy over allegiance. That is… rare."
Windu, arms folded, offered only: "She is not weak. But she will be tested again—harder."
Fay, smiling softly, added: "She listens with her soul. A future healer. A teacher."
Yaddle, in her slow, echoing tone, said, "The heart of the flame, she is. Will not lead the Order… but will keep it from burning itself away."
After the Trial
Back in the meditation garden, Cain and the others watched the door open.
Barriss stepped out.
She didn't speak. Just walked forward—and hugged Seris.
"Your turn," she whispered.
Cain met her eyes. She said nothing. He already knew.