WARNING

This story contains a poor attempt at geeky star wars fan fic, poorly researched and most likely impossible to read for the non-initiated. Oh, and there's also a hanging

The execution of Barriss Offee

"Barriss Offee," the rough voice croaked, "step forward."

Shuffling forward on bare feet, Barriss kept her gaze low. Walking was difficult, with her feet shackled and her hands tied behind her back, but she managed. They had allowed her to preserve her dignity, not taking away her hooded cloak, but they had obviously taken her weapon. It seemed a long time ago, when at age sixteen she had made the magnificent blue saber herself, in the tradition of young padawans.

Even if she still had her weapon, she would not resist at this point. The archduke had shown her his cards. His people had not only captured the jedi, but also a large group of innocent geonosian civilians, and had threatened to kill them all in the event of her escape. He had told her in no uncertain terms that she was a war criminal to them, and she faced execution. There was no way out. Surely her considerable Jedi talents would enable her to make a genuine escape attempt, but it was against all she stood for to damn those innocents to death for selfish reasons. She would rather die. She would die.

The archduke left his seat, furiously flapping his wings. He hovered in front of her, and Barriss slowly looked up from the ground. "Poggle the Lesser" he was called, and the surname still infuriated him. The anger at his name did very little to temper his race's tendancy for brutal violence, and it was obvious he would be greatly entertained by her death.

His voice buzzed, crackled and hissed in the bizarre geonosian insect language, but her considerable Jedi education enabled her to understand him.

She was to be held accountable for many fabricated crimes of the Jedi council against his people, and she was to be executed in the public arena. She was to be punished for all the crimes of her order, to be hanged. Being used as an example, her death would not be swift and merciful, but one of slow suffocation. As he proclaimed her fate in a loud clicking buzz, the assembled geonosian crowd roared in approvement. She would entertain many with her death.

She had been sent to geonosis along with the clone army, and from what she could gather, the mission had been a success. Unfortunately she had been ambushed by the geonosian forces, and had been completely overwhelmed. Most of the Jedi had made it out alive, and Barriss realized that her death was a small price to pay for victory.

Suddenly, strong hands grasped her under her arms, and with the loud noise of straining wings, two geonosian guards lifted her up into the still dusty air above the arena. They cleared the railing, and started to descend towards the center of the arena floor. Towards the gallows, set up there.

By now, most of the assembled host of geonosians had left their seats, hovering over the rows of benches, barely containing their excitement at the proceedings.

The guards set her down, and yanked her hood back. She blinked at the bright light, and her bare feet shuffled uncertainly on the trap door she had landed on. She defiantly raised her head as one of the guards draped the noose around her neck, tightening the knot just behind her left ear.

The guards buzzed away, out of her field of view, as she stared straight ahead at the archduke, now hovering before her again. He started chittering again, in his hideous language.

"Barriss Offee, by geonosian law you are deemed a war criminal, and are to be executed by slow public hanging. Let the execution begin."

His simple proclamation was all it took to start her end. The support beneath her feet vanished, and she dropped. Her executioner was cruel, and her drop was only a few inches. Her full weight came crashing down, her neck taking all of it, but not with enough force to break. She was left gagging, choking. She couldn't breathe. She would never breathe again.

The crowd roared, ecstatic at her performance. Despite her attempts to maintain her Jedi dignancy, her feet kicked against her restraints, and she started to struggle violently in her sudden panic. She had resigned to her death, but couldn't stop herself from fighting for air.

The archduke hovered closer, eager to watch her die. Barriss opened her mouth wide, desperate to take in the sweet, sweet air all around her. Poggle's face folded into a hideous alien grin, as he studied her contorted face. He laughed out loud, realizing that death was approaching quickly.

Her hands twitching and quivering, desperately trying to reach the knot that tied them, her feet straining to reach the ground that was about a foot too far away... her fight was glorious, and much appreciated by all onlookers, even more so for being completely pointless. Her death was imminent.

Her beautiful blue eyes opened wide, bulging, and her tongue lolled out of her mouth. Her violent kicking was reduced to feeble twitches now. She blinked. She blinked again.

Her eyes stared at Poggle. She blinked once more, and she stared through him, into infinity. Her kicking stopped, and she never blinked again.