reborn § cal kestis

6

  Cal sat in the cockpit with Greez, Cere and BD-1. He didn't dare bring Sadira up, for fear of the subject resulting in another disagreement. In fact, Cal wasn't even sure how he felt about the new addition to their crew himself.

"Where are we going?" Greez asked.

Cal shrugged despondently, suddenly reminded of his failed mission. That's it, he thought. The Jedi texts are gone.

As if she could tell what he was thinking, Cere tugged at Cal's seat, forcing him to face her. "What did you find in the temple, Cal?"

His eyes found the floor. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

Cal nodded. "Nothing," he repeated. "Nothing but ash and soot. The Empire must have burned them ages ago."

Silence filled the small room. "So..." Greez began. "Where are we going?"

"I don't know, Greez," Cal snapped, but immediately relaxed, feeling guilty for his sudden short temper. "Sorry," he whispered.

"No, it's not over." Cere span in her chair and began to tap something into her datapad. Cal watched as her eyes flicked back and forth, reading words that were incomprehensible to him. "There," she exclaimed, pointing somewhere on the screen. "Sielu. An outer rim, mostly uninhabited planet. Not far from here."

  "Setting the course now," Greez mumbled as he fiddled with the control panel.

  Cere held Cal's gaze. "It's where I trained as a Jedi, a long time ago. I distinctly remember there being a Jedi temple on it, meaning that it will contain more Jedi texts."

  "But what if the Empire got to them? They were able to on Tatooine."

  "Sielu has a very thick atmosphere. It doesn't have a lot of natural resources, so the Empire doesn't need it."

  Cal tensed his jaw. He really hoped that Cere was right—he couldn't face another disappointment. "Okay. I trust you, Cere." He stood from his seat and left the cockpit. In front of him, Sadira and Merrin chatted quietly on the couch. They stopped their conversation and watched as Cal walked passed them, headed towards the bedroom. He was feeling better, but still unusually tired. Obviously the use of such a powerful force push had weakened him, but he worried that it could mean something worse.

  Sadira left the couch and followed after Cal. She wasn't sure what willed her to do it, or what she planned to say to the young Jedi, but something inside of her compelled her to.

When she entered the room, Cal was kneeling on the floor, eyes shut. "Hello?" Sadira tried to call to him, but he didn't respond. She waved her hands in front of his face, but nothing happened.

BD-1 ran towards her, nudging at her feet. She bent down to pat his head as he beeped something to her. Sadira knew a little droidspeak, having spent a lot of time around them when she was a child. She vaguely made BD-1's words out to be some sort of warning.

"Is he sleeping?" she asked. BD-1 shook his head, then let out a whistle. Sadira strained to hear him, trying to understand everything he was saying. "Sorry, little guy, but my Binary is a bit a rough around the edges."

The droid whirred sympathetically, then lifted an arm and balanced it on Sadira's knee. "I'm Sadira," she said as she took BD-1's arm and shook it gently. BD-1 trilled happily. "Nice to meet you, BD-1. I guessed that you were a BD-unit. I've spent a lot of time around droids like you."

BD-1 bobbed his head up and down in understanding. A movement to the side caught the pair's attention, and they turned to see Cal opening his eyes. "Sadira," he said, surprised to see her sitting with his droid.

"Cal," she replied. "What were you doing?"

Cal shuffled in his seat, uncomfortable for a reason he just couldn't place. "Meditation. It helps me rest and find peace within the force."

"Ah," Sadira breathed. She looked at BD-1 and grinned, then back at Cal.

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you."

"About?"

"Well," Sadira wavered. "I don't know. I just...I guess I should thank you for helping me back there. You could've easily just left me for dead but you didn't, so...yeah, that."

Cal pushed himself up from the cold metal deck and Sadira joined him. "No problem," he said. He still hadn't made his mind up about Sadira. On one hand, he knew that he should be forgiving and kind, like a good Jedi would. On the other hand, his day hadn't been going great, and her actions had only worsened it. "It's what we Jedi do."

From the front of the Mantis, Greez called to them to take their seats. The teenagers did as they were told, Sadira sitting beside Merrin and Cal finding his way to his cockpit chair. The ship left hyperspace, the blurry white streaks of stars fading into white dots on a dark backdrop. Below them, Cal could see a small planet, enveloped in a blanket of white clouds. Here and there, rural land and muted blue waters were made visible by a thinned out section of the clouds.

  Greez pushed a lever and steered the Mantis downwards, towards one of the openings. It looked simple enough as they approached, but once they descended below the clouds, it was a completely different story.

  The fog was extremely opaque, almost impossible to see through. Greez had to lean forward and squint in order to find somewhere to land. Cere stood between the two chairs, staring out into the green-grey abyss. "There's a flat piece of land, just over there," Cere directed, pointing her finger towards their landing spot.

  "Okay," Greez sighed, sounding skeptical. He extended one of his arms to press a button above him.

  "This is the place you trained in, Cere?" Cal was confused as to how such an extreme environment could be favoured by Jedis.

  "It's easier on clearer days," Cere answered. "But the strenuous conditions really drive you to trust in the force to be your eyes."

  "Well that's alright for you Jedi," Greez chided. "But I've only got two eyes, and this fog isn't helping them do their job."

  It didn't take a long time for them to reach the land. As the whirring of the engines faded, the crew began to hear the faint patter of rain drumming on the ship. Sadira and Merrin joined the others in the cockpit, and the team stared out into the void.

  "I can see nothing," Merrin noted.

  Cere placed her hands on her hips. "It should be easier when we get out there."

  "Wait, what's that?" Cal straightened up and gestured to a figure moving towards the ship. It was stout, with at least six legs, and moved in quick, darting motions.

  "Whatever it is, I'm staying away from it," Greez said. "I am not leaving this ship."

  Sadira moved to get a closer look. "I think it's stopped." Indeed, it had. The figure halted for a second, and the entire ship grew quiet.

  "Maybe it died," Cal guessed, voice almost a whisper.

  He was wrong. The creature flung itself at the window and gripped on with large claws. Everyone screamed in surprise, jumping backwards.

  "Get it off! Get it off!" Greez cried. Cal flicked on some controls in an attempt to shake the creature off, but was unsuccessful. The creature chewed at the transparisteel, digging it's sharp teeth into the material. It created a few scratches and smeared spit all over, but could do no further damage. Persevering nevertheless, the creature continued to bite and engrave marks into the window with it's long talons.

  The crew panicked, but their clamours were cut short by a flash of green light. The creature stilled, then released it's grip and fell backwards, off the ship. Behind it, another figure approached. They were humanoid, wearing thick clothes, and brandishing a blaster. On their arm, they wore a symbol of the rebel alliance.