reborn § cal kestis

7

Nobody moved. They remained subdued into silence for a good few seconds, watching the Rebel speak into her commlink and round the front of the ship. A sudden knock at one of the doors unfroze them and they sprung into action.

  "You think that's them?" Merrin wondered aloud.

  Greez whipped around in his seat. "I don't care who it is, as long as it's not another one of those freaky spider things."

  "They had a Rebel badge," Cere chipped in. "We can guarantee that they're on our side."

  "Let's go check it out then." Cal sprang up from his seat and jogged towards the door. Behind him, Sadira followed, curious about this new arrival.

  Turning to Sadira, Cal raised his eyebrows. "You ready?" As the others joined them, Sadira nodded, and Call pressed a button. The door opened with a soft whoosh and a beep.

Behind it was not one rebel soldier, but a whole group of them. One glance to either side, and Cal soon realised that they had them surrounded. "Drop any weapons," the woman from before commanded, and the crew complied. Cal and Cere slowly placed their lightsabers on the floor as Merrin, Greez and Sadira did the same with their blasters.

  "I thought you said they were on our side," Greez muttered to Cere, but was promptly shut up by a swift poke to his ribs. "Ow!"

  "Stay where you are!" The soldier began to advance towards them, gun at the ready. As she climbed up the ramp, the weight caused Cal's lightsaber to roll down it. The weapon landed at the soldier's feet. She glanced at it, then signalled at her troops to stay alert as she bent down and picked it up. A confused look crossed her face as she studied it. "You're a Jedi?"

  Both Cal and Cere nodded. The soldier chucked the lightsaber at Cal, then turned to her troops. "Stand down," she ordered. "We may have just bagged ourselves two more Jedi."

  More? Cal thought, but didn't have time to consider it any further, as the soldier approached them once more and introduced herself. "I'm Aari Nalto," she greeted them with a grin. A gap between her front two teeth gave her smile a childlike quality. "I'm leader of this Rebel Alliance group. What brings you to Sielu?"

  The group began to retrieve their weapons. Cal hooked his lightsaber onto his belt. "I'm Cal Kestis. We've come here to look for hidden Jedi texts. We believe there's a temple, somewhere on this planet."

Aari nodded. "You'd be correct."

"That's great," Cal said enthusiastically. "Where is it?"

"Not far from our headquarters. You're welcome to join us and, from there, travel to the temple. I trust that we are allies."

"Wait," Greez piped up. "Are we leaving the Mantis here? Because we may be on the same side but I don't trust you guys with her—she's delicate."

Aari laughed. "No worries. I'll give you the coordinates and you can fly your ship there yourself." She looked to Cal. "Join me when your ready. I'm sure that you will be wanting answers."

The crew watched her rejoin her troops. "This is great news," Cere said. "We have protection, a place to stay, and now an untouched temple."

Sadira thought for a moment. "I don't think this is a good idea." The rest glanced at her, confused. "I mean, the Empire is clearly on our trail. Aren't we just bringing them here? Aren't we luring them to a planet that has, so far, been spared from them?"

The crew stood quietly, thinking Sadira's words over. "I think she is right," Merrin said. "So far, you have brought the Empire to every planet you have interfered with."