Kissed by Fire: Cal Kestis

Chapter 18

"Gerrera might be leaving because he sees a lost cause, but more Partisans than him stayed because they knew Kashyyyk needed their aid," Y/n told him, and he let out a sigh. "I know you want to work like this, fighting against the Empire. But sometimes, the leaders of the Rebellion aren't always what they seem to be."

"You're not gonna try and say 'I told you so'?" he questioned her, and she raised a brow.

"I'm not that petty, Cal," she said, shaking her head. "I still disagree with Gerrera for leaving, though. He's their leader, and without your leader you don't really have a symbol of hope to stand and fight."

"Maybe, but... he is still trying to make a difference. Even if Kashyyyk isn't something he sees as a necessity anymore," Cal commented, Y/n noting the hint of defense in his tone. "But some Partisans did stay, even without Saw here too guide them."

"Because they saw something in Kashyyyk that was more than just a battlefield." Her voice was starting to become more and more stern, something Cal noticed. Their disagreement over Saw and his reasons was still a high tension note. "Look, let's not argue about this again? We're never going to agree on it."

"Yeah, I suppose so," Cal admitted, something that almost hurt. His pull towards the Partisans grew stronger each time he saw them in action. He only wanted to make a difference in the galaxy, stopping the Empire and pulling it out like a weed. He knew Y/n wanted the same thing, but Saw Gerrera and his manner of enforcing the rebellion they were enacting was something she couldn't sign on for. The lift stopped and the door in front of them opened, revealing the battlefield landing pad from their first trip. "Come on. We can't waste any more time."

They dropped down another lift, but unfortunately for them, two bounty hunters were lying in wait for them to arrive. "Oh, kriff!" Y/n managed to get out before dodging a blaster bolt aimed straight at her head. Apparently, Sorc Tormo was hell-bent on staying true to his word about finding Cal again. She just knew these hunters were from the Haxion Brood, considering they were both gunning to bring Cal in while merely trying to keep Y/n off their backs.

When they finished them off, Cal was holding his arm with a wince. Y/n furrowed her eyebrows and ran closer to him, quickly putting the baton on her back as she moved his hand. "It's just a scrape. He barely managed to hit me," Cal assured her when he saw the concern in her eyes.

"Even so," she said as she shook her head. BD popped one of his stims out, Y/n injecting it into Cal before taking something from her belt. When he saw it as a small bacta patch, he raised his brows at her. She met his expression, saying, "I knew you were going to get beat up on our way back out here. This is just a safety precaution."

"I appreciate your faith in me," Cal sarcastically told her as she stuck the bandage on under the rip in his arm. She did not miss his words being a callback to the first time they met. "I'm ruining too many good shirts out here."

"No time to ponder your shirt problem. We've gotta keep moving," Y/n said, patting him on his injury and causing him to reel back lightly in pain. Shrugging, she muttered, "Sorry," and kept walking through the refinery.

Cal found his way back to an old discovery on the map that led them to an entrance to the Shadowlands. Just as they hopped into the tunnel, they heard Mari's voice over their comms. "Cal, Y/n, do you read me? Cere gave me your comm frequency."

"Mari! Are you okay?" Cal quickly asked, cutting through the brush ahead with his lightsaber.

"I'm safe, unlike too many of the others. Did Mirienna give you our rendezvous coordinates?"

"Yeah, and we're on our way to you now," Y/n responded.

"Good. We're just reaching them now, but we can't stay long. The Empire's looking for us."