GALAXY'S HEAVEN

fourteen

SOMEWHERE IN SPACE

The fight had really taken a toll on Cal. He was limping toward the cockpit and Diane made a mental note to heal his wounds later. Along the way somewhere, Cal had lost his poncho and all that was left was his long-sleeved shirt and the side straps of his leather chest protector loosened. The only thing that held it close to his body was the strap that was wrapped from his left shoulder to underneath his right armpit.

These were observations that Diane had made.

"Hey Greez," Cal said. "You're famous down there."

The angel could hear the sarcasm laced in his words.

"Yeah...they're an ugly group, huh?" Greez joked. "They smell like used droid oil. Heh. At least you kids are okay."

"A complication we could have avoided," Cere said. Her disappointed eyes bore into Greez's back.

"Well we have another compilation," Cal said, wanting to change the subject. "The Empire knows about the Holocron."

"That's not good," Cere muttered. "This entire mission is now at risk."

Cal's jaw ticked and Diane knew what he was thinking of.

"And I also had a nice chat with the Second Sister. Trilla."

Cere's eyes glanced anywhere except his. Diane watched as the woman composed herself once more.

"What'd she tell you?"

"She told me... She told me you betrayed her to the Empire. Is it true?"

"She'll say anything to jeopardize this mission."

"Is it true?!" Cal yelled.

Cere held her gaze on the redhead.

"She was my apprentice. Before the Purge."

"You should've told me."

"Uh, we're getting an encrypted message from Kashyyyk," Greez interrupted.

Cal bit his tongue and stormed off to the holotable. Diane stayed quiet.

Mari informed them that they'd found Tarfful. But she also bore bad news. The Empire had taken over the fighters position at the refinery. Saw retreated off-world and though many left some had stayed behind with the Wookiee fighters in the forest.

Cere and Cal glanced at each other.

"Later."

"Later. We have our lead."

Now, Diane wasn't exactly very good at picking up social cues. How could she be? She'd only been living in the mortal world for less than a mortal month. (Her forgotten trips from the past didn't count.) So no one could blame her if she misread the room.

"I also have something to say. Later."

Cere and Cal tore their gazes away from each other to look at her. Both were curious about what exactly the angel had to confess.

KASHYYYK

Diane wasn't sure when 'the talk' would happen. What she did know was that Tarfful and Mari set a rendezvous point to meet with the trio. Which just so happened to be at the heart of the Shadowlands. Cal and Diane came to a realization later during their journey.

While they were walking there were several flowers and plants that snapped at them (with the intention of killing the trio). Every once in a while, Cal would glance over at Diane. The angel figured that he was probably curious as to what she was going to say —especially after she pitched in his and Cere's conversation.

Diane was so consumed in her thoughts she failed to register that she was about to walk over a ledge. Cal grabbed her arm and yanked her back.

"Watch it!"

She looked down and saw small muddy lands scattered around the green waters below. Around them were tall trees that twisted and turned every way. She saw glowing light green blobs scattered about on each surface. There were vines dangling from the rocky ceiling. Though it smelled terrible, it was the most magnificent thing the angel had ever seen.

"Diane!"

The angel snapped out of her thoughts, not realizing the redhead had been trying to talk to her.

"Sorry. What did you say?"

"I said, "Do you want me to teach you how to swim'?"

"Oh. Uh, yes. That will be useful information for the future."

Cal didn't make any comment and instead took a deep breath and jumped off of the cliff, and into the green calm waters below.

"Woooooooo!" BD-1 said.

Diane herself took a deep breath before jumping after him. She felt his arms pull her up and to shore. Her body sunk into the muddy surface. Her clothes were beyond cleaning... But so was Cal's. But she didn't worry. She knew she could clean their clothes at any point in time.

"You ever seen a place like this before?" Cal asked both of them.

Diane glanced up

"Never," Diane said, looking around in awe. BD shook his head.

"Me either."

⸻╳⸻

Michael and Gabriel decided to go to the mortal world without Archon.

In Michael's mind, he thought Gabriel had thought that Archon assigned them to scout the potential planet that Diane had gone to.

In Gabriel's mind he thought that Michael had gotten the sense they were annoyed with Archon hovering over them so had decided to leave him out as they scouted this planet for the rouge angel.

Either way, this would end with them talking to one another before getting annoyed with each other themselves.

"So, they essentially mind-wiped Diane of all information regarding 'The Plan'?" Gabriel asked.

Michael nodded his head.

"The angel Diane should have no recollection from their time as Chief of Strategy."

"'Should'?"

"Well..." Michael paused. "We did consider a small chance of Diane remembering. But that's unlikely."

"How come?"

Michael glanced over at the other Archangel. In times like these, he wasn't sure if Gabriel was playing stupid or was actually stupid.

"Well, the theory is that if she was to remember it'd most likely be because of a trigger."

"A trigger? Like what?"

Michael pursed his lips.

"I don't know."

But that was a lie. Michael knew.

After Archon's slip-up from when they'd first met, Michael did a bit of digging. Diane was five thousand and six hundred years old. For three thousand and four-hundred fifty-six years she'd been Chief of Strategy.

Meaning Archon had erased two thousand and one hundred and forty-four years of the angel's life.

He'd erased not only 'The Plan' from their mind but had erased their life before then.

She'd only remembered Daniel since they'd reintroduced each other two thousand years ago. But any previous memory beforehand was gone. The Diane that Daniel had known was gone.

The Diane that Michael had known...was lost.