The Unknown Reaches | A Cal Kestis Story

Chapter 1: Where To?

That picture of purity
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"So, where to next?"

Everyone's happy chatter lowered to a pleasant hum.

The holocron was destroyed. I felt almost... empty. What were we supposed to do now, sit on the Mantis until we grow old?

Kylin grabbed my arm. "What are we going to do now?"

I sighed. "Not sure yet. But we'll figure it out," I gave her a slight smile, which she returned.

I wasn't going to lie, my feelings were extremely conflicting. Jedi weren't supposed to attach themselves emotionally. We had all heard the tragedy of Anakin Skywalker (not canon, so don't quote me on that). He had turned to the Dark side after attempting to save his wife, and ultimately ended up dying.

Also, trust was something that played a large part in how I felt. I spent years on Bracca. Trusting no one, except Prauf. But even then I didn't tell him much. He found out about who I really am not long before he died.

It wasn't that I couldn't trust these people- I felt as though I could trust most of them with my life. Minus Greez. Especially if I was lost somewhere. But I just didn't want to get myself into something if I was unable to be certain. I needed time to think.

Kylin looked up at me in concern, shaking me gently. "Cal, are you okay?"

I shook my head and looked down, clearing my vision. "Yeah. Sorry, sort of got lost in the clouds there."

"I'd say so," Kylin replied with a shrug. "Cere is taking us to Zeffo for some more recon, and so Merrin could see something besides Dathomir and Bogano."

Merrin nodded. Her relationship with Kylin seemed to be uneasy, though I was not one to intervene with female problems. I did not want to get involved in such... drama.

Kylin sighed. "You sure you're okay? You seem more lost than usual."

I grabbed her arms and met her eyes. "Ky, I'm fine. I promise. Don't worry about me."

It was easy to tell she wasn't convinced, but I didn't say anymore as we landed on Zeffo.

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Kylin inhaled sharply as we stepped off the Mantis.

"I have a love/hate relationship with this planet," she said matter of factly. "I love the planet itself but all the troopers it supports? No thanks."

I laughed inside, but no noise came out. "Agreed," was all I managed to say.

Why did I feel so off all of a sudden? Awkward and messy?

I could've sworn her shoulders drooped as we set off to see what the Empire was up to. We hadn't been here since the fight with Trilla.

"Nostalgia, am I right?" Kylin muttered as we came upon the first round of security.

A droid and three Stormtroopers stood in the hanger.

I used the Force to pull two Stormtroopers near me, the other being too far away.

Kylin yelped as she fought with the droid, dodging quickly but also struggling to attack.

Turning back to the troopers, who seemed a tad dazed, one shook his head and raised his blaster. Brave, I'll give him that, I thought, throwing my lightsaber in a circle around me.

Both troopers dropped, but the third one was nowhere to be found.

The "Am I the only one?" gave away his spot.

He stood behind a crate, and I just sighed as I cut him down.

At the sound of "Systems failing," I turned back to my friend. She stood above the droid, breathing heavily.

Her lip was bleeding, and it bothered me. I took a step forward and used my thumb to wipe away the crimson.

She blushed and turned away from me.

"That wasn't so hard," she said, still not looking at me.

I shook my head. "No, not really. Let's keep going."

Kylin nodded and began leading the way through the tunnels. When we got to the turbine, she stepped aside.

At first I was confused.

"Cal, we aren't going to be able to make it across if it's moving," Kylin said, motioning with her hand towards the wheel.

"Right, sorry," I mumbled, slowing it down before grabbing Kylin's hand.

We jumped across right before it began moving again.

"Hey, intruder!" A Scout trooper yelped, running up to us with his baton.

Kylin and I looked at each, grinned, and turned back towards the trooper.

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We made it back to the Mantis quite a while later. Quite a while.

The Empire hadn't really done anything since we had last been to the war torn planet, the only difference was the fact that the troopers no longer talked of the excavation.

I thought that was odd- Zeffo still has to have artifacts, right?

It wasn't something I dwelled on for long, though, as Kylin once again shook me from my thoughts.

"You aren't okay," she decided. We were sitting together on the couch, just enjoying the company of the other.

I sighed. I wasn't fine. I was strongly conflicted. But I couldn't tell her why. It wasn't really a trust issue, but it was just awkward and it was something I needed to figure out on my own.

"I'm alright, Ky." I examined her face for an excuse to talk about her own well-being.

The cut on her lip had stopped bleeding, and besides that she wasn't really hurt. Bruised, maybe, but not anything I could talk about.

My eyes wandered to the large gash on her cheek. It was still dark, but not as bad as it had been. I knew as soon as I saw it that she would scar.

I couldn't talk about that, though, because that would only make her sad.

And now I was stuck here, not saying anything again. She probably thought I was delusional.

Her eyes were full of concern. "Cal, please," she pleaded. "I want to help you but I don't know why you won't talk to me!"

My heart couldn't take it. Not saying another word, I just pulled her into a tight hug.

She didn't respond at first, but eventually wrapped her arms around me.

We sat like that for a while.

It was all I needed.

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Chapter 1 is dOnE. Tensions are rising, my lord.
Simple chapter to start though, about 1030 words.

As always, if you have any recommendations I am always open to them! New chapter most likely on Friday, yay!

Stay shining peeps,
DonutMaster07