Prompt:
Cal Kestis and his girlfriend, (Y/N) are fleeing the planet of Nur after stealing a holocron from Lord Vader when things begin to go very badly.
Requested by Shester2021
She/Her❥
1st POV
♡︎♡︎♡︎♡︎♡
I couldn't even recall why the two of us had decided to go to Nur. It initially seemed like a good idea, but now that everything was going so terribly wrong, I just couldn't comprehend why we'd come.
Nur was the home of the Sith. Nur was the home of the Inquisitors. It was like the two of us had just stepped into the worst possible scenario imaginable,
"Cal, we still have time to turn back and get away from this planet before Vader shows up," I growled through my teeth while slicing through a pair of Stormtroopers with my (F/C) lightsaber, "I think we should leave."
Cal shook his head while throwing an enemy trooper into a wall while using his force abilities, "We need that holocron, (Y/N)! If Vader opens that thing and learns of the unclaimed younglings, the Jedi Order will never be able to rebuild itself! Innocent Jedi all over the galaxy will die! We can't let the Empire win!"
Oh yeah, that's why we came.
Cere Junda, another Jedi from before the fall of the Republic, had seen the holocron while meditating, and for some reason, she sent Cal and I to reclaim it. Cal and I were nothing more than Padawan learners when our masters were killed by the rouge Clone Troopers— how are we supposed to take on Lord Vader?
"I don't think our lives are worth the risk!" I countered while blocking oncoming blaster bolts. It seemed the Stormtroopers had begun to get adequate backup for their attacks. Cal and I were quite outnumbered, "I don't want to lose you after all we've been through! We have to think about ourselves for once!"
"After all of the years of hiding, I'm surprised you're willing to bend to the Empire so easily," Cal spat, obviously hurt by my words, "These are children we are talking about, (Y/N). Some of the names in the holocron haven't been been born yet."
I spun around and pointed my lightsaber as his chest as a way to reiterate my point, "We were children when Vader killed our masters! Where was the people willing to sacrifice themselves for us? What makes these younglings more important than us? We would be doing them a favour if they didn't have to live the lives we have been forced to live thanks to Vader. We were barely 13 when our masters were killed— no one deserves that life. We need to stop caring about others and prioritize ourselves."
"Turn back if you want to that badly," the red head growled while slashing through a Stormtrooper with pure anger.
Everyday Cal treads closer and closer to the Dark Side, and that truly scared me.
I sighed and lowered my lightsaber. Cal had successfully taken out the rest of the Stormtroopers by himself thanks to his unbridled anger. I shook my head and looked away, "I won't leave you behind. I think it's foolish that we're doing this considering Lord Vader is here, but I won't leave you to face him alone."
Cal's anger deteriorated slightly as I promised that I would stay and fight by his side. However, I will never forget what his anger felt like. I'm thankful that I'm not on the wrong side of that anger unlike those Stormtroopers,
"Good. I don't think I would've been able to continue without you. As you said, fighting Lord Vader, even with both of us and Cere put together, is suicide. Fighting him alone would've been even worst."
"At least we stand a chance together," I replied numbly while casting my gaze towards the sky. That was a pipe dream. The two of us won't be comparable to Vader's strength. Regardless, we are dead and there's nothing we can do about it.
We dived deeper into the Imperial-infested planet of Nur. It reminded me of Ilum— the poor planets both being drained of their natural resources for the greedy Empire. No matter how much the Empire drained both Nur and Ilum, they would never be satisfied. As a Jedi, this saddened me immensely. The planets were living beings in the force, and I could constantly feel their pain... the crying out for help...
There were less and less Stormtroopers as Cal and I got deeper into the planet. Vader had considered the heat of the core in Nur, because he had instructed the Imperial base to be built within the planet. No one would be stupid enough to invade a base that deep in the core of the planet... or so he thought. Cal and I are that stupid.
However, because of that mindset, there were also no guards.
"I can sense him, Cal," I whispered while stopping. I looked like a deer in headlights as the anxiety-ridden force signature of Darth Vader entered my senses, "He's down here with us and he knows we are here too."
Cal quickly grabbed my hands and thrust his face into my line of sight. He looked just as worried as I did, but his force signature felt confident and brave,
"We have a chance to end this then. End it the way Vader ended our lives."
"You can't possibly believe we could kill him! We just had this conversation only minutes ago— this is a suicide mission, Cal. Best we could do is nab the holocron and get the hell off Nur, and that's if we're lucky," I snapped back, my fear beginning to overwhelm me a bit, "I don't want to be here anymore, honey. Please, let's go."
Cal shushed me and lovingly pulled me into his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair in an attempt to calm me down. I could hear his heart beating in his chest— it was not racing as mine was. He was the bravest man I've ever met, and I need to be brave for him too.
I sniffled, fighting back against the threat of tears. Smiling sadly, I chuckled and pressed my lips to his,
"Alright. I feel better. I'm sorry for freaking out like this. It's just the idea of fighting against the man who killed our masters and wiped out the Jedi Order is terrifying," I said while pressing my lips to Cal's once more.
The red head smiled sadly and accepted the kiss willingly, "I understand, (Y/N). This is the most scared I've been in my entire life, but I'm not scared for myself. I'm scared about what Vader might do to you."
"Don't worry about me, my love. I have you by my side, and you make me the strongest I could ever be. We will get through this."
At this moment, I realized how much Cal affected my mental and physical health. He's the only life form in the entire galaxy that could calm me down from a panic attack that well and that fast.
Cal and I held each other for just a few more moments. Both of us secretly knew this would be the last time we would ever hold each other.
"Touching."
That came from an unknown voice, yet at the same time, I knew the voice too well. The metallic echos from his voice gave it away. That was the voice of the Sith Lord, Darth Vader.
Both Cal and I turned around fearfully. My blood was running cold through my veins as I peered up at the man every Jedi shuddered at when mentioned. He was at least 7 feet tall thanks to his robotic suit. The force signature that resonated with the man was overwhelming. I felt like I could throw up from just looking at him.
Cal, without missing a beat, unsheathed his blue lightsabers. I slowly followed my boyfriend and unsheathed my (F/C) blade, "It's not polite to eavesdrop, Vader."
The man didn't respond. The only noise that came from the Sith was his intimidating breathing. It felt like white noise against the deafening quietness of the Nur base. I just wanted it to stop— I just wanted all of this to stop.
At this point, Vader was waiting to see if Cal or I were going to attack first. The one thing Master Junda pounded into Cal and I's skull during our preparations for this moment was Vader's fighting style. Even when the Sith was a Jedi, he was always analyzing his foes' fighting styles so he could best counter it.
He was a rare Jedi for sure— he easily mastered all fighting forms so he could more-efficiently take down his enemies.
Cal lunged forward and Vader easily knocked him back without using a quarter of his strength. I knew I couldn't let Cal fight this beast by himself, so I quickly joined in too. I found that since Vader only has one lightsaber, it might be easier for Cal and I to take him out if one of us takes his backside while the other attacks from the front. He can't block both of us at once.
It is crazy the telepathic relationship we have with one another, because without saying a single word to each other, we began spreading out and into position to take on this incredible fight.
Vader sensed what Cal and I were planning. He quickly reached out with the hand he wasn't using to hold his lightsaber, and pushed Cal away. The red head flew back and into the wall; the impact making him temporarily black out.
I growled and began to channel all of my anger over that into my fighting. No one would ever get away with harming my precious Cal Kestis, not even the most powerful Sith Lord that the galaxy has ever seen,
"You'd make an impressive Inquisitor, young Jedi," the Sith Lord growled while parrying my hits back towards me, "Too bad I didn't find you when you were much younger and more impressionable. It's a shame."
"Even if you found me while I was still a Padawan, I would've never joined you," I spat while dipping down to avoid a lightsaber wound to the chest, "You'd just have to kill me, just like what you'll have to do now."
Vader chuckled in amusement. It wasn't a good sound. The chuckle was more robotic than man, and it sent goosebumps down my entire body,
"Gladly, young one. Don't say I didn't offer you a way out of this, though."
Vader extended his hand as if he was going to use the force to choke me and break my neck. I held my hand out in response; fighting him through the force instead of combat that was blade-to-blade.
However, while Vader was distracted by my surge of power, Cal managed to pull himself out of unconsciousness and rejoin the fight.
Cal was momentarily dazed by both the fight and the impact with the concrete wall, but that didn't hold him back for too long.
He unsheathed his lightsaber and jumped back into the fight.
Vader grunted in surprise as Cal slashed at his side. The Sith Lord's reflexes were amazing, as he was able to block the unexpected attack gracefully with his red lightsaber,
"Welcome back, youngling."
Then, we got back into the original positioning of trying to cut the Sith Lord off and overpower him.
He was an incredible fighter.
All of the stories about the Sith Lord's fighting abilities were all true. He flawlessly and effortlessly held both Cal and I off. If this was any other fighter, we would've overpowered them by now. Vader was a whole new level.
I could sense the Sith was beginning to tire, but nowhere as near as Cal and I were. I could sense that he wanted to wrap this up and finish this now... unfortunately, that's exactly what he did.
Vader did something completely unexpected. He swapped hands and gripped his lightsaber in his left instead of his right. He quickly whipped around after shoving Cal once again with his unnatural force abilities, and plunged the red lightsaber right into my chest.
I gasped as blood began to trickle out of my mouth and down to my chest.
Vader effortlessly casted my body to the side and clicked his tongue impatiently, "I gave you an option to fight by my side and live to see another day. This death is on your hands for being so ignorant and headstrong. I pity you."
I pitied Cal. I didn't pity myself or mourn for myself. I mourned for Cal, and the fact that he will likely die here too. If he did manage to escape with the holocron, I mourned the fact that he would have to survive without me for the first time ever.
I would be devastated if I had to live without Cal.
I tilted my head towards where Cal was standing. My heart shattered.
He had dropped to his knees; abandoning his lightsaber. Cal then crawled over with an exhausted look on his face. He slowly pulled me into his lap and cradled me closely; whispering things like 'I love you,' or 'I should've listened to you.'
I blinked tiredly and cupped Cal's face in my hands; kissing him deeply,
"Do not mourn for me. Celebrate my life the way I lived and died. I will never leave your side. Now, get that holocron and get as far away from Nur as you can."
Vader twirled his lightsaber and stared at the two of us expectantly. I died at this moment... I will never know if Cal survived this encounter or not. I suspect he has, though. I can sense it.
May 26th, 2023