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Cal slumped against a cliff wall, praying he was out of view from any enemies that might be around. He’d put himself as far away as he was able to get from the troopers that were fanning out across the harsh landscape. After he’d found his kyber crystal and fixed his lightsaber in the caves, he’d encountered not one but two purge troopers, who gave him a thorough beating before he could run both of them through with his lightsaber. He also never fully dried off after being fully submerged several times, and his hair was full of small icicles.
“The empire is already here,” Cal gasped into his comm, his body shaking uncontrollably. He could taste blood. “They’re mining the crystals. They’re destroying everything.”
“Did you find what you were looking for?” Cere pressed over the comm.
Cal shifted his position in the snow. His head was aching from a major blow and he was having a hard time seeing. “Yes, I did. But Cere… Cere I’m hurt. The storm is picking up, and I can’t get back to the Mantis. It’s too… c-cold...”
There was a pause. Cal waited with baited breath. There was a moment of static, and then, “Stay where you are, I’m coming.”
Cal shivered. “Th..thank you, Cere,” he said quietly. He let his arm slump into his lap. He knew the comm had a beacon, and hoped it wouldn’t get scrambled in the storm. The snow was piling up fast.
He wanted to sleep, but BD-1 kept jumping onto him, presumably to keep him alert. His breathing was getting slower and slower. BD had given him the last stimshot in his arsenal and it was wearing off quickly in the bitter cold. The ever-vigilant droid was using his head to push the accumulating snow away from Cal while they waited.
A figure was approaching them in the snow. Cal squinted in the blinding white. It was… Prauf?
Cal tried to stand, but Prauf put his hands up. He seemed unbothered by the cold. “Find your destiny, Cal,” Prauf said encouragingly. Cal could see a black hole in his chest from Trilla’s lightsaber.
“I did... I think… I did... Prauf I’m so...” the vision disappeared. “Sorry.” Cal finished, tears pricking his eyes. His only friend for the last five years had been murdered right in front of him when this whole adventure started. He’d had no time to mourn, and the vision left him shaken.
“Boop?” BD-1 was looking up at Cal. He placed a heavy hand on the droid’s head.
“Yeah, I know, I’m... so dramatic,” Cal huffed with a slight smile. His lips were starting to crack and bleed in the cold.
“S-sorry, buddy,” Cal couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering. His eyes wouldn’t stay open. “I don’t know… if I’ll make it… I can’t…” he didn’t finish, he couldn’t draw another breath. The world around him had gradually begun to fade from bright white to black.
---
Cere was desperate. She’d put the kid through Hell, and now he was out somewhere in the snow, injured. She adjusted the scarf around her head and peered at the comm. The soft beeps were getting louder, which was encouraging. Greez had loaned her some goggles and a large parka. It was a little short on her and had extra arms, but it was still well insulated.
“Cal!” Cere called desperately. She’d tried to hail him on the comm but got no response. A strong gust of wind and snow threatened to knock her off her feet but she stood her ground.
Greez’s panicked voice came over the comm. “He’s still out there? Cere are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” she said breathlessly. “I’m not giving up. Have the engine ready. I’ll launch the flare as soon as I locate him!” Greez did not respond. The comm had gone completely silent, even the tracking sounds had ceased. Cere nearly threw the comm in anger.
A small nudge urged her in a new direction. Trust the force , she heard amongst the large flakes of snow. She quieted her her mind and closed her eyes. The sounds of the gale were silenced. In the distance Cere heard a sharp beeping. Her eyes flew open. The sound was coming from the base of a cliff. The connection to the force was dimmed, but she could now see a flashing light.
Cere began to run. The snow wasn't very deep, but it was very heavy and slippery. She trudged along, her heart racing. The source of the flashing light was suddenly moving toward her, and soon she was met by a very excited BD-1 unit who had been flashing his projector as a beacon.
“BD! Where’s Cal?”
BD-1 gave a high trill, then turned and began to run through the snow. Cere’s lungs were burning by the time she reached the cliff wall. There, sitting at the base, was a slumped figure with fiery red hair.
“Cal! CAL!” Cere put a hand on Cal’s snow-covered shoulder. He didn’t move. Cere grabbed the flare gun from her belt and fired into the sky. They risked being found by imperials, but time was of the essence.
Cere turned back to Cal. His face was ghostly pale. She ran a hand along his neck, looking for a pulse. When she found one, she began to panic. “CAL WAKE UP!” she pleaded. “Cal I’m sorry, come back, please!” He was suffering from hypothermia, likely in the later stages.
Cere laid Cal onto his back and began chest compressions. BD-1 hopped up and down nearby, concerned beeps coming from him every so often.
The roar of the Mantis was like music to her Cere’s ears. She gathered the frozen Jedi in her arms and made a dash for the ship, BD-1 close behind. She slipped and slid up the ramp and finally had her and Cal back on the ship. She carefully laid him down on the couch.
Greez began to pull the ship away from the planet. A blaster bolt hit their hull. “Get us out of here!” Cere begged. She was fighting back tears as she looked down at Cal. His eyes were sunken and he had a massive bruise on his chin. A few blaster streaks marred his side but she didn’t see where any had actually gone in to his body. She kept a shaky hand on his neck, begging the force for a pulse.
There was slight movement under her fingers. He was still alive, but barely. Cere breathed a sigh of relief. The ship lurched as it made the jump to lightspeed. “Greez! Greez we need to find somewhere to treat him or he’ll die. Do you know of anywhere that’s a jump or two away?”
Cere still hadn’t moved her hand from the boy’s cold neck. She hoped in vain that the warmth from her hand would help bring him back.
“Closest is Jedha, but that place is crawling with imperials. It’s gonna be difficult with how far out in the unknown regions we are. I’ll make a few calls and see what I can find,” Greez called back from the captain’s chair.
Cere ran to the back of the ship and fetched a blanket. Cal wasn’t warming up, and his condition almost seemed to be getting worse. His nose and cheeks were almost bloodred and his hands felt like ice blocks. Cere removed as much of his wet clothing as she could, then wrapped him with the blanket. BD-1 hovered near Cal’s head, whirring softly. To Cere it sounded almost like a whimper.
“I got it! I’ve got a contact on Takodana. He’s in one of the habited parts of the planet. Should be able to take care of Cal,” Greez said. Cere sighed with relief. Takodana is neutral, a haven for smugglers, explorers, and fugitives. “Should take two jumps to get there, about four standard hours.”
Cere didn’t know if Cal had that much time, but they really didn’t have any other choice. She went to the kitchenette to warm some water. Once they were on the route to Takodana, Greez joining her in trying to warm up their comrade with warm packs and blankets.
---
They touched down on a small landing platform on the edge of a tiny town full of semi-modern buildings. Greez’s contact, an old surly Twi’lek, greeted them. He had a speeder ready to help take the group to a nearby medical facility.
“How did you pull this off?” Cere asked in a low voice as they loaded Cal into the back of the speeder. His color had only slightly improved, and he was breathing better.
“Oh, Frusta owes me a favor,” Greez responded with a sideways smile. “Sometimes it pays to have people in your debt.”
For once Cere was actually grateful for Greez’s gambling problem.
The medical facility was small and somewhat out-dated, but they had a bacta tank, which was exactly what Cal’s frozen and banged up body needed. Cere excused herself when Cal was taken away on a hover stretcher. She stepped outside for a moment to breathe.
“I hope you’re not blaming yourself.” Cere hadn’t heard Greez come outside.
“Yes, I am actually,” Cere responded bluntly. She wasn’t in the mood to talk it out.
Greez folded both sets of arms. “You know it was something he had to do. How could you know there would be opposition on Ilum of all places?” he asked matter-of-factly.
Cere knew he was right, but she was still racked with guilt.
When Cere and Greez returned inside the small hospital, a female cerean escorted them back to the chamber where Cal was.
Cere felt her stomach turn over. Cal was fully submerged in the bacta, his head bobbing slightly as the healing liquid was warmed and pumped around him. He only wore black shorts, and several tubes were sticking out of his arms and legs pumping in medicine as well as monitoring his vitals.
“He will make a full recovery,” the cerean said in very broken basic. “But it will take some time. Tomorrow we will remove him from the bacta so that he can be overseen by a medical droid.”
Greez and the Cerean left to discuss payment for services and Cere approached the bacta tank. Cal was unresponsive while she looked upon his bruised face. The breathing mask partially obscured the extent of the damage, but Cere could still see it, and could still feel it through the force.
“I’m sorry, Cal,” Cere said quietly. “I’m sorry.”
Cal’s eyes fluttered slightly. She knew he was heavily sedated and wouldn’t actually see her, but witnessing that much life in him helped her relax.
---
Everything felt heavy and light at the same time. Is that possible? Oh well, it was happening. Something smelled good, maybe flowers were nearby. There was a slight hum, almost soothing.
Cal opened his eyes, feeling extremely groggy. Nothing would come into focus, so he closed them again. His hand was being held gently by somebody.
“Hey, Cal.” It was Cere. Cal tried to turn his head toward the voice and answer, but even his mouth felt too heavy. “No, no, you sleep it off. Okay?” Cere’s voice was so soothing.
---
Cal could finally open his eyes and focus. Cere was sitting in a chair next to his bed, asleep. He regarded his surroundings. He was in a small room, a powered-down medical droid to his right. Cal began to remember what had happened. He had been on Ilum, he’d fixed his lightsaber, but then he’d gotten caught in the cold. He reached up and felt his head where the gash had been, but it was gone. His hand had an IV stuck in it.
“Hey, you’re awake,” Cere said sleepily. “How do you feel?”
“Better than I did on that ice planet,” Cal replied hoarsely. “Where are we?”
“Takodana,” Cere responded. “Greez called in a favor on your behalf. He also personally paid for your treatment. He’d back on the Mantis getting some sleep, along with BD-1.”
Cal smiled. “Thank you for coming for me,” he said.
“Any time,” Cere responded. “I’m sorry to put you through this.”
Cal raised an eyebrow. “Put me through this? Cere I’ve never had a purpose until now. I used to sit on Bracca, dreaming about storming Coruscant with survivors from the Jedi Council. Instead, the Order’s hopes rest on a gambler, a fallen Jedi, and a failed padawan.” He sat up slightly, resting on one elbow so that he could turn to her fully. “A bunch of screw ups,” he finished with a lopsided grin.
Cere smiled warmly. “You can say that again,” she replied. “Are you sure this is something you want to do?”
Cal nodded. “I’m ready to face my past. I’m ready to retrieve the Astrium and finish this.”