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He was trapped! Trapped in an escape pod, and he couldn’t get out. He could hear the Inquisitors approaching and he was trapped in this tin can, waiting for death. He heard a lightsaber ignite and he knew. This was it, even if he could get the door open, he was doomed to die like a caged animal. Suddenly Merrin was beside him, a hand on his shoulder, lightly shaking him.
“Wake up Cal!”
He shot up from his bed, confused and with the adrenaline still coursing through him. It takes a few seconds to realize he’s in bed, next to Merrin. Her hand still on his shoulder trying to calm him.
“You’re safe Cal, just a dream”
“yeah…” He says dazed, staring at her. “…just a dream.”
He consciously relaxes his muscles, still taut from the dream, and rolls his shoulders. He sighs and leans into Merrin, allows her to put her arms around him, and kiss it all better. They stay like this for a while, his silent tears leaking from his eyes slowly. He feels Merrin drift off to sleep again, her breathing getting slow and deep, and he watches her sleep for a bit. She is at peace, far away in what he hopes are happy dreams. Cal feels how much he cares for her.
Eventually however, his mind turns to the nightmare again. The feeling of being trapped doesn’t leave so easily as he had hoped, and suddenly the small confined space of their bedroom is too small for him. He gets up, throws a poncho on and walks out of the room, out of the Mantis. He needs open sky, fresh air. BD boops at him questioningly, but he waves for him to stay where he is.
Outside he finds a good spot where he can see quite a way under the stars. Koboh is really beautiful at night, in the quiet before everything is buzzing and active again. There is this quiet around him that only the night right before dawn can give him. A place where he feels the force around him, feels connected to everything, everyone, everywhere and everywhen. The force connects him to his past, his future, his now.
Suddenly there is a sound behind him, and his hand is where his lightsaber should be, before he realizes it’s a bogling popping out of the ground next to him. He smiles.
“Hey little guy, did I wake you?”
The bogling turns his head to the side, staring at him, wondering.
“Sorry”
He turns back to the view before him. The bogling stays behind him first, then hops next to him and stares at the view with Cal. They sit and stare for what must have been at least an hour, watching as the sun rises, giving the rocks and cliffs around them a red and pink hue, setting the world aglow. The bogling turns his head towards Cal, his head turning to the side again. He shakes his fur and a small piece of light blue fabric falls out. The fabric has a slight burn mark on it, and he can vaguely see there used to be birds on it.
“What’s this little friend?” he asks surprised, but the bogling doesn’t answer and hops away, disappearing into the ground again.
“Bye bye friend.”
He smiles and turns his head back to the little piece of fabric. He picks it up and feels there is a memory attached to it. It feels… good and familiar somehow, even though he doesn’t remember seeing this fabric ever before. He reaches into the force and allows the memory to flood him.
Jaro walks into the room. He is tired, both physically and emotionally drained. He drags his hands over his face with a deep sigh. He looks for his padawan, and finds his 8 year old, little red headed boy sleeping, ‘The Beginners guide to Mechanics’ book still open under his face, his light blue blanket slid down till halfway his shoulder. He sees the little freckles on his nose and shoulders. He smiles at the sight, gently pulls the book from under him and pulls up the blanket. It’s a light blue blanket with birds on it, with a small burn mark where Cal kept it too close to where he was welding something. The young one sighs a content sigh, and mumbles something, fast asleep. Jaro feels how much he needs to protect this one, how much he needs to teach him the right ways of life. Jaro feels how much he cares for him.