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Cal looked to his left when he felt a familiar presence; it may have been years, but he would never forget. “I just, uh- I just remembered I forgot something,” he called to Cere before backtracking towards the presence.
“Hurry back, Cal; we can’t stay here for long.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know; I’ll be quick!”
Cal skidded around a corner and froze; everybody in the crowd was blurred, all but one hooded figure. Cal saw them abruptly stop and look up before whipping their head to look at Cal.
It is you... Cal felt Trilla’s Force signature vanish before she bolted in the opposite direction, pushing past people in an effort to escape him. After a few minutes of chasing shadows, he slowed down in an abandoned alley.
He was abruptly slammed against the wall and lifted off the ground, and he grabbed at the hand around his neck. “Why are you following me?” she growled.
“I- I just wanted to ta-”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Can you- Can you let me- down-” She ripped her hand away, and Cal fell to the ground, coughing and holding his neck.
“Leave me alone, Kestis; I never want to see your face again, even on accident.” Cal looked up when he felt the coldness of a blade against his throat. “On the off-chance it does happen, leave me the fuck alone, or I will kill you this time.”
“You wouldn-” Cal winced loudly and raised his hands to the left side of his neck when she cut him.
“I would,” she whispered harshly. “Do not follow me; I want nothing to do with you or Cere, or any of your merry little crew. Leave me alone.”
She stood up and wiped her blade clean of any blood that may have gotten on it before sheathing it. She looked over at BD, who had been silently watching from afar after having been flung off Cal’s back when she slammed him against the wall.
She walked away, and BD trilled in alarm as he scurried over to Cal. He immediately started scanning Cal’s neck, but Cal shooed him away. “She just nicked me, bud; I’m all right.” He held the side of his neck as he stumbled to his feet.
“Boo-woo doop, trill.”
“Tell me about it; friendly as ever,” Cal joked as he checked his hand to see how much blood there was. “Don’t know how I’m gonna explain this one to the crew.”
“Boop, doo-woop?”
“Yeah, I know; I’ll never hear the end of it. Not to mention Cere will probably scold me for being reckless on such highly-occupied imperial territory. Come on, bud; we gotta get back.”
----------
Cere pulled out her comms device and called Merrin back to the ship once she saw Cal. “Where have you been?!” She narrowed her eyes at his neck once he got closer, and she quickly walked down the ramp and grabbed Cal’s head.
“What the fuck is this? What happened; did someone attack you?”
“Funny story-”
“It’s not a funny story, Cal; what happened? Who did this to you?”
“N- Nobody- I was just being clumsy. Look, the faster we get out of here, the quicker we can take care of it.”
“Who did this to you?” Cere looked over Cal’s shoulder. “Did they follow you back?”
“Cere- Calm down- I just- I was just being reckless.”
“Right. It’s a goddamn miracle that your so called recklessness didn’t cut your carotid artery,” she quipped sarcastically. “This was no accident, Cal, and you know I know that. I’m going to ask one more time, and you better tell me: who did this to you?”
“Trilla...” he admitted quietly.
Cere stared at him, her face twitching subtly several times. “Get on the ship,” she demanded angrily. “Now.”
“Look, I know you said-”
“To leave her alone? Well, you’re doing a fan-fucking-tastic job!”
“I saw her, an- and- and I- I wa- I wanted- I wanted to- to say hi, or, something- I don’t know!”
“‘Hi, or, something?’ Seriously? Are you stupid? I told you that if we ever saw her, to leave her alone. She made her choice, Cal; she doesn’t want us to be in her life, and you need to accept that.”
“You’re a damn hypocrite,” Cal snapped.
“Just because I miss her doesn’t mean I haven’t accepted it. Would it be hard for me to walk the other way if I ever saw her? Yes, yes it would, but I would know I have to. It’s what she wanted. She’s gone, Cal, and she’s not coming back.”
“This is imperial territory, no?” Merrin questioned as she crossed her arms. “Why would she be on such a guarded planet?”
Cere sighed. “My guess, is the Empire is likely to skim over imperial-occupied territories rather than thoroughly check because they doubt she’s stupid enough to stay, quite literally, under their radar.”
“Are you saying she is stupid for staying here?” Merrin followed up.
“On the contrary. She knows how the Empire thinks, as she is a formal imperial, and therefore knows how to keep herself hidden.” She turned to Cal. “You’re reckless for chasing after her, Cal. What if an imperial patrol had walked by? She knows this place better than you; she would’ve been able to escape.”
“I would just kill them; no biggie.”
“And expose yourself as a Jedi? Use your head, Cal!” She shook her head in disappointment. “Get on the ship.”
=+=
As she walked up the ramp, she stopped and slowly turned around. A cloaked figure stepped out of the shadows between two buildings on the other side of the landing platforms. Cere didn’t need to see their face to know it was Trilla.
She looked down and back up at Trilla before turning and walking up the ramp, looking out one last time as she closed the Mantis door.