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As bad situations go, Cal had to admit this was fairly high up the list.
“ Bwa-tat !”
“Yeah, I know BD,” he said through gritted teeth. “This is really not good.”
Cal was currently waist-deep in a swamp, walking slowly through the sludge as he tried to get to the opposing bank. BD was perched precariously on his shoulder, providing less-than helpful commentary about the deadly fauna that liked to call this swamp their home. Holding his ignited lightsaber out in front of him, he used the light it emitted to guide his way, holding back a sigh when he realised just how far he would have to walk.
“ Bwoo-loop .” BD tapped his leg on Cal’s shoulder to get his attention before using it to point in the direction they were heading.
“Do you see something, buddy?” asked Cal, peering into the darkness. He could barely make out the opposite bank, let alone whatever it was BD had spotted. The little droid tapped on his shoulder again impatiently but this time Cal ignored him as a sharp pain travelled up his leg.
“Dank farrick!” he cried out, instinctively going to reach down into the sludge to wrap his hand around the wound but stopping himself at the last moment. There was no point getting his hand drenched in the stuff when it was better to leave it dry for when he finally had a chance to clean his injury.
“ Bwee-woo-brrrt !”
“I’m trying!” Cal grimaced, knowing that the small droid was only worried. Truthfully he was worried too, but he tried to put on a brave face as he struggled through the sludge. “Can you try the Mantis again?” he asked quietly. His commlink had been slightly damaged during the chase, and BD had done his best to repair it. They weren’t able to get much of a signal, and the Mantis was further away than Cal had initially realised. It was one of the reasons they were crossing the swamp. According to BD’s map, it was the most direct route back to the ship, and the closer they could get the more likely it was they would be able to contact the crew and ask for help.
“We just have to get to the bank,” he said, unsure if he was trying to reassure himself or BD. He hadn’t looked properly at the wound on his lower leg, but based on the way it had tingled as he’d high-tailed it into the swamp, he knew that it couldn’t have been good.
The Empire had ambushed them out of nowhere.
Cal and BD had left the Mantis that morning in search of a lost Jedi artifact which had been rumoured to have resurfaced on a little-known planet in the Outer Rim. From the small amount of research Cere had been able to uncover on the flight over, the planet was supposedly uninhabited and was somewhere the Empire had left alone. There was no value to be found here apart from the artifact, and as far as they were aware, the Empire did not know of its existence.
When Cal had first been spotted by the patrol, it was only his Jedi instincts that saved him from a blaster bolt to the chest. He’d dodged out of the way, rolling back to his feet as he unhooked his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it, deflecting the remaining bolts back at the Stormtroopers. Two of them dropped to the ground hard, but more emerged from the trees and fired at him relentlessly. Cal twirled his double bladed lightsaber, deflecting as many bolts as he could, walking backwards carefully and looking for an opening to flee.
He heard movement coming from behind him, and turned his head slightly to see a small squadron attempting to cut him off. Angling his body towards them, he split his saber in two and began deflecting bolts from both sides. He could hear the grunts from the troopers he hit as they crumpled to the ground, unmoving, but they were ruthless in their pursuit. Sweat coated his brow as he fought harder, and he knew he would need to disappear into the trees as soon as he could to try and lose them.
BD trilled a warning in his ear, and Cal turned in time to see a Purge Trooper emerging from the treeline, an electrobaton in hand. The electricity crackled loudly, its sound magnified by the empty clearing Cal was standing in.
“Jedi!”
The Purge Trooper advanced on him, and Cal was forced to focus on the menacing figure in front of him, only having a sliver of concentration left for the troopers he hadn’t taken down yet. Keeping one ear out for stray blaster bolts, Cal blocked the electrobaton as it came arcing down towards him, the electricity alarmingly close to his face. He heard the telltale sound of a blaster bolt, and quickly spun to the side, his saber gliding up the electrobaton as he did so. The bolt missed him by an inch, and Cal took advantage of his sudden position behind the Purge Trooper to slice through the armour on his back. The trooper grunted, stumbling forward and swinging the electrobaton in Cal’s direction. He side-stepped it easily, throwing out a hand to Force-push the trooper, knocking the armoured figure off balance and providing him an opening to slice them across the back. The smell of sizzled flesh filled the air, and the trooper fell face-down in the dirt, not moving.
Cal paused, breathing heavily as the electrobaton fizzled out in the mud. He felt BD tap him on the shoulder, and turned in time to deflect the blaster bolt that was aimed directly at his head, the sudden movement causing the small droid to fall to the ground.
“You guys just don’t give up, do you?” he taunted, before throwing the lightsaber towards the trooper that had shot at him and watching as it hit the target directly through the middle before curving back around and into his outstretched hand.
The troopers were relentless, more of them emerging from the treeline and driving him back. He fought hard, lightsaber spinning at high speed as he side-stepped and dodged his way out of range. For every trooper he cut down, two more seemed to take their place. He knew he couldn’t keep doing this forever, feeling as his energy drained away. It had been a gruelling trek through the environment already, and this ambush was only making it worse.
BD trilled in alarm, and Cal was momentarily distracted making sure the droid was okay. An explosion of pain erupted up his calf as the blaster bolt hit him with full force. He spared a thought that he was probably lucky the troopers had such a bad aim, or else that bolt would have likely hit him in the chest. He stumbled, putting all of his weight on his uninjured leg. BD raced over and climbed onto his back, offering up a stim canister as he went.
“Thanks BD,” said Cal, taking the stim and injecting it into his neck. A wave of relief washed over him, and he was revitalised enough to continue the fight, though he knew it wouldn’t last long. More troopers broke through the treeline and Cal was hyper-aware of the very real possibility he would be overwhelmed. Keeping one eye on the troopers, he glanced around for anything he could use as a distraction to make his escape. He could hear BD next to his ear scanning the environment in an attempt to help.
“ Bwa-tat! ”
Cal saw what BD was looking at a split-second before the droid alerted him to it. There was a thick low-hanging branch right above the frontline of troopers he could bring down in the hope of fleeing during the confusion. Preparing to run, he kept one saber spinning in his left hand and with his right reached out to the force, focusing on the branch and pulling down hard until it broke and came crashing down on top of the troopers. The second they stopped firing at him he turned and high-tailed it as fast as his injured leg would allow, dodging between trees and trying to put as much distance between him and the troopers as he could.
He hadn’t seen the cliff edge until it was too late.
BD trilled in his ear as they tumbled off the cliff together, and Cal threw out a hand to slow their fall. He hit the ground hard, knocking the air from his lungs and gasping as he tried to breathe. The small droid tapped his shoulder, trying to hurry him along. Cal could hear the troopers searching for him, and knew it was only a matter of time before they followed him down the cliff.
Struggling to his feet, he held out an arm for BD to climb up and the two of them disappeared into the trees. He kept an ear out for the patrol behind them, and tried not to focus on the pain in his lower leg. Entering the swamp itself hadn’t been the best plan, but it was the only one he had. He hissed as the sludge entered the open wound, gritting his teeth against the sting.
His lightsaber emitted a faint glow, not enough to see the bank opposite, but enough that he would be able to see if anything approached them. He moved slowly, having used most of his energy during the fight.
“ Bwoo… ”
“Yeah, I know buddy.” Keeping his focus on the bank, he put one foot in front of the other and relied on his senses to warn him if there was something coming.
When he finally reached the opposite bank, he pulled himself out of the sludge, crawling up until he could flop in the mud, breathing heavily.
“ Cal? ”
He looked over at the small droid, who had Cal’s commlink held out with one foot.
“Did you fix the comm, BD?” he asked, reaching over to take it from him.
“ Cal? Kid, come in!”
“Greez?”
“ Good to hear your voice, kid. You were starting to scare us. ”
Cal grimaced, putting the comm down as he pulled up his pant leg to get a good look at the wound on his calf. He’d barely felt so much as a twinge from it since getting out of the swamp, and knew that probably wasn’t good. The swamp could have been filled with any number of toxins, and the fact he’d allowed the sludge to enter an open wound and possibly make its way into his bloodstream wasn’t his finest moment.
“I’m okay,” he said, exchanging a look with BD. The wound had already begun to fester, and he spared some of the water from his canteen to clean it briefly, wiping away the sludge and allowing him a better look.
“Kriff!”
“ Cal? ” Cere’s voice came over the comm, and he grimaced at her concern.
“I’m fine,” he lied, not wanting to worry her. BD scanned his calf, trilling in alarm when the toxin registered.
“ Was that BD? ”
“No–”
“ Cal, we aren’t able to get a lock on your position. Merrin is searching for you but she needs something to help pinpoint where you are. ”
Cal wasn’t listening. The wound on his calf was larger than he’d expected, and had already turned a nasty green. He was unsure if the smell was coming from his leg or if it was just the swamp, but it was pungent and reminded him of death. BD was listing off the effects the toxin would have on a human body, none of them good. Cal could already feel his senses beginning to fade.
“ Cal? Cal! ”
“Cere?” He held the comm to his lips, falling backwards into the mud.
“ Cal, you need to give Merrin something she can lock onto. ” He could hear the alarm in her voice, and knew she could tell there was something wrong. Looking directly at BD, the small droid began emitting a low beep. “ Myam-wam! ”
“BD–” Cal trailed off, sucking in a shallow breath as his throat swelled.
“ Merrin has locked onto BD’s signal, Cal. She’s on her way. ”
“Cere,” he paused, white spots clouding his vision. “Something’s wrong–”
He didn’t hear her reply. His hand flew to his throat, grabbing at it desperately as he struggled to take in air. The toxin had sped up the decomposition of flesh around the wound and he could see the necrosis setting in. The light of the comm blinked rapidly but he couldn’t speak. Had no idea if Merrin was coming or if they would find him in time. He gasped, vision going white.
“I can’t feel anything–” he choked out, hoping the commlink picked up his voice.
“ Hold on Cal– ”
Cal gasped again, vaguely aware of BD tapping him aggressively on the arm. He reached out to touch the droid but his fingers fell short, his hand dropping into the mud as his throat closed over completely, and he was plunged into darkness.
When he awoke it was to fingers brushing gently through his hair. He pried his eyes open, heart beating fast when his vision was blurred and he was unable to make out the person in front of him.
“Just relax, Cal.” Calm washed over him at the sound of Cere’s voice. Without being able to see her, he knew it was her fingers running through his hair.
“What happened?” His throat burned with his words.
“Don’t try to speak,” said Cere. “You were lucky. If Merrin hadn’t found you when she did–” she trailed off. Cal didn’t need to hear the rest of the sentence. He knew how close to death he had been. The speed at which the flesh on his calf had decomposed told him everything he needed to know about the toxin that had been present in the swamp.
“Just rest now,” continued Cere. “You can tell me what happened when you recover.”
Cal wanted to argue with her, to tell her about the Imperial patrol and how it hadn’t been his fault he ended up walking through a toxic swamp, but he could feel his energy draining by the second. His eyes slipped shut and the last thing he felt before being dragged into unconsciousness was Cere’s fingers running through his hair, a silent reminder that he wasn’t alone.