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It should have been easy.
He’d been tasked with a simple enough mission. Find the target and bring her back. Or eliminate her, if bringing her back wasn’t an option. She would have no idea he was coming. They never knew when he was coming. It made it easier for him. She never seemed to want to hurt him either, showing her weakness over the boy he used to know.
It hadn’t been hard to track them. It never was. Part of him thought maybe they wanted him to find them, almost as if they had some preconceived notion that they could change him. That they could fix him.
Only there was nothing to fix. Not anymore.
He brought his shuttle into land, making sure to stay a few klicks from their ship. He didn’t know what they were doing back on this planet. Didn’t need to know. The familiar terrain gave him the advantage. She had never traversed the surface before. Had always left the dangerous exploration to him. Nothing had mattered to her apart from the mission. Nothing but the object she had been searching for for years. The one he had found for her. The one he’d destroyed.
He regretted that now of course. The Empire could have used it to bolster their ranks. Taking the children early would have been beneficial, not having to wait for one to make themselves known.
Tracking them through the night was simple. They barely left the ship, almost as if they were waiting for him. Igniting his lightsaber, Cal Kestis ascended the ramp, stepping foot on the Mantis for the first time in years.
The ship was dark, with the only light coming from the glow of his double-bladed saber, bathing the room in crimson. He sensed only one lifeform on the ship, and his feet carried him through the once familiar space until he stood in the doorway to the engine room.
“You came.”
Cere looked no different from the last time he had seen her. The day she’d packed her bags and left the very ship they found themselves on now. Briefly, he wondered what had finally brought her back before pushing the thought aside. It wouldn’t help him complete his mission.
“Did you doubt I would?” His voice sounded foreign, echoing around the room that had been his home for so long. The first place he had been safe since–
He stamped down on that train of thought, clearing his mind and drawing on the feelings of anger and betrayal the sight of his former master brought to the surface.
Cere sighed, deeply, and Cal was momentarily struck by the lack of fear he could sense from her. He could sense… something… but Cere was always good at shielding herself from him.
“I’d hoped you wouldn’t,” she said, standing from where she was sat at the workbench to bring them face to face.
“You are the mission,” replied Cal, tightening his grip on the lightsaber ever so slightly. “You are a threat to the Empire–”
“And let me guess,” interrupted Cere, in a bored tone. “You’ve come to eliminate the threat.”
“Yes.”
Cere sighed again, rubbing her eyes.
“You doubt me,” he said, sensing her uncertainty.
“No,” she replied. “I believe, if given the chance, you would not hesitate to strike me down where I stand.”
Cal smirked, twirling the lightsaber slowly, showering sparks between them.
“Are you not going to arm yourself, my former Master?” he asked, taking a step towards her. “Or do you not wish to raise a weapon against me?”
“Not in here,” replied Cere. “Greez would have my head if I put so much as a chip in the paintwork.”
“I’ll have your head before Greez gets the chance,” Cal sneered.
They were close now. So close Cal could have ended it right there and then. Taken his lightsaber and cut her down where she stood. He lifted his arm, intent on doing just that, when his hand was suddenly engulfed in green flame. He groaned in anger, moving forward in a feeble attempt to grab at Cere with his other hand. She side-stepped him easily, wrenching the saber from his grip with the Force.
“Merrin!” exclaimed Cal angrily. The Nightsister didn’t speak, though he could feel her presence strongly from behind him.
“I won’t let you hurt anyone else, Cal,” said Cere, pulling his focus back to her. “Not when this isn’t your fault.” She paused, producing a set of Force-suppression cuffs from where he assumed they’d been hanging from her belt behind her back.
“You will pay for this,” he spat as Merrin forced his arms behind his back and Cere secured the cuffs to his wrists. Neither woman spoke further and Cal seethed with anger as a hood was placed over his head and he was plunged into darkness. Someone, most likely Cere, had a firm grip on his arm as he was led through the ship and forcefully sat on something soft. He recognised it immediately as one of the cots on the Mantis , though he knew it wasn’t the one he used to sleep on. Based on how far they’d walked, he assumed it was Cere’s old bunk.
A familiar presence boarded the ship, then, and Cal wasn’t at all surprised when the engines fired up and the Mantis left the surface of the planet. Where they were taking him he couldn’t say. But he also couldn’t understand why they were together after leaving him one by one. Although he supposed he should have been thanking them. Only once they’d left was he shown the true power of the galaxy, and he was finally able to take his rightful place amongst the Empire.
He struggled against the cuffs binding him, drawing on the darkness within himself for the strength to break them, and crying out in frustration when he failed. The Grand Inquisitor would have his head when word got back about how the mission had gone. He’d been told to bring Cere in, but had also been given permission to do whatever was necessary to neutralise this threat. His former crewmates had caused a lifetime of trouble, and it would be better for the galaxy if they were gone.
The steady hum of the engines told Cal they were travelling through hyperspace. He didn’t know where, but could only guess that Cere and the others were taking him to some backwater planet far away from the nearest Imperial presence. They would want him as isolated as possible before beginning whatever it was they had planned for him.
He could sense the three of them, and knew they were quietly discussing how best to keep him restrained. Greez would be wanting him off the ship as soon as possible, unable to look at what he had become. Cal could feel the fear emanating off of the Latero in waves. The women were harder to read, though he was sure they would be looking for a way to bring him back. He couldn’t go back. Didn’t want to go back.
The hours passed by, and Cal bided his time. Everyone gave the room he was in a wide berth, clearly not wanting to lay eyes on him. Not wanting to face what he had become. The tension on the ship was thick. Cal’s anger was brewing, mixing with Greez’s fear and Cere’s resolve. Merrin was harder to read, though he suspected she too believed that what they were doing was right.
The door slid open, and Cal sensed as the Nightsister entered the room. The hood was removed and he blinked against the harsh lighting, his eyes unused to the brightness after so many hours in the dark.
In her hands, Merrin held a plate of food. A basic broth with bread on the side, and without even tasting it Cal knew immediately who had made it. Despite everything, Greez was the same as always. Using food and cooking as a coping mechanism against awkward situations.
“We will be arriving soon,” said Merrin. “You will eat now or you will not eat for several days.”
Cal said nothing, studying her expression. She gave nothing away, and he wondered if she planned on spoon-feeding him or if his cuffs were to be removed.
“It would be unwise for you to try something foolish, Cal Kestis,” she said, watching him carefully.
“I believe you are the foolish ones for believing you can keep me contained,” he replied evenly. Her flinch was subtle, and if Cal hadn’t been watching her closely he would have missed it. If he hadn’t once known her so intimately he may not have noticed at all. But he had known these people. Had been close with them, once. He could use that to his advantage.
Merrin had said nothing further, choosing to put the plate beside him and stepped back, arms folded across her chest as she studied him.
“I am sorry for not being there,” she said after a while, breaking the uneasy silence that had settled between them. Cal raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He knew what she was referring to of course, but couldn’t see how acknowledging that particular event would do him any good now.
“Cere found me a few months later,” she continued. “Told me what happened. I have been back on the ship ever since. Looking for you.”
“Would you like a medal?” he asked. There were cracks in her facade. They were faint, but they existed. If he could get her to break, if he could make her angry , he may still stand a chance of finishing the mission.
“Cere believes you are fixable,” said Merrin, looking him in the eye. “I do not.”
Cal smirked, unsurprised to hear the Nightsister speaking so honestly. It was something he had admired about her once. Now it was simply a nuisance. He needed her to get angry. Needed her to lash out.
“That’s what she does,” he said slowly. “She finds people she thinks needs to be fixed and she makes promises she knows she cannot keep. What did she promise you after I brought you on to this ship? Did she tell you that you’d never be alone again? That the fight could use you? The galaxy? She lied to you, Merrin. She always lies.”
Merrin’s fingers flexed and Cal knew he was breaking through. He just needed to keep going.
“You are the only liar here, Cal Kestis,” said Merrin, her voice even.
“Did she tell you what happened to her first padawan?” he continued. “Tell you how she betrayed Trilla? Turned her over to the Empire? Used the Dark Side to escape and left her padawan there to rot. How hypocritical of her to look down on me for tapping into my full potential when she has done the same. Only she was too much of a coward to see it through.”
“You should hold your tongue, Jedi–”
“Oh, I’m a Jedi now am I? I thought I was nothing more than an Inquisitor? Someone to turn your back on. Someone to fear .”
“I do not fear you–”
“I can practically smell your fear, Nightsister. ” The words rolled off his tongue with a sneer. Merrin’s fingers flexed again and Cal knew he was close. He knew how to land the final blow.
“Ilyana would be so disappointed in you.”
The green glow of Merrin’s magick was around him in seconds. He laughed, breathing in her anger and grief, relishing in the darkness those feelings brought with them. Reaching for that same dark energy, Cal focused his efforts on the cuffs, pulling hard until he heard the ever so satisfying SNAP that indicated they had broken. Smiling coldly, he threw out a hand, gripping Merrin’s throat with the Force.
Her magick disappeared as she clawed at her throat, trying desperately to get the air he was denying her into her lungs. He stood from the cot, walking closer until he could bring up his other hand to softly caress her cheek.
“Pathetic.”
With a final squeeze of his fingers, he heard a crunch and Merrin crumpled to the floor, unmoving. He kicked her with his foot, searching for signs of life and smiled when he couldn’t find any.
One down, two to go.
Sliding the door open as quietly as he could, Cal stepped out into the hall. He could hear Greez in the kitchen, and assumed Cere would either be with him or in the cockpit. Quietly, so as not to give himself away, Cal crept back down the hall towards the engine room, hoping they may have left his lightsaber there. He could take them down without it if he wanted to, but he knew Cere wouldn’t be going down without a fight, and it would be better for him if he was armed.
The engine room was mostly empty. Cere or someone must have cleared out his things after getting the Mantis back. Taking care not to be too loud, Cal searched around the workbench and the cot, eventually finding a small box tucked away in a far corner. Opening the lid, his fingers reached out to run along the side of a lightsaber.
His lightsaber.
The one he’d left behind.
Taking it in his grip, he hit the button to ignite it, a cyan hue filling the room. He hadn’t held this weapon in years. Seemed almost poetic that he’d be using it to take down his former master.
It had never been hard for Cal to sneak up on Greez. The Latero didn’t always take note of his surroundings, particularly when he thought he was safe. Cal had spent long enough on this ship to know Greez never felt safer than when he was on the Mantis .
That was his mistake.
He hadn’t heard Cal coming, until the lightsaber was piercing his chest.
The Latero dropped to the floor, leaving Cal to step over his body as he made his way to the cockpit.
Cere was in the seat that used to be his. Any hope he’d had of also sneaking up on her was dashed the second she turned around, her own lightsaber grasped tightly in her hand. Not that he was surprised. He never had been very good at surprising her.
“I’m so sorry for what you’ve become, Cal,” she said, getting up from the chair and igniting the saber.
“Disappointed the only two padawans you’ve ever had became Inquisitors? Or did you always know this would be your legacy?”
Cere said nothing, and Cal took the opportunity to lunge at her with his lightsaber. She blocked his attack easily, parrying him backwards and into the main area of the ship. He was relentless in his pursuit, but Cere blocked him at every turn. Cal grew more and more frustrated with every foiled attack. Even with the anger flooding his veins, she was still beating him.
“I don’t want to do this, Cal,” said Cere between breaths.
“Then don’t,” he replied. “Lay down your weapon and accept that you will spend the rest of your life in that fortress.”
Cere blocked his attack and threw out a hand, pushing him away. Cal flew backwards, skidding across the floor before bringing himself to a halt.
“Cal–”
“STOP!” He was sick of her voice. Sick of her trying to fix things. There was nothing left to fix.
They were both panting heavily. Cal took a step towards, only to be met with a fire surging up his leg. He looked down to find BD-1 at his feet, an electricity prod buried in his calf. Reacting on instinct, he kicked the small droid as hard as he could, sending BD flying across the room.
He sensed as Cere took a step towards him, and turned in time to dodge the blade aimed directly at his neck. Throwing out a hand to slow her movements, Cal wasted no time grabbing her shoulder and pulling her forwards, embedding the blade of his saber deep into her chest. She gasped, looking up at him as she fell backwards onto the floor.
“Cal–”
He watched as the light drained from her eyes. This woman who had taken him in, had tried to teach him the best she could, dying at his feet where she belonged.
A trill from behind him caused Cal to turn. BD was limping towards him, his electric prod still out and ready.
He gave the droid a smile, beckoning for him to come closer. BD seemed unsure, but came towards him regardless, and Cal was struck by the fierce loyalty he still held after all this time.
“Wish I could take you with me, BD,” said Cal, and the droid trilled in agreement. “If only I could.” He lifted his foot before bringing it down hard onto BD’s head, smiling as the sound of a metallic crunch filled the space.
He had completed his mission.