Chapter Text
Cal grit his teeth as he clung to the side of the icy wall. The wind was terrible and his poncho wasn't cutting it. He knew he should've worn the one he had from Bracca. The fabric had been through hell and back but it protected against the cold better than this one.
He'd gotten his current poncho on Bogano. It was pale green poncho, soft and light and definitely not built for snow.
And so now he was here, shivering in the cold. Everyone was waiting for him back on the Mantis. Cere and Greez. They were waiting, so he had to finish this mission and get back.
As the biting cold of Zeffo's winds cut through his clothes, Cal trudged forward, his breath forming frosty clouds in the frigid air. BD-1 beeped worriedly.
"Hang in there, buddy" Cal said, his voice tinged with exhaustion. "We're almost there"
But with each movement, the weight of his body seemed to press down harder. The Empire was closing in, and Cal could feel the darkness swirling around him, threatening to engulf him once again. He felt so tired, so cold.
Heaving himself over the ledge, Cal gasped for breath. His fingers were burning in the cold, his exposed skin being bitten at.
Just when he thought he stop to take a break, a glimmer of movement caught his eye. Through the swirling wind, two figures emerged, their forms blurred by the storm. As they drew closer, Cal's heart skipped a beat.
Cal drew in a sharp breath as his hand instinctively reached for his lightsaber.
The flickers in the Force made him pause. BD reminded him that they were out of stims after their previous encounter with a Jotaz.
Cal grunted. "I know. You're right, better safe than sorry, right?"
Definitely not the motto he lived by, but his crewmates had begun saying it every time he left the ship so he'd begun to echo it.
Hauling himself to his feet, Cal slud into his stance. Master Tapal had taught him well, but he'd modified the stance to better suit his style of fighting.
As the duo walked within range, memories of the Jedi Temple flooded his mind. He realized with a start who this man was.
"Caleb?" Cal murmured to himself, hardly daring to believe it. Another... There was another survivor. The Force echoed between them, ringing with solidarity and familiarity.
The man seemed to pause in surprise before calling out. "Cal?"
The younger figure, a boy with an obvious Force bond with Caleb, glanced between them.
Cal managed a weak smile, his strength fading with each passing moment. The cold had seeped into his bones, draining him of energy.
Before he knew it, darkness closed in around him, and he collapsed to the ground, his vision swimming. BD was frantically beeping, trying to push him up from the ground.
"Shit!" Caleb called out, rushing towards him. With the younger boy's help, they lifted Cal's limp form, wrapping him in their cloaks to shield him from the biting wind.
"We need to get him warm, fast" He heard Caleb say.
He faintly registered BD's worried beeping as he tumbled into unconsciousness.
When Cal woke, he shot up. He wasn't on the Mantis. He wasn't on Zeffo either. Where was he?
A sharp trill made him relax.
"BD!" He said. "Thank Force"
His friend whistled, speeding through an explanation of what happened. They were off planet; hopefully still in orbit.
The two who'd found him were the ones who brought them here. The ship had other occupants. Cal was no Master, but he'd argue that he'd gotten pretty good at sensing others through the Force.
Pushing away his thoughts, he refocused on what his droid was saying. "What kinda surprise?"
BD only trilled, hopping from one foot to the other. Cal huffed, offering an arm for the droid to climb up. Once BD was securely on his shoulder strap, he stood.
"No way" He breathed as the droid projected a map of the ship they were on. "How'd you even get this?"
There was a place for a slicing, BD cheerfully told him, nodding towards an outlet on the wall.
Cal had never ever been more grateful that they'd found the scomp link. Unless they were including the encounter with Trilla.
The door hissed open.
BD-1 beeped in greeting, hopping once on Cal’s shoulder as a tall figure with brown hair and a trimmed beard entered first. His eyes swept the room, sharp and assessing, before softening when they landed on Cal.
Caleb. It was Caleb. He'd survived. Cal almost wanted to cry. At the sight, at the feeling of the man's Force signature.
"…Caleb?"
The man’s paused, something unreadable flashing in his expression.
"It’s… been a long time" Caleb said carefully, voice thick with emotion.
Cal blinked, throat tight. "You're alive" His voice was shaky as he recounted. "We trained in the Temple. You–" His throat tightened, the words sticking. "You were older. Better with a saber. I never thought I’d–"
A voice from the hall cut him off. “Hey, you’re finally awake“
A broad frame filled the doorway. Purple fur, large pointed ears. Cal froze.
The room seemed to shrink. Cal’s chest locked up, the image of Master Tapal’s towering form and the moment he’d fallen searing through him like lightning.
His heart was pounding, every instinct screaming move. His hand twitched as if to reach out.
The newcomer's expression faltered. "Uh… Did I–?"
Cal didn’t answer, eyes fixed on the Lasat, breath coming too fast. BD chirped a soft reminder at his ear, a grounding tone they’d developed after Ilum.
It worked enough for him to ease back, though his shoulders stayed tight. "Ah, I apologize. I just... didn't expect to see another Lasat"
His gaze lingered on him only a moment longer, then he managed to tear his eyes away.
He was led out to the main area of the ship, where more of the crew waited. Introductions started, but Cal barely heard them. His mind was still caught between then and now, between the echoes of the Temple and the present hum of the ship.
Only when Caleb, who now went by Kanan, sat beside him, close enough for the Force to bridge the gap again, did he finally breathe a little easier.
"Master Billaba?" Cal murmured.
Kanan shook his head. "Master Tapal?"
"...One with the Force. Is there... Have you seen anyone else?"
"Ashoka Tano's around, but that's really it. There's not many of us. Have you met any others?"
"I got taken in by Cere, so that's it"
Kanan spun to face him fully. "Master Junda? *That* Cere?"
Cal blinked. "Yeah, she saved me from inquis– That's right!" He scrambled to locate his comm. "I've gotta let them know I'm alive!"
BD trilled a sarcastic comment that had Kanan chuckling. Cal rolled his eyes and contacted his crew.
Not too long later, the Ghost dropped through the atmosphere. From the viewport, Cal’s stomach turned uncomfortably. Smoke curled up from the landing pad where the Mantis sat. Blaster fire lit the air in sharp, ugly bursts.
An AT-ST lumbered, heavy ka-thunk ka-thunks resonating from every step.
"Kriff" Cal whispered. His whole body leaned forward, like he could throw himself through the viewport.
"Looks like they could use some help" The pilot, Hera said. Her hands danced over the controls. "Let's give ‘em a hello"
Twin turbolasers roared from the freighter’s underside. The first strike staggered the walker, sending one leg crashing into the snow. The second blew sparks from its viewport.
"Comeon, let's go!" Kanan barked, already heading for the ramp. "We’ll cover you"
The boarding ramp slammed down before the ship even landed properly. Cal sprinted out, BD beeping excitedly from his shoulder. Kanan was a stride behind him, his padawan Ezra racing to keep up.
The AT-ST swung its guns. The cannons whined, charging.
"Left!" Kanan shouted.
Cal moved without thinking, without needing to. They fell into rhythm as if the years between the Temple and now hadn’t stretched so cruelly long. Orange and blue sabers cut through blasterfire, sparks scattering across the snow.
One bolt slipped past. Cal threw up his hand, the Force locking around it, putting it into stasis before it could reach Ezra. Kanan gave him the briefest look, startled, impressed, but there was no time for words.
"BD, you're up" The droid zipped down his shoulder and sprinted, excited to try out something new. The little scomp plug jammed into the walker’s ankle joint, sending a cascade of sparks through its servos.
The machine shuddered, buckled, just as a last, desperate volley of cannon fire lit the field. Cal and Kanan both jumped, lightsabers spinning, carving the bolts out of the air before they could reach the Mantis.
Then the Ghost’s cannons fired again. The AT-ST exploded in a storm of fire and twisted metal, collapsing into the ground.
For a moment, silence reigned. Just the hiss of cooling wreckage and Cal’s harsh, uneven breath.
"Cal!"
He spun, just in time for Cere to come running down the Mantis’ ramp. Relief broke something in his chest he hadn’t realized was wound so tight. He stumbled forward, meeting her halfway, her hands catching his shoulders to steady him.
"You’re just in time" She told him, equal parts relief and gratitude.
"Barely" Cal managed, before Greez’s voice carried over the AT-ST wreckage.
"You try makin’ us worry like that again, kid, and I’ll lock you to the galley stove!"
Cal grinned, looking between both groups as Kanan's crew exited the Ghost. His found family. His past and his present colliding in one battlefield.
The Force hummed in him like a chord finally struck true.