One
Caro could feel the sun on her skin as she took a deep breath in through her nose. She was seated cross-legged on the shaded pavilion, facing the rising sun. Around her, the creatures of the forest were just beginning to arise, the calls of birds and other animals filled the air. The day was beginning, the balance of night and day coming to an equinox. This was her favorite time of day. The inner peace and mindfulness that nature brought her helped to bring her back to a time when the galaxy was at peace, before things had gone so far awry.
"Are you done with that?" Caro's eyes snapped open, hearing Ferren's teasing voice, and she slowly turned, giving her a smile.
"About to be," She returned, getting to her feet. "What's bothering you now?"
"I need you to come into Cho Gopan with me," Ferren returned. She was already fully dressed, wearing her blaster on her hip and boots. "We're low on generator parts."
"So?" Caro smoothed out her sand-colored tunic so that it hung straight. "You don't need me to help you with that."
Ferren looked a little sheepish, casting her green eyes down for a moment. "I was talking with Miki Rui yesterday," She said, her teasing disappearing. "She told me that Imperial soldiers were spotted in the marketplace - "
"Stormtroopers," Caro said bitterly. "That's who they are."
Ferren nodded, noticing her friend's sudden shift in behavior. Caro wouldn't like where this was going. "You don't have to even do anything," Ferren added. "It's just… I would feel a lot safer if you were there."
Caro sighed, walking past Ferren and beginning to cross down the stairs spiralling down towards the rest of the house. "You know I don't like this," She frowned, and Ferren hurried after her.
"And you know I wouldn't ask unless it was really important," Ferren countered. Caro paused in the living room. "I'm worried about the generator, especially with the rainy season approaching soon. I just need you to be there, in case something happens, I - "
"I'll go," Caro sighed, pulling on her boots and taking her cloak. "I don't like it, but I'll go. You do all the talking."
"Thank you," Ferren sighed, watching as Caro pulled the cloak's hood over her head, hiding most of her face. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."
They shared the speeder to the trading outpost in silence, but Caro had a bad feeling about this already, something deep inside her was telling her that this was a mistake. She kept her hands concealed within her robes as they parked just outside the outpost gates, and followed Ferren like a shadow through the crowds of people. They passed by a handful of vagrant Ryn, who were hawking trinkets close to the gates, an Ithorian shopkeeper setting up a display of waterproof ponchos, a Caamasi vendor stirring something in a large pot that smelled delectable and reminded Caro that she hadn't eaten yet today.
Ferren paused before Bole Avo's shop, looking towards Caro. "Will you stay outside or go in?" She asked. Caro could already hear the Sluissi moving around inside, his serpentine lower half making a slithering sound on the floor. Bole was a friend. Caro knew that Ferren would be safe inside.
"I'll wait outside, if that's alright," She returned, and Ferren nodded with a promise to return swiftly. Caro made herself look busy, picking up a water purifier outside of Bole Avo's shop and toying with it in her hands, without really looking. Her attention was on the streets around her, with all of the people bustling about.
To those who knew Ferren Soto, they knew Caro as Jyoti Amita, Ferren's cousin who had come to live with her. It was a believable enough lie. Both Ferren and Caro were human, and lucky enough to share at least dark hair, but they shared no blood in common. Their bond had been forged two years ago, when Caro had been betrayed by those she trusted. Ferren was more of a sister now than anything else.
Caro's attention was snagged by the gleam of white helmets, and her entire body stood on edge. Do nothing to draw attention to yourself, she thought fervently. Focus on the water purifier. Pretend you might buy it.
"Out of the way!" One of the stormtroopers shouted, and Caro looked up to see them shove aside a male Ryn, overturning his table of wooden trinkets and sending them scattering into the street.
Don't instigate, she told herself, clenching and unclenching her fists. This is not your fight.
Her weapon burned against her thigh, concealed by two layers of clothing underneath Caro's cloak. It was there for the direst of emergencies, and only that.
"You can't touch these!" The Ryn male cried indignantly. They were beginning to draw a scene. "You have no right!" One of the stormtroopers swung out with his blaster, whipping it across the trader's face and sending him crashing to the ground.
"You are interfering with an official investigation - " Came the retort, and without control, without thinking of what she was doing until it was far too late, Caro charged forwards, pushing her way through the streets. She shoved past the others in the crowd and moved herself into the opening, stepping between the Ryn and the stormtroopers. Blood ran from the Ryn's beakish nose, and his tail curled up defensively beneath him. He looked up at Caro in shock, and Caro knew this was reckless, knew this was stupid, but it was too late to stop now.
"Get out of the way!" Caro was met with a shout, the flash of a blaster, and she drew herself up to full height slowly, her eyes centering in on the helmet of the trooper obviously in command.
"There is nothing of importance here," Caro said, struggling to keep her voice level amidst the outrage that she felt. "Take your investigation somewhere else."
It felt as though the entire marketplace had fallen silent, and Caro tried to keep her mind level. Balance, balance. The stormtroopers didn't move, but didn't speak. "You will leave Cho Gopan," Caro tried again, lifting her chin. "You will not find what you are looking for here."
The trooper cast a glance to the two that flanked him on either side. "We'll leave Cho Gopan," The leader said slowly, convinced. It took everything Caro had not to throw her head back in a sigh of relief. "What we're looking for isn't here."
The Ryn looked up at Caro in awe, and she knelt down to help him to his feet, pulling her hood closer around her face. Behind her, the stormtroopers left, turning around and heading back where they came from. "Don't speak of this," Caro said darkly, as the Ryn wiped the blood from his face with a handkerchief. "You should take your people and leave Cho Gopan for now. It's not safe for you here."
The crowd was hushing around them, bubbling with excitement over what had just occurred, and Caro tugged her hood over her head more tightly, slipping back into the crowd from whence she came. There were whispers, floating around her, dangerous words being spoken, and Caro knew that she had already done too much, made a scene when it was dangerous for her to do so. She moved back towards Bole Avo's shop with an added urgency. It was crucial now that she grabbed Ferren and they left Cho Gopan, quickly.
Suddenly, Caro felt a hand reach out, take her by the arm, and she wheeled around, her hand flying to her hip. A young human man stood before her, dressed in fine clothes, all in black, with a stately cloak in forest green. His dark hair was too-neatly combed for someone who lived in the wooded planet of Sud Y'Shul, and his eyes were too eager for someone who had just observed what Caro had done.
"I need to speak with you," He said, his voice pressed, and Caro shoved him off, her heart racing.
"Leave me alone," She said brusquely, trying to make it to the shop. They had to go…
"I know what you did," The young man said, his eyes eager. "You used a Jedi mind trick on those stormtroopers to make them leave."
Caro's eyes flashed, and she gave the man a look that would have frozen water. "There are no more Jedi left," She said darkly, turning and charging away from him. The young man began to trot after her through the crowds, and Caro turned away from Bole Avo's shop, leading him away from Ferren.
"Except for you," He returned, keeping pace with her. "I know who you are, you're - "
He was cut off when Caro seized him quickly by the front of his cloak and dragged him into an alleyway, throwing him up against a wooden wall. "You won't meddle in other's affairs if you know what's good for you," She hissed, baring her teeth. Exhaling, she let him down, centering herself again. She met his gaze, trying to gather the same resolve she had used with the stormtrooper, trying to hide how shaken she was. "You will leave Cho Gopan. You will forget you saw me, and everyone here."
She released him, raising her hood and turned to leave. She had to get Ferren, they had to flee...
"Caro Tejal," He said clearly, and she froze. No one had spoken her true name but Ferren, and no one had spoken the full of it in years. She turned, slowly, to see him watching her carefully. "Mind tricks don't work on me, Grey Jedi."
Caro turned and burst into a run, her cloak flying behind her. She knew that he pursued her, and she had the feeling that things were about to get ugly, and fast. Ferren was just stepping out of the shop, a bag in hand, and Caro seized her by the hand, tugging her into the crowd, out of the outpost.
"What is going on?" Ferren cried, wrenching her hand free and keeping pace with Caro.
"I've been discovered," Caro said darkly, leaping onto the front of their speeder and revving it on. Ferren hopped onto the back, and turned around.
"By the guy in black?" She asked, pulling out her blaster. He was hopping onto a speeder of his own, and Caro pulled out of the outpost, shooting through the forest. She had the speeder on maximum, ducking over and under trees, swerving off the path to try to lose him. Behind her, Ferren wrapped one arm around Caro and twisted in her seat, aiming the blaster at their pursuer.
"Wait until we're out of sight of the trading post," Caro called, flying over a fallen log. "Don't hit a civilian!"
"I'm a better shot than you give me credit for," Ferren muttered, firing two shots out. The young man behind them swerved out of the way, just missing a tree.
Caro's heart was pounding inside her chest, and she concentrated her entire effort on navigating through the dense forest, the tall trees only barely providing cover as he was right on their tail. Ferren fired more shots, and Caro listened for the explosion of his speeder that didn't come. He was too close, but he wasn't firing back, only dodging and following.
Having her cover blown would not only mean certain death for Caro, but likely for Ferren as well. All of the Jedi were supposed to have been eradicated, with the straggling survivors of Order 66 being hunted down like animals and murdered. Caro's very existence put Ferren at risk, and she realized that this man's life put theirs in jeopardy.
She had to end this.
Far enough aways from the road, and away from anyone around who might see or overhear, Caro pulled the speeder to an abrupt stop, leaping off. She stood amidst the towering trees, pulling her lightsaber from her robes. He already knew too much. He could die seeing her blade.
"Are you insane!?" Ferren screamed, leaping behind the speeder and dropping to a knee, aiming her blaster at the young man as he slowly got off of his, raising his arms above his head. His frantic eyes went from Caro to Ferren, and he paused when he saw the blaster aimed at his chest. Caro inhaled heavily, feeling Ferren's eyes on her back. She could practically hear her friend's voice in her head. Well? Won't you kill him?
"Jedi, I need your help," The young man cried, dropping to his knees before them both. Caro stepped towards him, activating her lightsaber. He flinched, seeing the golden, glowing blade and the vibrant hum. "My name is Etka Liserian, envoy of Her Royal Highness Princess Songeni Tau of the planet Nikara," He cried, rushing his words. Caro could sense his anxiety, the fear in his heart. "There have been rumors of your existence, of Jedi surviving the killing order. I've been looking for you for nine months."
"What do you want from me?" Caro said darkly.
"My people have been forced into slavery," Etka continued. "The Suban people invaded our planet and have massacred thousands, enslaving the rest. Princess Songeni has been forced into hiding off of the planet, and the rest of the monarchy has been uprooted and destroyed."
"The Suban's are backed by the Empire!" Ferren cried out. "Caro, this is suicide!"
"We need a you to help us defeat the Suban people," Etka rushed. "So the Princess can be reinstated upon the throne, and my people can be free. Jedi, you can help us. Our resistance is weak and unorganized - they'll listen to you! Someone with - with your abilities, your strength in the Force, you can save us."
He exhaled, watching her with wide eyes. Etka wasn't lying to her, Caro could feel it. She looked at him, at his shoulders rising rapidly up and down with each shaky breath. Ferren was right, leaving Sud Y'Shul was a massive risk, and revealing herself to a group that had allied itself with the Empire was a death wish.
But an inner voice spoke to her, a calling of the Force, the same call that had led her to protect the Ryn in the marketplace. She wasn't anymore, but she was once a Jedi Knight. Caro exhaled, deactivating her lightsaber.
"Get up."