I finally beat the game and was thinking, what if Trilla wasn't killed by Vader in the end? What if Cal managed to save her in time? Thus, the birth of this story came about XD (I blame my muse once again)

Summary: Cal Kestis managed to escape Fortress Inquisitorius with Cere and a redeemed Trilla. With the Holocron destroyed to prevent the Empire from tracking down the Force-sensitive children, Cal and his crew begin searching for alternate ways to weaken the Empire. Yet Cal is not safe, for Emperor Palpatine has tasked Darth Vader with bringing him back...with the intention of turning him into his new Inquisitor.

Rating: T

Setting: AU (divergence from main storyline in the game)

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to the Star Wars franchise aside from my own plot.

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Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order: Redemption

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Chapter XX

Cal was still in denial over the fact that Master Yoda had been the one to personally save him and Merrin when he was trapped within the limbo world of the Force. Truth be told, he had no recollections of anything that happened after the part where Vader struck him down. It's like there was a gap in his memory he couldn't think of no matter how hard he tried.

Beep-fwoo?

BD-1 poked its head around the corner of the room at Cal.

"Hey buddy, come here."

The little droid hopped over to where Cal was and climbed onto his lap, looking up at him as its antennas flattened against its head several times.

"You worried about me little guy?"

Boop.

"I'm fine now. Thanks for looking out for me though," Cal said, rubbing BD on the head.

BD wiggled in happiness and beeped at him.

"BD...should I let Merrin train me in the dark side of the Force?"

Boop-trill-beep?

"I know. I'm not sure if I should let her do either, but apparently Master Yoda asked her to do so for me."

The little droid cocked its head to the side and watched Cal carefully.

If his master was still alive he would most likely tell him to trust in the Force just like he said before he died during the ambush aboard their Venator. If what Merrin said was true about him falling to the dark side within the Force, then wouldn't it be wiser for him not to accept her offer?

The Jedi Knight sighed heavily and rubbed his head with both hands.

"I don't know what to do BD," he said, looking at the little droid with a frown.

Beep-fwee.

"Yea. Of course I trust her."

Boop-trill-boop-fwee.

"You sure I should?"

BD-1 nodded its head vehemently at his companion.

Cal got up from Cere's bed and headed out of her room only to find Trilla standing on the other end. He nearly bumped into her if he hadn't stopped himself in time.

"Trilla? What's going on?" he looked at her curiously.

"Can we talk outside the ship?" she asked in a strange tone, turning around before Cal could even give her a response.

The two Jedi stepped off the Mantis and into the blazing heat of Tatooine.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

Instead of answering his question, Trilla suddenly whirled around and attacked Cal with her lightsaber, the latter barely managing to parry the blow with his own lightsaber. She didn't give him a chance to ask anything because her next attack was immediately aimed at his ribs. The ginger-haired Knight rolled out of the way to avoid the blow, then split his lightsaber into two.

Trilla renewed her attack on Cal, spinning rapidly with her lightsaber, then charged up for a powerful attack as she jumped into the air.

Cal recognized this move as the one she tried to use on him back on Nur and immediately backtracked. Trilla's lightsaber stabbed into the desert ground of the planet, giving him a chance to close in with his lightsabers. She was able to parry one of his blades with hers, then reached out with the Force to stop his other hand from moving. He could feel her intent to kill him through the Force, but Cal had learned a new trick or two since his own encounter with Vader.

Switching off the lightsaber in his right hand, Cal let it drop to the ground, then kicked it towards Trilla right before it hit the sands. Reaching out through the Force with his free hand, the Jedi Knight ignited the weapon and directed it to strike Trilla's abdomen, making sure to miss her vitals on purpose. She gasped in pain when the tip pierced through her flesh, having clearly not expected this from someone she had deemed weak, a Padawan who hadn't even finished his training.

Now that he had the upper-hand against Trilla, Cal recalled his lightsaber back while placing her in a semi headlock.

"What's going on?" Cere rushed off the ship upon hearing the commotion.

"That's what I want to know," Cal grunted, making sure he wasn't suffocating a struggling Trilla.

The ginger-haired Knight knocked Trilla out with a blow to the back of her neck, and her body slumped over in his arms. Cere took Trilla from Cal and placed a hand on her forehead. The former Jedi Knight could sense a growing darkness within Trilla's mind through the Force.

"Is she alright?"

"No. It seems her losing against the Sixth Brother on Kashyyk triggered a break down of her personality. The light and dark sides are battling for power, which means she'll have lapses of her old self from time to time until one side wins," Cere said, looking up at Cal.

So he wasn't the only one struggling with the dark side of the Force.

Childlike coos and laughter interrupted the two as both glanced up to find a small version of Yoda staring at them in amazement. Cal smiled and reached a hand out towards the alien child, the latter stretching to reach the tips of his fingers. If the baby was still around, then it meant the Mandalorian must still be on Tatooine.

"Hey little guy, where's your guardian?" Cal asked it.

The baby cooed and tilted his head to towards Trilla, then slowly waddled over to where she was. Cere was fascinated by the child as it reached a hand out towards Trilla, and both of them felt a reaction in the Force.

"This child...he's Force-sensitive," Cal said, eyes widening in shock.

"His connection is a powerful one...if the Empire discovered this..."

The Mandalorian came out from his ship at that moment and walked over to where the child was, bending down to scoop him up in his arms.

"I see you are still here," the bounty hunter addressed, his helmet clearing locking onto Cal.

"Just waiting on repairs to the engine," Cal answered, indicating towards the rear of the Mantis.

The Mandalorian leaned towards the left a little to study the engine.

"Do you require assistance?"

Greez lumbered down from the ramp just in time to hear the bounty hunter offer assistance and immediately jumped on the chance.

"Would I ever? This will go so much faster with two people working! I never got to properly thank you for saving us earlier either!"

The two headed towards the engines in the back, leaving Cere alone with Cal and Trilla. Knowing it was too dangerous to let Trilla be unsupervised from that moment, both of them agreed on watching her from the distance. Should either sense she was about to fall back to her old ways, they would intervene before things got out of hand.

-Kamino-

Starkiller walked through the corridor of the cloning facility, striking down anyone who tried to get in his way. The same dream had been repeatedly plaguing him and the secret apprentice of Darth Vader wanted, needed answers as to who he really was. He knew he was cloned on Kamino after multiple failures by the Kaminoans to replicate a Force-sensitive user. Everything that came before that could not be recalled. The only constant was his dream of a white-haired woman who kept calling his name.

He needed to find out the truth.

That was the reason he went to Kamino behind Vader's back.

Who better to ask for answers than the aliens who cloned him right?

Turning the corner that led to the Prime Minister's chambers, Starkiller was confronted by a Kaminoan standing outside the door. He hadn't seen this Kaminoan before, but what stuck out the most about her was the attire she wore.

Her robes resembled that of a Jedi.

It couldn't be possible.

All Jedi have either been eliminated or converted to Inquisitors, like the case with the former Second Sister Trilla Suduri.

Yet it was undeniable as Starkiller studied her carefully.

The Kaminoan standing before him was a Force user.

"You should not be here," she said calmly.

"Stand aside. This will be the only time I warn you, Jedi."

The Kaminoan was unfazed as she produced her lightsaber from seemingly nowhere, igniting it to show a blue plasma blade. Starkiller took out his own lightsaber, the red glow a stark contrast to hers.

"Kina Ha, stand down."

The doors behind her opened and Lama Su walked out with Taun We, both Kaminoans seemed to be expecting his arrival.

Thanks to the efforts of Greez and the Mandalorian, the Mantis's engines were repaired in record time. Cal was glad to finally be getting off the planet, but part of him felt sorry for never responding to Quinlan Vos' invitation. Not that it mattered much to the ginger-haired Knight, since he trusted Merrin more than the renegade Jedi Master and a former acolyte of Count Dooku.

"Thanks for the help," Cal said to the Mandalorian as they prepared to take off.

"Watch your backs out there," was all the bounty hunter said.

"Please keep the child safe," Cal bent down to pat the alien child on the head one last time.

It cooed and giggled at him.

With a wave of his hand as a gesture of farewell, the Mandalorian picked up the child and walked back to his own ship. Cal went inside just as Greez closed the ramp so he could fire up the engines. With Merrin watching over Trilla in the back until she woke up, Cal took his seat up front with Greez and Cere.

"So have you decided what you're going to do?" Cere asked once they were off Tatooine.

"I don't know if I should follow Master Yoda's advice..." Cal replied.

"Master Yoda was the wisest in the Order, everyone always took his words to heart and listened to what he had to say. While some didn't agree with his methods from time to time, he was still very well respected."

Cal sighed and rubbed a hand over his face wearily.

Why couldn't things be easy on him for once?

To be continued...

Kina Ha is the only Kaminoan to ever become a Jedi according to the Star Wars Wiki, but others rarely knew about her since she didn't really set foot inside the temple except for once every decade or so iirc, so it would make sense if she somehow survived the Purge.

See you until then!

Celsius Fate~