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 XXVIII
The sounds of machines steadily beeping roused Merrin from her slumber. Bright lights assaulted her irises the moment her eyes opened, the sudden illuminaation prompted her to quickly squeeze her eyes shut. After several minutes to calm herself, the Nightsister gingerly cracked her lids back apart to find herself in an unfamiliar room.
Turning her head towards the right, she noticed a bunch of machines had been hooked up to her body.
Slowly sitting up, Merrin realized there were two Stormtroopers stationed near the door, and immediately her sense of awareness was heightened tenfold.
The door opened and someone clad in the robes of a Inquisitor entered. With a wave of their hand, the Inquisitor dismissed the Stormtroopers, leaving the two of them alone in the room.
"Who are you?!" Merrin demanded.
"It's me Merrin."
That voice.
"Cal?..." her voice became a whisper of disbelief.
Cal removed his helmet and hurried over to her side.
"How are you feeling?"
"I-I don't understand...why are you dressed like that?...Cal, what happened back on Lothal? Tell me!" she implored, gripping his hands tightly.
A sigh escaped Cal's lips as he looked away briefly.
She squeezed his hands again for emphasis.
"We're on Nur. The only way Vader would save you was to agree to join the Inquisitorius. Listen to me first! I'm not going to become like them, I only agreed so this could give us a chance to seek out any surviving Jedi and warn them."
Merrin's gaze locked onto Cal's for a long time, neither unwavering until the Nightsister exhaled a soft breath.
"You can't fool Vader. What if he finds out what you're truly up to?"
"Which is why I need your help. I want you to help me clear my mind and prevent Vader from invading my thoughts like he normally does," Cal said, taking her hands in his.
The Nightsister lowered her gaze as she contemplated what he had just said. None of this sat right with her, and she especially didn't want to see Cal becoming an Inquisitor just to save her.
"Cal, is it too late for us to make a run for it? Call the Mantis somehow and have Cere pick us up?"
"We're surrounded by Stormtroopers and the rest of the Inquisitorius, there's no way we can sneak our way out of here without being caught. If we call Cere and the others to come pick us up, we're only sending them to their deaths. Trust me please Merrin, I promise I'll find a way to get us out of here before it's too late."
Merrin sighed in defeat, her eyes flicking back down towards the machines currently hooked into her arms.
"Close your eyes then," she reluctantly said.
Before he did, Cal unclipped his lightsaber and pressed it into her hands.
"Keep it safe for me. Until the day I can use it again, for now I have to use the one given by Vader."
-Bracca-
"Jayna! Hey Jayna!"
The voice of her best friend Kit broke Jayna out of her work stupor as she lowered the coverings from her ears. Kit nudged her again and indicated towards the warden who wanted to speak with them. Pocketing her tools to head over with her friend, the two listened as the warden explained they were to be searched later on by the Empire.
"We just had one last month. I thought they only do searches every two months or something," Kit said, frustration evident on his face.
"Orders are orders," the warden replied.
"Come on Kit, it's just routine like usual. They don't find anything worth noting anyways," Jayna soothed, giving her friend a pat on the shoulder.
Kit rolled his eyes and went back to the rig he was working on.
Jayna followed suit and the two struck up a conversation as they worked side by side.
"So did you hear about one of the scrappers who was wanted by the Empire?" Kit asked, taking a piece of metal off and tossing it into the designated pile.
"Who?" Jayna shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh right, you came here after it happened. Well apparently there was a scrapper who turned out to be a Jedi hiding among us for five years, just working and not causing much trouble. Honestly, I think he would've kept his profile low if he didn't try to save his friend."
"A Jedi huh?" Jayna gave a small nervous chuckle.
She had heard of the Jedi.
A mysterious group of peace keepers who kept order throughout the Empire during the golden age, before Palpatine became Emperor and formed the Galactic Empire. Then he ordered the execution of the entire Jedi Order for betraying the galaxy.
Or at least that's what everyone was told.
A part of Jayna did as well.
"Yea but no one's heard anything since he managed to escape the Inquisitorius. Some say he died, but I personally believe he's still alive somewhere."
"Don't let the others hear you talking about this Kit," Jayna warned, frowning at her friend, not that he could see through the filter mask she was wearing.
"Come on, the Probe Droids only send video footage, they don't record our conversations."
Jayna sighed in defeat.
One of these days her friend's mouth was gonna get him into trouble.
After Merrin reinforced the mental barrier around his mind to prevent Vader from penetrating and inconvenient times, Cal went back to report to the Sith Lord and was surprised to find another Inquisitor waiting at the meeting room. This Inquisitor was unknown to Cal, probably assigned to be his partner on his first ever "mission" to prove himself loyal to the Empire.
The only thing Cal was thankful for was not being subjected to the...torture chair or whatever it was he saw in Trilla's vision back on Bogano.
It seemed Vader has seen the darkness inside his heart on multiple occasions already.
Or at least that's what Cal hoped.
"Cal Kestis, I must congratulate you on becoming the First Brother. Those robes do indeed befit someone of your status," Vader complimented.
"Thank you, Lord Vader," Cal forced himself to say.
'You're doing this for Merrin and the fate of all the other Jedi out there. Don't slip up now Cal!'
"Your first assignment is to accompany the newly promoted Third Sister to Bracca. It is time for their monthly inspection. As this is your first mission, you will simply observe what the Third Sister does. In the future, you will be the one to carry out these inspections as the First Brother."
"Yes Lord Vader," Cal replied, slightly inclining his head.
"Dismissed."
The two of them walked out of the room and immediately the Third Sister tried to threaten him.
"Don't think you can do anything just because you are the First Brother," she hissed.
Cal reached out through the Force and placed her in a choke-hold, slowly lifting her up from the floor.
"Don't threaten me or you won't live to see tomorrow," Cal retorted angrily, tightening his fingers for emphasis.
The Third Sister clawed desperate at her neck to pry away the invisible tendrils cutting off her air supply.
Making sure she understood his words, Cal released his hold and the Third Sister fell to the ground, desperately gasping in air into her deprived lungs.
Once their shift was finished for the day, Jayna and Kit stood in line to get on one of the transport trains that would bring them back to the dorms, but first everyone was directed towards the gathering hall for the inspection. Jayna shuffled quietly into place beside her friend, and everyone formed a straight line, shoulder touching shoulder as they awaited the arrival of the Inquisitors who normally oversaw the inspections.
Heavy footsteps echoed loudly in the hall, signaling the arrival of the Inquistorius as two Inquisitors walked into view, flanked on either side by Stormtroopers.
"Is this everyone?" a feminine voice asked, turning to her Stormtrooper commander.
"Yes, Third Sister."
"Get to it then," Jayna heard the Third Sister say.
The Stormtroopers went down the line and inspected everyone, asking them to turn out their pockets and inspected their tool bags. Jayna took the chance to study the two Inquisitors while she waited. Judging from their height and physique, the other Inquisitor had to be male. Both wore the distinct uniforms of the Empire's Inquisitorius squad, but the male member's robes were slightly more elaborate than that of his companion. Helmets shielded their faces from view, preventing her from getting a good view of their expressions.
Suddenly the male Inquisitor looked directly at her and a chill slithered up her spine as Jayna stared back.
Then he quietly leaned in and spoke to the Third Sister.
Jayna had no idea what he said because the next moment, two Stormtroopers seized either side of her arms, hauling her up front to the two Inquisitors.
"Let me go!" she protested, yanking her arms free from their grip.
"What is your name?" the Third Sister asked sharply.
"Jayna Shan, I work as a scrapper."
"Jayna...such a pretty name, shame we won't hear it for much longer."
"If I may respectfully ask of you Third Sister, has Jayna done something wrong?" the warden asked nervously.
One of the Stormtroopers took Jayna's bag from around her back and handed it over to the male Inquisitor. Jayna watched anxiously as he removed a glove to touch her bag, only to retract it after mere moments."
"Is it true?" the Third Sister inquired of her companion.
"Yes. I saw it through the Echo, she is a Force-sensitive."
Gasps were heard all around the room as Jayna herself blinked in shock at this.
She is Force-sensitive?
No.
There's no possible way she could be.
There had to be some sort of mistake!
"Take her back to the ship. The rest of you are free to go," the Third Sister ordered.
Again her arms were gripped as the Stormtroopers began leading her away.
"Jayna!"
"Kit no!"
Her best friend lunged out towards the nearest Stormtrooper and attempted to wrestle the blaster rifle away from him.
"Kit!"
To be continued...
Thanks for reading!
See you all next time!
Celsius Fate~
