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 XXX

It seemed like eternity to Jayna as the Stormtroopers repeatedly activated the torture chair until she couldn't feel anything at all. The only slight reprieve granted to her was when the guards changed shifts, but even then they would immediately reactivate the device. Jayna silently cursed the Inquisitor who revealed her as a Force-sensitive. If it weren't for him, she would still be back on Bracca and Kit wouldn't have had to die.

As her screams echoed loudly in the air, Jayna could feel her will ebbing away. The only thought that kept her from going insane was her friend.

Suddenly the pain stopped and she panted loudly for all to hear. The door to the room opened to reveal the very Inquisitor who had condemned her to this fate standing at the entrance. The Stormtroopers were dismissed with a wave of his hand, and he walked inside the room, closing the door behind him with the Force and locking it.

"What...do you want..." Jayna spat angrily.

The Inquisitor removed his helmet to reveal a human male around her age, with emerald eyes and ginger hair. Jayna sucked in a small breath at that moment, not realizing the person who brought this upon her was...well, quite good-looking.

"I'm sorry for condemning you to this. It was never my intention to do so," the Inquisitor apologized.

Now Jayna was even more stunned.

Weren't Inquisitors supposed to be ruthless and merciless in their actions? They were trained to obey orders from the Empire without question weren't they? So why is he apologizing to her out of the blue?

"I don't believe you," she hissed.

"I don't expect you to. Not after what happened to you and your friend. I...I'm sorry about him. However, trust me when I say I'm not here to hurt you. My name is Cal Kestis, I'm a Jedi Knight who survived the Purge when the Emperor executed Order 66. I was working on Bracca as a scrapper like yourself."

Jayna furrowed her brows together in confusion after hearing this.

Then she recalled the stories Kit used to tell about the Inquisitorius having found a renegade Jedi hiding on Bracca.

"Wait...you're the one they tried to kill? Everyone thought you were dead..."

"I managed to escape."

"So why are you working for the Empire then? I thought Jedi were supposed to be the peacekeepers of the galaxy!"

Cal sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I...didn't join because I wanted to. I joined because I had no choice."

"What do you mean?"


Entiran was forced to join in on the plan in rescuing the Jedi Knight and Nightsister in the end after Trilla threatened to reveal just how intimate their relationship with one another had been. That alone was enough to force him into obedience as he sat between Trilla and her former master rather uncomfortably. Both of them had their eyes on him, which made things even more awkward than they already were.

"Do you mind?" he said at last, having grown fed u with their silent stares.

"I am still waiting to hear on your relationship with my former Padawan," Cere said, arching an eyebrow in his direction.

"Is she going to ever let it drop?" Entiran gave Trilla a pointed stare.

"Either she hears it from me or from you. Take your pick," Trilla replied with a smirk.

A sigh of defeat escaped Entiran's lips at that point and he looked over to Cere.

"I was the former Padawan of Master Secura prior to her death and my capture by the Empire," Entiran said quietly.

Cere's eyes widened at his words.

"You were Master Secura's Padawan?! I was under the impression she didn't have any," Cere said in awe.

"She didn't want others to judge her training style, so she kept quiet about having a Padawan. The only ones who knew were Master Yoda and the members of the Council."

That could explain why Cere felt such a strong pull in the Force coming from Entiran.

"After my master was killed, the Empire's forces captured me and tortured me into obedience as an Inquisitor. I became an Inquisitor before Trilla was brought to Nur, and well...the rest is history," Entiran finished.

Trilla cleared her throat and looked at Cere with a solemn expression.

"I see. So you two found a kindred spirit in one another," Cere said mainly to herself after understanding where Entiran was coming from.

"Can we please focus on how to get Cal and Merrin out of the Fortress now that you know the backstory between the two of us?" Trilla asked impatiently, turning her head to hide her blushing face.

"The only thing I can think of is taking Trilla back to the Fortress as my prisoner. The others shouldn't be aware of what happened on Lothal, it could be plausible."

"Why are you so eager to help us? You're part of the Inquisitorious. How can I know you're not leading us into a trap?" Cere demanded, her eyes becoming suspicious.

A loud, amused laugh came out of Entiran's mouth after he listened to Cere's sudden suspicion of him.

"If I wanted you all dead, I could have just sent a signal out to the Star Destroyer that was in orbit above Lothal," he replied, giving Cere the same look she did him.

"He's not lying. I found a communicator on him after Ahsoka knocked him out," Trilla confirmed.

This was going to be a long day as Cere rubbed her face wearily with one hand.


Jayna felt sympathy after hearing Cal's explanation for what he did and why he joined the Inquisitors.

"So...you joined because it was the only way to save your Nightsister friend?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yea, but I'm working on a way to get us out of here. I can help you escape as well," Cal offered, holding a hand out to her.

Before Jayna could respond to his offer, the doors opened again and Darth Vader walked in. Cal hurriedly slipped his helmet back on and went over to the Sith's side as part of his charade. Vader stopped in front of Jayna and used the Force to hold her face up so he could look her in the eyes. Immediate fear flooded into Jayna as she was compelled to look at the Sith Lord. Is this what true terror felt like? The man before her was practically oozing in it

"Jayna Shan, I have been informed you are a Force-sensitive. The First Brother has done well in identifying you," Vader said, turning to Cal as he spoke.

"I was merely performing my duties for the Empire," Cal replied while Jayna looked on quietly.

She knew he was putting on a show for both their sake.

"There are only two options for you Jayna Shan, submit or death. The Empire does not want to see the potential of a Force-sensitive such as yourself going to waste."

"I will never join the likes of the Inquisitorius!" Jayna spat venomously at the Sith Lord.

"That is not for you to decide," Vader turned to two of the Stormtroopers dressed in black. "Continue with what was going on here. I expect results within the next two days."

The two Stormtroopers gave a bow and stationed themselves on either side of the machine.


Vader left the room with Cal following silently behind, the latter's mind working overtime to come up with any idea of how to free Jayna from the machine and sneak her past the guards so she could somehow contact the Mantis.

"You are rather silent Cal Kestis," Vader remarked, snapping Cal out of his thoughts.

"Forgive me my lord. I am just not used to..." Cal trailed off at that point, grateful the helmet was blocking his expression from being viewed.

"Seeing people being tortured like that? You will gradually grow immune to it. However, I sincerely hope for your sake, you are not planning on saving her from what awaits."

At that moment Cal winced as a sharp pain began probing through his mind and he desperately fought to put up a mental barrier to prevent Vader from seeing too much into his thoughts. Drawing strength from Merrin's ritual she performed earlier to enhance his mental abilities, Cal still struggled against the powerful Sith Lord. The pain grew to the point it forced him onto his knees before Vader, helmet tossed aside as both hands were pressed against either side of his head.

'Remember, Cal Kestis, you cannot resist my powers. Though I find it amusing you have asked the Nightsister to...bolster your defenses.'

The Sith Lord raised a hand and made a flicking motion.

Cal gasped in shock when he felt the connection between him and Merrin severed, and Merrin's agonized cries echoed loudly in the back of his head.

"Merrin!" Cal panted in shock, the pain in his head had him thrashing around on the floor at this point.

He was just glad there were no Stormtroopers around to witness this humiliating sight.

"You may think you have me fooled Cal Kestis, but I am the Emperor's apprentice for a reason. So long as you obey my orders, no harm will come to your Nightsister companion. Disobey me however..." Vader raised a hand at used the Force to pull Cal into the air as his legs dangled helplessly below him. "Disobey me and her life is forfeit. I am sure you do not want that to happen."

A strangled gasp was the only noise Cal was able to make before Vader released his grip on him.

"Remember Cal Kestis, there is nothing you can hide from me."

The Sith Lord vanished down the hall as his cape billowed behind like a curtain.


Merrin was leaning back against the wall of the bed she was in after feeling Vader cutting off the connection between her and Cal. The pain was excruciating, an experience she had never felt prior. Vader's powers were indeed strong, perhaps even as powerful as Mother Talzin. Then again, given her current state and physical condition, it would be safe to say her mental prowess wasn't exactly at its best.

The one she was more worried about was Cal though.

She couldn't feel the connection to the Jedi after Vader cut off their mental connection.

Just as she was starting to worry about him, the door opened and Cal staggered in looking on the verge of death. Merrin wanted to run over to him but the machines prevented her from doing so.

"Cal!"

"Merrin..."

Cal fell over on the floor at that moment, provoking Merrin into tearing the needles out of her arm to rush over to where he was. His forehead was burning hot to the touch, and his entire body was shivering at regular intervals.

Despite her body still not being fully recovered from the poison, the Nightsister closed her eyes in concentration and began drawing power from within. Once her hands were glowing, she pressed them against either side of Cal's head and focused on pouring the magick into his body to chase away the remnants of darkness left by the Sith Lord. It took a great amount of concentration on her behalf to cleanse the evil, and Cal's body finally stopped shivering.

"Merrin?..." Cal's emerald eyes opened weakly.

"Cal! Are you alright?" Merrin held him close.

"Vader...knows what I'm trying to do..."

The Nightsister soothed the Jedi with one finger held against his lips.

"We'll worry about that later. You need to focus on regaining yourself first," she comforted, running a hand through his hair.

"You're so warm..." Cal said, tilting his head into her palm.

Merrin bent over and pressed her lips gently against his, sending a small amount of soothing energy into his body simultaneously. It took a while for Cal to recover from what Vader did, but he was able to pull himself back onto his feet and helped Merrin back into the bed.

"Sharpen your mind and stay focused. Remember to clear your mind or Vader will be able to penetrate your thoughts!"

"I'll try," Cal reluctantly said.

Pressing their foreheads together briefly, Cal pulled back and replaced his helmet back on his head. After making sure Merrin was settled back in the bed, he left the room and came face to face with the Third Sister, the latter having witnessed everything that happened within the room from the small window outside.

"What a scene I just witnessed," she taunted as Cal walked by her silently.

Disgruntled that he was deliberately ignoring her, the Third Sister tried to rile up the First Brother with her next words.

"How do you think Lord Vader would react if he discovered the relationship between you and that Nightsister?" she casually said, placing a finger against the side of her helmet as her head cocked to the right.

Cal twisted his head to the side and unleashed the Force with a wave of his hand, pinning the Third Sister against the wall. In one fluid motion, Cal unclipped the lightsaber and ignited it, pointing the end at the Third Sister's throat.

"Do not test me Third Sister, or you will lose more than just a hand," he threatened.

The Third Sister was unable to move away from the lightsaber thanks to the Force hold coming from the First Brother.

"This is the second time you've crossed me. One more and the consequences will be severe," Cal added, lifting his lightsaber until the tip seared through the bottom of her helmet just the tiniest bit.

"I-I give!" the Third Sister gasped.

The red blade retracted and the Third Sister fell onto the floor in shock. She hurriedly removed the helmet from around her face, revealing herself to be a Twi'lek. Cal silently glared at her from behind his helmet, then walked away without another word.


To be continued...

See you all next chapter!

Note: Entiran being Aayla Secura's Padawan is made up by me.

Celsius Fate~