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 XXXIII

"Jayna?! What in the world happened to you!? All I got hold of was you were whisked away by the Inquisitors for being a Force-sensitive? Is it true? Wait, how are you contacting me on an Imperial channel?"

"Slow down Bryna, it's a long story! I'm being transported back to Bracca but I don't know why! I've managed to get the Stormtrooper to bring me to BracSec instead of wherever the Inquisitors wanted me to go. I need your help getting off their radar," Jayna explained, noticing the transport was breaking through the atmosphere of Bracca.

"Commander Torone isn't going to like it. You left BracSec to pursue a career as a scrapper in the shipyards and she's been upset about it ever since."

Jayna leaned back against the chair and rubbed her forehead wearily. Of course, she hadn't forgotten about her long-time mentor Halas Torone. The stern older human was practically like a mother figure to her. With her fierce grey eyes and iron-streaked black hair, Halas Torone was one woman you'd never want to cross; as she was a well-respected figure in Bracca's society. Honestly, if Jayna hadn't quit halfway through her training to being a Security Officer, she could have been living a rather easy life.

Instead she chose to quit her apprenticeship and become a scrapper working in the shipyards. Torone nearly had a heart attack when she found out her beloved protege wanted to lower herself to such standards, but Jayna made it clear it was her decision to make.

They parted on uneasy terms, but she had a feeling Halas Torone would welcome her back with open arms.

"Hello? Jayna?"

"I'm still here. I know Torone won't be happy about it, but given her status on Bracca, she can buy me some time to evade the Inquisitors until I can sneak off the planet undetected. Please Bryna, get me a meeting with Torone and I'll owe you one!"

Bryna's laugh came over from the other end.

"You already owe me when you ditched me to become a scrapper. Commander Torone will be back from making her rounds shortly, do try and discreetly slip inside BracSec without being seen. I do mean discreetly when I say it. The last thing I need is one of the idiot apprentices mistaking you for a trespasser."

"Done."

Knowing it wouldn't be safe to keep the line open for much longer, Jayna cut off the conversation and scrambled the channel to prevent the Empire from tracking who she had contacted. Her skills as a former Security Officer in training did come in handy from time to time.


Cal and Dia landed on Bracca at their designated rendezvous point with the transport ship, but they were greeted with nothing by silence when the duo managed to disentangle themselves long enough to step out of the latter's TIE Fighter. Who knew it would be so cramped inside? Clearly these were designed for one pilot only. Cal spent the entire trip crouched up in one of the corners while Dia piloted.

"Where is the transport ship?" Dia barked, turning to one of the Purge Troopers who was part of her squad.

The Purge Trooper pressed a hand against his helmet and whispered something, then turned to face the two.

"Apologies Third Sister, it would seem the transport has indeed landed in Bracca, but in a different section of the planet."

The Twi'lek Inquisitor ignited her lightsaber and pointed it at the terrified Purge Trooper.

"You have three seconds to tell me where the ship landed or your head will be severed from your neck."

The poor clone began barking into his communicator while Dia calmly swung her lightsaber in a circle, clearly maintaining her threat to detach said head from neck. Cal stood quietly to the side, a hand pressed against his abdomen while the other rubbed circles on his temple. His headache was getting worse and the aching cold from Vader's old wound acting up only served to upset his mood further.

"The ship landed in BracSec!" the Purge Trooper reported just as Dia raised her lightsaber in the air.

Dia deactivated her lightsaber and clipped it back on her belt.

"BracSec? Why would the ship land there..."

"We better go find out before she manages to escape and Lord Vader has our heads on a platter for this," Cal muttered, stomping his way back up to Dia's ship.


Once the ship was near the entrance to BracSec, Jayna ordered the Stormtrooper to drop her off before destroying the ship to prevent it from being tracked by the Empire. Only when she witnessed the ship blowing into pieces after ramming into a decommissioned Star Destroyer did she breathe marginally easier. Straightening out her clothes and brushing her hair back from her face, Jayna snuck her way into the building, making sure to avoid all the security droids and cameras placed throughout.

Stopping in front of her former bunk room shared with Bryna, she took several deep breaths and raised a hand to knock on the door.

Bryna answered on the first knock.

"Jayna! You crazy person!" Bryna yanked her friend into the room and quickly shut the door.

The two friends proceeded to hug each other like crazy while tears were shed. Bryna was the first to compose herself and pulled away long enough to give Jayna a look over, then smacked her on the head.

"You idiot! Do you have any idea how worried I was for you?" she said through her tears, crushing Jayna in another hug after.

"I'm sorry! I'm glad you're still willing to help despite me ditching you," Jayna said with a giggle.

A knock at the door interrupted the two's reunion and Jayna quickly hid behind the door while Bryna went to answer it. Standing on the other side was an apprentice Security Officer with a worried look on her face.

"Soren? What's going on?" Bryna didn't like the look given.

"We've been ordered to stand before the Inquisitors. Commander Torone tried to overrule it but her request was shot down so I came to get you."

"I see. I'll be there in a bit," Bryna assured, closing the door once Soren was out of sight.

Jayna shimmied her way out from behind the door with a worried expression upon her face. How did the Inquisitors find her so fast? More importantly, how did they realize she was in BracSec? The transport ship definitely blew up earlier...unless an Imperial Probe Droid caught sight of it and relayed the information back to the Empire.

"What am I going to do? They're gonna tear this place apart to look for me!" Jayna gripped Bryna's hands tightly in hers.

"Find Commander Torone. She'll know what to do, while the rest of us stall the Inquisitors for time."

"I can't let you risk that! Not after...after..." Jayna's shoulders dropped as she recalled how Kit sacrificed himself in an attempt to save her the first time the Inquisitors came to Bracca.

Her friend gave a reassuring squeeze of her hands.

"Don't worry. Now go find the Commander in her room! I already told her you'd be coming to see her," Bryna said, then she left the room while leaving Jayna to her thoughts.


Cal and the Third Sister arrived in time to see the neatly formed line of BracSec Security Officers waiting for them just as ordered. Supporting himself with one hand on the side of Dia's TIE Fighter, the Jedi removed his helmet and doubled over to empty the contents of his stomach. Being cramped in that small space aboard the ship combined with the pounding headache was enough to push him over the edge.

Once his stomach settled and the headache was finally starting to ebb away did Cal replace the helmet back on his head.

Dia was already barking at the Security Officers when he went back to join his partner.

"We've received knowledge that a prisoner has escaped to BracSec. This prisoner is a dangerous fugitive, a Force-sensitive human female who goes by the name of Jayna. If any of you reveal her whereabouts, you will be highly rewarded. Lie to us however, and you'll face the blade of my lightsaber."

Her lightsaber was ignited to prove her words as Dia began interrogating every officer down the line. Cal was quietly observing from behind when he noticed one of the officers shifting uncomfortably on her feet, her eyes darting to Dia and back again every so often. Realizing this girl might know something regarding Jayna's whereabouts, Cal went over to her while signaling for the Purge Troopers to stay where they were.

"You know where Jayna is don't you?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes immediately widened in shock.


Bracing herself for the not-so-sweet reunion between herself and Halas Torone, Jayna mustered up enough courage to knock on the door of her former mentor.

"Enter."

Jayna entered the room and found Halas sitting behind her desk, hunched over a pile of paperwork which needed attention. However, the moment Jayna stepped into her room, Halas paused in the signing of the document and looked up from the paper.

"Jayna Shan, I never thought I'd see you back on Bracca again."

"H-Hi," Jayna gave a nervous smile and wave.

Halas pushed herself back from the desk and got up to go over to her former apprentice. She studied the latter with her grey eyes, then bent and gave Jayna a big hug. Surprised by this reaction (she was expecting a yelling honestly), Jayna stood there dumbfounded, then her hands went around Halas' waist to return the favor.

"I'm so glad you're safe my child," Halas whispered.

"I'm sorry for quitting the corps. I should have remained as a Security Officer," Jayna said, feeling tears beginning to well up behind her eyes.

"Nonsense. You were always steadfast and strong-willed. I couldn't have kept you here if you were unhappy. Now, we have no time to lose my dear. I know the Inquisitors are searching for you."

"I know! I tried to lose them but a Probe Droid must have captured footage of the transport ship I was on and sent it back to the Empire!"

The older human woman sighed quietly under her breath.

Was this the right time to tell Jayna the truth of everything?

No.

She made a promise to only do so when the time was right.

This was definitely not the right time to do so.

Not with the Empire's Inquisitors here hunting for her. If her true heritage was revealed...the Emperor will no doubt do whatever it takes to get Jayna back into his grasp. For now she'll have to rely on several friends to take Jayna off Bracca and off the Empire's radar.

She'll have to contact Cere Junda.


"You know where Jayna is, don't you?" Cal asked quietly.

"No! I don't know who this Jayna is," the officer rebutted.

Spying the tool belt around her waist, Cal removed one of his gloves and reached out to touch it, experiencing a Force Echo the moment his skin made contact with the belt. The Third Sister noticed the commotion that was going on further down the line and went to stand beside her partner, waiting impatiently for him to snap out of the vision he was witnessing.

"Did you see anything?" the Twi'lek inquired.

Cal yanked his glove back on and shook his head. "No, the Force Echo showed nothing but a bunch of useless images," he said in a low voice.

"We'll just have to do this the hard way then," Dia grumbled, stalking back off towards the middle of the line.

The female officer gave him a questioning look, prompting Cal to lean down and whisper something in her ear.

"Thank you for revealing Jayna's whereabouts."

Then he ignited his lightsaber and thrust the end into the officer's chest.


To be continued...

Cal! What have you done!?

-cue Imperial March theme- Thus begins Cal's descent of madness into the Dark Side of the Force...ehehehehehehe

He's not doing this willingly.

Vader's influence is starting to take a toll on Cal's mental health.

Don't worry though, the title of this story is called Redemption for a reason ;D

Next chapter will feature an intense battle between Jayna and Cal/Dia

Now I'm not the best at writing battle scenes, so bear with me while I try to use as much descriptive imagery as possible to bring the scene to life lol

Until next time!

Celsius Fate~

Also, shout out to ToryTigress92 for letting me use Jayna as a regular character in my story now. She grew on me and I have plans for her x3

This is still a Cal/Merrin story, so don't worry if you think I'm replacing Merrin with Jayna lol.