Chapter Eight: The Zeffo Homeworld
When Kairi finally walked out of her bedroom, Cal and Cere briefed her on what will be happening for now, since they were concerned about her reconnection with the Force. But Kairi repeatedly told them that she would be okay after what had happened between her and the holocron earlier.
With it out of the way, the crew were on their way to their first stop which is the planet Zeffo.
Arriving above the planet after jumping out of hyperspace, the crew can see a storm brewing down below.
"There's a storm down below. This may not be the perfect time to land." Greez stated as Kairi was using her left hand to hold her lightsaber while drawing it in her journal, since she was still under a protective eye.
"Something's strange. Those winds are interfering with our comms." Cere responded as Kairi looked up for a few seconds, before shading in her lightsaber drawing.
"Hey, Cordova mentioned something about peace in the eye of the storm. Well I can just make out a settlement in the middle of it." Cal explained before Kairi put away her journal before standing behind Cal and Greez.
"Then we have to get there." Cere responded.
"Copy that." Greez replied as Kairi had her hands on the back of Cal's seat. "Jeez, kid. You've scared me there." He responded after seeing the 16 year old who was finally standing up.
"Sorry." Kairi apologized.
"Go sit back down, Kairi." Cal responded.
"But I'm boooored!" Kairi whined as she pouted, before she felt the Mantis taking in turbulence as Cal and Kairi held onto the chair.
"Couple bumps ain't going to hurt you. Not unless the wind picks up… You okay, peanut?" Greez responded as he quietly said the last part, which BD-1 and Cal heard.
"Peanut?!" Kairi asked as she felt offended.
BD-1 beeped a few times as Cal and Kairi looked at him.
"Can you tell that bucket of bolts to keep his opinion to himself?" Greez responded.
"At least I'm not little to him." Kairi muttered with her arms crossed.
"You okay, Kai?" Cal asked as he looked at her from behind.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I just want to get off the Mantis already." Kairi stated before she held onto Cal's chair with both hands.
"Alright, alright, hold on. Hold on!" Greez responded as Cal and Kairi looked back at the Latero who was landing the ship in the middle of the storm.
Everyone was holding on as they waited for Greez to land before he finally did which was a little bit rough, causing Kairi to fall down.
"Oww!" Kairi moaned, before standing back up.
"Ha! Perfect landing. Greezy money, baby." Greez responded while Kairi was rubbing her behind before walking away from the front of the Mantis.
"But I'm still getting a lot of interference on the comms. It's going to take a minute to get them back up." Cere explained.
"Me and Kairi will search for signs for Cordova in the meantime." Cal responded as he stood up from his seat while BD-1 climbed onto his back while Greez let down the ramp.
Kairi was the first one to step out of the Mantis as she could feel the cold sprinkling rain and wind blowing through her hair. A smile curled up on Kairi as she went on ahead and looked around the hangar area where the crew landed before Cal was stopped by Cere who called on him.
"Listen, I'm still worried about Kairi. You better keep an eye on her." Cere stated.
"Kairi is doing just fine. She looks better already. All she needed to do was meditate." Cal explained as BD-1 turned to his left to see Kairi who had her tongue out to taste the cold sprinkling rain.
"I know. But this is not normal for any other Jedi. Even though Rin Sotah had her as his Padawan, I believe that he is hiding something about her. I'm not saying this just to offend her, Cal. Don't tell her this." Cere responded.
"I won't, Cere." Cal stated.
"Cal, BD-1, come on!" Kairi called out from outside.
"You better get going. Remember what I said." Cere responded.
After leaving the Mantis, Cal saw Kairi coming towards the 19 year old Jedi Padawan with a brown and white oversized poncho that she was wearing over her small body.
"Look what I found… But it's too big for me." Kairi responded with a smile.
Cal smiled back before Kairi removed it off of her and decided to put it on him instead.
"Now, you look like a Jedi, Cal." Kairi responded as Cal looked at the design, before agreeing with the younger Jedi.
"Maybe I should find you one next time. How about a pink one?" Cal suggested.
"Eww, I don't like pink." Kairi replied as she was disgusted about the color choice. "I like red, blue and purple, those are my favorites, Cal." She explained.
"You are one funny girl for a Jedi." Cal responded as he chuckled.
"I'm not that silly. Tell him, BD." Kairi responded before looking at the bi pedal droid with her arms crossed.
BD-1 beeped and trilled as he disagreed with Kairi, leaving a pouting face on the younger Jedi Padawan as Cal laughed at Kairi's reaction.
"One day, If we really find a pink poncho, I'm burning it in front of you." Kairi stated, before the two started walking towards the hanger garage as they saw locked crates which half were from the Zeffo homeworld and some from the Empire.
BD-1 jumped off Cal's back and began to scan them.
"He's such a curious little droid." Kairi responded, before BD-1 beeped happily as jumped back on Cal's back, causing the 16 year old Jedi Padawan to pat his head.
"Good job, BD-1." Cal complimented, before heading towards the door on the north side of the garage which he found out that it was locked on the other side.
But when he started walking away from it, Cal can hear a few blasters firing off before putting his ear towards the door.
"Someone else attacked it?!"
"Kill the beast!"
Stormtroopers were on the other side of the door as Cal thought the planet was abandoned for quite some time, but it looks like the Empire had caught up with them.
"Cal? You okay?" Kairi asked as she was concerned while looking back at the open chest where she found the poncho to start looking for scrap parts.
"Yeah. I'm alright. We should get going, Kai. The door's locked." Cal answered as he walked away from the locked door and stood next to Kairi once she was done looking through the chest.
The two left the hangar garage as they found a path which could lead around it, until they both could see that there were two creatures fighting over a Stormtrooper's dead body with their sharp teeth.
"Oh my. That's something you don't see everyday." Kairi responded as she continued watching the two creatures fighting over the dead body.
Cal walked ahead as he was balancing on a beam before he made it to the other side with Kairi behind him.
Pulling out his lightsaber, Kairi did the same as well before running alongside with the ginger haired Jedi Padawan.
"Watch out you two. They don't look very friendly." Cal warned before BD-1 stayed low behind his back as Kairi kicked one of them in the face, causing the creature to jump back.
Cal was taking care of the other one, before it snarled and jumped towards him, nearly getting Kairi in the head with its teeth.
"Be careful, Kairi!" Cal exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I got this." Kairi responded as she only looked away for a few seconds until the creature that was she fighting with, launched himself toward the younger Jedi Padawan closed its teeth around her right hand and lightsaber. "Let go!" She retorted, before she won the small tug of war and sliced the creature's head off.
Breathing in and out through her mouth, Kairi turned to face Cal who had already taken out the other one with an overhead slice.
"You okay?" Cal asked, before checking on her right hand.
"Yeah. He didn't bite me. What about you?" Kairi questioned back, as BD-1 started scanning the dead creatures to find out that they were called Spazz Rats.
"It's you that I'm worried about it. Are you sure? Nothing bleeding or whatever?" Cal asked as he checked over Kairi to make sure that her clothes weren't ripped or torn off during the fight.
"I'm fine, Cal. You cannot be this worried about me. I can handle it. See?" Kairi responded before tossing her lightsaber up in the air, and she caught it while putting it up. "Still the same Kairi. Aahh!" She stated, before her foot accidentally stepped onto the dead Stormtrooper's body, causing her to scream out loud, thinking that it came out of the ground.
"Yeah. That's something I can agree on." Cal responded as he laughed, after when Kairi ran and hid behind the ginger haired Jedi.
"Can it, Kestis!" Kairi spatted as she had her blushing and pouting at the same time while looking down at the dead Stormtrooper's body which BD-1 already scanned.
"Cal? Kairi? Can you hear me?" Cere's voice was heard from both of the Jedi's comm links, before Kairi turned the volume down on hers.
"Loud and clear." Kairi answered.
"The Empire. They found Zeffo." Cal responded as he and Kairi were looking around for another way.
"If they would have found us. They would have been swarming the Mantis by now." Cere explained as Cal started walking ahead.
When Kairi started to walk, she can hear a faint beeping noise coming from the ground. As she stopped walking, Kairi slowly got down onto the ground while having her left ear listening out to where it was coming from.
"Could they be looking for the-" Cal started to say as Kairi can hear the beeping noise getting faster until… a loud explosion was heard causing Cal to yell out in pain and BD-1 trilled in fright.
As Kairi moved away, she caught BD-1 who landed in her arms before checking on the bi pedal droid who immediately latched onto her.
"You okay, BD? That scared you, didn't it?" Kairi asked as she was looking for Cal within the dust.
BD-1 trilled as Kairi kept him close.
"Kairi? Cal! What happened?!" Cere called out as she can hear Cal's comm link nearby before she found the 19 year old Jedi Padawan laying face down in the dirt along with a few dead Spazz Rats.
"Cal? Are you okay? Cal!" Kairi cried loudly while turning his body over…
20 BBY...
"Padawan. What do you Jedi Healers like you do if we were in the middle of a battlefield where one of our Jedi comrades were down?" Rin Sotah questioned as 10 year old Kairi had her lightsaber out after deflecting a few blaster bullets at the clone troopers who were wounded.
"Immediately run to them and take care of them?" Kairi answered.
"Almost. But first, you must investigate the situation first. If the enemy is down, look around to find a safe area and take care of the wounded. Do not abuse this special power, Kairi. This is part of your training." Rin Sotah explained after fixing his black face mask.
Kairi nodded after putting away her lightsaber while looking around the training area for anyone who could probably attack her. Once she found out that the area was clear, Kairi ran to the nearest clone trooper before dragging him behind cover.
"Where does it hurt?" Kairi asked.
The clone trooper pointed to his arm before Kairi had her hands hovering above the wound as she closed her eyes. When her forehead symbol glowed, Kairi opened her eyes to see magik coming out her hands to heal the clone trooper's arm.
"Thank you, Kairi." The clone trooper responded after Kairi let him move his arm.
"Stay here." Kairi stated, before investigating the area once again as another one of the clone troopers started firing his blaster at the 10 year old.
Hiding behind cover before running out of it, Kairi pulled out her lightsaber as she managed to deflect back the blaster bullets in different directions before heading towards the second cover on her left side.
"Good, Kairi. Now, one question. If someone like you is down in the field, what do you do?" Rin Sotah asked as he kept his blue eyes on Kairi who was behind the second cover.
"Stay behind cover and alert others for help." Kairi responded.
"In this case, you can heal on your own. But it will take time. Sometimes the Force may not allow you to heal if you fear death. Do not fear. Feel the Force around you. And I'm sure that your healing magik can work…"
Present Time
"Do not fear. Feel the Force around you. And your special ability may work…" Kairi whispered as she had her hands hovering over Cal's chest.
BD-1 beeped in confusion as he was looking at Kairi and back at her hands.
"Shhhh…" Kairi shushed the bi pedal droid quietly as he shined a light on Cal.
Her silver eyes were closed as Kairi used the Force to reawaken her healing ability. As she can hear the silence of her being inside of the small cave, Kairi felt the Force coming to her once her forehead symbol started to glow along with her hands.
Opening her eyes which appeared a glowing green color, Kairi concertaited on Cal while BD-1 was shining a light down onto Cal's face, before hearing small moans escaping the older Jedi Padawan's mouth.
Cal slowly opened his emerald green eyes as his vision was blurry at first, before it became much clearer. Kairi was the first person who he saw after blinking his eyes a few times as he can tell that Kairi was healing him.
The ginger haired Jedi Padawan looked down at his chest to see Kairi's small hands that were covered in a green glow which was strange for Cal to see.
But somehow, he knew that wasn't the Force.
It was something more… dark.
As he was slowly healing, Cal reached out and rested his hand on Kairi's cheek, which made her break out of her healing trance with her silver eyes widened in shock.
"Cal?" Kairi responded quietly, as she was still in shock to feel his hand touching her check.
It wasn't something that Cal had never done before.
It felt different.
His hand was warm and the side of her face gently rested upon it, causing her to smile inside before feeling his thumb rubbing her cheek and his long fingers touching her ear.
Feeling something cold touching her earlobe, Kairi remembered that she had one of her blue teardrop earrings on her right ear as Cal lightly touched it.
"How… how do you feel?" Kairi asked.
Cal removed his hand from Kairi's face, before he slowly raised his upper body with the 16 year old's help.
"What happened? I was just talking to Cere and then…" Cal started to explain as he noticed that they were in the dark cave near the hanger garage.
"The Empire had thermal bombs planted underneath. I managed to drag you inside. But I had to use the Force to help me." Kairi explained.
"What was that, Kairi? That wasn't the Force… It felt different. Something more dark." Cal asked while having his hand on his chest where his poncho and chest armor was covering it.
"When I was a Youngling… I found out that I have this gift to heal. I think I told Master Yoda about it and he was surprised by it. Or maybe… you probably remember how some of the other Younglings were bullying me about it." Kairi explained as she gently helped Cal put his poncho on.
"They should have never teased you for that. It's a gift." Cal responded before Kairi looked down at her small hands.
"Yeah. I guess so." Kairi replied, before she helped Cal stand up until they heard BD-1 beeping from above. They can see him standing on top of a crate as he was telling the two Jedi to meet up with him. "Okay, we're coming, BD." She responded as Kairi used her lightsaber to illuminate the path that BD-1 took inside of the cave, before she noticed that Cal stopped following her.
"Cal?" Kairi responded quietly as she noticed that Cal was getting an echo from the ripped up fabric.
"A mother used the fabric to keep her child warm. They were on the run from something." Cal explained as he stood up and faced Kairi.
"I hope they're okay. The mother and the baby. Is there a possibility we might get to meet them?" Kairi asked as Cal followed the young Jedi.
"Could be. This planet has been abandoned for so long. It probably belongs to the Empire." Cal answered, before they were climbing up the platforms until they saw BD-1 on top of a stim crate.
"Hey, a stim crate." Kairi responded as BD-1 chirped in agreement.
"Wait, can you carry more?" Cal asked after picking up a stim.
BD-1 beeped in agreement, before he pulled out a small tray for Cal to place the stim inside.
"Thanks, BD-1." Cal responded after closing the small tray.
BD-1 trilled happily before jumping back onto Cal's back.
"So, me and BD-1 have the healing touch?" Kairi asked.
"You are correct. But for now, we're going to stims. We will only use your healing ability in case of an emergency." Cal explained after jumping down.
"Alright then." Kairi responded before following Cal out of the cave.
As Kairi followed Cal, she remembered how Iris told her that her special ability from the Force could come in handy during the adventure, knowing that she was still a Jedi Padawan. But to her knowledge, Kairi was less experienced since its been 5 years when her master died and only knew so little in only two years of her training. Deep down, she wishes to know more about herself but the time will come when Iris believes that she is ready.
Making it to the other side of the hanger garage, Kairi immediately pulled out her lightsaber as she saw a few Spazz Rats sauntering away.
"Here, I got this." Kairi responded before walking ahead of Cal until the ginger haired Jedi Padawan heard a few blaster bullets firing.
"Kairi, no!" Cal called out before pulling Kairi back when he used his lightsaber to deflect a blaster bullet back at one of the Stormtroopers who noticed Kairi.
"Enemy spotted!"
"We just lost one!"
Kairi was in shock as she didn't know that there were Stormtroopers ahead as her widened eyes went to Cal's green ones.
"Stay here." Cal informed before he walked out from behind the building and started deflecting the blaster bullets back at the rest of the Stormtroopers while Kairi watched.
Once the coast was clear, Kairi walked out of cover and stood next to Cal while putting away her lightsaber.
"You have to be more careful, Kai. You could have been killed." Cal explained as Kairi looked up at him.
"I know. It's just been… so long. Deep down, those troopers used to help us. And now, they worked for the Empire. I wish there was some way I can change them." Kairi explained, before looking down at her hands.
"I don't think your healing hands would work on them. Of course, it did save me." Cal responded, as Kairi was still looking down at her hands.
"Yeah… I could have Prauf back on Bracca, Cal…" Kairi whispered before covering up her ears, hearing Prauf's last words in her mind along with her and Cal's yelling towards their fallen friend who acted like a father figure to them. "Prauf, no!" She cried as she quickly fell to her knees with her eyes closed.
Cal immediately got on his knees and started comforting the 16 year old Jedi Padawan by rubbing her back and even whispering quietly to her after when her sobbing stopped.
When she opened her eyes, her arms immediately went around Cal as she hid her face in his chest.
"Listen, it was never your fault. We all make mistakes in life, Kairi. We have to learn to move on from the past. We can't stay in the past forever. We have to think about the future. Think about our freedom. Think about the Force Sensitive children on the list who could probably stop the Empire. Kairi… this is our only chance." Cal explained as he rubbed Kairi's back before BD-1 rested his head on top of Kairi's short black hair in a comforting way.
'Kairi… if I was to ever leave you defenseless without a lightsaber or not have you as my Padawan anymore, what would you do?' Rin Sotah asked after calming down once he found Young Kairi who was outside of her room on the ship.
'You won't leave me, Master Sotah. I heard you have a soft heart. Master Kenboi told me about how you fought off a Jedi turned Sith who used to be a Padawan of yours. And beside, I know deep down you went through so much. Even losing an eye and your left arm during the Clone Wars, I still think you're a great Master to have.' Young Kairi explained as she was watering her terrarium without looking back at Rin Sotah.
"Is that so?" Rin Sotah asked.
"Yeah. Back at the Jedi Temple, I was bullied because of my healing ability and my shyness. Until I've met Cal Kestis. I hope one day me and him will go on an adventure once we become Jedi Knights." Kairi responded before pulling out a packet of Jogan fruit seeds.
"Padawan. We've talked about this. You cannot have attachments. Those are the rules of a Jedi. Those who have broken the rules will be expelled from the Jedi Order. And those who are expelled will be shamed. No Padawan of mine will not do that. Understand?" Rin Sotah explained as Kairi was making a small hole to put the Jogan fruit seed in before pouring water over them.
"Yes… Yes, Master." Kairi responded quietly as she felt disappointed...
Kairi let Cal go as she stood up and started walking again.
As Kairi was walking behind Cal, she was looking up at him as the wind went through his ginger red hair before hiding her blushing face with both hands on her cheeks.
"I don't know why I care about Cal so much in the past. I can't have attachments. It could lead to fear, hate, anger and suffering. But… what is this shy feeling I have when I'm around him? Master Sotah… Iris… what is this called?"