Jedi: Lost Order

by Gearman

It's been a week since Cal made the decision to leave the fate of the galaxy's know force sensitive children to the Force. If they cannot train the next generation of Jedi, Cal and friends must preserve what's left of the last generation. But can Cal protect the last remnants of the light as the darkness reigns supreme? Or will he fall like so many others in a galaxy far far away.

2. Window Shopping

"He's hunting a Jedi?" Cal asked as his heart skipped a beat as his fingers turned white from gripping his light saber so hard.

"What do you mean by that?" Trilla asked, her tone measured and concise. "Has he fallen in with the inquisition?"

"Oh no, the day that boy wears an imperial uniform, or follows orders for that matter, will be the day entropy extinguishes the stars." The younger of the two Blackfire daughters, Verona, said letting coiling streamers of smoke escape her lips with every word. "Unfortunately, he takes after me and I don't play well with authority figures of any kind. Especially the Empire."

"Are you his mother?" Merrin asked.

"No." The older sister, Valla, barked with a cold fury practically bursting from her lips to cut her sister off. "Kathis is my son."

"Kathis?" Cal said as his gaze shifted between the two women. "The same Kathis this station is named for?"

"I'm sure you of all people can appreciate the advantages of the galaxy thinking you're dead Cal." Moira said cackling. "For reasons far above your pay grade Kathis' death was faked when he was young and fostered in hiding on Karro's sister moon Northtier by his lovely aunt here."

"Family drama and subterfuge aside." Trilla said. "If he's not working with the Empire than why is this Kathis of yours hunting a Jedi?"

"Ever since he was a toddler, Row…Kathis has been fascinated by the world around him." Verona explained. "Be it technical, philosophic, or even meta physical Kathis is obsessed with unraveling the mysteries of the galaxy. By the age of ten he was tearing apart droids and slicing the school libraries on Northtier to get at the more advanced data tapes. It's turned him into one of the finest young engineers I've ever known, but in the last few years something woke a thirst in Rowan. A thirst to know and to understand something that no school library could teach him about."

"The Force." Cal said, sure his guest was right.

"There's the Jedi insight I've heard so much about." Moira said as her lips pulled back into an amused smile. "Around his fifteenth birthday Kathis began a study of the Force, namely the myth and rumor surrounding the Jedi, but using our less official assets he began amassing quite a little collection of odds and ends from sources that the Jedi had no hand in. Sadly, that was the same year as the purge and for the family's protection I had anything that could be connected to the Jedi and their ilk locked away in the family vaults."

"I'm assuming that didn't sit well with him." Cal said watching the old woman as his mind processed the information.

"No, it didn't." Valla spoke for her mother. "Kathis, despite our best efforts, had been wasting away here in Hellara for years before the purge of the Jedi. Once he was denied an avenue of research it only became worse I'm afraid. He lingered here for four standard years after the purge, hopping from university to university in an attempt to satiate his mind. Then a year ago, on the morning of his nineteenth birthday, we discovered that he…."

"Stole my best ship and slipped off like he owned it!" Verona barked. "That scruffy little gearhead and his posse stole my Cinnamon Wind, an entirely custom ship that is irreplaceable I might add. By the time we knew what was going on he had already disappeared into the black of space."

"Wait, it's been a year since he left?" Cal asked. "Why are you just now sending someone after him?"

"Oh my Cal, why didn't we think too send someone after him?" Moira asked as she crossed her eyes and tapped her head before reverting back to mild bemusement. "My grandson grew up in the scrap yards of Northtier, fighting gang wars with the other children for the fun of it. He knows how to hide, how to bide his time, and most of all how to press an advantage."

"Sounds like he'd make a decent terrorist." Trilla said bluntly and Cal noted how she almost seemed to relish Valla and Verona's icy reactions to the assessment.

"Precisely why it's imperative that you lovely young people find him and drag him back to Karro for safe keeping." Moira said threading her fingers together. "Kathis isn't the type to become a revolutionary, he's entirely too cynical to serve a greater cause, but if say an Empire force is in possession of something he wants..."

"Then he's going to try and get it." Cal finished. "No matter the cost I'm assuming."

"So quick on the uptake you are Cal." Moira cooed, her green eyes gleaming in the light of a holo display. "Which is why you are perfect for this job my boy! I believe that you and your pretty crew mates behind you have what it takes to not only find Kathis, but to apprehend him as well."

"You said he was hunting a Jedi." Merrin asked, her eyes watching the old woman with a predator's wariness. "How do you know that if a year has passed since you had contact with him?"

"Three weeks ago, we received this from a contact in the Corvex system who lost Kathis just after he made a purchase from a smuggler." Moira said as the hologram changed to another inventory list. "Tell me children, what about that list stands out to you?"

The trio looked over the list for a moment. Merrin recognized that it listed five weapons, all melee weapons, while Cal and Trilla recognized that the list detailed both Imperial and separatist weapons. Then Trilla reached forward and scrolled through the list again as an idea crept into her mind. Just as it materialized she looked at Cal and he nodded.

"All of these, from the electrostaffs to the shock batons are light saber resistant." Cal said.

"Sharp as a tack these children are." Moira said her smile turning more satisfied than vicious. "All of those weapons are made with Phrik alloy, a metal that is almost indestructible when properly forged. One of the greatest secrets of the now dismantled Techno Union, most commonly used in melee weapons meant to do combat with a Jedi. Today, almost every source of Phrik metal is tightly controlled by the Empire save for what weapons can be salvaged or stolen. We have reason to believe that this transaction is just one of at least half a dozen similar purchases judging by our sightings of him."

"He's not just hunting a Jedi." Cal said looking Moira in the eyes. "He's preparing to fight one too."

"Implies that he's got a credible lead, does it not?" Moira asked as the hologram blinked out. "Tell me Cal, don't you think that tracking down my grandson might also net you the chance to find a comrade in hiding? Seems like it would be the perfect bonus to the already considerable payment I'm offering you."

"You're not really giving me a choice." Cal said as he started the old woman down.

"On the contrary." Moira said pressing a button on the desk. "I just deleted the tracking data for the Mantis and called off our hunters. As of this moment, you and your crew are free to go about your merry way. It is said that all great partnerships are started with a show of trust, so I'm going to ask you take this job, as a favor to an old woman who simply want's her grandchild to come home. You can refuse if you like, but if my terms are acceptable..."

Moira produced a data chit from her sleeve and held it out to Cal.

"Take this data chit, within is a dossier on Kathis, the Cinnamon Wind, and the location of possibly the last Techno union Astro Forge not under Imperial control." Moira offered. "That is where Kathis must go if he wants to reforge the Phrik, and that is your best lead to finding him."

Cal looked at the data chit and then back up to Moira's dark green eyes. They were filled with certainty, as if the decision had already been made. She was probably lying, there was no way someone like her would simply throw away leverage like that. Though that didn't matter if her offer was genuine, a ship filled to the brim with possibly the last free pieces of Force user history, his for the taking.

A chance to preserve some of the Jedi's legacy was staring him in the face and he knew he couldn't just refuse it. The spirit of the Jedi and the Force had to be preserved at all costs, because Moira had to be right. One day the Empire would wane and the galaxy would need a connection to the past that was lost during the purge. Because as long as these artifacts and texts existed the Empire would never truly win.

With a sigh he stepped forward and took the data chit from Moira.

"There's a good lad." Moira said as she sunk back into the chair. "Now, who wants some stew?"

Somewhere in the depths of Imperial space…

The broken man sat in his meditation chamber. His life was pain, both the agonizing physical pain of his suit and broken body as well as the deeper more potent internal pain that the physical distracted from. He relished that physical pain, told himself that it fueled his connection to the dark side, but deep down he knew that it was nothing compared to agony burned into his soul. No amount of physical pain could ever come close to guilt, grief, and self hate coiling like a rotting sun at his core.

Part of him knew that is where his true power lay. A dark fuel so potent that it could possibly amplify his powers to what they were...before. He could still hear hear the sorrow in her voice as his power clenched around her throat, still see his eyes gazing down from the high ground filled with grief, and he could still feel the weight of the saber as it cut down the future of the Jedi temple. All of it was as fresh as a wound, bleeding toxic blackness into every cell only tempered by the physical pain of his suit. Not for the first time, the broken man wondered what would happen if he upgraded his macabre armor?

Then his mind wandered not to the past, but to the present. To the image of the red headed Jedi, his fallen companion, and the inquisitor turned back to the light, at least for the moment. He pressed a button on his chair and the image of the Jedi appeared. The Jedi stared at him with a hopeful resolve in his eyes. It amused the Broken Man, well, as much as he could be amused in his state.

"Such hope." The Broken Man said as he stared down at the Jedi. "Anakin Skywalker had hope once too."

A low beeping came from his chair and the Broken Man activated his comms.

"Why am I being disturbed?" He asked.

"Forgive the intrusion my lord." A nervous sounding crewman said over the intercom. "But we have received new intelligence from the Inquisition's spies. Reports of someone commissioning light saber parts on a rim world."

"Then the hunt begins again." The Broken Man said. "Contact the Inquisitorius immediately. Tell them to send a scouting force to the planet. If an inquisitor can be spared then tell them to send one."

"We will not be joining them there, my lord?"

"No, I have more important matters to attend to than chasing a single rumor on the outer rim." The Broken Man said. "If they find anything of interest or catch the scent of a Jedi they will inform me. Send my orders immediately...and make sure these orders are only told directly to those they concern. No others no matter their clearance."

"Yes, my lord." The crewman said as the comm line went dead.

The Broken Man pressed another button and sat back as his helmet was lowered to seal around his head. A familiar taste of recycled air and bacta mist filled his mouth and he tensed as the suit sealed completely sending tremors of pain through his body. Metal screws rotated into their sockets and an electric anguish sizzled through every nerve as the suit sealed. When the process was done, he stood and slipped his light saber to his belt and turned to leave.

Vader had work to do.

"I was right." Trilla said as she stared at the static image of Kathis, a quizzically confident looking young man dressed in street finery, on the holo table. "He's a terrorist."

"I'd hardly call him a terrorist." Cere said as she looked over the dossier on a data pad. "Kathis cut his teeth chewing on the small time syndicates threatening the factory he grew up in. Spent most of his teens leveraging assets and improvised weapons to push out or dismantle any other operation. Yet the boy doesn't have a reputation for killing his enemies. Says something about him."

"No, he just wounds them." Merrin said as she changed the display to the image of a bar filled with incapacitated people, almost all of them sporting shattered limbs and deep cuts. "Mother used to say that pain was a better teacher than death any day."

"He's dangerous I'll give him that." Cal said as he looked at the holo display. "Northtier's trains every child in basic close quarters combat, part of a compulsory military they keep up to fight off tribal raids, and it seems Kathis here made a name for himself as an enforcer. There are dozens of examples in his school records alone where Bullies, Teachers, and local officials tried to strong arm him only for their houses to burn down or their possessions to suddenly end up on the planet's grey market."

"So we're dealing with an intelligent and skilled proto crime boss dead set on hunting down a Jedi for no other obvious reason than to sate his curiosity." Trilla said with a dark chuckle. "We're missing something it seems. I've hunted men like this image of Kathis of Kathis we've been given, usually rich third sons thinking they're going an adventure of a life time hunting down a myth, but this one is different. Do we know anything of the Jedi he's hunting?"

"No, the dossier details some of the intelligence from the Blackfire's trackers, but most of it's conjecture." Cere said. "It's the same rumors that haunt every cantina and slum brothel in the core worlds. Whispers of Mace Windu or Yoda in hiding waiting for the day when the Jedi will rise again. Most if not all of it is nonsense."

"The way you speak, you think these Blackfires are lying about this Kathis?" Merrin asked, raising an eyebrow at Trilla.

"Not lying perse." Trilla said looking at the night sister. "I believe most of the information they've given us is true, but something, call it intuition call it the Force, tells me we don't know the whole story. Who he's hunting is just as important as why he's hunting them in my opinion."

"I agree." Merrin said nodding. "This Kathis, from what I have seen in these records, is not someone who moves without purpose. Even if he is curious about the Force, I do not believe he would be so stupid to risk drawing the Empire's attention to himself without good reason to do so. Perhaps, we are part of a greater game than we know."

"You know, just once I'd like to start a mission with all the cards on the table." Greez said rubbing his temples as he considered the holo image.

"Beep!" BD-1 agreed from his perch on the holotable.

"Where's the fun in that?" Cal asked before dialing in the coordinates of the Astro Forge into the holo table. "Listen, I know we're going into this without all the information, but I think it's worth the risk. Besides this planet we're going to, Murtock, is a fringe planet that the Empire barely knows exist. Beyond the space port it's a planet where slug throwers are still the most popular weapon."

"Slug thrower?" Merrin asked.

"It's a weapon that uses a small powder based explosion to propel a ball of shaped metal through the air." Cere explained. "Pretty popular among worlds where blaster tech is too expensive to import."

"Hm." Merrin said as she considered the idea.

"How long until we reach Murtock?" Trilla asked Greez.

"It's a bit of an out of the way planet, but I can get us there in three days if I use some of the smaller hyper lanes." Greez said scratching his chin. "If we want to be really sneaky add another day onto that to switch between some of the lesser known lanes."

"Do it." Cal said. "I don't want any unnecessary risks even if it costs us time. That'll give me more time to heal up and for us to come up with a plan."

"Sounds good to me." Greez said before turning to Cere. "Cere, you think you can beam some communications in transit? I've got some favors to call in for some info, if this Kathis is really as good as we think then there's a chance he's crossed paths with some old "friends" of mine."

"Of course Greez." Cere said. "I re tuned the comms dish I a few days ago. Tighter beam with a longer range."

With that the crew dispersed each readying themselves for the mission ahead.

Later that day…

Cal's mind floated freely into the void that was meditation. Once, not too long ago, meditation was a stressful experience. Where his nightmares waited to bubble to life like a horrible black sludge drowning him. Now though, after all he'd been through and learned since taking up his new saber he carried his trauma not as a burden but a companion. He defined it not the other way around, and in the great sea that was the Force it was just another piece of cargo he carried through life. Just another part of himself that was not greater than the whole but a part of it.

As his mind floated there he became aware of something else moving through the world around him. A thin green outline, a silhouette carved from flickering emeralds, that appeared kneeling in front of him. The silhouette's face barely an inch from his face, Cal could feel a cautious curiosity as the silhouette considered him. With a cautious look behind it's shoulder the silhouette reached up and brushed a stray bit of hair out of Cal's face, and for a moment the silhouette was rendered in perfect clarity. It was Merrin he realized as her features faded away back to her silhouette in the Force.

Though he could have easily slipped out of his meditative state, Cal forced himself not to react. In the distance he felt his heart beat quicken and a slight bit of heat rose from his chest to warm his cheeks as Merrin watched his expressionless face. She stood and went to sit on his bed, yet her eyes never left him. Cal really had no idea what she was doing, or why she had this effect on him even while meditating. He respected Merrin, after what she endured on Dathomir she deserved that much, but there was also something else about her that he couldn't quite place. Every time he looked at her he felt something niggle at him. Some alien feeling caught somewhere between affection and utter panic.

The moment they'd shared on Bogano only muddled the waters more. She'd been healing his wounds and her power had...connected them somehow. It was exhilarating, being so close to another sapient being like that. For those eternal moments, Cal felt Merrin more than he could see her, and what he felt was intoxicating. Every breath she took, the goose bumps on her skin, and the way her eyes glowed had transfixed him as he was healed. She was a work of art, a power so alien and yet somehow familiar that Cal's mind wasn't equipped to deal with the emotions that connection incited. Not for the first time, he longed for the simple days when the Jedi's rules made the world make sense and he didn't have to worry about his feelings for an amazingly capable nightsister.

A moment or two passed, and Cal slipped from the sea of the Force and back into his body. His eyes opened and sure enough Merrin was sitting on his bed considering him. The two looked at each other for a long moment. Cal was still partially in the trance of meditation and just allowed himself to dumbly stare at Merrin until she tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something on my face?" Merrin asked.

"No." Cal said, his cheeks burning as the last dregs of meditative calm evaporated. "I was just, uh, lost in thought."

"About what?" Merrin asked.

"Jedi stuff." Cal said dumbly.

"Well, that's...good." Merrin said as a slight smile played across her lips. "May I ask you something Cal?"

"Uh...sure." Cal said.

"What was it like..." Merrin trailed off as she stared off into a memory before continuing. "What was it like when you realized that the universe was bigger than your home?"

"Um, that's a bit of a broad question." Cal said as he joined her on the bed. "What makes you ask?"

"I lived all of my days on Dathomir." Merrin explained. "I had heard tales of the tribes of sisters scattered across the planet and of course heard the rumors of far flung worlds filled with things no nightsister could ever hope to imagine. Yet, none of those tales or rumors ever felt real. To me, the stars held nothing but a place in night's sky and Dathomir always felt like the only true place in existence. Now though, so far away from mother Dathomir, I find that the universe is full of true places and far more complicated than I could have dreamed. Part of me is...I don't know how to say it any other way, but part of me is afraid."

"Afraid?" Cal asked scooting closer.

"Yes, silly I know, but as I learn more of the galaxy, see more of it, I'm afraid that Dathomir will become small in my mind." Merrin said. "The realization that my home is just another planet orbiting a star orbiting alongside trillions of others is humbling. In a scary way."

"I understand." Cal said scooting until he was less than an inch from her. "You know, I'm embarrassed about it now, but when I first left atmosphere on a ship I could barely stand up I was so scared."

"Really?" Merrin asked. "You were scared of space?"

"Terrified." Cal admitted with a chuckle. "They tell you it's nothing to be afraid of, that fear is the enemy of the Jedi especially fear of something that millions do every day, but for some reason that first trip scared me. I was so scared that I staid back when the other younglings were all gawking at the view as we made an orbit around the planet."

"Did you stay back?" Merrin said.

"For a while I did." Cal said looking at her. "But after a few minutes I caught sight of the planet below us and saw just how big it was. So big that I couldn't even see the temple anymore. Suddenly this place I'd spent my whole life was reduced to a slightly bigger speck among a million other specks. It only made me more afraid to be honest, up there in space on a ship I was unfamiliar with and only the other younglings around as familiar faces I felt lost. Then I saw it, the sun shining on the curvature of the planet, and I realized that it was almost dawn in the temple."

"Even though I was thousands of miles away from the Temple I knew that Master Calthourus would be overseeing morning meditations." Cal said his eyes staring off into a distant memory. "I knew that somewhere Master Buldo was probably tormenting padawans for not cleaning up their stations in the library. As we shot around that planet I realized that the temple was really just a small part of the world, of the whole galaxy, but I also realized that didn't make it matter any less. Even now that the temple and all those Jedi are gone it doesn't make them matter any less. I chose then and choose now to make the Temple and everyone who lived in it matter just like you do with Dathomir. We're both carrying our old lives inside us, taking them with us, not leaving them behind."

Merrin looked at him for a long moment. Contemplation played across her face as the seconds ticked by before she reached out and awkwardly took his hand. The contact was electric as her fingers wrapped around his and she squeezed his hand.

"Thank you Cal." Merrin said, her eyes staring into his. "It...it is nice to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way."

"Don't mention it." Cal said, his heart beat speeding up every second their fingers were entwined. "Merrin, I...I want you to know that what you did when you saved me, well, both times you saved me means a lot. The fact that you're coming along on this mission means even more."

"It is always eventful with you Cal." Merrin said as she brought her other hand to rest on top of his. "Without you, I would still be on Dathomir guarding over the bones of my sisters and stewing in the past. You...you offered me a better option. That means something as well, and if I were to not aid you in this mission who will save you when you need saving again?"

"I think I could figure something out." Cal chuckled.

"Oh I'm sure." Merrin chuckled back.

They looked at each other. Cal's vision was still burned with the glowing after image of her image in the force, outlining Merrin in a dark emerald. She was beautiful. He could feel her energy, a strange mix of predatory intelligence and warm comfort that coiled in her like a viper. Goosebumps spread across his skin as his gaze flicked down to her lips before they came back to her eyes. Out of everything about her, Cal thought her eyes were the most beautiful. In them he could see her strength, see her almost hidden fragility, and in those eyes he saw the spark of a well timed wit burning bright.

He reached up with his free hand and brushed a lock of hair out her face. His finger lightly traced across her cheek as he did and Merrin shivered softly at the touch. Nervous energy crackled across his muscles and Cal's blood turned to ice as he looked at her. A maelstrom of emotion and urges blasted to life in his mind as he tried to think of what to do next. He wanted to kiss her, but a black nagging thought in the back of his mind locked his muscles denying him the will to lean forward. What if she didn't want it? What would happen if he tried and she…

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. Pure lightning blasted through him as her lips met his and any fear boiled away. Her lips were soft and the kiss was certainly enthusiastic, if a bit inexperienced. Not that Cal really noticed considering his experience with kissing before this was with the air. Her free hand came up and gently grabbed Cal by the neck as her other hand squeezed his. They leaned into each other, letting the contact linger on and on until what seemed like an eternity passed and they pulled apart. They looked at each other and after a moment of haggard breathing they both broke into laughter.

"That was...new." Merrin said after she got control of herself.

"Yeah." was the only word Cal's brain could summon from the ether.

Greez sat in his chair reading over his screens as the Mantis cut through hyperspace. He loved this part of every trip, the time when everyone else was asleep and he had the bridge all to himself. The Mantis was so finely tuned that she barely needed a nudge to keep on course through the hyperspace lanes. So Greez just leaned back with a cup of Caf in hand and watched millions of miles of space scream past him. Almost lost in the peace of light speed travel Greez almost didn't hear the chair of the Comm chair squeak.

"Cere, you seen Cal?" Greez said, chuckling as he turned in his chair. "Pretty sure him and our resident witch are..."

The words died in his mouth as he realized he wasn't talking to Cere but Trilla as she sat in her former master's seat. She sat back and watched the cosmos streak past the ship, her eyes glowed with the light from outside the windows and as Greez looked at her she leveled her gaze on him. There was something strange in her eyes, an emotion caught between dark delight and contemplation. For a moment Greez thought she'd rush him with how her body was tensed and how her eyes tracked him from across the bridge.

"Forgive the intrusion." She said after Greez's heart almost gave out. "I've always found the light of hyper space...calming."

"Ah, me too." Greez said turning back to his panel. "Never really took the inquisitors for the type to appreciate that kind of thing."

"They didn't." Trilla said as she tightened a bandage on her arm.

"How's the, uh, arm?" Greez asked.

"It hurts, not as bad as when it was cut off, but it hurts." Trilla explained as she pointed her stump at Cere's headset on the console and stared at it.

"That gets better." Greez said watching as Trilla's face tightened and the headset lifted off the console slightly before clacking back down. "My cousin lost one of his arms to a Melta vat back in the day. Hurt for awhile, but eventually it faded to background noise. You should see him now, only has three arms, but possibly the best cups player in the system."

"Hm, comforting." Trilla said as she went back to staring out the window.

Greez looked at the young woman for a long moment before turning back to his console. He busied himself by double checking the diagnostic software, but no matter how deep he dived into the ship's systems he was always aware of Trilla sitting a few feet away. Not that he particularly disliked the girl, if anyone could forgive a bit of merciless chasing it was Greez, but Trilla felt dangerous. He'd caught glimpses of what she could do from BD-1 and the Mantis' exterior cameras. The fact that she was more or less on their side did little in the way of calming him down considering just what she was capable of.

"Tell me." Trilla said almost making him jump out of his seat. "What does Cere do around the Mantis?"

"Well, she runs the comms, gives Cal pep talks and the odd bit of wisdom, and..." Greez said before a look from Trilla cut him off.

"I meant what's her routine when not doing that?"

"Oh, well mostly she's either out here when's she working or in the kitchen at meal time." Greez said. "Uh, spends the rest of her time in her quarters you know. She's...got a lot on her mind most of the time."

"Don't we all." Trilla said idly twisting a lock of her hair around a finger. "Greez...thank you for keeping her safe. Cere was my master and even after all that happened between us she's still here. Thanks to you and Cal. I don't know if I thanked you before today, but your service to Cere probably saved her life just as it did mine."

"Uh...thanks." Greez said, his gaze flicking from Trilla to the door and back.

"You're afraid of me." Trilla said as his gaze locked with hers. "After what I did, after everything I did, you'd be a bit stupid not to be."

"Yeah..." Greez said as he looked at Trilla for a long moment before continuing. "Listen Trilla, ah, I'm not the best at this whole "support" thing, but if you, ah, need someone to talk to that's not, uh, so entangled you can come to me."

"That's...very kind of you." Trilla said, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Well, the Mantis is my ship, and beyond flying her the only things I'm good at are talking and playing cards." Greez said, scratching the back of his head. "And I'll be honest I'm not that good with cards anyway. Listen, I know I'm way out of my depth with this force stuff, but I know someone who needs someone to talk to when I see one. So, if you ever need to talk about anything and you can't go to Cere or Cal just grab a seat and start talking."

Trilla's eyes narrowed as she considered him. Greez saw a familiar look of suspicion cross her face, and suspected she'd rebuff the offer. Honestly, he didn't know why he even offered, but something about her thank you had given him a hunch. As he considered that, Trilla's face shifted into a sad smile and she nodded to Greez.

"I believe that would be helpful Greez." Trilla said. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Greez said looking through the door. "Listen, I'm going to put another pot of Caf on, but if you want you could check out the view from my seat. Gives a great angle as the cosmos is shooting by, never fails to keep me, uh, calm."

"Thank you." Trilla said turning back to the window as Greez stepped out of the control room.

Three days later…

A shudder passed through the Mantis as it landed on Murtock and as the hatch opened Cal was hit wit ha burst of mist as he got his first look at the planet. They had landed on top of a rusted landing pad overlooking the only advanced settlement on the planet. Cal looked down at the tight cluster of prefab buildings and small industrial buildings before looking out to the plain beyond. Dark purple grass stretched on for miles, all the way to a line of tall dark green trees through which Cal saw the hint of a river. His gaze shifted from the distance to the other ships occupying around half of the dozen or so other landing pads, every one of them as old and rusted as the town they perched above.

"Looks like we may have beaten our friend here." Trilla said stepping up to his side. "None of these look like they can get more than a hundred feet off the ground let alone breach atmosphere."

"Yeah, I used to salvage these back on Bracca." Cal explained. "These are all Republic civilian scout craft, cheap to produce and replace, went out of circulation just before the Clone Wars though."

"If this Kathis has not arrived then we have an opportunity, yes?" Merrin asked appearing at Cal's other side in a burst of green light.

"Yeah, we find this Astro Forge first, secure it, and use it as a trap for Kathis." Cal said as he looked at Merrin.

Her normally stoic expression was betrayed by the hint of a smile as their eyes met. Merrin looked away but gently squeezed his hand as she pretended to look over the town. Just like the first time Cal felt a jolt of electric energy shoot up his arm at her touch, and almost pulled her close before the rational part of his brain reminded him that Trilla was right there. And that Merrin would probably stab him for pulling something like that.

"Supposedly, this Astro Forge emits a certain type of exhaust." Trilla said checking her blaster pistol before slipping it into its holster. "Grey smoke with purple embers. If we can find that we'll have our kill box."

"Kill box?" Cal asked. "You do know we're here to capture him alive, right?"

"Sorry." Trilla said offering Cal a shrug. "Old habits die hard."

"Right." Cal said before turning to Merrin. "Merrin, Trilla and I can head down into to town and start asking around. Would you be okay taking BD-1 and scouting ahead of us?"

"Of course." Merrin said offering an arm for BD-1 to transfer between them.

Then she looked over his shoulder for a moment before planting a kiss on his cheek. Cal's brain went blank for a second and vaguely heard BD-1 beep out a long low tone. Merrin smiled at him and stepped back, disappearing in a burst of green energy.

"Well, it seems I owe Greez five credits." Trill said as Cal turned back to her blushing.

"Why is that exactly?" Cal said trying to brush the blush off his cheeks.

"I bet that a girl like her would have moved onto kissing you on the lips in front of us by now." Trilla said as she started down the gang way. "Seems she's less bold that I thought."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cal asked following her more to shake of the heat in his cheeks than anything else.

"Look Cal, I know what's going on." Trilla said as they walked down a cork screw walk way. "I caught you two on Bogano remember? Hands all over each other, staring longingly into each other's eyes, and lips so close together I swear you were sharing a breath. Save me the cliché of denying it and move on to the point where you acknowledge that you and the night sister are involved with one another."

"Nice to know the whole ship's gossiping around us." Cal said as they stepped onto a pack earth street and stepped into the cover of an awning.

"Mostly just Greez and I since Cere's never been much of a gossip." Trilla said pressing herself against a support pillar and scanning the street. "Listen, I rightfully don't care if you and the witch are involved, meditation can't take up all those lonely hours on the ship after all. This isn't the order Cal, there's no one left to care if you get attached."

"You ever think that was part of the Order's problem?" Cal said as he scanned the street in the opposite direction. "How could we have protected the galaxy without being attached to it?"

"Never took you for a philosopher Cal." Trilla said as she tapped his arm and nodded to an imperial officer walking towards the ship. "We've got an inspector coming from the south."

Cal watched the officer, an older man with a skinny build, a mechanics jumpsuit stained by bleach and sun, and nose that looked like it could cut dura steel as he approached the landing pad.

"You think he's a threat?" Cal asked.

"He's civilian by the looks of him" Trilla said, gripping her pistol's handle despite her words. "I doubt we'd have much trouble if he was Imperial anyway, planet like this is probably punishment detail. No industry beyond what they eek by on here and the fact the system's out of the way of the major hyper space lanes. Perfect place to dump commanders and troops incompetent or obstinate enough to discipline, but not worth it to kill. Put your hood up and let me do the talking."

"Lead the way." Cal said flicking his hood up as Trilla stepped out of the cover of the awning.

"Ah, are you two the owners of this fine vessel?" The inspector said as he looked over his Caf stained clip board.

"Indeed, my brother and I are on a tour of the outer worlds on the Mantis here." Trilla said offering the inspector an icy smile.

"He's your brother?" The Inspector asked as he looked Cal over.

"Our father developed a taste for red heads in his mid life crisis." Trilla replied. "In fact, we're here to visit and old friend of his, apparently the old boy has some knick knacks dear to our father's heart and dad wants us to fetch them."

"Uh huh." The inspector asked, his bored gaze flicking to the Mantis above them before resting back on them. "Alright, you probably know the drill, but because I'm paid by the hour I'll explain it to you anyway. Make sure you don't cause any trouble and to pay your docking fees with the finance droid before leaving. If you're smugglers pay Sub Commander O'lof in the government building or the town platoon will be very irate. Any questions?"

"Yes, actually." Cal said ignoring the smuggler comment. "Our father's friend was an ex member of the Techno Union, supposed to be some kind of technical junkie. Would you happen to be able to point us in the direction of his shop?"

"Hm, seems my memory is spotty today." The Inspector said holding out his hand.

"Sorry to hear that." Cal said slipping him a credit chit.

"Wait..." the Inspector said as he checked the amount. "I think something's coming to me. You're looking for Koyi. He's got a repair shop in the town square, services everything from droids and blasters to ships and what not. You go down that alley and follow it all the way you'll pop out on the edge of the square. His shop is the one with the big yellow sign."

"Glad to see your memory is coming back to you." Cal said.

"Glad to be of service sir." The Inspector said giving Cal a sloppy salute before walking away.

"Where did you get those credits?" Trilla asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Stole them off a Storm Trooper on Kashyyk." Cal replied as he turned to walk down the alleyway the Inspector pointed to.

"Hm, never took you as one to salvage the fallen for credits." Trilla said as she followed him.

"He wasn't dead, I force pushed him into a tree and his blaster was shattered." Cal explained as they slipped through the alleyway and stepped onto a dusty town square. "He panicked and threw a credit chit at me before running off into the forest."

"Thank the Force for cowards then." Trilla said as they surveyed the square.

The square was compact and rimmed with dirty shops, many boarded up or abandoned, with ramshackle stands littering most of the space. Three storm troopers in poorly maintained armor sat at the far end of the square watching the spattering of shoppers mill from stand to stand. Cal saw the big yellow sign a dozen yards away and looked over the displays out front showing off dusty scrap droids and tools.

"I suppose that's Koyi's shop then." Trilla said as they watched the front of the shop. "I don't suppose it would be so easy as to walk in find a compliment mechanic willing to help us with some light kidnapping."

"Where's the fun in easy?" Cal asked, looking around. "You see Merrin anywhere?"

"She's to your left." Trilla said nodding to Merrin as the night sister materialized from the shadow of a stand.

"You know, I should probably be more surprised that you can do that." Cal said as BD-1 hopped from her shoulder to his.

"Probably." Merrin said with a hint of a smile on her lips. "Is that where the Forge is?"

"We think so." Trilla said. "Happen to see any plumes of grey smoke with purple embers?"

"No, I was on the roof and the only smoke was black and coming from a few exhaust pipes." Merrin said. "Also there was a man smoking from a light bulb."

"Hm." Cal said as his eye was caught by a skinny human girl hurry out of the shop, arms loaded with expensive looking tools as she hustled down the street. "Where do you think she's going?"

"If I had to guess the pawn shop." Trilla said.

"Merrin." Cal said a feeling itching at his brain. "Was there a back alley behind the shop?"

"Yes." Merrin said raising an eyebrow. "A small one, only large enough for a vehicle loaded with a large container strapped on top of it to idle."

"Look like it was about to leave?" Cal asked.

"The container was open and half packed by the looks of it." Merrin explained as they watched the front door. "Equipment and parts of a large machine from what I could see. Do we know what this "astro" forge looks like?"

"I've seen one or two, basically huge octagonal pillars that open up and work the metal on a molecular level." Trilla said. "See anything like that?"

"Octagonal means eight sides, yes?" Merrin asked. "Then yes, I saw several pieces that had eight sides."

"It seems Koyi is planning to relocate." Trilla said, a vicious smile on her lips. "Maybe he's having a going out of business sale?"

"Maybe." Cal said, a tickle at the back of his mind telling him that probably wasn't the case. "BD-1, go with Trilla and Merrin. You three head to the back, watch for any trouble. If anyone makes a move for the transport I can trust you two to keep it here?"

"Of course." Merrin said green static dancing off her fingers.

"I've been meaning to get some target practice in." Trilla said patting the blaster in its holster. "What will you be doing?"

"I'm injured, wince every time I step on so much as a pebble, and look like I lost my personal droid in a scrap yard brawl." Cal said raising an eyebrow at her. "What self respecting scrapper wouldn't try to pull one last scam before skipping town if someone looking like me walked in?"

"Clever boy." Trilla said as the trio broke up.

./

The inside of the shop wasn't much better than the exterior. More ramshackle droids took up haphazardly thrown together displays and every shelf was stuffed to the brim with spare parts and the like. As Cal stepped into the dimly lit shop the smells of oil and ozone assaulted his nose and he noticed that a thin cloud of smoke hung in the air between the displays. Partially obscured by the smoke were three other people milling about the inside of the shop. Two were other patrons looking over the displays and the third was a tall shop keep idly wiping down counter top.

One of the shoppers, a thin faced human with tight features looked him over with a disinterested glance before looking back to a rack of scrap toys. The other patron was a hunched figure shambling between rust coated astromech droids as they tapped the rust buckets with a rough wood cane. Cal looked between the two as the tickle at the back of his head turned into a full on itch. His wounds pulsed as a trickle of adrenaline mixed into his blood stream.

I have a bad feeling about this. He thought as he stepped towards the counter resisting the urge to rest his hand on his light saber.

"Well what do we have here but a wee customer." The shopkeep said.

As Cal stepped closer he noted that the person behind the counter was a young woman with long red hair, pale freckled skin, and oddly enough two large spiral horns on either side of her head. All of that hardly registered as Cal realized that the young woman towered over the counter, standing at least seven feet tall. She wore a mismatch of a mechanic's jacket, a stained grey shirt, and a long patterned skirt with dozens of pockets. He noted that the pockets were full, but not with nuts or screws, but small bottles of what looked like polish and delicate looking tools. Hardly the load out of a droid mechanic.

"What can I do for ye today?" The shopkeep asked in a singer's voice.

"Hello, I'm looking for an old friend of my father's." Cal said, his gaze flicking from the young woman to the small mirror on the wall behind her.

In the reflection he could follow the two other patrons. He noted that the hunched figure was watching him now, a face partially covered by his hood, partially covered by an eye patch watched him. The thin faced human had moved to a display right next to the door and seemed to be transfixed by a newer model astromech droid polished to a reflective sheen. Cal wondered if they were Koyi's security, but the itch in the back of his head told him they probably weren't.

"Koyi was his name." Cal said after leveling his gaze back on the young woman. "Supposed to have some knick knacks that my father wants back. He in?"

"I'm afraid not." The woman said, her blues eyes twinkling with genuine warmth as she smiled at him. "Koyi's actually off world right now, he's retiring and is paying me to sell of the last of his stock and close the old place down. Me da and him were friends of old too, told lots of stories of the hell they'd raise back in the day. What did you say you're father's name was?"

"I didn't." Cal said, his gaze flicking to the mirror to see the hunched figure a step closer before it fell to the counter where gash in the faux wood stood out on the dirty surface. He noted a faint purple shimmer in the air around it. "You wouldn't happen to have an address written down somewhere, so we can get in touch with him? Better yet, he wouldn't have left anything behind? My father's knick knacks were tools they salvaged off a pirate wreck, probably still has them near his old Astro Forge if he didn't take it with him."

"Old Koyi sold the forge and all his tools I'm afraid." The woman said, a regretful pout playing across her soft features. "What did they look like? I might be able to track them down for ye, if you're insistent that is."

"That would be fantastic, they were made of..." Cal said, his hand slipping forward across the counter top till his fingers grazed the gash in the faux wood.

As soon as his fingers touched the shimmering purple a memory played out before him. He saw a male Twi'lek, probably Koyi, standing behind the counter talking to someone. A human man, a young human man with dark skin splotched with paler skin. Kathis Blackfire. The Kathis in vision placed his hands on the counter and looked over his shoulder, revealing one eye was covered by an eye patch. Two figures stepped into view from the back of the shop. One a thin faced young man and the other the tall young horned woman. Koyi yelled out as the pair grabbed him and the woman bashed his hand and the small vibro knife he was holding into the counter top. Then the memory faded away and Cal was standing in the shop again.

"Psychometry right?" A voice said from behind him.

"Kathis Blackfire I presume." Cal said, not moving as he felt a narrow blaster muzzle on the back of his head.

"I go by Rowan." The voice said as a hand reached around and took Cal's light saber from beneath his poncho. "You know, stashing your light saber in the exact place every other Jedi for the last century has might not be the best idea. Turn around."

Cal turned and came face to face with the source of the voice. He was a young man about the same height as Cal, but with a leaner build and a mockingly severe demeanor. Like in the memory his skin was a dark brown and splotched with pale white splotches randomly swathed across his skin. His one visible eye was the same dark green of his family back on Karro and it was trained on him with a curious gleam that was equal parts suspicious and mystified.

"Is Koyi dead?" Cal asked as Rowan leveled what looked like a tonfa blaster at his neck.

"Dead men tell not tells." Rowan said handing the light saber to the thin face man who put slid it under a rusted over astromech. "But they very rarely learn lessons, he was a slaver and had been keeping that young girl as his slave for the last three years. We freed her and broke his knees, let's hope he takes that lesson to heart while he's floating in the sewers for the next few hours. Answer my question, was that Psychometry?"

"Yes, read about it in your studies, Kathis?" Cal asked.

"My name is Rowan." Rowan snarled before saying in a softer tone "Reyna, are Teek and Max done moving the forge?"

"Should be all done love." Reyna said from behind Cal.

"Iro, squirt a message to Lobe and have him get the Cinnamon Wind's engines fired up." Rowan said, his eyes never leaving Cal's as the other man pulled out a communicator and started whispering into it. "As much as I'd love to indulge my academic curiosity Jedi, I really have to be going."

He withdrew something from a pocket and Cal knew that it was a thermal detonator before it started beeping.

"Now, you aren't the Jedi I'm after, so that means you and I are going to part ways like acquaintances at a cantina." Rowan said as he pressed a thumb to the dead man's switch on the detonator. "I'll disarm this when I step out the back door. Then you'll get your light saber under that overpriced astromech and go back to my mothers. Tell them you missed me like all the others did. After that you can go back into hiding or go down in a blaze of glory against an inquisitor for all I care. Understand?"

"I'm afraid I can't do that Rowan." Cal said raising his hands in a disarming gesture. His wounds ached and Cal knew that at such close quarters it'd be a very close fight if this popped off. "What's at stake here is too important. What your grandmother is willing to pay me is something we need desperately, and besides, I can't let you just hunt down a Jedi. I won't be leaving here without you Rowan, without what you know especially."

"What's your name Jedi?" Rowan asked, neither the thumb on the detonator nor the tonfa blaster wavering.

"Cal Kestis." Cal said.

They looked at each other for a long moment. It took Cal a long moment to mentally come to terms with what he was sensing. Rowan was indeed Force sensitive, of course he was untrained and unrefined, but the Force was strong in Rowan. Strong enough in the Force that if things were different they could have been training partners in the order. He wondered just how a Force sensitive like Rowan had escaped the Jedi, let alone the Empire. Rowan must have sensed something in Cal because his lips curled back into a smile and he chuckled.

"Let me guess, you sense something in me?" He said as Iro's eyes widened in response to whatever message was coming through his communicator.

"Yes, Rowan I think you and have more in common than your Granny cared to admit." Cal said.

Rowan almost replied but was interrupted by Iro clearing his throat.

"Rowan, we've got bad news." Iro said, his eyes wide and his skin clammy with sweat. "Our friend in the government building just sent Lobe word that six ships bearing Inquisition IFF codes are five minutes from touch down here at port."

Cal's blood ran cold as his own communicator buzzed.

"Go ahead." Rowan said, a slight touch of angry panic lit his eyes as he gestured to Cal's communicator.

"This is Cal." Cal said into his communicator.

"Cal!" Cere's voice crackled over the communicator. "I've got Imperial chatter going crazy here, an Inquisitor's on their way here. We've got maybe five minutes before they arrive."

"Tell her there's an out cropping near the river to the north of here." Rowan said, disarming the detonator. "If you're pilots worth a damn they'll be able to make a landing and hide in the overgrowth."

"Cere, there's an outcropping..." Cal began before Greez interrupted.

"I heard kid, saw it during the descent into town." Greez said, in the distance Cal heard the sound of the Mantis' engines firing up. "We'll get over that way and lay low till you reach us."

"Get to us safe." Cere's said. "All of you."

With that the line went dead and Cal looked to Rowan who had stashed the detonator in a pouch on his belt.

"Well my plan is screwed." Rowan said, he smiled a nervous grin and Cal noted that he was missing one of his front teeth. "You ever go against the Inquisition?"

"A time or two." Cal said, reaching out with the Force and plucking his light saber out from under the droid. "Trust me when I say you do not want to be caught by them."

"So I've heard." Rowan said, his gaze shifted from Cal to presumably Reyna behind him and then back to Cal. "Listen, I need to get my people back to my ship and off this arm pit of a planet. If you help us do that, I promise you that I'll make it worth your while."

"I'm in no condition to fight, but I'll help get you and yours out of here." Cal said reaching out a hand. "As long as you agree to come back to Karro with me."

"The prospect of torture under and inquisitor's knife is almost appealing compared to that idea." Rowan said before he shook his head and clasped arms with Cal. "Almost won't cut it today though. Deal."

"Good, your friend wouldn't happen to know what Inquisitor was in command, would they?" Cal asked as Rowan released his arm and looked to Iro.

"Yeah." Iro said playing back the communication in his ear piece. "Says their IFF code designates them the Ninth something or other."

"The Ninth?" Cal's heart nearly stopped as the word struck his brain. "The Ninth Sister?"

"That's it." Iro said.

Ice struck Cal's veins as Iro's affirmation registered. Every cell in his body thrummed with energy as the sounds of heavy engines burning far above them buffeted the shop. Primal fear caused him to grip his light saber so tight that it turned his knuckles white. It took all of his will power to say:

"We have to run."