Cal did his best to focus his mind, the darkness under his eyelids tempting. He inhaled deeply to gather his thoughts, pushing every other external sensation aside, separating himself from the physical world. The young Jedi could feel the beating of his heart under his ribs as his mind emptied, allowing him to sense the force softly pulsing around him. A burst crimson red light abruptly consumed his vision, the sudden sound of crackling energy startling. Cal's hands clenched into fists as they rested on his lap, knuckles turning white. His eyes remained closed; his face clearly distressed. With the imagery gone as quick as it came, he went to take a deep breath to compose himself. The red lightsabre ignited once more. This time illuminating a figure in the dark, just the mere sight of the familiar masked foe making Cal hold his breath. The figure draped in black moved towards him, thick cape dragging behind, lightsabre roaring as it tore through the metal ground. The mask contoured with red light, the mechanical breathing emanating from within unnatural. Cal scrambled back, his eyes snapped open and he was returned to his living quarters on the Mantis. He could feel the humming of the ship underneath him providing some comfort that he was back in reality. It took a moment for him to regain his breath, sweat having formed on his brow. A droid's sudden call caught his attention as he ran his fingers through his sandy orange hair. Cal turned to find BD-1 watching him from the bed against the wall, even though a droid, you could see the concern within the ocular lenses as they widened and restricted on command.

"I'm alright BD" Cal assured, even though his words not close to the truth. Cal had assumed he had put disturbing visions behind him, having confronted master Tapal within his mind and forgiven himself in order to heal the past, as well as his connection with the force. He got to his feet as a voice called from within the ship.

"Cal, we're about to drop out of lightspeed." Cere's voice had travelled down from the flight deck at the front of the ship.

"On my way." He quickly responded. Now on his feet, air back in his lungs, he turned to the workbench behind him. There sat his lightsabre, the weapon of a Jedi. Cal snatched up the hilt of his blade, attaching it to its rightful place on his belt. He moved for the door, BD-1 hitching a ride on his back, the two now heading for the front of the Mantis.

"Grab some seat kid." Greez ordered as usual, flicking switches with his two extra arms while the other two remained on the wheel. Cal took his position next to the Captain. Cere sat behind them already monitoring transmissions and broadcasts. BD-1 jumped from his place on Cal's shoulder, positioning himself on top of the controls, out of the way

"No word from Saw, either the plans haven't changed or…" Cere trailed off not needing to finish her sentence for the others to understand. BD-1 let out a low drawn out beep, the droid's ability to generate complex emotional responses something that had always Impressed the young Jedi. Cal recalled the Partisans leader, his well-built frame and visually differing eyes. After there initial meeting on Kashyyyk Saw had fled with most of his fighters, the Imperials having moved in with more force to take back what had been lost. Even though Saw seemingly abandoned the Wookie, along with a few of his troops that decided to remain behind. A transmission the Mantis recently received confirms he's still in the fight.

"I've got a bad feeling about this kid; the Empire took back control before, what's stopping them from doing it again, when and if you regain control of Kashyyyk?" Greez being fearful and unoptimistic as usual looked to Cal for words of support, an uncertainty in his eyes.

"We're just going to have to trust Saw, he asked for our aid and we're able to give it." Cal stared off into the expanse of space as it flashed past him. The holocron had been his mission, he had retrieved it, then he destroyed it. That mission was over and a whole new one had begun.

"I just wish he could have been more enlightening in his message." Cere added from behind them.

"You more than anyone know how dangerous it would have been to discuss details, it's to easy these days to intercept transmissions." Cal replied over his shoulder.

"I just don't like going in blind." Cere also offered her concern.

"You should be used to it by now." Cal smirked. "We never seem to know what we're getting ourselves into." BD-1 looked up at him bobbing up and down in agreement, words of reinforcement a bonus.

"Thanks BD." He smiled back at the little white droid. With a flick of a switch the Mantis was out of lightspeed and above the planet Kashyyyk.

The heavily jungle covered planet sat before them, Cal looked down at the readings being displayed on controls in front of him, information now coming in from bellow. However, Cal didn't need scanners to see that areas of the planet where ablaze, the Imperials having decided to simply burn what stands in their way.

"You've got to be kidding me." Greez's distressed tone brought Cal's eyes up from the screens in front of him. Through the thick glass, creeping round from the other side of the planet was a ship. "Please tell me that's not a Star Destroyer." Cal recognised the ship, the pointed hull and stylised design not easily forgotten. He had worked on a few on Bracca, the scrap yard getting all sort of ships dumped on the planet.

"We've got a very small window to get down onto that planet, but there's no saying where going to be able to get off it!" Greez informed his passengers and he frantically taped and pulled at the controls around him.

"Cal." Cere caught his attention, he looked back meeting her eye-line. "This is your mission, it's up to you." A weight suddenly weighed down on him. Risking his own life was easy but the thought of his order putting his friends in peril was twisting him up inside.

"Kid make up your mind!" The Star Destroyer revealed itself more and more, the size of the vessel now able to be gauged accurately.

"We stick to the plan, we find Saw." Cal made up his mind, he was done running, he had been done running since Bracca.

"This isn't going to be a pretty landing." Greez commanded the ship forward, thrusters forcing the ship towards the planet at speed. "Hang onto something" Cal clutched at his seats arm rests, DB-1 jumped from his place on the dashboard heading for a more secure location. There was no certainty that they had been spotted, but it was only a matter of time, one thing was sure they needed to keep up speed if they were going to make it. Gravity started to pull on the ship as the Mantis entered the atmosphere. shaking violently as it pierced through the clouds, tops of trees came into view, the speed and addition of high winds making for a rough entry. Red lights flashed as Greez frantically adjusted the controls simultaneously. The tree canopy quickly looming closer.

"Where's this landing pad kid!" Greez took a firm hold on the ships wheel, trying to keep it steady. Within Saw's message had been encrypted co-ordinates to a long-abandoned landing pad, even if the Empire had listened in, the transmission saved the code directly to the ship's logs. The small file able to easily slip past sensors, Cere almost not noticing the new intel within the ship's database. The Mantis hurtled towards the vibrant green canopy, Greez made an internal decision to try pull up. Cal reached out with his gloved hand using the force to lock the wheel in place.

"Cal what are you doing!?" Greez exclaimed actually letting go of the wheel momentarily.

"Head to the exact co-ordinates" Cal kept his hold on the wheel, his hand remaining out in front of him, working with the force to keep the ship on track.

"They take us below the canopy" Cere informed from behind.

"Then we go below the canopy." Cal kept his eyes on the dense treeline rushing to meet them. "Get ready to pull up." He released his hold on the wheel, gripping his seat once again. Greez mumbled something inaudible, Cal could only assume he spoke words in reaction to their possible untimely demise. They didn't have to wait long before the Mantis crashed through the thick layer of leaves, Greez with all four arms pulled back on the wheel. The ship cried out as it tore through vines and branches, however the path beneath them was surprisingly clear. Concealed by the tall trees was the landing platform, heavily overgrown but a landing platform all the same. The Mantis with its chaotic entry didn't elegantly touch down, it slammed down onto the reinforced metal, the front landing stabilizer failing under the impact, making the underside of the ship's cockpit meet the ground. Cal almost fell from his seat face first onto the glass windshield, having of course not foreseen the mechanical failure.

"Everyone alright?" Cere asked from her position. BD-1 quickly made himself known, while Cal groaned in response, the landing having winded him.

"Another happy landing." Greez's wide smile did nothing to sooth Cal's discomfort, on the other hand it was good to see Greez for once smiling in the face of danger.

Authors Notes

A story I was writing a while ago when I first finished the game, decided to play it for a third time and remembered I had this story hidden away somewhere.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I love writing it. :P See you soon.