Chapter Text
BD-1 directed Cal to a door in the rock, which led to a lift, which led to icy, hazardous caves. How BD-1 knew which lift to take from there was a mystery to Cal, but when they emerged from a watery tunnel, there was the crashed Venator looming over them. Cere had heard frequent mentions of it on the Imperial chatter, so it was possible the Zeffo tomb was nearby. Unfortunately, the Venator stood in the middle of a huge lake…
“BD, I’ve told you before I don’t like to get wet, right?” Cal complained.
There is no other way …, BD-1 stated.
Cal took one of his gloves off and felt the water. “It’s freezing!” he exclaimed dramatically, snatching his hand back and shaking off the droplets. “If you make me swim in that, I’ll get hypothermia and die.”
I will not let that .... Do you not ... me? BD-1 whistled in mock offense.
“Oh alright,” Cal grumbled. “At least on Kashyyyk the water was warm… Hold on.” Cal looked to see where the slope ended, and then he jumped into the water.
His teeth started chattering before he came back up, and the rest of his muscles were shivering soon after. Automatically, he hugged himself to keep warm, but his head went under the water again. When he came back up, BD-1 was beeping shrilly in his ear.
You have to ...!
“What…?”
Go! Land! ...!
“Right…” Cal forced his arms and legs to start moving him toward the Venator. The distance seemed impossibly far. His pace was slow, but BD-1 poked his shoulder if he stopped for too long. Finally, Cal pulled himself onto the muddy bank beneath the Venator.
“I am not doing that again,” he declared through still-chattering teeth.
I … …. I did not know you would … so …. Would a … help? BD-1 asked contritely, opening the compartment on his head. Cal fumbled the datapad out of its pocket and read the message: I am sorry. I did not know you would react so poorly. Would a stim help?
“It’s okay, buddy, don’t worry about it. I don’t think I’ll actually die, but I will take a stim,” Cal replied. The vial slipped through Cal’s fingers when BD-1 sent it into the air, but it didn’t break on the ground. Cal picked it up and injected the green liquid. His heart started beating uncomfortably fast, but he was still cold. “We should get going. Maybe moving will warm me up.”
BD-1 climbed onto his back, and Cal pushed himself to his feet. He didn’t see any digging on this side of the Venator, and it had crashed between mountains, so the Imperial excavations had to be on the other side. He wasn’t going to swim around the wreckage, so he had to go through. The first step was to climb up to it.
The engine formed a tunnel that was covered in mud but relatively stable, and Cal could see daylight at the other end. He emerged, and to his left was a blast door of Imperial design. “Now we’re getting somewhere,” he told BD-1. “But I don’t think they’ll believe I’m a real Inquisitor soaked like this. Be ready for anything.”
BD-1 crouched more securely on his back, and Cal pressed the button to open the door. There were no stormtroopers in sight, but the space was filled with the tools of their excavation: ropes, pulleys, crates, and a crane. In front of him was an elevator that went down even farther.
“I think we’re getting close.”
Why?
“I noticed it earlier, this feeling in the pit of my stomach. Now it’s getting stronger. I think the closer we are, the worse I feel.
What are we ... into?
“It can’t be anything good.”
Cal’s feet pressed against the floor as the elevator slowed and stopped. A few seconds later, the doors opened, and Cal realized exactly what he had a bad feeling about.
“Eleventh Brother. How predictable,” the Second Sister taunted. “Even with no one to rescue, you walk right into my trap. Tell me, did you understand my hints on Kashyyyk? About the holocron? Where did Cordova hide it?”
The Second Sister didn’t seem to want to attack right away, so Cal’s eyes flicked around the space he’d landed in. He didn’t see the Ninth Sister, but that only marginally improved his chances of survival. The room was perfect for the Second Sister’s fighting style, and even the grate on one wall didn’t look like something Cal could use to his advantage. He had no doubt running was out of the question, and this wasn’t a fight he could win. That left only one option, but Cal had no idea if it was even possible. “Trilla,” he appealed through gritted teeth, even as he reached for his lightsaber.
She stilled. “You made it clear on Kashyyyk that you know what Cere did to me. I’m surprised she told you, but even more so that it seems you still trust her. I thought you were smarter than that, Brother,” the Second Sister said, shaking her head in disappointment.
Cal scowled. “My name is Cal Kestis. Your name used to be Trilla. It can be again.”
“If you really believe that, then you will die.” Her tone didn’t sound like a threat now, more like a statement of fact or even a warning if he thought about it too hard. But he couldn't take that chance, so Cal activated his lightsaber, and she wasted no more time in leaping at him. Cal brought his guard up, and the fight was on.
He tried to keep the exchanges short and the distance between them long. He spun on his heel, keeping her in sight as she flitted around him. He blinked, and she was gone. Without hesitation, Cal rolled forward. “You won’t dodge the next,” the Second Sister taunted, standing where Cal just was.
Cal ignored the bait. He couldn’t afford to get angry. He kept his guard up, and the Second Sister began to pace. She wanted him to attack. Taking one hand off his lightsaber, Cal called on the Force in a more controlled manner than he had on Kashyyyk, and the Second Sister’s steps slowed.
“Trilla, you don’t have to do this,” Cal pleaded while she couldn’t fight back. “I know the fear you feel, but you don't have to remain trapped in the Inquisitorius.”
“Stop saying that! Maybe I want to do this,” she retorted angrily, though she didn’t make another move forward.
“I don’t think you do; none of us did. But what they did to us—it’s not the end.”
“If you don’t stop this, you’ll find out just how wrong you are.” With that, she dashed, and Cal was once again blocking, parrying, looking for an opening.
They traded strikes, but Cal was forced to dodge away. The Second Sister had been training; he had not, and he wasn’t used to fighting purely defensively. She swung her lightsaber, and Cal’s arms shook with each impact. She leaned back on her feet, and Cal threw himself to the side as her blade skewered the air he’d been occupying.
This wasn’t working; Cal needed an opening. He sank deeper into the Force. She leapt in the air, bringing her lightsaber down on his head… The Force guided him two steps out of the way. With her head down, the Second Sister didn’t see the kick that sent her sprawling to the ground.
She gave a grunt of frustration, and Cal tried to catch his breath. Before he could say anything else to convince her though, she had raised her hand and sent him flying back. The breath was knocked out of him as he slammed into, through the grated wall. She scrambled to her feet a second before Cal could, and suddenly it was just like Kashyyyk, only this time Cere wasn’t here to save him—
Red filled his vision, but it wasn’t the red of a lightsaber. The Second Sister stopped out of reach. She lowered her lightsaber. BD-1 flew to his side, beeping triumphantly before he asked, Are you okay? Cal looked where BD-1 had come from and saw a panel, the same type he’d seen BD-1 slice many times before.
He scrambled to his feet and faced the Second Sister. The laser field shimmered between them. “Thanks, buddy,” he murmured.
“I wouldn’t be so quick to give thanks. You only prolong the inevitable,” the Second Sister stated.
“It’s not inevitable,” Cal argued. “But if you won’t listen to me, maybe you’ll listen to someone else…” He activated his comm, and the two of them listened to it ring. Cal heard it connect, and he said, “Cere, Trilla’s here.”
The only reply was static. “Oh, did I forget to mention? I set up my ship to reroute your comm as soon as you tried to call anyone. The only ones who can hear you now are the Purge troopers waiting to detain you.”
Cal fought to keep the frustration off his face. “She would’ve apologized. She told me how sorry she was about what she’s responsible for putting you through.”
To Cal’s surprise, the Second Sister reached up and removed her helmet. Cal watched her throw it to the ground before looking back at her face. Her blue-green eyes were unexpectedly soft, and the harsh tone of her next question caught him off guard. “What makes you think that changes anything?”
“It changes a lot if you accept it!” Cal shouted desperately. “You can leave the Inquisitorius; come with us!”
The Second Sister paused. She looked thoughtful. Cal bit his lip. “Or…you could tell me where the holocron is, and you might be spared.”
“Never,” Cal growled.
“It could have won you the Emperor’s favor, Brother. What would you and Cere even have done if you’d found it? Two fallen Jedi trying to rebuild the Order? Don’t make me laugh.”
“You don’t know what we’re capable of.”
“I know what Cere’s capable of. Do you really want the ‘Jedi’ who trained me anywhere near the children on that list? They’ll be safer in the Fortress.”
“No! I won’t let anyone touch them,” Cal growled, surging toward the red shield between them in anger.
“I thought the same thing once,” the Second Sister replied tonelessly. She turned around and walked toward the elevator. Cal didn’t try to stop her.
Are you okay? BD-1 asked quietly.
“No, not really, but we should move. She might come back with somebody who can turn this shield off.”
Cal looked at the room he’d landed in, though it looked more like a cave. Maybe he was coming to the end of the Imperial presence. His foot slipped on some wet algae, and he slid into a cavern with distinctly Zeffonian elements of design. They had to be getting closer to the tomb, which meant Cal was still doing one thing right.
“Thanks again for the help back there, BD. You saved my life.”
And got us closer to the ….
“The tomb?” Cal guessed.
Yes!
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
Cal squeezed through a crevice and emerged into the biggest cavern he had ever experienced. For a moment he doubted they were still underground, but he looked up and saw stalactites. There was also a hole that let in light and water directly above the tomb, which was itself massive. It was circular, domed at the top, with tall, narrow arches along the sides. An even taller arch crowned with a bronze Zeffo head stood out from the rest of the tomb to define the front. Giant tree roots writhed and twisted around the space and structure.
“We made it, but it feels different from the other tomb somehow.”
Is it good or ...?
“I don’t know.”
Cal almost reached the entrance of the tomb before the Second Sister got back to her ship and decided to start taunting him. “You’re running out of time.”
“For what?” Cal retorted without thinking, still angry about what she’d said about Cere and the younglings. He immediately regretted it. “No, don’t answer that.” If she was still talking to him, he could still try to convince her, but he couldn’t let her know how well she could get under his skin.
“Oh? Do you wish to continue trying to turn me into a traitor? Very well, amuse me.”
Cal grit his teeth, trying to ignore what she was saying. “Was loyalty important to you, before? Is it still? You saw how ‘loyal’ the Inquisitorius was to me. They’ll treat you the same way.”
“You forget how it was you who was disloyal first.”
“You and I both know that isn’t true, but I’m not going to hold it against you.”
“How generous of you.”
Cal waited for her to say more, but nothing came. The call was still going (so he bit back a complaint about the water-filled tomb), but there was nothing but silence. He made it to the second level before the Second Sister spoke again.
“Imagine the artifacts the Empire would’ve missed if it weren’t for your intervention on this backwater planet.”
“What do you even want?” Cal sighed. “Why are you calling me? They don’t want me back, and I’m not going to tell you anything about the holocron.”
“Maybe I enjoy hearing your useless attempts to convert me.”
“Fine. You know why the Inquisitorius isn’t loyal?” Cal attempted. “They consider all of us expendable. The Empire says everyone’s expendable. Even you.”
“We wouldn’t be if we delivered the holocron to the Emperor,” the Second Sister offered.
“You know I won’t do that,” he responded. This time the Second Sister let the call fade to silence. As Cal climbed to the next level, he pondered what he could say. He was pretty sure she wasn’t as unaffected as she pretended to be even if she could be really good at pretending. No. He had to believe she could change, that she could leave the Second Sister behind and embrace being Trilla again. He did believe it, but how could he make her see?
Maybe…there was one thing he knew she would understand. Every Inquisitor understood nightmares. “Sister,” he murmured. “When—when I talk, in my sleep, they don’t listen. They don’t care. It’s not a weakness.” He stopped, but there was no response. “I hope you heard me.”
His comm remained silent.
As Cal and BD-1 approached a giant, hanging sarcophagus, Cal began to lose hope that Cordova’s message was still here to find. If it wasn’t, Cal didn’t know what he and BD-1 would do.
The top of the sarcophagus was ornate and overgrown with vines. BD-1 scurried from one end to the other and back, but nothing cued his memory. Just as Cal offered his arm for BD-1 to climb up in defeat, he heard the whine of a gunship charging its blasters.
“Another trap!” Cal realized, activating his lightsaber in order to deflect its fire.
“That ship is going to shoot the chain holding you up! Grab onto something!” Trilla’s voice shouted in his ear.
Cal didn’t have time to hesitate as he reached down and grabbed a handful of vines. Blasterfire sounded behind him, and Cal squeezed his eyes shut as the whole world rocked and tilted. His legs gave out, his stomach lurched, but his grip on the vines held, as did the vines themselves. The gunship couldn’t immediately see him, but he heard it maneuvering in the small space. Quickly, he began to climb down, hoping to get out of sight before it rounded the edge of the sarcophagus. He wrapped his legs around a thicker vine and pressed himself as flat as he could against the new underside of the sarcophagus. He stayed there until he heard the gunship, apparently satisfied, fly out the way it had come.
Shakily, he began to climb back up, ignoring the fact that he couldn’t see the floor. “…Thanks?” he said into the comm when he got to the top of the sarcophagus. “Assuming this isn’t part of another trap,” he muttered to BD-1, who nodded.
When they got back to the normal (wet) tomb, BD-1 chirped off a string of incomprehensible instructions that sent Cal rummaging for the datapad. We need to raise the Spire of Miktrull.
“What will that do?” Cal asked as he walked around the spike sticking out of the floor. He suspected the nearby sphere receptacle would raise it, but the nearby sphere was broken. Still, maybe he would get lucky and there would just be a switch or something.
It feels important, like the zipline and many other things I cannot explain.
Cal did not find an easy switch, but BD-1 spotted a working sphere at the top of the chamber. After a few false starts trying to get votive candles through falling water, the two of them figured out how to get the sphere down. All the while, Cal wondered why Trilla had warned him. His death would get her as much glory as his capture, and he couldn’t think of any use he could be alive since he made it clear he wouldn’t give up the holocron.
Maybe…he had convinced her? Then she would need to escape, and he could help her.
The Spire turned out to be an elevator. Before he entered, he activated his comm. “Here goes nothing, BD,” he murmured. “Sister? I’ve found an elevator to the surface. Meet you at the top?” There was no reply, so Cal sighed and entered the elevator.
BD-1 scanned something on the wall as they started ascending. He twitched, and froze. Cal tried to focus on Cordova’s words, on the hope the holocron brought him, but he found it difficult not to feel like a failure. He had survived, but he couldn’t save Trilla.
Are you okay? BD-1 beeped when Cordova’s hologram vanished and Cal didn’t say anything.
“I don’t know,” he answered heavily. “It doesn't matter. Did you get a transcript of the log? I’ll need to look at it again.”
Yes, BD-1 replied, and Cordova’s words appeared on the screen of the datapad.
“Thank you. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Not well, BD-1 beeped, and Cal smiled.
He was still smiling when the elevator door slid open, but his face fell into an open-mouthed stare when he saw what was on the other side. Or more accurately, who. Trilla still didn’t have her helmet on, and Cal recognized the anger on her face.
“I don’t know how you manipulated me into this, but we need to leave before the Purge troopers get any more suspicious,” she declared imperiously.
“What…?”
Trilla rolled her eyes. “It’s a wonder you’re still alive. We don’t have time for me to explain it slowly enough for you to comprehend. Which way to your ship?”
“You’re coming with us?” Cal said in disbelief, even as hope pricked at him once again.
“I don’t have any other options if I want to survive, do I?” she snapped.
Cal grinned. Trilla looked even more annoyed. “This way!” he declared, setting off in the only available direction, Trilla right behind him. “Wait, what do you mean I manipulated you?”
“How else do you explain the fact that you’re alive?” Trilla retorted.
“There’s still good in you like there was in me?” Cal offered.
“I doubt it. You should know better than that, brother.”
Cal decided not to argue. He was still grinning. “Either way, I’m really glad you’re here. We’ll be free of the Inquisitorius together!”