Chapter 5: Trust

                                    

                                          
I sat up on my elbows, groaning as my back smarted from having landed on the patterned stone. Cal stood a few meters away, glowing saber in hand. Getting to my feet, I dusted off the back of my pants with a hand and grabbed mine off the ground. 
"I promise I know what I'm doing," I said. Pressing the button near my thumb, I twirled my weapon in a circle, and felt the heat of the ignited crystal as the beam swung by my face. I ran my fingers over my forehead to push loose strands away from my eyes. 
"You've improved a lot over the past few days." Cal replied, taking several steps back, allowing space to be between us some more for the next round to exchange hits. 
I shrugged, getting into a stance. Only in hand-to-hand combat was I improving. Being a fast learner, I had just about picked up everything that Cal had taught, and I was dreading any mention of the other form of combat.
Cal and I began fighting. Only a dozen swings in, did he get the upper hand, knocking my light-saber out of my hand and shoving me backwards with a push from the force. I hit the ground a few yards away, letting out a pained yell when I landed on my arm.  
The frustration began to simmer, having sat idle for a while. Jumping to my feet, I shook my arm to try and block the pain that shot up through my shoulder.
"You alright?" Asked Cal, who began to make his way over. 
I walked away from him, picking up my saber and put it back in its holster. "I'm fine," I snipped, "I'm done for today." It was painfully humiliating, not over the fact that getting back into training was the issue, but because I was too afraid to use the force. The maps of bruises from getting tossed around like a useless piece of metal was telling enough. I'd learned to defend myself in hand to hand combat although it wouldn't be the only thing to save me when certain situations required.
"Y/n-"
"I'm fine!" I yelled. I hated that the anger manifested itself from my voice, especially towards Cal who had been nothing but kind to me since we had landed on Bogano. Knowing better than to stick around, I took a walk toward the nearby structures, knowing that it would help cool me down. Finding a small cliff, I sat down, letting my feet hang over the edge.
The smell of wet grass drifted around me, still damp from last nights rainfall. The breeze was cool, but the last rays of the setting sun warmed my skin. It was a welcome feeling, the environment completely opposite of Bracca. Not just because of the weather, but the peace. The quiet. The solitude. Elbows resting atop my knees, I stared down at the grass that lay nearly one-feet below, watching the blades of greenery sway and move with the breeze. 
Hushed footsteps on the grass brought my attention back to my surroundings.
"Cal, go away. I don't want to talk right now." I said, not looking up. I had only been gone for twenty minutes and just wanted some alone time.
"I thought you could use some company, kid."
I turned my head with a raised eyebrow. Greez had been the last person I'd expected to come and talk to me, given that we'd barely spoken to one another. He'd seemed stand-offish, wary, and unsure of me, having a right to be since I'd worked for the Empire. I turned me gaze to stare back out to the horizon, watching the sky turn a brilliant orange and pink. The short captain sat next to me, folding his arms together and sighed.
Another few minutes passed before I spoke. "Did Cere or Cal send you up here to talk to me?"
"Nah. I saw that nasty landing, so i'm just making sure your okay. That stuff's gotta hurt." Greez let out a hesitant chuckle.
A smiled pulled at the corner of my mouth as I snorted softly. "I'm alright. A little bruising never hurt anyone."
Greez leaned back on the lower pair of hands, the upper pair now crossed over his chest.
"So...how did you and Cal meet? He hasn't really talked about it since I've met him, and I know next to nothing about the Jedi life-style."
Pulling my light-saber from my hip clasp, I rolled the metal in my hands, thumb tracing the pattern in the middle. "We met on an imperial navy ship during the clone wars. There being just the two of us, we were close as kids. We were best friends for about five years before the purge. When the order was given to kill the Jedi, my master got me out first before Cal. That was the last I'd seen of either of them. It's nice to know he didn't die like so many others did."
"Were your family Jedi?"
Giving a light shrug, my gaze dropped to my light-saber. "I don't really remember my parents. I was taken away to train when I was only four or five. Given my parents knew I was force sensitive, the Empire wouldn't have left them alone for very long. They're probably long gone..."
Greez sat forward and gave me a pat on the arm. "I'm sorry for you loss, Y/n."
"Thank you..."
The surrounding air grew cold as the last colors of the fading sunset began to dwindle. I shivered.
"So, I've been noticing something with you."
"Oh?" I replied, sitting up a little.
"Why don't you use the force like Cal does? You're safe to do it here, no one knows about this place. You don't have to listen to me, kid, but believe me when I say we have each other's backs." He explained with a smile. 
I frowned, shaking my head. "Greez, I really don't want to talk about that. It's...-"
"-Hard to understand," Greez finished, "I know. You don't have to lecture me, I'm just the pilot."
A poke of guilt hit my chest. "Sorry, Greez. I didn't mean it that way. It's just a bit of a touchy subject." I shivered again. "Touchy for me anyway." Perhaps Greez was right, Cal had told me that this place was secret, so who else would know about it. Would I be able to relax enough to use my force powers again?
Greez noticed my discomfort as the cold night set in. "Alright, kid. How about a hot meal for dinner? I can cook a mean steak." He scooted back away from the cliffs edge and stood, then held out a hand for me to take. I swung my legs back onto solid ground and grabbed his hand as he helped hoist me into a standing position with whatever strength he had. Giving him a thank you, I used my light-saber to light our way back to the ships as darkness came, millions upon millions of stars illuminating the sky by the time they got back to the Mantis. 
Following Greez up the ladder into the Mantis, everyone else was already inside, chatting away.
"Who's hungry!" Greeze announced, drawing the attention of the passengers on board. He didn't wait for a show of hands, immediately going to start prepping for dinner. Cere and Merrin followed. 
I stepped fully into sight, seeing Cal looking in my direction having not followed the others. He walked over, a look of apology in his green eyes.
"I'm sorry if I pushed you too far today, I let my stubbornness get in the way," He said.
Shaking my head I smiled. "I'm sorry for just walking off like that. I needed space."
Cal's eyes glanced down at my smile before looking at my eyes again. "I understand. Come on, let's go eat. We can talk about this later, okay?"
"Okay."