STAR OCEAN

PART ONE: DUEL OF THE STARS

Greez couldn't help but rub all his hands together in anticipation. He placed his bid to the dealer that the dice would fall into Snake Eyes formation. The handler placed the dice into the cup, shake them, and slammed the cup face down. The dealer then began collecting and taking notes of the bets pooled into this round. When the Snake Eyes appeared, Greez tried to contain his glee. The losing gamblers gave their bets to the winners, which Greez happily took from them.

From across the gambler's table, a lone nightsister stood with her plain dark robes enclosed around her, the lower half of her face covered, her silver hair was tucked between her ears, and what remained was her piercing dark eyes. She wore her travelling cloak heavily around her. They were not the beautiful, red ceremonial robes that she had always worn when she was in Dathomir. She had muted her beauty to hide from the Imperial soldiers and bounty hunters. She watched his friend in silence. Greez exclaimed, "Come on baby, give me Royalty!"

With a small flick of the nightsister's wrist-and her eyes flashing green for a split second-the dice tumbled and landed with their faces on the Royals-the King on one die and the Queen on the other. When the cup was lifted, Greez found himself yelling in triumph as the dice were in his favour once more.

Someone was coming from the nightsister's left. A young man with a small droid riding on his back. A lightsaber rested on the side of his hip, concealed by the dark blue poncho. He wore goggles and a scarf around his face and head, his dull red hair peeking out from the fabrics.

Cal would recognize his companion anywhere, just from the way she carried herself around. He stood beside her, leaning against the building wall. "Are you letting him win all the time?"

"No," she said curtly. "It will raise suspicion, so a loss is important in this strategy. But do not worry. We will come out with the credits we need for food and supplies. Then we will go to bigger dens, for a bigger catch."

She flicked her wrist again. When the dice was revealed, Greez cried in agony. He gave a small side-ways look at Merrin.

Cal rubbed his nose. "Let's hope he didn't bet all of our credits away first." BD-1 chirped in agreement.

When the other players of the gambling table were becoming more agitated the more they lose, that was the cue for Greez to leave. He pocketed the winnings and skittered towards Cal and Merrin. "Here you go, guys. You have the shopping list so I'm just going to go find Cere and we'll meet you on the ship." Greez surprised Cal with a flash of loose credits into the air.

Cal gingerly caught most of them and held them carefully in his hands, a few of them started to fall to the floor. "Wait, Greez, do you need someone to-"

When Cal looked up, Greez was already blending into the crowd, away from the marketplace. The gamblers from the table had started to get up and began their search for the missing Latero.

The little droid on Cal's back beeped with concern. "I hope he finds Cere on time, just in case," Cal said to his robotic companion. "She shouldn't be too far."

They lingered for a bit to make sure none tried to follow Greez. None of them wandered too far and went back into business, so Cal and Merrin made their way deeper into the marketplace. Merrin recalled the first weeks out here in the galaxy when they had landed on trading planets for supply runs, when they were not going between Bogano, Zeffo, or Kasshyyk. She was overwhelmed by the sights and sounds that were not known throughout her life. She was overwhelmed by the hundreds of languages and the hundreds of species from across the galaxy. She was quickly alienated from all of it. Her time in Dathomir-and what she truly knew about the universe-was so limited and made her small.

But with Cal Kestis by her side, and the support and guidance of rest of the Mantis crew behind her, there was nothing she could not overcome. The universe was her to explore and conquer.

Once they have everything they needed, they counted what needed to be set aside for the next supply run, and what they could recreationally use for themselves. They had some spares credit left.

Cal was chatting her up on potentially trying something exotic for lunch when they almost walked past a textile stand. Different, colourful patterned fabrics of shapes and size caught Merrin's eye, but up on display at the walls were dark heavy set robes.

"Cal." With one word, her companion had quiet down. "Would you be open to having a change of wardrobe?"

"Oh, me?" He looked at himself and touched his poncho. "I'm...not really sure if that's necessary. I look fine."

Merrin did a look-over Cal. "Perhaps. But you are a Jedi Knight, no? Your ponchos are nice. But a robe would suit you better."

BD-1 seemed to beep in agreement.

"Yeah..." Cal dreamt of wearing the robes of those who were in the Jedi Order, but ever since the rise of the Empire, he wanted no association with the Jedi in the material sense. He and his friends have been in undercover ever since the attack on Nur. Not really hiding, but not really on the forefront of the fight. The Order of the Inquisitors was still spread out across the galaxy. Wearing those robes would have branded him as a Jedi, and would be bad news for him. He had not met another one of his own ever since he left Bracca. That, or he was just one of the unlucky ones.

Cal had recently celebrated his 19th standard year in this universe. There was still much of the galaxy he had yet to explore, yet to see and experience, but it seemed like his five years in Bracca had taught him enough about the world and everything within it: to trust no one, and only trusting in the Force.

He looked unto the stalls. There was too much trauma attached to these robes. Where had the vendor found them? Was it crafted by them to scam people into buying a relic of the old order? Stolen or exhumed from a Fallen Jedi?

Merrin went to the vendor and began haggling for a dark cloak that had a blue-ish tint. Once the price was settled she offered the robe to him. It was less of a tunic robe of the Old Republic and more of a cloak that simply draped over its shoulders. A wanderer's robe. A symbol of a lost Jedi.

He was afraid to touch it. He feared that he would have to relive the memories of its former wearer if there was one. "Can you...hold it for me until we get back to the ship?"

Merrin's eyes seemed to peer into Cal's soul before embracing the cloak to her chest. "Of course."

The robe was left untouched, folded under Cal's bunk bed.

There was no planet that the Galactic Empire could never reach. Wherever the Mantis went, whatever planet the crew had laid their foot on, would eventually be found by the Empire. Whether it was within the next hour, the next day, or in a few years. The Empire would know they were there. If they could not find them, the Empire would just be there to plunder and kill. The excessive extraction of material, the enslavement of the local population, the hunting of animals and local fauna, the deforestation and poisoning of bodies of water... These were the telltale signs of a planet falling victim to evils of imperialism.

In the confines of the Mantis, it seemed like it was going to be this way for a long time. Just the four of them travelling across the galaxy, helping the Rebellion whenever they could, but never really getting themselves deeply involved, to get sucked into the fight. This flip-flop commitment to the rebellion came with several different reasons.

One of them being that the crew was falling apart.

Ever since the destruction of the Holocron, there had been ideological tensions with the crew. Cere still wanted to rebuild the Jedi Order, and believed remaining unrooted and travelling across the galaxy in other far-flung worlds would be the key to eventually finding the other lost Jedis and begin the process of consolidation, to reclaim the former glory of the Jedi and defeat the Empire. This was Cere's way of atoning to what had happened in the past, with her former padawan, Trilla. The unrest in her heart was still evident, and the hunger for redemption showed on her shoulders. Through this, she and Trilla could be redeemed from the hurt they have inflicted upon the galaxy.

Cal was still struggling with his decision to destroy the Holocron and have often found himself clashing against Cere whether he had done the wrong or right thing. Cere did not blame him for his decision, but now it seemed they have become lost, trying to find the next clue to lead them to the right path.

In some days Cal sometimes wished he didn't listen to Merrin. In some days he wished he didn't see the vision of the Zeffo if that was only a vision of one possible outcome out of infinite outcomes that could potentially happen if he founded a new school of Jedi. He knew, though, that was not how the Force worked. The loneliness of being one of the last remaining Jedis was getting to him. Aside from Cere, he has not met one in their travels for more than a year now.

Following the footsteps of Cordova's journey to get the Holocron had made him curious about what was out there beyond Jedi history. Time and time again he was taught by his former master that the Dark side was a dangerous venture; once you had a taste of it, it would just happen all at once. He had seen it all in a vision, of what he could have been if he had given in the Dark side and became an Inquisitor. But Merrin was proof it was not always so. She was kind and quiet if not terse about her words. Granted, he had not met all the Nightsisters of Dathomir. He heard the stories during the Clone Wars. And he could never imagine himself harnessing the power of the Dark side no matter how tempting it was. He was, first and foremost, a servant of the light.

In the kitchenette of the Mantis, Cal and watched the logs Cordova left with BD-1. He recounted the journey.

"My friend, I flew with all haste to the Coruscant and presented my findings to the Council." Cordova sounded so distraught in this recording, so resigned. "Despite my persistence, despite my research, they did not take this threat seriously. Only one person believed in me. My old confidant, Jocasta Nu. She entrusted me with a Holocron from the Jedi Archives - a secret copy of her list of young Force-sensitives."

That Holocron was now bits and pieces floating in space. Cal ran his hands down to his face in frustration. It seemed that their next lead would be to find Jocasta Nu, if she had been the one who provided the list of young Force-sensitives, then she may have had more information on how to rebuild the Jedi order.

Cal passed the information regarding finding Jocasta Nu to Cere, and they began finding a trail to her last known location across the galaxy. It had been six years now since the Purge, but even if Nu was gone, there must be some remnants they could trace back to...to something.

But Cal couldn't shake the fact that there was more to the Zeffo. He knew they were the key. Not to restore the Jedi Order, but something far more ancient, far more powerful, bigger than the galaxy itself.

Merrin had no separate quarters compared to the three of them, so she had been sleeping on the couches. She did not complain; the main deck was spacious with many couches, and she made an effort of making herself comfortable whenever she could.

Her nightly routine consisted of meditating with her magick, holding her talisman in her hands. It would go for two standard hours before she was done, and she would then begin her preparations for sleep. It was hard to keep track of time in the Mantis, but when the crew recognize the beginning of her meditation, it usually meant they had been awake for too long. She was usually the last person to go to bed, and the first one to get up. By the time she was finished meditating, the lights in the ship had already dimmed except for the terrarium.

But tonight, when she opened her eyes and dispelled the green mist around her, Cal Kestis was still sitting on the couch she usually slept in. He was staring into the unknown, lost in the sea of his thoughts. He had been like that for the whole day and had not said anything except when he was forced to engage in small talk during meals, or when he was being inquired about certain things by Cere.

"Are you not going to bed, Cal?" She remarked.

That seemed to break him from the daze he was in. "I..." He shook his head, seeming to shake away bits and pieces of his thoughts. "I'm sorry. I know it's pretty late, but..." He looked at her. "Can I speak to you, for a moment?"

Merrin let two seconds go by. "Of course." She sat beside him and said nothing. She had known Cal enough that prodding and probing him with questions was not the right way. This was one of those rare nights where their walls between them could go down just a little, and be open about their emotions. They were not speaking as a Jedi or a Nightsister. They were speaking as survivors.

His eyes were still flitting around the main deck, seemingly trying to find the words to say. "You've been with us for a while now. We've mostly been trying to look for ways to restore the Jedi order by chasing ghosts in space. You haven't really...said anything about it. Aren't you curious about finding other Nightsisters?"

Merrin looked down to her hands. She was still holding her talisman. "I think of that, a lot. They are with me, always, through what you call the Force." She placed the talisman on Cal's hands. He held it carefully, all of a sudden feeling the fragility of it. "But, yes. I would like to see any of my sisters again, in the flesh and blood."

"You haven't made any requests about looking for them. You know we could help."

"Perhaps." She was quiet for a moment. "But my travels with you, and Cere, and Greez have opened my eyes. I have learned...many things. Seen so many sights. There are things out there beyond Dathomir and my magick. I want to learn what is out there, Cal. I want to know everything I can, even if it means travelling with lost Jedi, searching for remnants."

Cal looked at her for a moment and saw that her brown eyes were twinkling in merriment. It made his heart break a little. The innocence in her was not lost, only buried deep.

He looked away and nodded quietly. "I understand."

They sat in silence, listening to the ship's hum as they travel in space through hyperspeed.

"But I am lost," she said quietly.

Cal braved a look again to his friend. The twinkle in her eyes was gone. Now it was just hollow as the galaxy outside this ship was. "There is nowhere for me to go, Cal." She whispered. "I have grown strong, strong so I could avenge my coven when the time is right. That is all I have known, strength and power, and nothing more. Now I have lost what I have...and I am on the verge of losing myself."

Cal looked down to the talisman he held. Would giving it back to her make her feel less lost? It was one of the few things she brought with her when she joined them. It felt like he was holding her heart.

"Do you think I've done the right thing, Merrin?" Cal whispered.

She knew what he was talking about. "I cannot decide that for you. We can only look forward."

"But I...I don't know what to do..." He gripped the talisman. "We have searched everywhere, kept fighting in a war that I don't even know we're going to win. Is there another purpose for me out there, if I really am going to be one of the last of the Jedi Order?"

He inched closer to her. "And what about you, Merrin? Are you not scared that you could be the last Nightsister?"

Merrin whipped her head and glared at him. "Then we look elsewhere," Merrin said. "The Jedi is not always the answer to all questions in this universe. Most importantly the answer to my kind cannot be found within me."

"No, you're right. We don't have all the answers. We shouldn't keep looking towards the Jedi. We...we need to-" It was hard to say it. "We need to..." Cal shook his head vigorously. "We need to go back to Bogano."

Merrin sensed that wasn't what he was originally going to say. He continued, "I have to show you something. In the Vault. And I think I need to see it again, too."

He placed the talisman back in Merrin's hands. "I...I think I need to think about this more. Thank you, Merrin."

He got up and made his way to the back of the ship, where his bunk bed was. The wall they took down to speak with their hearts returned between them.

Bogano was under plunder and control. It filled Cal with regret that he had led the Empire here, more than a year ago, just to retrieve a list of names that were no longer useful. As they enter the planet's atmosphere, Merrin had to cloak their entry, and Greez would have to land them somewhere discreet, farther away from the Vault.

When the ship opened its bay doors, they were greeted with a sight of large Imperial ships and construction towers, mining the planet for its resources. From afar, the creature of Bogano, the mighty Binog, was in chains. It wailed in agony, calling for the remnants of its species from outer space.

On Cal's shoulder, BD-1 whooped in sadness. Merrin did not make an effort to hide her anguish at seeing the creature.

Cal and Merrin began to make their way to the Vault. It was a day's trek, as they have now landed further away than usual. They dodged Imperial encampments and construction sites, and in some areas, Merrin used her magick to cloak both of them to pass through stormtroopers' barracks. The Vault was heavily guarded, but as they snuck past through them and entered the central chamber, Cal was relieved to see that it remained untouched by the Empire. The Vault was, after all, only accessible to Force-sensitives.

On their right, was a wall with an enormous black mirror. This mirror revealed itself when Cal had placed the Astrium into the chamber. It seemed to beckon to them. They waded through the water slowly, approaching it. Merrin looked around the Vault, glancing over the murals of the chamber. BD-1 jumped off Cal's shoulders and trailed behind them.

"I had a vision here when I found the Holocron." He clutched his side, where an old wound rested, still healing. Still throbbing. "A dark vision from the Force."

Merrin studied the wall. He could not tell whether she could sense the pull of the mirror. But there was that twinkle again in her eyes, the twinkle of curiosity.

Cal offered his hand to her. "May I?"

She looked down at his hand, and then back up to Cal. They looked at each other for a while. The wall between them seemed to be so evident. Cal took her hand gently and placed their hands together on the mirror.

When Cal sensed an echo in the Force, he could not replay that memory back. But the impact of those memories would always stay with him. The Zeffo transmission was still so fresh in his mind, and being in this Vault only made it clearer for him, like he was experiencing it all over again. The towering Zeffo as he spoke with resignation about the fate of his race. How long ago was this? Where did the last remnants of the Zeffo go?

Cordova was both right and wrong. He was right in that the Former Republic was too self-absorbed with itself, so prideful it led to the downfall of the Jedi Order. But he was wrong that the solution was to restore it again if they were not going to learn from the mistakes they have made. It took Cal more than a year to really accept it. The Jedi was following down the path of the Zeffo, and he wasn't going to let that happen.

Merrin let out a loud exhale, and Cal pulled himself back from his introspection. Her eyes were closed and green mist swirled around her eyelids. It subsided as she slid her hand from Cal and retracted it back to herself.

"Did you...see anything?" Cal asked meekly.

She opened her eyes slowly. "I saw a faint image...of a giant. But only for a flicker of a second."

Cal nodded lightly. "Yeah. That's a recording of a Zeffo." He didn't have to explain to her who or what they were. She already knew about this ancient species of Force-sensitives that Cordova was enamoured with.

Merrin's face scrunched up, with a shadow of inquisitiveness. "But...why did you bring me here?"

Cal began walking away, back to the centre of the room. BD-1 beeped and followed him. Cal turned around and crouched, meeting his friend at the same eye-level. "I think we should find the Zeffos to their last known location, maybe even their true resting place." He placed a hand on BD-1's head. The droid chirped affectionately. "I want to know if they've found what they're looking for, out there in the universe. Maybe we could even find the last of them."

Merrin crossed her arms. "They are gone, Cal. They have been gone for thousands of years."

"We don't know that. They could still be out there, and they may have the answer to all of this." He gestured vaguely to his surroundings.

Merrin clenched her fist and marched towards him to the light. "Cal, we do not chase shadows of the past. What good is there to follow the dead again?"

He whipped around to face her. This was frankly ironic coming from her when she often spoke to her fallen nightsisters, who were ghosts and shadows. "What is there for us here, Merrin? We have been going around in circles for far too long, already chasing shadows of what's left of the Jedi."

"But what is there to achieve by flinging ourselves to the edge of the universe because of an echo by ancients?"

Cal tried to find the words in his head to truly express how he felt. He knew deep down why he wanted to go into this mission, but Merrin was a realist, and he would only be met by her brutal honesty. Frustrated and defeated, he said quietly, "Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

The emotional wall between them remained solid, unwavering. Cal looked away and hung his head down. "Maybe because I'm clinging to whatever hope left there is in here, and out there."

"Hope." Merrin tasted that word. "Is hope the only thing you are clinging on to, Cal?"

"Yeah. Because I'm lost too."

Silence fell between them. BD-1 beeped quietly, left Cal's side, and walked towards Merrin. His lens adjusted and whirled as the droid looked up to her, and then back to his best friend.

Cal continued staring into the water, where BD-1 used to stand. "I believe the key in the survival of the Jedi Order is in the Zeffo and continuing Cordova's research. There could be parallels between what happened to them and what happened to us. I don't know if there are any clues of them in the Unknown Regions. I might have to leave the galaxy to find the last of them, out there."

Merrin noted his choice of words. "'I'?"

Cal nodded curtly. "I might have to go on my own. Cere and I have been...struggling with what to do next. It's been tough to be one of the last surviving people of an ancient order. I think we both don't want to admit it, but it's time we diverge from our paths. It seems like this is the way of the Force."

"You are going out there, alone?"

"Since people don't like my plan, looks like it."

Merrin shook her head. "I cannot let you go into the unknown, alone."

Cal looked at her. His expression shown hope, but he was also in denial of what she was about to say. "If you stay with Cere and Greez, you can help defeat the Empire, and bring justice to your sisters, to your clan. You could even go back to Dathomir and rebuild the Nightsisters, once everything is over."

"Yes, that is true. If I stay with the Mantis, I can exact vengeance when I am at the heart of the galaxy, with the strength of the Rebel Alliance. But we are still hiding and running, and I am still waiting for that right chance. You, on the other hand, will be alone if you follow through your plan. You will get yourself killed before you could even reach the other side of the galaxy." Her face was stern, but her eyes were soft. "I cannot allow that. Admit it, Cal Kestis. I am your most powerful ally, and you need me."

Cal couldn't help but smile. He stood up and faced her. "You're right. I need you. Merrin, I..."

He trailed off. He didn't need to say what he wanted to say. They knew what it was like being alone in the galaxy as children of the Force. Merrin witnessed the massacre of her clan and had to bury her loved ones alone. She was manipulated by a Dark Jedi, misleading and misguiding her from the truth, to take advantage of her powers. Cal lived in isolation, hiding from the Empire, severing his connection from the Force, working in a dangerous rigger's job when he was only thirteen years old. In the most unlikely series of events, they have found each other, first as enemies but now as friends. He didn't want to admit this to anyone, but he was afraid of being alone again.

Merrin reached out to him with her hand. "I do not agree with your mission, Cal. But I will join you on this journey." She flashed a knowing look. "To make sure there is someone to rescue you when you are in trouble."

He felt so relieved to hear that, Cal couldn't help but chuckle. "Right." It would already be difficult to part ways with Cere and Greez, and it would be much more so with Merrin. She was not only a powerful ally but grew to be his closest friend and confidante.

He shook her hand. With her at his side, the galaxy felt a little less dangerous.

As they exited the Vault, Cal looked back at the entrance and stared into the darkness. He sensed that this was going to be the last time he would be in the Vault and this planet. Cal, in all his life ever since the fall of the Jedi Order, never looked back because it was a key to his survival. He only looked forward, and only trusted in the Force. But for the first time, he did let himself look behind him. His journey started here, and he was never going to come back to this place again.

The sky turned burning red, and streaks of dark clouds trailed the setting sun. At the distance, the Binog, perched on the faraway hills, wailed again, and the cry this time was more in agony. BD-1 mournfully chirped. Cal and Merrin looked at each other and knew what they had to do.

The detour had cost them a few hours from the agreed time they were supposed to be back in the Mantis. Cal checked in on Cere to tell her that they were on their way back and everything was alright, just finishing some other business in the planet before they could depart. Before Cere could ask what that other business was, Cal cut off the communications and trudged forward. She was going to find out about it, one way or another.

The empire had build guard towers around the Binog, where enormous chains linked themselves with the creature. As they approached the large creature, Merrin cloaked herself into the shadows and began sneaking around the perimeter to take out the stormtroopers guarding the area. Cal kept himself hidden until Merrin would give him the signal that it was safe for him to proceed. He looked at the Binog and wondered what the Empire wanted from the poor thing. There were large scars and wounds streaked across its body. Was the Empire experimenting on it? Keeping it and hurting it for fun?

The Binog sensed his presence and began to growl. Cal raised a hand and slowed his walk. "It's okay, big guy. It's just me." He wondered if igniting his lightsaber would startle it. He tried using the Force to communicate with it. He did not speak its language, creatures rarely speak, but somewhere in the Force, he could reach out to it, tell it that they were at its side.

The beast calmed gradually. Cal placed his hand on its side and began stroking it, continuing to form a connection through the Force with the gentle giant. The scars of the beast looked far worse than Cal thought now that he could see them clearly. With the other hand, he took his lightsaber and walked slowly to one of the chains. As he was about to ignite his weapon, blast lasers sailed around him, hitting the creature in different parts of its body. The Binog bellowed in pain. The blaster shots came from the farthest tower, with two stormtroopers shooting down upon them.

He hadn't been able to pay attention to his surroundings that he forgot to wait for Merrin's go signal. She materialized next to the shooting stormtrooper and pushed him down the tower with her magick, grunting with effort. She yelled at the bannister. "Cal, go!" She kicked the second one's blaster away and engaged in melee combat with him, dodging, punching, swerving away from the attacks.

Cal ignited his lightsaber and cut down the first chain. The Binog kicked its surroundings in anger, toppling Imperial machinery and cargo against each other. It hurdled some of the heavy machinery towards the towers. Flames started to dance around the perimeter, aided by the leaked oil on the ground and fed by the blaster bolts that flew around the scene of the fight. It started spreading into the valley.

More stormtroopers surrounded the area. Merrin had come down from the towers and began taking them out one by one, harnessing her dark magick into ichor projectiles. Cal charged through the fire, cutting the last of its chains as the monster thrashed around, fighting for its freedom.

Now unchained, the Binog, a peaceful creature of the galaxy, lashed out against the burning towers. The blaze had kept spreading around them, creating a barrier around the perimeter and preventing more stormtroopers coming into the scene. The creature howled towards the sky and spread its wings. Cal and Merrin rushed away and watched the Binog fly into the skies. Stormtroopers blasted their weapons towards the freed giant, to no avail. In a minute, it disappeared into space.

Cal and Merrin turned back towards the Empire. The fire had started eating away more than just the operation that kept the Binog chained. The oil was making its way towards the Barracks and other construction sites, and the flames followed along with it. Sirens blared around them, arousing more stormtroopers into action.

"We're not going to take down the entire Imperial operation before getting out of here, are we?" Cal said, exasperated at the idea. He had his back against Merrin and watched as more stormtroopers surrounded them. What separated the two and their enemies were the walls of fire between them.

"We will not," Merrin said. "But the Empire does not belong to this world. It belongs to Zeffo, and we shall keep it at that."

Cal reopened his communications. "Hey, Cere," he said to his wrist communicator. "I think we're gonna need a pickup."

"I figured you'd say that," said his friend on the other side of the line. "We saw everything. We're already on the way."

"Thanks. Sorry about that." He closed the transmission. "We're pending pickup, Merrin." Cal ignited his second lightsaber and Merrin summoned dark energy around her, manifesting into her talisman. "We just need to hold our ground."

The stormtroopers gathered some bravery in themselves and began jumping across the wall of fire. Both Cal and Merrin pushed the first stormtrooper back, the former using the Force and the latter using her ichor to send him back. When the rest began to jump together, the Force was not enough to keep them at bay. They began fighting them off, and it was a dangerous dance. Cal slashed through the enemy and Merrin fought them with her magick. They made sure to keep each other's back secure, to never break formation. They knew each other's steps and each other's moves. They spun around together and faced the Empire, the same Empire that had taken away their lives and the people they loved. After fighting together in this journey for so long, after so many close calls, sometimes almost losing each other, they were now in sync. They were equals.

It was not too long until the Mantis was hovering above them. Cere opened the bay doors and had her blaster with her, shooting at the imperials and gesturing wildly at them. "Get in, now!"

Merrin dematerialized and was up on the walkway and into the ship. Cal jumped next and managed to hang on. Cere pulled him up with one hand and kept blasting at the Imperial soldiers with her other hand. They both scrambled into the main hall. Cal and Merrin collapsed unto the floor, both covered in smoke and ash, breathless and coughing.

"We're leaving the Empire a little present!" Greez shouted from the bridge of the ship. When the bay doors closed, the Mantis steered itself to face the entire Imperial operation. Lasers and blasters flew around them, some hitting the transperisteel. One imperial was about to level a rocket launcher to them.

"Oh no, you won't!" Greez yelled. The Mantis expanded its weapons bay and launched laser cannons across the valley, creating a streak of havoc and destruction in a uniform fashion. More machinery exploded, towers collided, Imps were killed, and it had set some of the flora on fire. Murals and effigies were destroyed. Bogling creatures ran across the plains and the cliffs, finding safe shelter from the fire. Chaos reigned.

Cal stumbled into the bridge and watched Greez laid waste to the land. A lump formed in his throat. Bogano was in flames. The Empire would not return here anymore, but this planet was no longer the sacred site of the Zeffo. He realized that this was a pyrrhic victory.

Cere joined them and her eyes glanced at the destruction on the planet, and then at Cal's solemn expression. His face was covered in soot. "Let's get out of here, Captain," Cere said. She placed a gentle hand on Cal's shoulder.

"Gladly." Greez turned the Mantis towards the skies and began speeding away from the planet.

The Stinger Mantis had just left hyperspace and they were now entering Nal Hutta space. With Greez's thousands of fake identification signals that they cycle through as they traversed across the galaxy, they were able to get landing permission for Nar Shaddaa.

At the worktable at the back of the ship, Cal was finished making a copy of BD-1's memory banks. The chip contained all of Eno Cordova's logs-now decrypted-that were in his little friend. The droid took one last analysis on the chip before ejecting it from himself and Cal gingerly took it from him. BD-1 leapt and spun from the worktable, chirping excitedly.

"Thanks, BD. I hope she likes it, too."

The ship shook slightly, indicating a landing on Smuggler's Moon. Cal looked at his bunk bed. On top of the bedsheet was a bag of his things, what little he had accumulated over his travels. He did one more do-over of his bed to see if he missed anything. He reached under the bed and felt the fabric of the robe he had gotten a long while ago. Cal's throat went dry for a second. He pulled it out slowly. It had gathered dust, and a few corners of it were chewed, possibly from the Bogling stowaway they picked up a long time ago.

He felt an echo under the fabric, but he did not wish to indulge in its story yet. He draped and secured the cloak around him, and looked at himself at the mirror he propped across his bunker. Despite months of neglect under the bed, it still looked nice on him.

He came out of the ship and saw his friends casually talking at the landing platform, exchanging handshakes and hugs. Merrin looked up, and upon seeing the robe on Cal, her eyes twinkled for a second, but her face remained stoic and focused.

He joined her side. Merrin was dressed in her heavyset of red robes, the dark cloth mask lowered down to her chin, what she usually did when speaking to people she considered close. She carried nothing with her.

Cal said to Cere, "I'm sorry that we couldn't find common ground on this. I wish I could help you find the surviving Jedi masters in the galaxy, but..." He glanced at Merrin, before moving his gaze back to Cere. "The Force wants me to be somewhere."

Cere pressed her lips together into a thin line and nodded lightly. "You are a young man now, and you are set in your ways. It is time we forge our own paths. The Force will guide you where you need to be. I may not be a Jedi anymore, but I know about the lessons of letting go. I would need to let you go either way if you were my Padawan."

Cal smile sadly and bowed lightly. "Thank you, Cere. I know you wish to let go, but BD-1 and I thought you'd like this." He presented the chip to his mentor. "It's all the records of Master Cordova that was stored in BD-1. If you're able to rebuild the Jedi Order, then maybe we can rebuild the Jedi archives again. Cordova's research deserves to be preserved."

The droid on his shoulders beeped excitedly.

She looked down at the chip, and her smile widened, less sad now. It was hard to tell what was going on in Cere's head, what she really felt in this moment in time. "Thank you. The Jedi will appreciate this." She took the chip and closed her fist around it. "May the Force be with you." She eyed her departing friends, who were now the former crewmembers of the Stinger Mantis. "All of you, always."

Cere retreated into the ship. Greez lingered for a moment, looking at both Cal and Merrin, before running to hug them both, at their feet. They crouched down to reciprocate his hug. "Be good, you two." He pointed at BD-1. "And you take care of them and make sure they don't get into any trouble."

He followed Cere up to the ship and closed the door behind him. From the landing pad, Cal and Merrin watched the Mantis start its engines, retract its landing gear, and turn towards the skies. Their robes whipped around them, and Cal tried to cover his eyes because of the sand flying around him as the result of the ship's takeoff manoeuvres.

When the ship disappeared into space, they were greeted with the silence and the loneliness of the hangar. "We're alone now," Merrin whispered as if it was finally sinking into her. BD-1 beeped sadly.

Cal patted his droid's head. "Yeah." He took a deep breath and reached into the Force for guidance. Where to go next? What happens now? Cal covered his face with a scarf and encouraged Merrin to do the same. "Let's go."

Nar Shaddaa was like many of the smuggler and bounty hunter dens they had been, but it spoke of a deeper, richer history. The buildings, now home to the shadiest businesses in the galaxy, sang of battles, wars, and destructions with each jagged rock, weathered stone, and deep engraving of ancient scripts. It had an architecture style that could not be seen in modern architecture anymore. Of course, this was now overshadowed by the skyscrapers similar to the ones Merrin had seen in the pictures of Coruscant.

They were pushing through a busy and polluted marketplace. All the planet's citizens carried a weapon, whether it was a blaster or an old long blade. BD-1 voiced his anxiety regarding this world and the criminals that surrounded them through a serious of low beeps. Merrin did not seem to be shaken about the locals, but her discomfort laid more on the life force of the world. Under all the layers of grime and pollution, this world felt so...ancient.

The Force had led them into a lively tavern. It was hot and crowded, it was impossible for both of them to shuffle around people without touching them. It had the smell of sweaty bodies, musk, and gunpowder in the air. Merrin tried to hide her disgust in her expression, but even it was too much for her. It was unlike any other smell she had experienced in the other taverns and dens in the galaxy.

Cal was zeroing into an individual at the far side of the room, who seemed to be playing a dice game with the other species around a round table. As he approached the table, all the other players turned their heads and watched him cautiously.

"Hey kid," The dealer acknowledged his incoming presence. He was the person of interest to Cal. "Are you gonna come to sit or what? If not, get lost."

Cal pulled down the scarf from his face. The dealer's sneer slowly melted away as he continued to register Cal in his mind. He then stood up from his seat, frozen in place. "Cal Kestis."

It was a whisper, but it seemed like everyone in the tavern heard it. Everyone kept doing what they were doing, but Cal sensed that the entire room's heart had skipped a beat. The table, however, was shuffling uncomfortably, since now the game had come to a halt.

"Hey, Tabbers." Cal sat on the available seat opposite of his friend and leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table, hands clasped near his lips. "I'm cashing in a favour."

###

That favour came in the form of a refurbished T-6 shuttle. It had been repainted and retrofitted to remove its Senate and Jedi Council markings and now served as a light smuggler's ship. Seeing another remnant of the Clone Wars made Cal's heart sink. He inhaled and exhaled deep breaths as he took in the ship with his eyes.

"Have I repaid my debt to you, Kestis?" Tabbers said half-sardonically, half-jokingly, walking to his side. "Am I now free from the debts of the Jedi Council?"

Cal shook out his unease, let out a light chuckle, and placed a hand on his friend's shoulders. "You're free to go now," he joked back. "Thank you, Tabbers."

Tabbers rubbed his nose. "You need to be careful out there, you and your scary girlfriend there." He gestured towards Merrin, who was standing away from them but watching closely. BD-1 sat on her arms. "It's not safe for you. I've heard the stories. The Empire has been...cracking down on people like you, and they turn you into something...else." He eyed Cal up and down. "Honestly, I can't believe you're...you're one of them."

"That's why I'm here, but I won't be around this part of the galaxy anymore. Which means you won't be seeing me around, and whatever trouble I might bring with me."

"Good. I'm going low for a while, especially since now the whole town knows we know each other. This ain't a good place for both of us, so you better go now." His friend paused for a moment. "Goodbye, Cal. I'm sorry about Prauf."

Cal pressed his lips together and nodded. He and Tabbers grabbed each other's forearms before Tabbers pulled his cloak up and began walking away briskly, silently. Merrin and BD-1 rejoined him, and they all looked at the ship in front of them. "Well, home sweet home, I guess," Cal said.

They boarded the T-6, slowly powered the lights, and inspected its rooms. They found where the escape pod was, and where they could store cargo (or hide if the enemy boarded). Once they had settled their bags into their self-assigned respective rooms, they sat in the cockpit and powered the engines. BD-1 positioned himself at the top of the controls of the ship, whirling and chirping. Cal looked past the transparisteel. They needed to leave the planet soon, or else they would soon be surrounded by Imperials, gang members, and bounty hunters after their heads.

"Alright. Where to?" Cal asked himself. "I guess we gotta make our way to the Unknown Regions and see what we can find there."

"And then what?" Merrin asked, removing her cloak and draping it over the arm of her pilot's chair.

"I guess we trust in the Force to find the way."

"Of course." She tried to hide her disdain around that belief. She didn't say anything else as they took off the planet and returned to outer space.

Once they were out of the planet's atmosphere, Cal began mapping the route that would take them as far west of the galaxy as possible with the amount of fuel they had, before their next planetary stop to refuel and resupply. They could not deviate from the hyper lanes, or they would risk getting sucked into the black holes. They would also need to avoid the Imperial highways, so they could not cut through the inner rim and core worlds. They needed to decide whether they would risk landing in an Imperial-colonized world that would guarantee them supplies, or an undiscovered world where they would be safer but harder to find what they needed. It was a lot of head-scratching, a little bit of arguing with BD-1, but after a long while, they decided that their first destination was going to be Tatooine.

Cal placed the coordinates of their jump into the ship's system. Once the hyperdrive generator was ready, he had his hand on the hyperdrive accelerator. "Are you ready?" He asked Merrin. He looked at his friend for affirmation and found himself catching his breath.

When they were still in the Mantis, Merrin never really sat anywhere near the cockpit, preferring to stay in the holomap room. Merrin did begin taking flight lessons, but Greez and Cere overviewed her training. Cal usually was out running errands, adventuring, or was at the back, meditating, trying to further heal and nurture his connection to the Force.

He was not prepared at the sight of Merrin's expression as she stared across the galaxy. Her stoic demeanour had melted into a softness Cal had never seen in her. Strands of hair fell from her bun and embraced her face. What really captured him was her eyes. There were thousands of stars reflecting in her dark eyes.

Cal tried to gather himself up from his reverie. She did not reply to his initial question so he began to speak what was in his mind since they Mantis left them on the landing pad in Nar Shaddaa. He spoke slowly. "I know we have had some disagreements in the past, and I know we won't see each other eye to eye with certain beliefs. But we've come so far together. You have been nothing but honest to me. And that's all I ask of you, no matter what happens between us."

He looked at her more intensely, letting his emotion in that moment spill into his words. "I don't want you to hide anything from me. If you have to say something, then say it to me and never hold back. I have only trusted in the Force ever since the Purge. But I want you to know, Merrin, that I trust you with my life."

She didn't return his gaze back but instead continued to look upon the stars, her eyelids lowering. "I have joined you on this journey to find a way to avenge my fallen sisters. To strike the Empire for what they have done to Dathomir." She looked down into her hands. "But it appears my destiny lies elsewhere. Now here I am, where I did not expect..."

She finally looked at him. "With you. So wherever you go, Cal, know that we will go together."

They stared deeply at each other for a while. Cal was lost in the stars in her eyes. He reached out to hold her hand and placed them on the hyperdrive accelerator, but he didn't let go. Merrin let Cal fill the gaps between her fingers with his own. She had touched his hands often, but only now did she realized that they were rough and scarred, years of scrapping, building, fighting, hurting, all of these memories and experiences were under his skin. Together, they pushed the accelerator forward, slowly entering hyperspeed, and they were gone.