Unsettled/Disillusioned

Chapter 2: the Dinner

"It's a Latero dish, my pilot, Greez, taught me the recipe, though I feel his is still better than mine," Cal said at the dinner table later that night. Sat between Sabine and Zeb, Cal and BD looked like they fit right in with the eclectic Ghost crew.

"It's delicious, Cal, it reminds me of some Mandalorian dishes," Sabine complimented him.

"Must be the spices," Kanan said. Both Lateron and Mandalore were known for their cuisine.

"I know, I know, he teased me so much for not using enough spice when he gave me the ship the first time," Cal laughed. BD was perched on the table, by Ezra's elbow, and scanning the food. With a whistle, the droid critiqued Cal's dish in comparison to 'the original' version in his databank.

"BD, what did I say about scanning without permission?" Cal reminded the little droid. With a buzz, BD jumped down from the table and was chased away by Chopper. Zeb laughed at the two rambunctious droids and got himself a second serving.

"Is Greez the pilot of the Mantis, or you?" Hera asked.

"He gave me the ship for a few years, while I was working with the Partisans. But Greez is back at the helm, now, taking Kata and I to explore the Galaxy," Cal explained.

"You worked with the Partisans?" Ezra asked, swallowing his food a bit too quickly.

"More than a few times, I met a lot of good people there," Cal said, then took a moment to himself to release a breath, "but uh, I lost a lot of good people, too. That's part of why I had to step back."

"I understand, Cal," Hera said, "we've worked with Gerrera in the past as well. Though we're working for similar goals, I can't always approve of his methods. I'm glad you were able to get away from that."

"Gerrera wasn't the problem," Cal said coldly and Kallus felt a chill race down his spine. He found himself stirring his Latero stew as he tried to remember if he heard reports about a Jedi working with the Partisans when he was in the ISB.

"Sorry, enough about him," Cal waved the negative thoughts about the mad Partisan away and gave Ezra a smile, "tell me about the adventures you and Kanan have had. I've seen you hold your own in a bind. Kanan's taught you well," Cal said which made Ezra swell with pride.

"Kanan is a great Jedi! He's taught me so much and he saved my life more than a few times!" Ezra said. Cal's smile crinkled his eyes.

"Well I learned a lot from him too," Kanan added between bites of his meal. "I wouldn't have been able to defeat the Grand Inquisitor without his help," Kanan directed a proud smile at his Padawan.

"Grand Inquisitor?" Cal echoed.

"Yeah, he was such a pain, caused us a lot of trouble back in the day," Zeb replied.

"I did hear about that, I didn't know it was you who had defeated him, wow," Cal said, "the highest ranking Inquisitor, he must have been a formidable opponent."

"He was," Kanan confirmed, "how did you hear about him?"

"I have a network," Cal said, Kallus thought he hesitated slightly to find the right word, "we always have to stay vigilant when it comes to the Inquisitors."

"You've fought them too?" Kallus guessed from the way Cal's demeanour began to change. He wondered if the others could tell, too.

"I've encountered a few of them, uh," Cal scratched the left side of his chest as he thought, then began counting on his hands, "not Grand Inquisitor level but I defeated the Fifteenth Brother, Twelfth Brother, Ninth Sister, Fifth Brother, Fourth, Third and Second Sisters, and- uh," he bit his lips, edging too close to something Cal didn't want to touch.

"There's that many of them?" Ezra gasped.

"That's just the Inquisitors I've defeated. There were a couple former Jedi Masters and Knights who'd fallen to the Dark side too, uh, I've kil- defeated more raiders, pirates and bounty hunters than anything really-" Cal said, Kallus could have sworn he was trying to get away from the subject.

"That sounds like a lot," Kanan said, his mouth slightly hanging open. If Kallus could see his eyes, they'd probably be wide.

"It was," Cal said.

"Did you say you defeated the Fifth Brother?" Sabine asked.

"Well I pushed him off a tall building," Cal offered quickly, "that's kind of how I defeated the Ninth Sister the first time. I had to put Ninth down for good on Coruscant a few years later. So I did things properly after that. I know the Inquisitorius won't stop, if he's anything like Ninth, he's probably still out there," Cal's fork scraped the bottom of his bowl.

"We've encountered the Fifth Brother a few times, actually," Zeb said carefully.

"Yeah he's really creepy. Gave us a hard time when we were trying to find a good place for Chopper Base," Sabine said.

"He was even trying to kidnap some kids!" Ezra said.

"What?" Cal's attention snapped to Ezra.

"We fought him protecting some Force-sensitive children and their guardians. He was trying to steal them away, I'm not sure what for," Kanan explained.

"They take children and turn them into Inquisitors," Cal supplied quickly.

"Good thing we stopped him," Ezra said.

"Did you defeat him?" Cal asked Kanan.

"What?"

"The Fifth Brother. Did you kill him?" Cal demanded.

"No, Cal, I couldn't. I'm sorry, he's probably still out there," Kanan said.

"Where?" Cal seethed, his knuckles white around his fork.

"Um, that was back on Takobo, right?" Zeb said, his eyes swept back and forth between Kallus and Cal. Zeb gave Kallus a concerned look. Cal looked down at his empty bowl, his eyebrows knit tightly together.

"Takobo," Cal echoed, "that's why-" his voice was a harsh whisper.

"Cal?" Kallus called to the other Jedi but it fell on deaf ears.

"Caleb," Kanan called to his friend who shot up at the name, "are you alright?"

Cal didn't answer. BD-1 trilled from behind Cal and jumped up into the Jedi's lap and nuzzled up against the ginger man. Cal dropped his fork and held BD in a gentle embrace.

"My apologies, I shouldn't have brought it up," Cal said.

"It's okay. I get it, Cal," Kanan offered, "it's hard facing the dark in others like that."

Cal forced a smile and nodded at Kanan.

"Yeah, it is." Cal's eyes wandered around the table, not looking at anyone in particular, settling on the empty plates and bowls in front of everyone. "If you're all done eating, I'll clean up." He said, swallowing as he stood up from his seat. BD climbed up his arm and onto his back, clinging closely to the Jedi's shoulders.

"Nonsense Cal, you're our guest, and you already cooked for us too," Hera said.

"It's the least I can do, Hera, thank you for letting me stay here," Cal offered her a bright smile, genuine now.

"Well you're only here because Ezra and Kanan ruined your archeological expedition," Sabine laughed as Ezra protested.

"I'll help you, Cal," Kallus offered as he also stood up and started gathering plates.

Cal's shoulders relaxed as he gave Kallus a soft look.

"Thanks," Cal said as he gathered up the used utensils and piled them onto the plates in Kallus' hands. Soon, the other members of the Ghost crew left to do their other evening chores. Cal gathered the pots and pans he used to cook and began washing them, he held each plate Kallus gave him carefully. BD-1 watched Kallus as he packed away leftovers and wiped the table clean.

Kallus noticed one of the forks was bent out of shape.