The Force Betrayed: Cal Kestis x OC

7.

"Who were those guys?" Sakana asked, breathing heavily.

"I'm not sure...Nightbrothers, I think?" Cal responded, turning off his lightsaber. "I have a feeling that won't be the last we see of them."

"Great," Sakana said, reattaching her lightsaber to her hip.

"We can handle them," he sighed, walking further inside.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Cal replied.

"That woman said we needed to go."

"And you think we should listen?" he asked, placing his right hand on his hip. "We need that Astrium."

"I—" she started to say, shaking her head. "If she sicks an entire army of those Nightbrothers on us, I'm leaving you behind."

"I'm sure," he grinned sarcastically. "And who's going to take you home?"

"Greez," she huffed, crossing her arms. "I'll tell them you got eaten by whatever that creature was that flew over us."

"Mhm," he said, pursing his lips to hide his smile. "Come on, I want to find this tomb."

Sakana's feet felt heavy and dead, but she trudged on anyways. She had to remind herself exactly why she was doing this in the first place; she felt like she owed Cal some help, and she hoped the holocron would help her find her father. A list of young Force sensitives across the galaxy could surely include a specific name that she was looking for....

*****

Eight and a Half Months Before Present-Day

Sakana swung her lightsaber around, spinning it over and over again. She was much higher up in the Wroshyr trees than she had ever been before, but she still made sure she could reach the ground quickly if need be. She was still far from the Empire's reach; she didn't need to go any higher up.

Ever since she had watched her mother's duel with Master Kenobi, she had been practicing her lightsaber combat. She had already known the basics, but now that she had seen two Jedi actually fight, she felt like she could truly understand the dynamics of a fight. Something about swinging the weapon around just felt so natural to her, though she knew her skills would need a lot of work.

She turned the lightsaber off and watched as the golden blade disappeared. She reattached it to her hip and sat down against the bark of the tree, looking up at the thick blanket of branches and leaves above her.

She reached into her pocket and pulled her mother's journal out, staring at it. She hadn't opened it in a few weeks; she had been focusing on practicing with her lightsaber instead. As she closed her eyes, she pulled the journal open and a dark blue aura clouded her vision.

The outline of two figures began to form in front of her, and she watched intently as the outlines materialized into familiar faces. There was no blur this time; Sakana could see everything happening as if she was there.

Her mother and Obi-Wan were leaning against a balcony overlooking a great city, and Sakana couldn't help but stare at the hundreds of ships that flew in front of the buildings below. From her mother's previous descriptions, she figured it was Coruscant.

She also couldn't stop staring at Obi-Wan's face; he was so much younger here than in the recording from the holocron and it made her laugh. He practically looked like a teenager.

"The Council does not take me seriously, Obi-Wan. I can feel it every time I report to them."

"Eryyyn..." he trailed off, crossing his arms and turning around so that his back was to the railing.