Unsettled/Disillusioned

Chapter 24: the Bluffs

Once the Ghost landed by the Mantis on Koboh, Turgle greeted them with an anxious energy.

"Cal! You need to come to the clinic, quick!" the frog said, and so Cal attempted a mad dash to the hospital in town. As quick as he could with his twisted ankle, he clung to Kanan for support, the song within the ginger's heart was also clinging to some sense of familiarity. The clinic was a humble building near the saloon. Sharp pain needled at the edge of his perception, Kanan could sense Moran and Greez in one room, with Moran's partner, Dreyo fussing over him. Once the initial shock and adrenaline wore off, the dread sank deep into Moran's bones and burned at the end where his arm was severed. But what called to the small song within Kanan was the chiming, soft dawnlight in a room at the end of the hall.

"Cal, Kanan," San Dersen was waiting for them by the door, "You should know what happened while you were away, Cal," they kept their voice steady and composed. "An Inquisitor attacked some prospectors in the mountains. Lieutenant Vashtan Wolfe and his patrol engaged them, and Kata joined him, too."

"What?" Cal snapped, his voice sounding much too loud for the relative quiet of the clinic.

"She got the prospectors to a shelter but got a graze on her arm. All in all, she fought well, Cal," Dersen reassured him. Something in Kanan realised Cal would rather she not need to fight at all.

"I leave for one day," he cried as he shoved past Dersen into the room. The faint light of Pili was sleeping in the corner while Kata suddenly jerked up in the bed at Cal's arrival.

"Cal, I'm sorry—"

"No, Kata," Cal said, whatever agitation he was showing Dersen a moment before melted away as they met eyes. Cal let go of Kanan and instead sat by Kata's bed, her hands in his own, "whatever happened, it wasn't your fault."

"What happened?" Kanan asked.

"We thought it was an Imperial scouting patrol, like how it was years ago," Kata said, her voice wavering and trailing off.

Dersen took over the explanation, "There were a few purge troopers among the squad, Kata fended them off and she and Lieutenant Wolfe duelled the Inquisitor together, but the Inquisitor escaped. Wolfe, Cimarron and some droids pursued the Inquisitor deeper into the mountains."

"What did the Inquisitor look like?" Kanan asked.

"I didn't get a good look at their face, I only got the tail end of the encounter," Dersen reported.

"The Inquisitor..." Kata struggled to say, the trying dawnlight within her wavered as Cal held her hands, "they looked like Papa."

"What?" Cal stammered. BD also gave a confused whistle.

"I knocked off their helmet and... I froze. Vashtan had to help me." Kata admitted, the light inside her that felt like the sun peeking through the trees was shivering like a wind, "I couldn't face him, he looked... he sounded like—"

"It was a trick, Kata," Cal said quickly, clear and stern as he looked into her eyes, "the Empire wanted to hurt you. Make you scared, that's all."

"I'm so sorry, Cal, I couldn't protect the town while you were gone!" Kata sobbed as she struggled to get her words out, she choked on her tears more than once, "I couldn't defeat the Inquisitor like you can and he... he looked like— he kept going on about... you and Papa both, 'Jedi who lost their way'."

"Hey, hey, look at me, Kata, none of that is true," Cal held her shaking shoulders in both his steady hands, "it was an illusion. Your father wasn't an Inquisitor, okay? He was a good man. He loved you, he'd never hurt you like this. You know that, right?" Cal reassured her. "You did well. Okay? You drove the Inquisitor away and got everyone to safety; no one else got hurt."