Purge (Star Wars)

Damage

Back at the landing pad Cal follows Ilyana up the ramp onto the Mantis. She pulls her staff down from the mount in the holotable room and goes directly to the workbench in the back without a word..

"How's it going with your Purge Trooper?" Cere asks as Merrin closes up the ship for the night.

Cal rolls his eyes, drops down onto a sofa and places the vibroblade on the table.

"That well?" asks Merrin.

"What happened?" asks Cere, joining him on the adjacent sofa.

Cal rests his elbows on his knees and rubs his palms in his eyes. "I'm not even sure," he says with a deep, exhausted sigh.

"Well," says Cere, "You picked a challenging apprentice."

"She's not my apprentice," he says, dropping his hands.

"Have you been drinking?" asks Merrin, noticing the slight flush in his cheeks that stands out all the more against his pale skin.

"Not enough from the look of it," Greez says over his shoulder as he walks past the others toward the cockpit.

"Did you find her target?" Cere asks.

"Yes," says Cal, leaning back against the sofa and resting his feet on the table. "But..."

"Boots off the table!" Greez scolds. Cal yanks his feet back again and drops them to the floor.

"But," Cal continues, "he's not Force sensitive and, unfortunately, we lost him."

"Lost him?" asks Merrin, taking a seat next to Cere. "If he's not what you're looking for, why do you still need to find him?"

"Because, force sensitive or not, the Inquisition will still come for him."

Greez groans from the cockpit, "Does that mean we're staying on this sandy dump?"

Cal looks Cere in the eyes, "We can't leave him. They'll kill him."

"Most ships don't stick around here very long," Greez continues. "People will get suspicious if we stay."

"Unless, of course, they already have a reason to be suspicious," says Merrin, referring to Ilyana.

Cal just shrugs.

"We can give it a couple days," says Cere, "but we can't stay for too long."

"If we move the Mantis outside of town, hide it in the hills somewhere, that might give us some more time," Greez offers as he joins them in the common area.

"That could work," says Cal. "It would also give us cover to see what Ilyana can do or what she might be capable of."

"And whether or not you want to take her on as your apprentice?" Cere continues to push.

Cal shakes his head, "I just need to get a better idea of what's going on with her, what she can do, and if she might be a threat to all of you."

"She's a purge trooper," says Greez, "of course she's a threat!"

"I agree with Cal," Merrin interjects. "Taking some time to learn what we are dealing with before continuing is wise."

"She drew her blaster on me! We know what we're dealing with!"

"I know, Greez, which is why we're taking precautions," Cere says, pointing to the rifle in the weapons rack they installed near the holotable, "and we will stay alert."

Greez shakes his head and throws his hands up, "Fine. Tomorrow we'll scout the hills for somewhere to settle down. By the way," he says to Cal as he shuffles towards his cabin, "you stayed out too late, your dinner is cold."