Unsettled/Disillusioned

Epilogue

Kallus knew something was terribly wrong when Andor called him to his office and let the door close. There were heavy bags under Andor's eyes, the meeting he'd been in with Draven and Kestis had gone on longer than it should have.

"How did the rest of the meeting go?" Kallus asked.

"We finally found a compromise. But not a day goes by that Jedi doesn't cause me problems," Andor joked acidicly.

"I take it the meeting didn't go exactly as planned?" Kallus kept his voice even, a measured cadence. He should have been there for the rest of the meeting but was called away halfway through to deal with an emergency with Wedge and Jacen. That left Kestis to defend himself alone against Andor and Draven, but the Jedi had faced off against entire stormtrooper battalions with only BD-1 as support before. Surely he could have a civil conversation with his two commanding officers by himself.

"We came to a compromise, Senator Organa was able to appeal to Kestis' 'better nature'. But that means you may have to take on more responsibility sooner than you thought."

Kallus tilted his head at Andor. On Andor's desk was the work Draven had requested of Kallus; a dossier on Cal Kestis. Compiled documents of his mission logs from the year he'd worked with the Rebellion, his workings with Gerrera's Partisans and information on him stolen from Imperial records. What little medical records they could find on Kestis and a preliminary mental health assessment conducted by Kallus' himself. Kallus' request to Draven was on top of it all, his offer to become Cal Kestis' handler on future missions.

"We'll be paired on missions now? Kestis has agreed to my suggestion?" Kallus asked. He should have felt relieved, elated. But Andor's face was still stern.

"After the Liberation of Lothal... that means Cal Kestis is the Rebellion's last Jedi," Andor said quietly. It was a whirlwind of events that had ultimately resulted in Ezra Bridger going missing just days after Kanan's... death. Kallus was still shocked by it all. The Ghost crew was rocked. There were many nights where he'd had to hold Zeb in their bed and console him the best he could.

"If we lose Kestis, it would be a blow to morale," Andor sighed.

"I'll keep him on track, sir," Kallus said confidently.

"You are our resident expert on the Sunshine Jedi," Andor forced the moniker through his teeth, "will you be willing to take on his current projects for the time being?"

"Well, yes, sir," Kallus said, "I knew that if I was made his handler of course I may have to assist him on his missions and proj—"

"You won't be assisting Kestis, you'd be assisting me," Andor interrupted.

"I'm sorry, I don't quite understand," Kallus shifted his weight on his feet.

"You'll be made Kestis' handler after he returns from short leave," Andor explained.

"Wait... Short leave?" Kallus echoed. He wasn't aware that option was on the table. He knew the meeting Andor had earlier was about assigning Kestis to a handler; because Kestis had previously expressed a desire to step away from the field. Draven had threatened Kestis with a desk job if he didn't comply. That was months ago. The idea that Kestis would desert the Rebellion was an empty threat at first, but Kestis had gone dark before. Cut ties with the Partisans before. He'd faked his own death at least once, if Kallus' research into the ginger Jedi was accurate. That period of his life was recorded by Imperial intelligence. But still, the stormy cloud over Kestis' head had only grown after the events of Mount Tantiss and seemed to have escalated after Lothal. Command was really letting Kestis go like that?

"Two months," Andor confirmed.

"Kestis qualified for short leave? It's only been a little over a year," Kallus quickly tried to do mental maths.