Purge (Star Wars)

Contact

The ship's intercom crackles to life and Greez's voice comes through, "Cal, get up here. We're getting an encrypted message." Cal and Ilyana quickly head to the front of the ship where Cere greets them from the holotable.

"It's the contact we were waiting for," she says to them as they approach, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," says Cal and Cere opens the transmission but Ilyana steps back, purposefully staying out of view. The holotable flickers to life and Cere gasps with surprise. Projecting in the holodisplay above the table is a Kiffar man with long thick locks of dark hair and a tattoo beneath his eyes and across the bridge of his nose.

"Quinlan!" Cere exclaims and everyone in the room looks at her curiously, "I didn't know you were still alive!"

"Cere Junda! It's good to see you too," the man responds jovially, "I hear you could use some help."

"Yes," says Cere, shaking off her surprise. "We have a young girl here and her mother who need to escape the Empire. We've been told you could help them disappear."

"Well, you've come to the right place! That's what I do."

"Wait, who are you?" asks Cal.

"He's an old friend. I'll explain," Cere answers with a smile. For once it feels like something might go right.

"Where are you now?" asks Quinlan.

"We're on Daiyu," Cal answers cautiously, purposefully keeping his response vague.

"Understood," says Quinlan, catching the suspicion in Cal's voice, "No need to say more. I operate a safehouse on Daiyu. From there I can get them passage off-world and help them disappear. We can meet at a neutral location."

"This is Cal," says Cere gesturing towards him, "He will bring the girl to you."

"Great! I'm sending you an encrypted message with the time and coordinates for the meeting. Come alone." Quinlan's expression becomes more serious. "If anyone else comes with you I will leave without the girl. No questions asked."

Merrin throws Cal and Cere a worried look.

"Understood," says Cere and the transmission shuts off.

"Who is that person?" Merrin asks immediately. "Can we trust him?"

"He seemed familiar but I don't know how," Cal says to Cere.

"Yes, we can trust him," Cere says to Merrin then turns to Cal, "He's a Jedi."

Cal's expression immediately changes to a mix of surprise and joy. "Really?"

"Yes!" she answers with a smile, "His name is Quinlan Vos, I met him once during the Clone Wars. I didn't know he survived the purge. He is a... well, an unusual Jedi but he can be trusted.

"You didn't tell him Cal is a Jedi," Ilyana observes.

"It's probably for the best that as few people know that as possible," Cere explains.

"We're receiving data," Greez calls from the cockpit. "Looks like the meeting is set for tonight, two hours from now."

"Where is the location?" asks Merrin.

"I'm sending it to the holotable now," says Greez, before joining the others at the holotable. Cere brings up a map of the city and loads the coordinates.

"It looks like the shipping yards at the edge of town," she says.

"I do not like the idea of you going alone," Merrin says to Cal.