The Force Betrayed: Cal Kestis x OC

23.

Cal was the first to enter the Mantis, followed by Sakana, then Merrin. Cere was waiting excitedly for their return in the common area, and as her familiar padawan entered the ship, her heart began to race.

"We got the Astrium, Cere," Cal smiled, handing it to her. "All three of us."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Greez said, his head shaking back and forth rapidly as he noticed the new addition. "Why is there a space witch on my ship!?"

"Greez, this is Merrin. She's one of us now," Cal grinned, giving the Latero a hopeful look.

"No, no," Greez grumbled as he continued to shake his head, pushing himself past the trio and into the kitchen, "you've already reached your stray limit. Sorry, Sakana," he said, though she could tell he didn't mean any offense.

She shook her head and laughed at the comment while Cere eyed Merrin curiously, her gaze shifting between the Nightsister and the Astrium.

"We always have room for one more," Cere smiled, though her expression was less than warm. "But you'll still have to prove your loyalty."

"I understand," Merrin nodded softly, making her loose hairs cascade down her face in a way that delighted Sakana. It somehow both blended with and contrasted against her features, emphasizing the gentle upturn of her shadowy lips.

"Why doesn't the captain get a say in this?" Greez asked, exasperatedly throwing his top two hands in the air.

"Because I'm the one paying you," Cere smirked as she walked back towards the cockpit. "And speaking of our captain, we need to set a course for Bogano."

"Sure thing, Cere," Greez sighed sarcastically, letting his hands fall in defeat as he followed her into the cockpit.

"I was not expecting to cause so much trouble," Merrin said as she sat down on the couch, adjusting to its softness.

"That's just Greez," Sakana smiled warmly as she joined Merrin on the couch, sitting comfortably to her right. "They're both wary of strangers."

"They weren't very wary of you," Cal shrugged, taking his place on the couch to the far left of Merrin.

Sakana shook her head and looked Cal dead in the eyes, trying not to laugh. "That was different," she sighed. "Don't listen to him."

"Yes, that would be the best course of action," Merrin said, barely nodding her head as she looked at Sakana.

There was an awkward silence that followed Merrin's words as no one knew what to say, the day's exhaustion heavy against their bones.

"This...Astrium," Merrin eventually spoke up, grabbing Cal and Sakana's attention as she continued, "how will it restore your Order?"

"It opens a vault on Bogano that holds a holocron, a Jedi artifact that contains the names and locations of all known Force-sensitives in the galaxy," Cal answered. "But if the Empire gets their hands on it, they'll hunt down those children and form an army of Inquisitors, special Force-sensitive soldiers created to hunt down Jedi like Sakana and I."

Merrin suddenly looked at him, her eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "But if you find these children, won't the Empire still be hunting them down?"

Cal stared back at her silently, unsure how to respond at first. Sakana was silent too; the Nightsister had a point. She'd been so focused on taking down the Empire and potentially rebuilding the Order that she hadn't though much about the risks that would follow. Truthfully, she'd never really thought that far because she'd never planned to stay with Cal after they found the holocron, but things had become more complicated since then.