Star Wars Jedi: The Haunting

Chapter 8

Kata woke up and saw Cal looking over her, worried.

"Kata, are you OK?" he asked.

For whatever reason, Kata couldn't remember that much about Cal at all. She just... couldn't. For whatever reason, she only remembered memories of him that were from years ago. It seemed like this massive gap had been created between what she last remembered and the present day. As if someone had wiped her memory. Could it be Cal? Surely not. He looked concerned for her.

Furthermore, she also felt... different. As if some rewiring of her brain had been done while she was out. She didn't know if she was just tired, but the Mantis looked unclear and hazy in the distance. She remembered seeing it clearly yesterday. What had happened to her?

"What... happened, Cal?" Kata asked, warily.

"You passed out. I think it was due to the heat," said Cal.

As Cal said it, Kata did notice the heat. Tanalorr was often quite hot in the daytime. Maybe she had been out in the heat too long. She wanted to ask Cal about her memories, but she wanted to get back to the rest of the crew first. Suddenly she realized that the same time gap existed with the rest of them. She only remembered memories from years ago.

"Come on," Cal said, interrupting her thoughts, "let's get you back to the Mantis. It's much cooler in there." He was offering her a hand.

As Kata tried to grab onto Cal's hand, she immediately noticed something was wrong with her. Try as she might, she couldn't pull herself up. Her grip strength in her right hand seemed to have all but vanished as her hand slipped off his.

Luckily, Cal seemed like he was in a patient mood. "Don't rush, Kata. You're clearly tired. Easy does it."

She used her left hand instead, and, although she was still not properly able to clench her fist, the grip in her left hand was somewhat stronger than her right hand, and she just about managed to hold on as Cal pulled her up.

Once he got her onto her feet, she immediately started to fall. Thankfully he caught her before she hit the ground.

"What's the matter, Kata?" he asked.

"My legs. I don't know what's wrong with them, Cal, but they won't move." Suddenly the gravity of her own words set in and her emotion started rising. "I can't move my legs! I can't feel my legs! Why can't I move my legs?"

Cal looked horrified when she said that, as if he was coming to terms with the fact that he had done something bad. But he hadn't done anything, had he?

The look disappeared off Cal's face as quickly as it had appeared and he picked her up. "Don't worry, Kata. I've got you."

Cal walked with her in his arms for a little while before she asked, "Cal?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think I'm ever going to walk again?"

Cal suspiciously avoided answering her question. "Let's get you out of this heat, Kata. You'll feel better in the Mantis. Merrin and Greez will be there as well. Lunch should be ready soon."

"OK," said Kata slowly, not sure what else to say. She couldn't help but feel like Cal was hiding something. He was much too anxious – she found, to her surprise, that she could sense his mood.

As they walked back to the Mantis, Kata instantly felt the air con blasting, which was a relief from the stifling conditions outside. Cal put her down on a chair and gently hugged her.

"I've got some things to take care of," said Cal, beginning to walk away. "If you need Merrin or Greez, just call for them."

Kata didn't know why, but the Force felt like it almost... warned her when Cal said that.

As if he were lying.

Kata wasn't sure what to think about it. She hadn't previously known that she could use the Force, but now was acutely aware of it, as if that part of her brain had woken up for the first time.

Cal walked away from the Mantis, and wandered around for a little while before he found Bode's grave. Then he sat down on the ground beside it and cried.

He had only wanted to be a good father to Kata. That was all he had wanted. It sounded so simple.

And yet, in his efforts to be a good parent, Cal Kestis had got himself into the biggest clusterfuck of his life.

He hadn't wanted to wipe Kata's memory, but she had seen him wipe Greez', had misinterpreted what he'd done, and then threatened to tell Merrin. Of course, Cal couldn't have anyone ruin his relationship with Merrin. She was his and his only. He had had to do it. He had no choice. It was either that or have his relationship with Merrin ruined for good.

The thing was, he hadn't anticipated that wiping her memory would be so difficult. And he had ended up permanently damaging her. In some of the worst ways possible.

He hadn't answered her question earlier because he didn't want to upset her. They were starting afresh since her memory wipe, and he didn't want to get off on the wrong foot with her.

The truthful answer, though, was pretty grim. It wasn't likely that Kata would ever walk normally again. In fact, the chance was pretty much zero. Brain damage didn't exactly heal over time, so it would require a miracle. What would be more likely to happen would be that the part of her brain that allowed her to use the Force would wake up and take over her movement – if it could. She might be able to Force-glide or Force-walk, but normally walking, without using the Force? No. Not happening.

Cal looked down at Bode's grave through his tears and realized that Bode was right on Nova Garon. Cal didn't understand what being a father was like back then. And now that he did understand, he wished he didn't. Oh, Bode, Cal thought to himself. Why didn't I listen to you?

Just then Merrin materialized beside Cal, with a strange expression on her face.

"Merrin," Cal said, slightly surprised. "I didn't see you coming."

"Cal," Merrin said, sternly. "We need to talk. Seriously."

"OK, what's bothering you?" Cal asked.

Merrin paused for a second. "It's Kata."

Cal immediately knew that he had to be very careful about what he said in this conversation. Merrin was good at probing his thoughts, especially when he least expected it.

"What about her?" Cal asked, trying to give as nondescript an answer as possible – he was already in a hole, and he didn't want to keep digging.

"She... seems to have forgotten that we bonded over years," said Merrin slowly. "She's acting like she did when she first met me. It's as if someone... wiped her memory or something. I don't like it."

"That's weird," said Cal. He had to pretend to be shocked now; there was nothing else for it. He couldn't let Merrin find out.

"What's even weirder, Cal," said Merrin, "is that Kata is completely unable to move her legs, and doesn't seem as able to use her arms. It's disturbing. It's as if someone went into her head and just... wreaked havoc. I don't know what to do. She's really struggling."

"I don't know who could have done such a thing," said Cal, continuing to pretend to be shocked.

Merrin looked at him strangely for a second, and then slowly shook her head. "I'll see you on the Mantis," she said, eventually. And with that, she was gone.

Cal got up from the ground with a sigh, beginning to weep. Why did the galaxy want him to fail? Why could nothing go right for him? Why couldn't he catch a break? Why couldn't he be the father he wanted to be?

Cal turned away from Bode's grave, but as he did so, Casey Locker appeared in front of Cal, helmet in hand.

"Did you miss me?" he asked.