the Cause. the Creed. the Code.

8 Calm

Hera ran diagnostics on the Ghost with Chopper, her blaster back on her hip as she prepared to leave Krownest that morning. Kallus was chatting with Fen Rau on the loading ramp and she could just hear Kestis and Alrich discussing their next meeting outside the ship. Kestis' lightsaber was dangling from his hip, she realised how much like himself he looked with it. Once the Ghost was prepped and her passengers were on it, they began their ascent into the clouds.

"Hey, Kallus, want to see what I painted in therapy yesterday?" Kestis asked as they left Krownest's atmosphere and prepared for the jump to hyperspace.

"Okay," Kallus said nonchalantly.

Kestis shifted something in a bag and showed it to the former Imperial spy.

"Is that real beskar?" Kallus asked.

"No, it's plaster, so it's light and easy to paint. It looks like a helmet though, right?" Kestis exclaimed and Kallus nodded.

"Why are the two halves painted so differently?" Kallus asked.

"Alrich wanted me to paint the two different sides of me: who I am at home on Koboh, and who I have to be on mission."

"That's what you think you're like on missions?" a pause, "Looks kind of scary."

"It does... but I think it feels good to finally admit it..." Kestis explained wistfully.

"I'm proud of you, Cal Kestis," Kallus said.

Hera turned her head slightly to glance at the two out of the corner of her eye, but Kestis was sitting in a way that his poncho blocked the helmet from her view. All she could see were angry black and red brushstrokes that smeared across the visor. BD-1 trilled excitedly that he painted something too and was eager to show off as well. The two men laughed and entertained the little droid. Chopper groaned and the Ghost jolted into hyperspace.

After a long day of travel, of blue and white washing over her, Hera had finally dropped Agent Kestis off on Koboh and retrieved Zeb and Jacen. Soon, she found herself underneath the Ghost in the Independence's hangar bay, cleaning out Koboh dust from the guts of her ship.

"Pass me the hydrospanner, Chop," she called, one hand outstretched to receive the tool. A heavy hand placed the hydrospanner in her own. She wheeled the creeper out towards the pair of legs standing by the Ghost. Caern Adan and his droid, IT-O stood patiently in the hangar, the therapy droid looking shiny and new and Adan sporting a medical eye patch.

"Greetings, General Syndulla," IT-O chirped.

"Hello, IT-O. Captain Adan, glad to see you up and about, how is the rest of your recovery going?" Hera greeted in a practised tone.

"Fairly well, all things considered, I might have a consultation with a prosthetist for a cybernetic eye soon," Adan explained rather cheerfully.

"That's good," Hera started as she rolled back under the Ghost.

"How have you been faring, General?"

"Not sure what you mean," Hera answered towards his legs. She tried to focus on the gears and wires above her head instead of letting her eyes wander to her view of Adans boots.

"General, I hope you don't take offence but I noticed you've been a bit on edge since the incident as well," Adan postured. Hera paused her work to hear what else Adan had to say, "don't you think you've overstepped your boundaries concerning Agent Kestis?"

"I've done nothing of the sort," Hera retorted. Chopper wheeled around the Ghost, buzzing and annoyed at the intelligence agent.

"You've spent the better part of the month trying to help a man you despise, why, sir?" Adan inquired.

"I don't despise Captain Kallus," Hera deflected.

"We are talking about Agent Kestis, aren't we?" IT-O whistled.

She pried some Koboh dust from between some gears within the Ghost's landing struts, "Agent Kestis is an asset to the Rebel Alliance, Commander Draven wanted both Captain Kallus and Agent Kestis working more safely and efficiently. I simply helped them find a way to achieve that."

"I'm not sure that's the only reason," Adan mused.

Chopper rumbled grumpily by Adan's feet, there weren't a lot of pilots or engineers around, Chopper whooped, he could stun him and no one had to know. IT-O gave a skeptical chirp at the astromech droid.

"What are you getting at, Captain?" Hera sneered, injecting as much poison into her voice as she could.

Adan shifted on his feet, "Kestis' problem is that he cares too much about other people, so much so that he neglects himself," he mused, "and you're the same."

Hera's hand slipped and she dropped her hydrospanner. With a shove she rolled out from under the Ghost and met Adan's eye.

"I am nothing like Agent Cal Kestis," Hera warned.

"You may think that, but I think I've gotten to know both of you well enough to see some similarities," Adan's lips turned up just the slightest bit at the idea, his antenna stalks extended and relaxed. "Kestis tries so hard to please everyone else that he hardly has time to let himself be happy."

"That's not like me at all," Hera countered. Chopper rattled beside her, she could just imagine IT-O rolling his optic sensor as if it were an eye.

"General," Adan said clearly, he swallowed, then, "when was the last time you were on Lothal?"

In a rush, Hera got up from her creeper to meet Adan face to face. IT-O floated about their heads, his blinking lights flashed red.

"What are you saying?" Hera threatened.

"I'm saying if you need to talk, you know where to find me and IT-O," he said.

"You think something is wrong with me like how there's something wrong with Kestis?" She accused.

"No, not at all," he gave her a sly smile, "but I know for a fact, you and Agent Kestis both have been fighting in this war far longer than I have. It affected him differently than you, but... it still affected you."

She chewed on her lips in thought. She thought to Jacen, asleep in the Ghost. How could she raise him safely with the Empire still threatening them all? Especially now with the Civil War in full swing, would she go as far as Kestis had for her family?

"Our door is always open, General Syndulla," Adan said before he turned and slowly walked away, his footsteps echoing off the durasteel floors and walls until he left the hangar bay.

Hera sat back down on her creeper and placed a comforting hand on a cranky and rattling Chopper. She reclined onto the creeper and slid back under the Ghost. She picked up her fallen hydrospanner but let it rest on her chest and took a deep breath. Out of sight from everyone else, she fished the transponder out of her pocket, typed in a transmission code for Lothal and opened the line.