BEYOND THE STARS: A NEW ORDER RISES

PROLOGUE

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~ 14 BBY~

~The Stinger Mantis: Bogano~

Hope runs thick through the air as Cere's excitement raises her voice and fastens her words. She rushes past the young red-headed padawan as she answers her pilot's question. "A holocron. It stores information, but only accessible to Jedi! Hang on I think I have one around here!"

Cal's feet seem to yell at him for rising from their much needed rest. And clothes stick uncomfortably to his sweat-soaked skin as he was forced to slick his hair back, which had fallen onto his forehead. The outdoors seeped into his skin, the humid environment of Bogano did him no favors. And after hours of climbing ropes and dangling from hundreds of feet drops and running on walls, his feet were far from the only thing aching. Though despite this, he seemed to rise with the ease and grace befitting of a Jedi.

The square device was a brilliant baby blue lined with gold shifting triangular pieces. And a wave of nostalgia came over him as he took a moment to stare at what was probably one of the last remnants of his Order. But his daze was broken as Cere spoke up and gave him an encouraging nod, "Use the force."

It took only a few seconds for the padawan to call out to the holocron. The blue and gold pieces shifted and glowed until they suddenly flew apart, revealing the Order's only father. His robe was burned and frayed in a few places, and to one who hadn't known the man well, he seemed to be calm and quite put together for the dire message he was conveying.

But Cal did know him well.

He remembered the content, happy smile on his face when he'd knocked on his door asking to see Reia. He remembered the hefty laugh when the two had gotten themselves into ridiculous situations. He remembered it sounded like Reia's laugh, and the beaming smile on his bearded face shined just as bright as his daughters. He knew what Obi-Wan Kenobi looked like when he was calm. He knew what he looked like when he was content, or happy.

But in this message, Obi-Wan Kenobi was troubled. His brows were furrowed and even through the hologram, he could sense the man's racing heart. "This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, I regret to inform that both the Republic and the Jedi Order have fallen."

But it wasn't the message itself that made his face fall, it was the loud absence of the little girl who'd always been found waddling around right at his side looking up at him with a wondrous awe.

Reia wasn't with him.

Cal closed his eyes as the holocron returned to its original form and his arm fell to his side. He'd never seen Master Kenobi so distraught. He was always so calm and wise and in control. As if everything was within his calculations and going according to plan, no matter what chaos ensued. But he could sense it even through the hologram, he was fighting tooth and nail to keep his emotions in check.

But Cal decided to confront that reality later. If he wanted to help Cere get the holocron, he needed to know why she wasn't a Jedi anymore first.

~.~

The message played again as Cal sat on his cot in the engine room. His eyes never left the empty void of the father's right side, where little Reia could always be found with her tiny hand wound safely into her papa's. Tears misted over his eyes as the reality sunk in, Reia was at the temple during the attack. And there was only one reason why she wouldn't be with her father after such an event...

His hand flew to his hair as his eyes clenched shut, the pain of loss falling onto his chest like an anvil. His knuckles turned white in his fiery hair as he struggled to keep his tears at bay. It seemed as if his heart was tearing itself apart as he thought back to the little girl's bright happy smile and youthful joy. By the force, why? She was so young...