reborn § cal kestis

8

  Sadira's heart dropped. She had never felt worse about being right.

  Cere, Greez and Merrin joined them, and Aari quickly updated them about the situation. Sadira felt their terror before she even saw it written on their faces.

  Cere observed the screen closer. "Are you prepared for this? Do you have the resources? The ships?"

  Aari sucked air in through her teeth. "Possibly," she mused. "But we can't be sure. We're trained, but this would be our first fight. There's no guaranteeing what will happen."

  "Then we'll do the best we can to help."

  No one wanted to admit that it could've been their fault that the Empire was there. No one wanted to admit that Sadira had been right, not even Sadira herself.

  "How long do we have?" Cal implored.

  "A few hours. They're not far but should have a tough time navigating their way through the system."

  Cal nodded. "I'll go to the temple. Cere, you can come with me."

  "I should stay," Cere protested. "I can interfere with their commlinks, see what I can find out. You'll have to find someone else."

  "Merrin?"

  Merrin shook her head. "I need a chance to practice my powers. This is the perfect opportunity."

  Cal looked to Greez, who held up his hand dismissively before he could say anything.

  "I guess that leaves you, Sadira," Cal said, facing her.

  "I guess it does." Sadira narrowed her eyes. "I'm so honoured to be your fourth choice."

   "You should get going," Aari insisted. She fumbled through her pockets, then pulled out a small, oval object. Upon pressing it open, a holomap was projected out of it. "The temple is just there," she said as she pointed to a small circle on the map.

Cal took the holomap and stuffed it into his pocket. "Thanks, Aari."

"You're welcome. Now go! We don't have a lot of time."

The pair did as Aari said, moving to prepare for their journey. Cal changed into a water-proof poncho as Sadira tucked her blaster into her holster. She had no idea what creatures they would come up against, but she wanted to be prepared no matter what.

  Just as they were about to leave, Cere approached Sadira. "I just wanted to apologise about earlier. You were right; I should have listened."

  Uncomfortable, Sadira's eyed her feet. "I know," she murmured. Something inside of her wanted to say more, but she wouldn't allow herself. Instead, she forced a smile, then left to meet Cal.

  "Nice poncho," she complimented him, smirking.

  Cal grinned smoothed out the material. "Thanks. Lets go."

   They stepped out of the cave and into the thick mist. Sadira shivered. She wondered if it was the cold, or the terror of their oncoming Battle.

Sadira studied the holomap with Cal. "What do you think we'll find out here?"

"Aari said that the creatures had to adapt to the changed environment. So...probably things like that spider from before," Cal said, shrugging.

"I'm thrilled."

Cal shut the holomap off, then began to walk to the right. "We'll be fine."

"You'll be fine. I'm not used to this stuff."