reborn § cal kestis

10

"Sadira," Cal called out, but there was no reply. He glanced back down at the necklace, glowing lilac, then shut his eyes.

He's looking down at a table, stained by oil and grease. He fumbles through a pile of cogs, spare parts and tools. A small droid sits next to the pile, the side of it's head open and revealing blue and red wires. It doesn't take Cal long to realise that he's seeing the world through Sadira's eyes.

There's a knock on the door, and Sadira looks up. An older man, which Cal assumes is Sadira's father, moves towards it as he wipes his hands with a dirty cloth. The door opens to reveal an Imroosian man in robes. He introduces himself as D'ri Nekor.

Sadira abandons her work and stands up, but stays near the table as the two converse in hushed voices. Her father begins to cry as D'ri places a hand on his shoulder, then looks to Sadira apologetically. Cal isn't sure if Sadira had heard what had been said, but he can feel that she knows. They hear an explosion in the distance, followed by cries of pain and fear. D'ri says something to Sadira's father, then pulls his hood up and leaves.

Sadira's father runs around their modest home and begins to collect items. "We have to go, Sadira," he says urgently. Sadira nods, then places her droid on the ground. The droid rolls beside her as she runs to a small bedroom and grabs a bag. She stuffs a few things that Cal doesn't see into it, then slings it onto her shoulder. Then, she pulls open a loose section of a wall and lifts the droid into it. "I'll be back soon," she whispers as she shuts it's power off and replaces the wall.

As she meets her father in the kitchen area, he pulls out a blaster pistol and hands it to her. Cal notices the badge he wears, labelled 'Zale Carrino'. "This is to protect yourself. Don't lose it." He grabs Sadira's hand and drags her out of their home, leaving it behind.

They run through their town. The buildings are tall and modern, typical to Coruscant, but they seem run down and maltreated. Parts of the duracrete are crumbled and other parts are blackened and charred.

Sadira breathes heavily as her feet slam on the ground. Zale trips over a dead body, but quickly straightens himself up. They can hear screams echoing off the walls, and this only propels them forward.

A few stormtroopers block the landing area. Zale hides her behind him and shoots at them, but easily becomes overpowered. From the side, flashes of red appear, and the stormtroopers fall to the ground. A boy in his mid-teens reveals himself, then gestures for the pair to join him. He's tall and lanky, with dark hair and almond eyes.

"Jase! You saved us," Sadira shouts as they run towards a small freighter. The boy shoots her a grin.

"Thank you," Zale says, boarding the ship.

Zale sits her in the cockpit as he takes the pilots seat. Sadira watches Jase climb down a ladder behind them. Some buttons are pushed and the ship takes off, flying above the town. In the distance, Coruscant's main city can be seen. The tall, transparistal skyscrapers reflect tangerine light as the setting sun hits them. It's a stark contrast to the squat, grey buildings from where Sadira lived.

  Zale pulls the steering wheel to one side, and the ship swerves away from the city. He drags it back and they rise up into the sky, but are met by the sight of TIE fighters heading towards them. Zale curses, then shouts orders to Jase. Green beams shoot from their ship, smacking into the fighters. Their opposers shoot back, a flurry of red blasts. The ship is hit, and Zale moves the ship around them.

  "They're following us!" Jase shouts from below.

  "Then shoot! I'll get us out of here."
 
  The sky darkens as they ascend. Streaks of red fly past them. Something hits their ship particularly hard, and it jolts suddenly. Sadira squeals, dropping her blaster. It clatters to the ground, and she reaches down to pick it up, clutching it tightly to her chest.

They're beginning to exit the atmosphere, as the sky grows black and stars appear. Cal can tell that Sadira wants to gaze up at the beauty of it, but is restricted by her fear. He feels her hands tremble and her heart beat rapidly.

"They're all gone!" Jase cries.

"Not all of them," Zale replies. Sadira looks through the viewport and sees another TIE fighter squadron approaching them. They begin to fire, but they're difficult to hold off—there's more of them than before. Zale pushes a lever, and the ship swoops underneath the fleet. He angles them towards the bottom of the fighters, then shouts "now!" Some more blasts fire from their ship, and the fighters explode. Zale whoops triumphantly as he steers them away.

There's a jolt. An alarm blares and the lights begin to flash red, on and off. A TIE fighter appears before them, and fires at the side their ship. They shake violently once more, and the side bursts into flames.

"Papa! Go!" Sadira shouts, but when she looks to him, his eyes are shut and his body is limp. Flames greedily lick at the side of his face. "Papa?" Sadira grabs him and shakes, but he doesn't wake up.

Sadira's vision blurs as she looks at her father. Cal can feel her cough and splutter as the smoke suffocates her. She looks down to the wheel and sees it lodged into place. The TIE fighter is still in front of them, preparing to fire.

Sadira screams. The entire ship shudders, causing objects to tumble onto the ground. In front of her, Sadira sees the TIE fighter stop, and then it explodes. All energy leaves Sadira's body as she falls back in her chair and reaches up to cling onto her necklace. Jase comes into her vision as she blinks slowly. He shouts her name over and over again, but her eyes shut before she can reply.

Cal's eyes snapped open. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he collected himself. Long, painful echoes usually took a lot out of him, and he often forgot who and where he was afterwards.

At some point, his knees had given way. He didn't bother to get up for a while, contemplating what he saw. What Sadira saw.

BD-1 jumped down to his side and nudged his leg. A trill sounded from him, and he seemed concerned. "We need to get back," he said, then stood.

He was unbothered the entire journey back. No Lergas or spider-creatures tried to attack him. On one hand, he was grateful—he had lost a lot of energy, and knew he wouldn't be able to fight off a whole hoard of enemies easily. On the other hand, it forced him to think, which he really didn't want to do. He knew what the vision had meant, but would rather talk to Sadira about it first.

  When he arrived at the rebel headquarters, the entire atmosphere had shifted drastically. Everyone was still preparing for the oncoming battle, but in a solemn hush. A few people chatted here and there, but it was mostly quiet.

  Cal searched around the area for Sadira, but didn't spot her anywhere. He jogged up to Cere, but she spoke before he had the chance to. "Where's Sadira?"

  Cal's stomach churned. "She's not here?"

  "No, I haven't seen her." Cere stepped forward and pressed a hand to his arm. "Cal, what happened?"

  Cal didn't know where to begin.