Repairing Beyond Ambition - Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order fanfic *EDITING*

Chapter 29

The two of them stood in silence after Altheeda let go of him and began pacing around nervously. Cal was completely wrapped up by his anger from the encounter, whilst she wanted to comfort him but just had no clue how to go about it. She rarely saw him riled up, so this was unfamiliar territory to her. Asking whether he was okay was a pointless question and she knew that, yet she didn't want to appear heartless to his emotions. It was then she knew exactly what to do.

She walked over to him slowly, but as confidently as she could, and her fingers intertwined to find his and she held his hand. She didn't need to say or do anything else, Cal understood instantly. He looked down at his hand and began to feel calmer as time went on. She then gave it a squeeze before gently letting go and walking ahead at a snail's pace. BD-1, who had watched the interaction curiously, beeped for Cal to join them.

"Thanks for what you did back there." Cal muttered to the droid. "You saved our lives and got us closer to the tomb."

A trilling noise from BD-1 helped to erase the silence but it was still persistent as they entered a cave. As they peered into the darkness, the only way through was a sheer drop, but Altheeda knew she could cross using her grapple in her blaster. She gestured for him to go first and he nodded, allowing BD-1 to climb his back before using his skills with the Force to run across the rocky walls to cross. She gave him some leeway before firing at the rocky surface and securing the line before swinging across. When she reached the ledge that Cal stood on, she began reeling in the mechanism and couldn't help but notice how much their latest encounter with Second Sister had affected him. BD-1 made a series of curious noises at him and he sighed heavily.

"I can't believe she kept something like that from us." He lamented.

"She probably had her reasons." She spoke uncertainly.

"And what exactly do you think those reasons are?" Cal asked with folded arms.

"Well... look, Cal. We've only heard one side, we need to give Cere a chance to explain herself."

"What is there to explain?"

"You don't even know if it's true. Right now, you're only taking into account someone's word and that someone wants us killed."

The Jedi paused for a moment, the cloudiness in his mind beginning to clear. She did have a point, as angry as he was, he didn't have solid proof that what was said had occurred. At the same time, this new information was making him question many things, even questioning whether he was on the right side in the mission.

"She was nearly killed by Cere's betrayal, what's to say the same won't happen to us?" Cal fired back, his eyebrows furrowed.

"It hasn't happened yet."

"Yet." He emphasised.

"Cal..."

"Altheeda, we really need to be more careful."

"Of course, but I just don't think we should take only one side as the truth."

Cal was becoming more confused and frustrated with himself and the words Trilla had told him. He resented himself for allowing his mind to become muddled. Altheeda was pained to see him like this. She stepped forward and put soft hands on his shoulders and she felt them unwind.

"Believe me, I'm just as confused as you are, but right now, we need to focus on getting into the tomb. Yes, we need answers from Cere and until then we should be wary, but trying to address everything all at once is not going to work."

He nodded as he began to see sense again.

"I don't know what we're meant to be finding in the tomb, I think you know more than I do on that one." She added with a small giggle that he joined in with. "But once we find something, then we'll address this."