A Step Into The Dark | Cal Kestis AU

Chapter 7: Gazes

I wanted to know how the Jedi knew my name. It was something I kept hidden, something I wished to discard about my past.

I was the Seventh Brother, not Cal. Not anymore.

Though I hadn't been gone away from the blacksmith too long, I still peeked my head in check if there was any progress.

It made me uncomfortable to walk around without my helmet.

"Mon-El."

The smithy quickly looked up from behind a counter, nearly hitting his head on the dark concrete.

"Yes, sir? I had a Stormtrooper fetch me your helmet, sir. The new one should be done by tomorrow, the day after at latest." He feigned a smile, obviously not comfortable with my presence. He wanted to work alone.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and nodded. "Get working. I'll be back tomorrow."

Mon-El didn't say anything as he went back to work, grabbing my charred helmet and beginning the work of a brand new one.

Walking out of the smith shop, I took a few steps away and paused to think.

Second Sister asked me to report back to her, to let her know how everything unraveled with the Jedi.

But I didn't feel like going to talk to her, at least not at the moment.

It didn't go particularly well with Eva, anyway, and I didn't want to return with a bad message.

I sighed and glanced down at the small watch I kept hidden under the sleeve of my undershirt.

Most people did not know I had it, but I always liked to be able to know what time it was.

21:00.

The sky would be dark, and the stars high by this time.

There weren't many troopers in the halls now, most stationed where they needed to be or eating in the mess hall.

They wouldn't notice if I was gone for a while.

I knew my way around the Fortress, I spent a lot of my first weeks here simply exploring. I found passages and secrets I had been certain very few people knew about.

The closest exit was a quick walk down the left corridor. A blast door led to ship maintenance, which led outside.

So that's the direction I went in, keeping my eyes forward and sweaty hands clasped behind my back.

The dim red light that always filled the hallways seemed darker than normal, almost suffocating.

I picked up my pace and my steps became more audible as I walked through the blast doors.

The air was significantly cooler in the maintenance bay. At this point, anything was better than walking around inside the heart of the fortress.

A few of the young mechanics looked up at me, eyes wide like they had just seen God.

The thought brought a small smirk to my face as I walked past the scattered TIEs and cargo ships towards the bay doors, which led outside.

There was a handful of troopers that seemed to be watching my departure, though I knew they didn't dare say anything.

I took a breath of the cool, clean air and looked up towards the sky.

I had been correct; the stars were really bright. But I needed a better view.

The fortress towered even higher than my current standing point, a dark silhouette against an even darker sky.

Stairs led up to a balcony, where I could see three troopers watching over the waters below.