Caleb Dume: Order 66 (completed)

Part 2

Eventually he heard the Clone's footsteps as they ran to catch him. The clones must have killed his master and were now coming for Caleb. His feet thundered through the undergrowth as he sprinted in the direction the group had originally been headed. Tears streamed down Caleb's face as bolts zoomed past him.

After Caleb was starting to believe he would never find the ship it eventually came into view. The ramp was lowered and Caleb dashed up it. He swiveled around and was shocked to see the clones so close. The clones came to a stop and aimed. "I trusted you!" Caleb yelled, his voice wavering from running and crying. He ran into the ship and retracted the ramp; the sound of blaster bolts against the door made Caleb jump. He stumbled over to the pilots seat and collapsed into it. His eyes were raw from crying and he attempted to wipe the tears off his face only for them to be replaced by more.

Caleb turned on the ship and set his hands on the steering. He could hear more blaster bolts as he lifted the ship off the ground. Once he broke the atmosphere he plotted the jump to hyperspace. He pulled the thruster and the stars zoomed past.

"Why, why, why?" Caleb asked, banging his head on the wheel. A small beep answered him and he looked up to see his comlink beeping. It was from the temple. "Maybe it has some answers," Caleb mumbled to himself. He pressed the button and Master Kenobi appeared.

"This is Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. I regret to report that both our Jedi order and the Republic have fallen with the dark shadow of the Empire rising to take their place. This message is a warning and a reminder for any surviving Jedi. Trust in the force. Do not return to the temple, that time has passed and our future is uncertain. We will each be challenged, our trust, our faith, our friendship, but we must persevere and in time a new hope will emerge. May the force be with you, always." Obi-Wan vanished.

Caleb started in astonishment at where Master Kenobi had been standing. His tears of sadness were replaced with frustration. "So I'm not going to get help." Caleb's hands dropped to his lap as realization hit him. "I'm all alone now." He sat there for a few minutes before remembering he had plotted the points to Coruscant. He immediately started pressing buttons trying to pull himself out of hyperspace. After several minutes of frantic button pushing the stars stopped wizzing by and Caleb looked around.

"Where am I?" Caleb wondered outloud before turning on a map. He discovered that he was by a planet called Lothal. "Might as well start somewhere." Caleb mumbled as he piloted the ship over to the planet. He flew into the atmosphere and found somewhere in the grassy plains to land. It was dark but the two moons provided enough light. When he landed he went to the back and started looking for food and maybe some credits. After several minutes of searching he found a bag of republic credits and several ration packs.

"This won't last forever." Caleb grumbled. He set the new found supplies aside and opened the airlock. He jumped out of the ship and took a deep breath letting everything sink in. He was truly alone. His master was dead and the jedi were probably all gone. His friends, the clones, had turned against him and he couldn't even go back to the one planet he truly knew. Caleb sat down on the ground and started sobbing. He buried his head in his hands and felt them get wet from his tears.

Something brushed against Caleb's arm and he looked up, startled. There sitting right in front of him was a Loth-cat. The cat was staring at him, tail swishing back and forth. Caleb wiped his nose on his arm and sniffled causing the cat to cock his head. "Can I help you?" Caleb asked quietly to not disrupt the peaceful quiet. The cat didn't respond and instead just continued to stare. The two were locked in a staring contest for several minutes.

"Meow." The loth-cat crouched into a pouncing position. Caleb, not knowing what the cat was planning, just continued to stare. Suddenly the loth-cat jumped into the ship.

"Hey, get out of there!" Caleb jumped to his feet and climbed back inside the ship. He scanned the ship but saw no sign of the animal. Caleb closed the airlock trapping him and the cat inside, then started searching. He looked behind crates and even inside a few he had accidentally left open. Nothing.

"You can't hide forever little guy." Caleb paused a moment before realizing, "I can't hide forever either." As soon as Caleb said that the Loth-cat jumped out of hiding, almost as if he wanted Caleb to realize that. The cat walked over to Caleb and rubbed against his leg. Caleb picked the animal up then collapsed on a crate.

"What am I going to do?" Caleb asked the cat. As Caleb's eyelids grew heavy he didn't receive as response, at least none that he heard.