Fandom The Rescue: A Star Wars Story [Closed]

[Lucyfer]

The Curich shuttle was brought down on the planet Altratonne with no incident, few suspecting issue from the ship that was Imperial – if they had even noticed it through the cloaking. No one had hailed the ship as it made its descent into the atmosphere of the planet, despite what K-2SO thought their odds were of that. The droid remained in the pilot’s seat a few moments longer, deactivating the ship, before he inquired, “Do we intended to come back to this ship, Cassian?”

The man addressed, already out of the co-pilot’s seat and further into the ship, called back, “Ideally,” he was donning black armor, reminiscent of Purge Trooper attire. It had been crafted, rather than stolen, in an effort to give Cassian the illusion of belonging here to get information on the Jedi that was captured, and see if anything could be done.

Purge troopers at least had reason to be trusted around a Jedi. “Ideally, we will talk them into releasing the Jedi to our custody.”

“That is very unlikely.” K-2SO stated flatly as the black droid rose from his seat and moved to where Cassian was, just as the brunette was putting on the helmet, “The odds are there is an Inquisitor with the Jedi who will accompany them, if we even manage to deceive them that far.” Which K-2SO did doubt, as well.

“Good thing that is only the ideal situation then, isn’t it?” Cassian said, “Right now, we are just here to get information and see if we can do anything.” Cassian had his doubts, too, although he wanted to help. A Jedi was just the kind of thing the Rebel Alliance needed; a beacon of the old days, a beacon of power and of hope! “Come.”

“This is a stupid idea.”

Cassian ignored K-2SO for some ways as they trekked towards the base. He only took notice of him again, when K-2SO paused, “There are lifeforms nearby, and another ship.” Cassian looked towards him, the mask hiding any expression he may have made. He considered ignoring it, but in the end, adjusted his path. “Why are we going towards it?” Kay-too had meant it only as a warning.

“Just to see, this may be….”

His words trailed as he saw the ship ahead of him.

K-2SO also recognized it. “That is the Mantis.” He said, then, “they must have captured Cal Kestis.”

“That’s good for us.”

“I fail to see how this is good for us.”

“We have help,” Cassian stated. Whether they used them as a distraction, or genuinely offered their services, was yet to be seen. Still, he knew that this was good, he could sense that. More hands for a rescue of a Jedi were always good. He moved forward, forgetting the helmet he was wearing as he did so, and that the droid with him was an Imperial model, as he approached the vessel that was just ahead. He intended to see which ‘lifeforms’ were there, and see if he could get their help in what he assumed was a rescue of Cal Kestis, the Jedi who had brought down an Inquisitorius Headquarters.

He had to assume the others of this crew were badass enough to pull off a rescue – and he had plenty to offer for this…if he could get some answers about their own operations and see about getting them to join the Rebel Alliance.

He wasn’t called Fulcrum for no reason. Many of those with his title had also sought out allies and tested them.

He didn’t think this group necessarily needed any testing, though.

“Cassian, they are unlikely to respond well to your helmet.”

Cassian may have forgotten, but K-2SO did not.

“Oh.”

Near the ramp, Cassian paused, and quickly took the helmet off. He wasn’t sure how much more that was going to help, other than the fact the bucketheads liked to keep their heads covered to hide their shame, but K-2 had a point – it was very rare for them to remove their helmet if they were expecting hostilities.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal often picked up differet rumours on his journey through the galaxy. They usually never stayed in one place for too long, but it was still enough time to pick up a rumour here and there. They didn't always turn out to be true or have any truth to them, really, but this one seemed to promising, too much of a glimpse of hope to just be a funny thought someone threw around in a bar. A surviving Jedi was a rare and dangerous thing to hear about these days since the Empire was still hunting them down and upon further research and questioning various people, it turned out to be just that. The Empire had already managed to capture this Jedi and Cal could not live with himself if he didn't try to rescue them.

Greez wasn't very happy with Cal's plans to go and rescue this random Jedi that could maybe be dead already. 'You're not right in the head, boy' were his words when Cal insisted on going on this way too dangerous mission for someone who might be dead already. Cere wasn't that happy about it either and Merrin was in for the ride. Or at least she said so for now. Anyways, it was worth a try. Especially when they managed to pick up a few signals from the base, giving them the hint that also one of the Inquisitors was there.

It made everything more dangerous, but at the same time sparked a certain will in Cal to maybe confront another person like Trilla. She had been forced into that role, all these years ago, and this woman probably had been as well. But the main priority still remained. Help this Jedi, but if he could help somewhere else, he would also take that chance.

As soon as they landed on Altratonne, Cal started to look around the outside of the Base. They had landed somewhat hidden, but not too far away from the Base. As long as they wouldn't be spotted, they could look for the easiest entry way. The rest of the crew stayed on the ship as usual while Cal started to explore the few metres around the ship. He sneaked behind trees and tried to get an idea of what they were dealing with. In the distance, he could see the shapes of a few stormtroopers, having their backs turned to him though.

Just as he was about to take his lightsaber into his hand and make his way to the pile of trash that would give him good cover to approach the base slowly, he could feel a tingle at the back of his head. He wasn't alone and it was certainly not the stormtroopers so many metres away. Cal looked around, confused and alarmed. Had they been caught already? Maybe Greez was right and they had made the stupidest decision ever.

He followed the signals the force was giving him until he saw an imperial droid and a trooper standing in front of their ship. This plan was going horrible already though it was odd for a trooper just stand there, no weapon raised and his helmet off as well. That usually didn't happen.

Cal played it safe though and activated his blue lightsaber, sticking it between the droid's body and the man. "What are you doing here?" he asked, not immediately killing them due to the fact how weird their approach to this was. He could not sense any other people coming their way though, so it made it even more odd for the two of them to stand there.

This was not normal, but he also shouldn't waste too much time when he was supposed to rescue someone.

 

[Lucyfer]

It seemed only a couple of seconds after Cassian had taken off his helmet, that there was an unfamiliar sound, and then a blade came between him and K-2SO. Not just any blade, either – that wasn’t an electroblade, or a vibrosaber. It was a lightsaber! He’d never seen one in person, but he certainly knew about them, and knew by the hue of it, this was no Inquisitor. They always had red. That seemed a rule, not just a norm.

Cassian dropped his helmet at his feet, and held his hands up so they were in plain sight. “I told you,” K-2SO said immediately, and Cassian’s nose wrinkled in distaste as he gave the droid a bit of a harsh look, before his gaze averted to the red-haired stranger.

“Are you Cal?” He asked, then realized he should be the one answering questions, “I saw the Mantis – your crew is legendary, I came to see if your crewmates were there. I was starting to think you were the captured Jedi. I wanted to lend my hand.” Giving the stranger a once-over, however, suggested he was not the one who had been captured.

Knowing how Imperials worked, he’d be a bit…rougher in appearance than he was, no doubt. He looked fresh, without injury. “I’m…Cassian,” he figured that wasn’t going to get him into too much trouble, “I heard about the Jedi. I’m here to help get them out of here. The droid is with me – useful in these kinds of places,” he gave a cant of his head in K-2SO’s direction.

“Not by choice.” K-2SO indicated, and Cassian sighed.

Why couldn’t K-2SO ever just cooperate without argument?

“If you’re still here to help the Jedi,” as in, he wasn’t the one needing rescue, “let us lend you a hand.” Cassian gave a slight smirk, “We might even be able to just walk on in if we pretend we captured you.” Not too many questions would be asked about that, he figured. Which was really the pity, but he had the outfit, and the droid, and Cal was, well, fairly well known.

They would need a set of binders, but that didn’t sound like the most difficult thing in the galaxy to procure.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal looked between the droid and the man. In his head, he did not see the connection between two friendly individuals and their imperial appearance, especially since the droid was without a doubt one belonging to the Empire. But he did let the man speak, listening to all he had to say in an attempt to make out if he was lying or not and if Cal was making a mistake if he let them live. Or continue to work, in the case of the droid.

"You know about the Jedi?" He asked, not being able to hide the surprised undertone in his voice. Why would an imperial trooper and a droid, who surely had all the needed access to the databank of the Empire, need to find the Jedi and help them? And also try to gather help for their mission.

Maybe he would regret being this understanding and perhaps naive, but his instincts normally didn't trick him.

If he was honest, Cal didn't see an issue with them now, but he would keep his guard up. Just in case.

He slowly took his lightsaber down, nodding slightly and taking a glance back to where the base was standing, only a few sides guarded with enough men to be a serious threat. "I'm Cal. As you seemed to already know," he shrugged and suddenly felt overwhelmed with the actual task to get in there and then rescue the Jedi, who was probably guarded better than the outside of this base.

"I think your plan could work, but I should probably tell you about the Inquisitor in this Imperial Base. That makes everything a lot harder," he sighed and rummaged through the bag he still carried with him and had planned to leave behind if he would further approach the base. Cal eventually fished out a holopad and then showed them the hologram of a short recording of two Inquisitors. "I think there is only one in the Base, but you see that? They're terrifying enough as just one as well," he warned them. "Do you have a clue who we're looking for? What they look like? Even though I am sure we will be able to tell by the better guarding and meeting one of those nice people," he sighed and gave a short nod to the hologram again.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cassian nodded. He knew about the Jedi. He’d fought against the Jedi in the Clone Wars – a mistake, maybe, but he knew now that the Empire was the wrong side, and they’d all but killed off every living Jedi. He was able to lower his hands, when Cal officially introduced himself and lowered the lightsaber to bring out the datapad.

He didn’t need to know that history now.

It was fairly irrelevant nowadays, anyways.

He stepped closer, albeit slowly, as Cal brought up a hologram of soldiers in black, fully covered. No purgetroopers. Though they obviously weren’t Darth Vader, they had a bit of that Vader-ism to them, which became apparent for why as a red lightsaber lit on both ends in the hologram. “Heard of them. Never seen one,” Cassian confessed. He wasn’t surprised that there was one on base with the Jedi.

That made things harder.

“Negative. We thought the Jedi might be you.” K-2SO reminded Cal, “We have no idea who they are, where they come from, or if they’re even still alive. We just know ‘Jedi’ and for that we decided to jump at the chance, even if our odds of survival are slim.” He seemed to calculate the Inquisitor, before adding, “56,798 to 1.”

“Better odds than I expected,” there was a touch of sarcasm in his voice. “Is that even with my plan to walk Cal in?”

“Yes.” K-2SO’s tone brokered little argument.

Cassian gave a small smile, a shrug, “Droids can’t factor the human aspect too well. We’ve had worse odds.” Cassian said, “Kaytoo can access a map of the base once we get in. Won’t tell us who’s there, but it should give us an idea of where prisoners are kept.”

 

[lostsouls]

Cal didn’t know if he appreciated the calculations of their chances to save the Jedi and probably get out of there alive. He usually started to get even more nervous through that, but at least knowing he had a useful droid and a hopefully somewhat skilled... man with him. What even was he? A rebel? A random freedom fighter? Maybe even a bounty Hunter?

“Access To the plans of the building should be useful. But before we proceed,” Cal started and put his lightsaber back onto his belt, “who do you work for? If you work for anyone, that is. I don’t see why a random man and a droid would go looking for a Jedi and put themselves into dangerous situation like this?”

Cal was genuinely confused and felt another wave of insecurity wash over him. What if he had sold off his life and the Jedi’s life to some bounty Hunter now?

He looked down at his feet, trying to calm down and trust these two to actually help him. His rational mind was warning him, but something told him they were genuine and weren’t going to put an end to his life as soon as they stepped out of the base after rescuing the Jedi.

“There isn’t a bounty on my head, is there?”

 

[Lucyfer]

“There’s probably a bounty on your head, but I’m not here to claim it,” Cassian hesitated to answer for a moment, but it didn’t last. He knew who Cal was, even having never met him, he had no reason to doubt Cal. Knowing that, he had no reason to lie to Cal, and so as he stooped to pick up his helmet, he said, “I’m with the Alliance to restore the Republic, and I can’t tell you more than that, right now.” Cassian said, putting his helmet under his arm.

“You can tell him you’re a spy.” K-2SO offered, and again, received a long-suffering look from Cassian. The droid didn’t seem phased, “Well, you can. That’s not highly confidential like the location, hierarchy, or anything else, which it shouldn’t matter if you tell him, as odds of being captured alive are less than escaping alive.”

Cassian frowned, then looked back to Cal, “I will tell you more,” he said, “but not before the mission is complete. Just in case.” There were many things that could go wrong, and Cassian was prepared to make sure none of the information got into Imperial hands…even if it meant the worst for him and K-2SO. They didn’t need a third dragged down into that mess, either. It would be better to have as few knowledgeable going in, as possible.

“We heard reports of the Jedi, and I was near, so I was sent to investigate it. That’s how I end up here, and that’s my agenda. To get a Jedi, out of Imperial hands,” and hopefully recruit them into the Rebel Alliance, though that, as well, could be saved. He’d also hope to recruit Cal and the Mantis crew, though thought that might be a harder sell since they hadn’t joined anyone, yet, and they’d had many years to consider it.

 

[lostsouls]

So Cassian was a rebel. Everything made a lot more sense now and Cal could also see why they risked their lives for a dangerous mission like this. He had always admired how this Alliance was fighting for a better world, no matter how strong the Empire continued to be or how fast it continued to grow and expand its reign of terror. But he was fighting for the same cause and it assured him a bit more he was doing the right thing.

"I understand. You don't have to tell me more than needed right now," Cal nodded, knowing it would only cause them to lose more time if they went into detail where both of them came from and what they were doing with their lives.

"We should start our mission then," Cal added, pulling the bag over his head and leaving it behind a few trees and close to the ship. He took the lightsaber off his belt and held it out for Cassian or the droid. "You should have it to make this believable. If we get cornered, I just need to be able to access it," he explained and held out his hands again to let them bind them together as part of their plan. "Can you get into all their technology?" He asked the droid, genuinely hoping they would have easy access on that side at least.

"Let's hope we come out alive," he chuckled nervously, seriously concerned this would go horribly wrong. He had been very optimistic about everything up until now, but it was slowly starting to crumble a bit, thinking about all the many ways this could go wrong somehow. And almost all of them ended with them imprisoned and killed or killed straight away.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cassian would have asked for the lightsaber, if Cal hadn’t offered it, “I’ll hold onto it,” he thought it was a bit more believable than the droid holding it, though he really didn’t know. Either way, he had a belt on this outfit, and he was able to attach it to where a pack would usually be. ‘Good thing we do have binders.’ He’d considered smuggling the Jedi out in them, with ‘transport’ orders. Now he’d be smuggling a Jedi in.

He put them onto Cal, and then gave Cal the device that would unlock them. “Just keep your fists closed and on one should know,” he figured this would at least help Cal to trust him. All he’d have to do was hit the button, and the cuffs would unlock, letting him go free at a moment’s notice. He didn’t know if Jedi had any other special tricks, but now wasn’t the time to learn all there was about Jedi abilities.

“I can,” K-2SO had no doubts about his abilities. It seemed when it came to calculations, his failure was not a part of it. Of course, Imperials tended to use the same things all around, so that wasn’t a surprise. They were at least consistent, which was to their benefit, as well as to the benefit of their enemies.

Once their foes figured things out, it was much easier for them to do damage to the Empire.

Cassian stepped forward and moved around Cal to put a hand on his back. “If you know the direction, you can lead to the door. I think it looks better if it seems like I have a hold on you,” thus the grip, but he hadn’t scouted far enough yet to know where the entrance was, so he’d allow Cal to lead that far before he ‘took over’, as it were.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal could feel his heart starting to beat much faster. He had done equally dangerous things in his life, but he had started to get so attached to the crew of the Mantis, that he was more worried about leaving them alone in this than actually dying himself. Even though he was also afraid to never see them again, because he had been stubborn enough to go on a pretty unprepared rescue mission with low chances to go well.

"They only have a few men guarding the outside and probably less guarding the inside. I believe this is either a soon to be abandoned base or one still in the making," he explained while he made the first steps forward, taking a slow breath in and out before keeping his head low, his fists closed, and walked forward to the actual destination of his entire journey to this planet. He tried to trust Cassian with his abilities to trick everyone, but it didn't help him from feeling unwell about everything.

Standing in front of the two troopers, Cal gave Cassian the most hateful look he could manage as a decent actor. They had to make this believable at least.

One of the men in front of the gate, clearly recognising Cal, looked at Cassian and then K-2SO immediately. "We weren't aware of this prisoner being transported here," he started and looked back to the large droid. "Register the information and send messages out as quick as possible. I don't want to be made responsible for not informing anyone, guys," he said, clearly bored by his work but at the same time hoping for some kind of reward for his serious handling of the imprisonment of Cal Kestis.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cassian had slipped his helmet back on as Cal began to walk, leading them towards the outpost. ‘Likely soon to be abandoned.’ Cassian knew of new bases. They were usually teeming with activity, rather than the reverse. He could only hope that was the case as they came closer to it, and the guards looked between them.

Not that Cassian could make out expressions, given their own helmets.

“Didn’t have much of a choice, told an Inquisitor was here and to bring him in since it was closest.” Cassian answered, voice modulated by the helmet. It seemed to be sufficient enough, as the guard spoke to the droid to get the message out, and then the door was opened for them. Cassian gave a short nod, and pushed Cal forward.

Rougher than he intended, but he supposed that made things look better as they walked forward.

K-2SO said, “I will begin the process of sending messages out once I connect to the network inside,” and he would make his way inside. Though he could no longer connect wirelessly to the Imperial networks, that wasn’t something the others needed to know, and once they were in, it wouldn’t be difficult at all to find a place to plug in.

In fact, there was one right by the door, which K-2SO walked towards as the doors started to shut once more, and plugged his finger into, gathering the schematics and much else – including the details about those were in the base.

“Shall I send a report?”

He asked for Cassian’s input.

“Yeah,” he said, “it’ll keep people off our back about it.”

“It may reach the Inquisitor.”

“…that’s a risk we’ll have to take.”

 

[lostsouls]

Cal was glad they had even gotten this far. It could have gone wrong with the Stormtroopers asking for identity codes for Cassian and his droid, or scanning their face or something. As soon as the doors shut behind them, Cal released a breath he didn't realise he was holding, before he turned to Cassian a bit. "Can you locate the prison? Or wherever they are holding prisoners?" He whispered, before he turned right back to face the other end of the empty corridor.

He could feel more stormtroopers coming from their right and he wasn't going to risk being caught casually talking to the guy who had "captured" him.

While K-2SO did his work, Cal took a moment to look around them. The base didn't seem too different from the various buildings he had been in before. Nothing came close to where he had encountered Vader, but he had seen enough Imperial bases before that to make out their typical structure.

"Men at each new entry point to a corridor," he whispered to Cassian, recalling what he had seen in previous buildings. Maybe they would be lucky and they wouldn't have to deal with stormtroopers at every new door since he couldn't sense a large amount of people anyway. However, he was now focusing on trying to sense the Jedi or the Inquisitor. Both should be possible if he focused long enough and didn't let his mind wander due to his nervousness. When he could hear the stormtroopers coming around the corner though, he looked at them angrily again.

Both of the men walked over to them then. "Do you need help escorting this prisoner?" One of them asked, clearly hoping for a no.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thankfully, K-2SO had pulled his finger out of the control panel by the time the other Stormtroopers came around. He didn’t answer Cal’s query, though he certainly had an idea of where the prisons were by now. He let Cassian handle the Stormtroopers first, since they were apparently eager to help.

“No,” Cassian shook his head, “I have it handled.”

The Stormtroopers didn’t double-check, but carried on their way, and K-2SO moved ahead, “This way,” he announced to both Cal and Cassian, so that they could follow him as he led on towards the cells. Cassian nodded, and returned his hand to the back of Cal’s shoulder to continue steering him on.

There were a few more troopers on the way, though they didn’t run into any officers on this path. He was grateful for that. Officers could be nosier, and they might question a semi-cooperative Jedi. Cassian was pretty sure Jedi weren’t usually this easy to get moving along through an Imperial base.

None of the others were any more eager to help escort, at least.

And no one seemed to be questioning – out loud – why the droid was leading them.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal followed wherever Cassian and the droid took him. He didn’t have many other choices but as they proceeded to get closer to their destination, he could feel a change in the force and ultimately realised they could not be far away anymore. He could feel two damaged individuals and he had to keep himself from gasping and trying to reach out for more of what seemed to be there.

After turning around another corner into an empty corridor, Cal turned around to Cassian. “Give me the lightsaber. It’s just the Inquisitor and the Jedi,” he told them and unlocked his handcuffs when they were only mere metres away from the door.

He looked over his shoulder a few times as to reassure himself they were safe here, but he was pretty sure they were, considering he couldn’t feel any other life forms close to them except the Inquisitor and the Jedi. Cal didn’t turn the lightsaber on yet, but kept it safe in his hand, ready to get into a fight with the person behind the door. There was no way it was going to work without it, so he had to be ready. Cassian and K-2SO surely couldn’t keep up with a trained Inquisitor when he even struggled with that more than enough.

“Ready?” He asked his companions again as some sort of reassurance.

———

Aria had accepted her defeat by the moment she had landed in this cell, hands tied together and her Body too weak to put up a fight against someone significantly stronger than her. There was no way she could escape this if miracles didn’t exist. And she was sure there was no miracle for her planned this time.

She leaned her head against the cold metal behind her and closed her eyes, trying to ignore the threatening figure in the room with her. Hours, maybe days had passed since she had landed here and everything felt worse and harder to endure from time to time.

“honestly, I expected some sort of entertainment. You didn’t even slash through a stormtrooper yet, that’s so boring,” she started to complain, trying to keep herself awake and occupied somehow. Falling asleep in the same room as this woman was not what she wanted to do.

“what even entertains an Inquisitor? Do you even know what fun is? I don’t think I know what it is. There was this weird band in a bar once and they were singing songs about Jedi riding on some flying birds and I thought that was the funniest thing ever when it probably wasn’t!” She continued to talk, moving her leg against the bars of the cell. “Oh yeah, fuck this white design by the way, black looks better on the Empire.”

 

[Lucyfer]

The Inquisitor had checked her datapad a few times for messages about when her transport would arrive. She had ignored all other messages, including one that had started off about ‘prisoner arrival’. That wasn’t her concern. Only leaving was her concern, and so far, it seemed so much nearby was tied up thanks to Lothal and other issues. ‘Because of course we lost the Grand Inquisitor there.’

And more after him.

They were, truly, a dying breed. No doubt because there were also so few Jedi to replace them, and she didn’t know much about the Harvester program. The infants taken didn’t seem to be turning towards Inquisitors. She would have seen one by now.

She was listening to what the Jedi said, but not focusing on it. She was focused more on the Force, sensing for movement that would alert her to a threat, although she was a bit hyperfocused on the Jedi before her, she was starting to feel something on the edges.

She still sighed as the Jedi rambled about ‘fun’.

“You poor soul,” her tone was dry, breaking her silence for a moment, more because something outside was starting to disturb her, pinging warning after warning into her head. She moved from the door, and as she did so, she heard that quiet question and realized how long it had taken her to recognize a threat.

Not good.

She’d gotten too distracted by expecting some last-ditch effort from this Jedi that she hadn’t noticed a threat bearing down on her. Why hadn’t she been sent a message about someone infiltrating the base? ‘They’re not Clones, they’re incompetent troopers.’ Stars, how she missed the Clones.

How she hated the Clones.

Rather than wait for those outside to open the door, Fourth Sister stretched her hand out, and slammed the door open, hoping to hit someone in the process as it struck the wall.



Cassian hadn’t had a moment to answer Cal. Just as he opened his lips to do so, the door suddenly slammed open. Thankfully, he was far enough away from it that it didn’t hit him, but he definitely jolted back at the suddenness.

“It appears we have no choice.” K-2SO offered as his response, moving backwards as a woman clad in black stepped out from the room, lightsaber not lit yet, but hilt in hand. Despite not being able to see her face, Cassian was pretty sure he could feel the disdain dripping off of her as she looked upon them.

“You’re a bit early,” the Inquisitor drawled, “the transport to leave isn’t here just yet, but there’s still room in this cell for you.” She gave a casual gesture towards it, without stepping out of the way.

“Er, we’re…the transport…here for the Jedi.” Cassian tried.

It was met with biting laughter from behind the mask, and one blade illuminating. Wrong answer, apparently.

 

[lostsouls]

Aria had been trying to make up more things she could talk about to the Inquisitor, to keep herself awake and somewhat still annoy woman filled with so much hate.

But she soon realised the change of behaviour in the Inquisitor and tried to put one and one together. There had to be complications with the plans or something else.

And then she felt it as well. The presence of another force user and even though she could not even be sure if this was help for the Inquisitor or for herself, she stopped breathing for a moment and turned to the door. Given the Inquisitor’s movements and soon the rapid opening of the door, there were clearly people for her out there. Who? She had no idea.

Aria quickly moved to the other end of the cell, closer to where her lightsaber was kept by the Inquisitor and she tried to reach out to it with the Force, despite her tied up hands. It was worthless, but she would keep trying even as a red haired man, undoubtedly Cal Kestis, swung his lightsaber at the Inquisitor and pushed her further back into the room.


Cal had been expecting a fight, but his heart was only beating faster now when he was actually standing across from such a fear awakening figure. He gulped and tried to get a first hit with a quick blow into the woman’s direction and following right after with a well time step forward.

He pushed the droid further away with one move of his hand and stepped aside to let Cassian get to the prisoner, before he fully focused on his opponent. “You’re one of the few Inquisitors left, aren’t you?” He asked as their blades collided for the first time and he could feel the familiar heat so close to his body. He pulled away and got into a more defensive stance.

Cal didn’t want to kill someone who had probably been forced into this just like all the other Inquisitors, but she would kill him without a second thought, so he had to keep doing this until he could just take her with him. “Who are you?” He asked again, protecting himself from another hit, stepping back further. “I have met one of your partners. Trilla,” he said then, trying to get any reaction from her. Did they even know each other? He barely knew anything about the ways everything worked without in the ranks of the Empire.

 

[Lucyfer]

Fourth Sister lifted her blade to guard the blow that came for her, and quickly illuminated the other end of her lightsaber with the collision. She was forced back that one step, but hardly meant to give room for the others to approach. The droid was tossed aside, but not the man, who seemed to be weighing his options now that there was a larger blade in his path forward, given Cal had pushed the Inquisitor back into the room.

There was also the other Jedi to consider, and their thrice-damned lightsaber.

As Cal spoke, Cassian drew his blaster, and fired at the Inquisitor.

Cal had backed up, and she simply twirled her blade to deflect the shots, then reached through the Force for the Jedi’s saber, lit the blade, and threw it at the false-Trooper’s head with the Force. He was able to duck beneath it.

At least it got the lightsaber out of play for her Jedi prisoner. For now.

“So you must be Cal,” that was the indication she’d heard what he said, “I am Fourth Sister; you’ll find I’m rather unlike Second Sister,” there was emphasis on that. Trilla was no more. Trilla had perished to let Second Sister rise.

Cassian made an attempt to rush forward in the moment of dialogue, but it was a mistake. Fourth Sister lunged for him, not Cal, once he’d cleared the doorway, and made to thrust her blade through his stomach. Jedi, after all, were predictable. Cal was likely to try and save the man, and put himself in a compromising position because of it.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal had to move aside as well when the indigo lightsaber flew through the room and he had barely time to think about his next moves when Fourth Sister already made her next steps. He gasped in shock when he saw her heading for Cassian and in no way could he justify not going between them. Instead of driving his blade into the way though, he gave her the strongest push with the Force that he could manage and watched her fly back against the wall.

"Then you better show that you are nothing like her," he called out to her and stepped closer, keeping her at distance with another blow of his lightsaber. "I don't have to kill you here," he said then, trying to show some kind of understanding.

Cal usually refused to kill people that didn't deserve to die, but technically, this woman certainly did deserve to die. But at the same time, he assumed she had a similar path as the Second Sister which sparked so much pity for her in him. "I could spare your life."

Aria watched the fight in front of her, especially as she saw her lightsaber flying around. While Kestis fought with the Inquisitor, she tried to reach out for the lightsaber again, trying to get it with all the power she could muster in this moment. Eventually, her lightsaber flew back to her and she tried to stand up in the cell, stepping back and turning the lightsaber around enough to cut through the bars.

She had her hand squeezed between them and the metal drove into her skin but when the hole was finally made, she dropped her hand with a groan, the lightsaber rolling over the ground again. "Fuck," she cursed and then looked up to the man who she was pretty sure about was an ally if he worked together with Kestis.

"Do you know about a way out?" She asked with a low voice while trying to keep herself on her legs, bending down for her weapon again. If anyone would attack her now, she'd probably fall in seconds.

 

[Lucyfer]

Fourth Sister hit the wall, but didn’t stay down, of course. She was back on her feet shortly, and though Cal couldn’t see it, she’d grit her teeth and shot a glare at Aria as the other Jedi moved. She could feel fear and anger both mounting, her sources of power, but also of so much weakness when used improperly. They were blinding.

She had to block his next strike, but it prevented her from immediately moving from the wall. She scoffed at his offer, “So Vader can kill me for failure?” It was the fear they all shared, the fear that threatened to overcome her even then as she could imagine everything here slipping away. Failure was only met with death in their ranks. No matter her success in apprehending a Jed, it would all be for naught if she lost the Jedi.

“I’ll pass.”

She didn’t go for Cassian or Aria this time, but lunged at Cal, another thrust meant to kill rather than incapacitate, drawing speed from the Force.



Cassian was relieved for Cal’s quick action, though stunned into inaction for a moment as he realized how close that had been. Nonetheless, he quickly gathered himself, and took to looking at the Jedi to figure out how to get them out of the room with Cal and Fourth Sister. “Yes – we have a ship.”

Cassian considered Cal’s situation with another glance, then gestured her forward.

He would likely be in the way. So would this Jedi, “We’ll get you there, we’re going to pretend to be transporting you to another facility.”

“I’m K-2SO.” The droid offered.

“Cassian,” he said quickly, realizing he was still in the guise of a Trooper. Another look towards Cal. ‘Fuck.’ He hated leaving him, but he thought this was better. The Inquisitor seemed quite willing to involve others in the fight, and they didn’t need that happening again. Not with him, or with the injured woman. She might decide to kill her prisoner, after all.

“Binders, where did the binders go,” Cassian muttered.

“I have it,” K-2SO offered, holding them out to Cassian with the switch. He offered both in turn to the Jedi.

“Just until we get you out of here.”

He hoped Cal would understand.

 

[lostsouls]

Cal had been able to barely imagine what Vader was like until he stood face to face with him and was now at least a bit more informed on what it was like to serve under that monster. He didn't have much time to respond to Fourth Sister, being forced into a defensive stance again and soon having to back up several steps, putting his weight against the lightsaber when their blades collided in an attempt to cover himself from this strong attack.

He was standing face to face with her, even though she was obviously hidden by her mask. His hands were shaking and he was feeling the unpleasant heat on his arm again from them being so close to their lightsabers. "He won't kill you if you get away from here first," he finally breathed out and then kicked her feet away, moving the lightsaber to the side to also push her blade away from him.

Cal felt like he was going to collapse but he still pushed her back again with another force push, stepping closer and holding the blue lightsaber to her face, or the mask more like. "You don't have to die today," he said, a bit out of breath. "Not by Vader, not by anyone."

If Cassian really worked for the Rebel Alliance, he could ask him to take her as a prisoner and he could then try to talk to her more. But it would spare her life at least.

Aria was a bit overwhelmed but eventually nodded and held her hands out for them to look the binders. This was the best chance she had to get out of here and if the man and that droid turned out to be bounty hunters, it would probably still be better than being here, locked into a cell and likely to die after some torture in a few days time.

"Aria," she introduced herself simply and then looked back to where Kestis was holding his lightsaber at the Inquisitor. She hoped he would kill her and then she would have paid for all the crimes she committed. But at the same time, she couldn't feel any hatred in Cal to kill the woman, so she had a lot of questions in her head as well that were unimportant now though. "Get me out of here," she said to Cassian and K-2SO then.

No matter what this Jedi had planned, she just wanted to at least get out of this building now. Who were the droid and Cassian working for though? Were they actually Bounty Hunters? Or some sort of rescue team sent to her by an unknown source? That was the rarest option though.

As they opened the door again, there was an odd silence in the hallway and Aria didn't like this at all. Silence usually meant something bad was coming, but she tried to not show her concerns right now and just walk next to Cassian, keeping her head low since it was hurting anyway.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cal Kestis was losing his strength. It was obvious in his shaking arm, and insistence on locking blades, rather than join her in movement. Fourth Sister wanted to latch onto that, but his resolve, for all that display of physical weakness, wasn’t wavering. There remained a steadfast determination within him unlike what she’d seen in so many Jedi she’d encountered.

So many she’d killed.

The man before her wasn’t much different in age, and yet he had the resolve of someone much older. A foolish thought, as he kicked out, to think she could flee. She stepped backwards, and met his clash again, but pressed once more for the offensive, only for the misstep in the approach to become obvious.

When her blades disengaged, she was met with another push of the Force – enough to off-balance her, and put the blade at her neck. She bristled as he continued to try to talk her down. He didn’t know Vader. A bitter laugh escaped her, in spite of it all.

‘They’re getting away.’ She could sense it the, but bolting past Cal in the moment would be a death sentence.

‘Everything is a death sentence. Just pick the more merciful one.’

That was the truth, one she’d accepted long ago, even though that anger at the injustice, and the fear of death, remained. The frustration was all she had, that unending feeling that drove her, only at least she felt it waning to that defeat.

So, the day had finally come. She wondered how the others had felt when they recognized the freedom of death was in front of them. An end to the torture. There was almost a relief in it. “You were going to be a Knight, weren’t you? I hope so. Your talking is shit, even if you don’t seem to share their warmongering ways.” How twisted her own opinion of the Jedi had become, “If you intend to spare me, then do me the favor of just putting the blade through my throat. It’ll be more merciful than anything else out there, or in here.”

No…she supposed the fear still overrode the relief, but she was trying to at least greet death on better terms than those before her.

~***~

Cassian slapped the cuffs on the Jedi, attached their lightsaber to his belt, and nodded once more to K-2SO to get them moving again, and the droid led the way. He spared one more look at Cal and the Inquisitor, noting to himself that Cal seemed to have the Inquisitor pinned with his lightsaber, but he wasn’t finishing it? The man’s words didn’t reach him, nor did anything but that bitter-sounding laugh, but he didn’t get a good feeling from this.

Cal would finish it, though.

He had killed two other Inquisitors, or so the stories went, anyways. Not to mention a group on Lothal had handled some others. They were scary, but, they were falling, becoming less of a concern, and rarer. ‘Like the Jedi….’ But here he had one, to get back to the Mantis, and hope the crew there didn’t shoot him on sight.

That was a problem for later.

“This base isn’t too big,” he noted, as he saw some crease of concern on Aria’s face while they walked, “we hardly encountered anyone,” he spoke quietly as they moved along the empty hallway, coming into another – before two guards came running by.

They paused shortly, “What are you doing with the Jedi?”

“Transport.”

One gave a sigh of relief.

The other spoke, “Hurry up then! Cams have shown the Inquisitor is dealing with an intruder, we’re going to have to lock down soon.”

‘Shit. Cal!’

Cassian just nodded, “That’s why we’re moving the Jedi – the Inquisitor wanted to make sure they were safely moved.”

“Their fighting has moved towards the armory,” K-2SO noted. “We were there as it began.” He had to hope that would move the guards away from their area.

 

[lostsouls]

Shivers ran down Cal's spine when he heard this bitter laugh and his hand was shaking a bit more but he tightened his grip around the lightsaber and pushed it a bit closer to the woman's face. He didn't like how she made him feel even weaker than he was feeling physically. He shouldn't be so easily terrified still and should stand his ground as a grown man and trained Jedi. More or less trained that is, but rather experienced at least.

"I was going to be a knight. Just like you probably," he answered and then kicked her lightsaber away before he grabbed some of the handcuffs that had probably been on the other Jedi before they had arrived here. "I think this is the most merciful way," he said back and then locked the handcuffs around her hands, pulling her back up and securing the lightsaber at the front of his belt.

Cal had to think about how he was supposed to get her out of here when Cassian and K-2SO were still gone, but they hadn't been gone for long, so they could still reach them in time. To prevent the Inquisitor from yelling for help, he kept his lightsaber right next to her throat, not activated but just as a threat that when she would scream, he would active it. He hated to treat someone like this, but it was needed now.

He looked around the corner, making sure no one was watching them and he then did the same with every corner they came to. It worked better than expected, given a lot of stormtroopers were about to change their shifts or maybe Cassian had somehow managed to distract them.

~***~

Aria let Cassian and K-2SO speak with the guards and she just played her role as the prisoner. Only when they were alone again and finally stepped into the daylight, she turned around to face the man and the droid. "Why did you rescue me?" She asked, confused and shocked at the same time. This had worked better than expected and unlike her expectations, she was still alive at the end of the day. "I don't even know you and you don't know me..."

She really tried to find a reason for why she was being rescued by complete strangers, an imperial droid as well. But he was definitely not acting like an imperial droid anymore, so that calmed her down a bit. She breathed in and out heavily and then gestured to the handcuffs, really hoping this wasn't a trap and now that they were safe, Cassian would unlock the cuffs at least.

Aria took the moment to look around where she was and felt so much relief wash over her now, not caring about if she was going to die from the hands of a bounty hunter now or if she actually had another chance at living her life for a little longer. "Lightsaber," she also pointed out and nodded into the direction of where it was hanging on Cassian's belt.

Just when she was about to ask more questions, she could hear steps behind them, but she was rather shocked when it wasn't a stormtrooper, but Cal with a very much alive Fourth Sister. "Why..." Aria started and stared at them in utter confusion while Cal just looked at Cassian then. "Let me take her to your base. She might be useful for me and you," he suggested, pretty sure the rebels' hiding place was actually a rather safe place to hide someone like the Inquisitor.

 

[Lucyfer]

Fourth Sister had not intended on being captured. Cal should have put an end to her, but no, apparently he was a true Jedi and wanted to seek some form of justice, framing it as mercy, as he kicked at the hilt of her lightsaber, causing the blades to vanish. She was about to call for it with the Force, when suddenly he caught her hands, and bound them in cuffs. “What are you—” and the saber was back at her throat.

She glowered at him, and certainly did consider calling out. Capture was hardly merciful. It was just torture at another person’s hands, and while she’d considered death merciful moments ago, she reconsidered.

‘You may be able to come out of this ahead.’ Get captured. Escape. Return with information about where Cal was hiding out – that could save her, right? ‘No.’ And yet she let that thought play through her head anyways as justification to go along with no more than a word from her lips, irritated as it made her.

She had enough strength to put up a fight.

~***~

Cassian kept walking, even when they got outside, and were clear of the guards. However, once they were clear of the guards, he did reach up to take his helmet off, before he answered the queries sent his way, “I’m with a group trying to restore the Republic. We heard about a Jedi being captured, and I came to check the situation out. We got lucky with Cal being here,” a glance over his shoulder.

He didn’t like leaving him…but it was what he had to do. Hopefully, he’d find a way out, or his crew would be able to help him. “I’m taking you to his ship,” he added. “Better to leave ours.”

It was a stolen vessel anyways, and already cleared of information.

As she mentioned the lightsaber, he did pause, and then moved to take off her cuffs, before offering up the lightsaber to her. “Yours.” He had no worries about handing it over, not concerned she’d try to use it against him.

He might have said more, but they were both distracted by the arrival of Cal…and the Inquisitor.

“Are you mad?” Cassian hissed under his breath, immediately tense. He hardly knew what Jedi were capable of with the Force, he didn’t want to find out what an Inquisitor was capable of, “She’s going to kill us all!” True, she probably had information, but…he bit down on his cheek, and let out a huff, “I’ll have to clear it with high command, there’s no way we’re prepared for this right now,” they’d have to leave here, and linger a bit elsewhere for Cassian to even dare to reach out for permission like that, “You should just leave her! Kill her!”

“I told him as much,” the Inquisitor sharing Cassian’s opinion was far from comforting. “Apparently there are still some good Jedi left,” her tone was mocking, both of Cal, and Aria. Aria at least felt like she had better odds of falling off the light side. How simple would it be to push her into action Cal wouldn't take?

“We’re doomed.” K-2SO assessed simply.

 

[lostsouls]

"We're not doomed," Cal said to K-2SO, in a rather harsh tone now. He didn't go through this sneak mission through the entire base for Cassian and his droid to reject his ideas now. Of course, they were a bit sudden and everything away from a well thought out plan, but it was better than to kill someone. "Ask for permission. I can't take her with me to wherever and I think we would all benefit from it. Would your superiors really not take an Inquisitor for informations?"

Cal really hoped they would find a way to all be okay with this decision. He doubted the other Jedi would be okay with it in any way and Cere would also have enough doubts about this. "I am doing you a favour," Cal stated and pushed Fourth Sister towards the Mantis. "We can all take you with us, but you'd have to tell us where your base is," he said, speaking a lot softer now.

"I don't want your Alliance any harm and I am sure Greez can get us there safely," he made clear as he looked at Cassian and K-2SO. "Just give me the chance to spare her life," he added afterwards and nodded to the Inquisitor. Even if he couldn't get out anything of her or help her with the trauma she probably had to face, he would have at least tried and would then go back into hiding and travelling around the galaxy with his crew, helping here and there. That was actually good enough of a life.

Aria looked at Cassian, then to the droid, then back to Cal and eventually to the Inquisitor. She couldn't believe the same Jedi that came to her rescue wanted to save her captor's life? This was probably a bad story and she had landed just inside it. "Did you try to save me or her?" She asked Cassian then, knowing they had come for her, but she just wanted to emphasise what stupid idea it was to take Fourth Sister to wherever they would be going now.

If she made problems, Aria wouldn't hesitate to finish the job the legendary Cal Kestis was probably too afraid to do. She breathed in and out deeply, securing her lightsaber at her belt again. Her whole body was still aching and her head was spinning again every now and then, but she managed to keep herself on her feet. "So, are we going with them? I assume I should follow where you are going?" She asked Cassian.

This was all a bit overwhelming and confusing for her still. Getting rescued out of a hopeless situation and then being pulled into what she had tried to avoid. Pulled into the war between the Alliance to restore the Republic and the Empire. Of course, she wanted the best for the world and she'd always choose the rebels side, but for now, she had tried to be more invisible.

 

[Lucyfer]

Cassian grit his teeth at the suggestions here, at what was at stake. He knew there was plenty at stake. His superiors wouldn’t be prepared for this in the least, and they knew better what an Inquisitor was capable of. Yet, his superiors wouldn’t want to miss a chance to speak with Cal and try to convince him to actually join their fight. He didn’t know which would win out, in truth, and that was the frustrating part about all of this.

He shot a glare at Aria for the query, rhetorical as it may have been.

“We have our own ship,” K-2SO did point out, a reminder to Cassian.

“I know, I know,” he grumbled, shaking his head. They could leave Cal to his mad ideas and go back for their ship, but, “The General won’t be pleased, though,” which was where he kept thinking. General Draven would want this opportunity – and he couldn’t make that decision for Draven. “We would like you to come along with us,” he sighed, speaking to Aria, “but I need to clear this with my superior first.”

He was still aware he couldn’t do that from the ground; the Empire might pick up the odd signal and trace it. So, he stalked after Cal. “When we get off this planet, I’ll reach out, but I can’t do that here without risking the Empire tracing it. If my General doesn’t agree, I can give you a planet to drop me off at – then this is your problem.”

The Inquisitor didn’t even deign to give him a look for his statement. “I hope you understand. This isn’t my call.”

Cal had to know something about chains of command, right? Even if he’d been working on his own, with his own team, for a while. If he’d been a Jedi, then he’d once served in a more formal army, or at least, Cassian assumed. He wasn’t sure on Cal’s age, except he was pegging him as older.

Fourth Sister remained mute through this discussion, just walking along.

“We could call for information from our ship,” K-2SO was saying, more to himself than to Cassian. “And then give the information to the Mantis if the General agreed.” It would save them from being on the same ship with the Inquisitor.

Not that anyone was listening to K-2SO.