Tests, Tricks, and Tepidations

I don't own Star Wars

Lidia and I finally exited the Labyrinth as I carried T2 up the steps and placed him on the ground as he 'bwooed' his thanks. After taking in the fresh air… as to how 'fresh' a dead world cloud be is debatable, she smiled at me behind her rebreather. "Good Work Kal." She declared as I nodded… walking the light pathway we made she pulled the cloth wrapped holocron from her robe. Examining it curiously with a smile on her face and I suddenly felt… conflicted.

Weird.

…Master Gren wanted to see the contents of that holocron first before we handed it over to Master Knox. Offering to pay me for the task… but not tell Lidia. If it was only genealogical records of these… 'voices'. Why so secretive? I hesitated as I thought about it further and came to a rather curious answer.

…I didn't want to lie to Lidia.

"…Lidia." I paused as she gave me her full attention. "That Holocron. A master Gren wants to see it first before you give it to Master Knox." She blinked at me surprised.

"I know." she replied genuinely touched.

"…You do?" I replied confused as she nodded, smiling as she slipped the holocron back into her robes.

"Yes. It was a test."

"…What?" I snarled softly as T2 fidgeted.

"While it is true that Master Gren has been touchy as of late when it comes to Master Knox. He was actually more concerned about you. It was one of his little tests. He likes to throw those out." She eyed me, and smiled. "…You telling me that he wanted to see it when he specifically told you not to is a sort of test of trust and honesty." She said as I stared at her…

And suddenly I was infuriated. No wonder the Sith wanted to kill Jedi all the time they're so damn twisted in what they mean! "Don't let it get you down Kal." She replied with a chuckle, "If you like we can show it to him together when we get back…" I snorted. "Don't be so grumpy!" she smiled teasingly as we walked back together towards the ship. "It's like being pranked back at the academy!"

"…I pummeled people in my academy for doing that." I replied. I don't like being tricked. "Boomer learned real quick not to put unpasteurized nerf milk in my shampoo." Lidia snorted as I sighed.

"Okay that's actually funny." She declared as she approached the ship. "I might have to do that one to this Jedi back on coruscant. She…" but she froze and suddenly looked up to the sky in concerned. "…Wait. There's… a disturbance in the force." She declared as I followed her gaze.

"What sort of disturb-"

…A ship warped over the plant, a star destroyer… an Imperial Ship and it wasn't Aida's. It was sporting Cromwell Colors.

"KAL GET ON THE SHIP!" roared Oriana desperately as the ramp opened. "We need to go! NOW!" she declared as we ran up the ramp and it shut behind us.

"Who's ship is it? Daemon? Batson?"

"It doesn't matter we are leaving." She declared firmly heading up to the cockpit and deliberately avoiding my question… which actually answered it.

"CRITCHER." I spat his name instinctively, snarling like a wolf as Oriana clenched her teeth.

"KAL! NO!" she demanded as I snarled and growled. Lidia watching me with some concerned. "NO!" she repeated as Lidia's gaze lingered between us. "Lidia!" she said as the Jedi blinked up at her. "…I NEED you to keep him on this ship." She said pleadingly. "Please. Lala help me prepare for takeoff we need to jump anywhere else as soon as we break atmo!"

"…Kallus." Lidia asked spoke softly as my fingers clenched, already imagining strangling that pompous. Murderous! RAT BASTARD! "Kal…" she warned as I ground my teeth together, rage I had not felt in is months bubbling to the surface…

He was right above me… in his ship… I could practically smell his piss and fear! How easily would it be to tear through his soldiers to gut him like a fish?

"Kallous." Lidia spoke firmly, commandingly, standing between me and the ramp… her hand on her lightsaber. "…Kal you are… radiating anger." She warned, holding her hand out. "Please. Calm down."

…She was breathing slowly. Using some sort of mediation, trying to calm me like an animal? Or readying herself unless I lost control?

"Kal." She whispered, eyeing my clenching hands. "…Kal take your claws off."

…I need them on. I'll need them to kill Critcher.

"Kal." She breathed again. Calmly… "…Please take your claws off."

I could sense Oriana in the cockpit. I could smell her fear. Fear of me? Fear for me? Fear of what was to come?"

"Kal. You trusted me enough to tell me about Master Gren." She said patiently. "…Do not make me do something we both will regret…" we had gotten closer to the ramp without me realizing it… I found her voice soothing… I was hesitating even as I heard Rattletrap scurrying about in the ship…

Clack.

One of my claws hit the floor as I undid them. Lidia breathed a sigh of relief as I smelled Nerri above me, holding her spear at the ready. She smelled nice… good for mating. "Thank you Kal. The other please…"

My hand trembled as if I was fighting my own body, before grabbing my other claw…

Clack

It hit the floor loudly, breaking the silence as we felt the ship rising from the planet. I snarled, my fingers clenching and tensing as I began throwing things away from myself. The lightsaber staff I found, the holocron, the mask projectors, anything until I was stripped down to only my pants.

Lidia stared at me, my heavily scarred body… as if seeing it for the first time… I don't think she's even been this close to my undressed body before. "Why don't… why don't you sit down with me Kallus." She said softly as her voice seemed to sooth me. I felt calmer...…

…Why was I angry in the first place? Why was she holding her hand out to me? Did she want to touch me?

"…Don't you want to sit down with me Kal?" she asked, "We can just talk." She whispered.

"…I'd like that." I found myself saying, ignoring Rattletrap as he quickly gathered everything I had thrown, everything I could use as a weapon as I sat down in the middle of the hole.

"Breathe with me Kal." She whispered. "In and out. In and out…" she whispered, sitting down across from me. "Just be calm for a little while longer… why don't we talk about something?" she asked patiently. "Like… how much money are you going to charge the temple for your services?" she asked as I inhaled through my nose.

…I like how she smelled… she was soothing. Relaxing… why is her hand still up like that… does she still want to touch me?

"Almost done! Just a little longer!" Oriana shouted as the ship rumbled as we sped up, desperate to break the atmosphere. I'm sure we'll be fine. Oriana will keep us safe… I inhaled deeply, smelling everything around me... I was so angry I wasn't thinking clearly… now that I'm calm…

…Now that I'm calm I'm not thinking clearly either… but it's nicer this way… everything is so quiet. Was it always this quiet?... I like it.

…

"…What did you do to him?" Nerri asked Lidia as the Jedi master sighed with relief, examining Kallus Kane as he sat cross legged in the middle of the cargo hold. Rattletrap gathering his things and putting them nearby but out of Kal's reach as he seemed to be. Meditating…

"Well." Lidia replied calmly, brushing her hair out of her beautiful mirialan face. "I tried to use a jedi mind trick to calm him down…" she frowned, "…but it wasn't working…"

"It wasn't working?" Nerri asked skeptically. "…How does it work?"

Lidia frowned for a moment, "It's difficult to explain but I implant a suggestion into the mind of subject, and make them more compelling to my desires… my wishes." She said, "I wanted Kal to calm down."

"But you did that." replied Nerri as Lidia shook her head.

"No. I didn't use the mind trick for that. Kal's desire to kill this 'Critcher' person was so strong it was almost instinctual… even if I somehow managed to subdue his subconscious, get him to sleep, his body might still have attacked us."

Nerri frowned, "…That sounds highly unlikely."

"Trust me. One of my master's former pupils Alecinder Moray was a master of the mind trick. He taught me everything he knew." She said, kneeling down and gently running her hand through Kallus's red hair as he took a deep breath and sighed… in a pure state of calm. "…My mind trick wasn't working so… I tried what is colloquially called the 'beast trick'."

"The Beast trick?" Nerri notted a small smile twitching on her pretty muzzle face. "…Kal might actually like that a lot better." Lidia just smiled at that. "…Is he going to be alright?"

"He's in a deep state of calming mediation… sleep." She added with a shrug and a smile. "Give him a good thwack and he'll wake up. Or I could do it more gently-" the ship suddenly hummed as they suddenly jumped.

Lala loomed over the second floor, smiling reassuringly. "We got out of there. Oriana doesn't think they noticed us or they would've started firing…" Lidia force leaped to the second floor and approached the pilot's cabin. Looming over Oriana, staring angrily at her.

"Who is this 'Critcher?'"

Oriana sighed, closing her eyes as she leaned back in the chair and eyed Lidia sadly. "Critcher Cromwell is the third son of Alastor Cromwell." Lidia knew the name. High ranking Imperial Govenors and generals were commonly known even in the republic. Just in case they needed to know who to shoot. "…He's also the man who bombarded Kal's squad pointlessly. And laughed it off…" Lidia's angry gaze softened as Oriana continued. "…Kal ripped out his throat. That's the reason he's in exile…"

"Kal ripped out his throat?!" Lidia replied surprised, "And he's still alive?"

"…Cromwells are not to be taken lightly, even the worst of them." Oriana replied coolly.

"…Do you think he recognized this ship?"

"No. Why would he? It's not like we advertise it. It doesn't even official have a name. It's not registered… and I certainly wouldn't put it under Kal's name I'd put it under Lala's." she breathed a soft sigh, "Getting away from him and to Coruscant would be easy, it was stopping Kal from getting off the ship that was more important. He would've shouted down Critcher on foot and he would've glassed him from orbit."

Considering Kal had to be subdued with force powers. Lidia believed it.

...

"Sir!" the lieutenant saluted Critcher Cromwell, as he turned his scarred gaze upon him. to the lieutenant's credit. He didn't waver even under the Sapphire stare of the mangled Cromwell. "The ship has warped."

He sneered irately. "…Who were they? Republic spies?"

"We believe they were scavengers sir. We are getting reports of equipment left behind. It seems they were raiding some sort of ruin." Critcher's fingers ran over his scars, as he seemed to ponder the information.

"…Send a squad down to the planet. Investigate what they left. Perhaps they were unable to take everything from whatever they were excavating."

"Yes sir."

…Something itched at Critcher's scars, subtly, like a feeling. A bad feeling. "Wait." The lieutenant had turned to walk away, but hesitated. "…That ship had a unique model."

"Yes sir."

"...Inform our agents I want them to keep an eye out for it. I want to know where it is." The lieutenant saluted.

"Yes sir."

Critcher was glad he ignored Daemon's simpering and patrolled the sector himself. His scars ached, his throat was parched… it was as if his wounds were speaking to him. He had a feeling about that ship… a feeling of pure hatred… whether Critcher knew for sure or not. He was right about that ship in the long run.

…

Rattletrap hummed softly, organizing Kal's equipment and examining the double sided lightsaber curiously until he finally picked up the odd device… a holocron. An empty one… he stared at it like it was a precious treasure… that cost him everything. It was such an interesting little bauble… he played with it. Fiddled with it. No lock or button… smoothing and lightweight.

He was about to put it back down and ignore it. Go about his business as Lala absently poked a meditating Kal in the cheek to no response but to immense enjoyment. But he stopped, holding it in his hand again… then walked towards his repair room staring at it… nobody noticed. Nobody stopped him.

He walked in, and approached his beloved X-E… her hands resting on the armrests of the repair chair like it was a life support device. He stared at the holocron, then X-E. Then the holocron again... he steeled himself, then taking the highly advanced droid by the hand, he carefully placed the holocron into it. wrapping her fingers around it before he placed it back on the armrest… he stared at it for a moment and he sighed sadly. He honestly didn't expect much from it, just a last bead of hope for the poor jawa who wanted to speak to his friend again…

And then he turned around and walked out just as the Holocron began to glow…

End