reborn § cal kestis

  Cal's head throbbed, more so than it had ever done before. Every part of it ached, and the pain only increased as he rolled to his side. He groaned and lifted a hand up to place on his forehead.

  His eyes were still shut, but he could tell where he was. He was laying on a sturdy rock floor, some of which was digging relentlessly into his back. The air around him was thick and musty, almost suffocating him. He remembered what had happened earlier that day, when that girl easily beat and captured him. Based on his last encounter with a Bounty Hunter, he assumed that he had been imprisoned once again.

  Cal's eyes fluttered open, and what he saw confirmed his suspicions. The Bounty Hunter from before crouched beside him, staring down from above. Her mask and goggles were off. Because of that, he could tell that she was definitely a girl; she had soft features—curved lips; a button nose; warm brown eyes—though they were hardened by her smudged eyeliner, sleek bob, and stern gaze. Small scars littered her tan skin here and there.

  "Morning," she said, smiling. Cal immediately reached for his weapon, but found nothing. "Looking for this?" The girl reached towards her belt and, from it, retrieved Cal's lightsaber. Cal hesitated, then grabbed at his lightsaber, but missed. To this, the girl used her other hand to take out a blaster pistol and pressed the tip of it to his forehead. "Don't try anything, Jedi."

  Cal exhaled. "Are you gonna kill me? Or force me to fight other helpless creatures?"

  "That's not up to me."

  "Then who?"

  "My boss," she replied. "But first, we need to talk." Cal nodded warily, and the girl retracted her pistol. "Who was your Jedi master?"

  Cal's eyebrows furrowed. He had no idea why she would possibly want to know that. Maybe to make sure she's got the right person? he thought, but that seemed unlikely. "Jaro Tapal," he replied.

  The girl pursed her lips, then nodded. "Your name?"

  "Cal Kestis."

  She paused. Cal's eyes flicked down to her pistol, and then back to her stern expression. He was weak, and tired, and in a very vulnerable position. He just hoped that he wouldn't say the wrong thing and cost him his life.

  With the same intimidating visage, she outstretched her hand. He hesitated, then took it. "Sadira Carrino," she said, shaking his hand slowly and stood up. Sadira reached for the lightsaber and held it up to her face. Cal winced as she ignited it, her dark eyes scanning the azure blade. "So you're a Jedi, huh?"

  Cal hummed in agreement and slowly, cautiously stood from the ground. Sadira saw, but didn't react—she was well aware that she had the upper hand in the situation. She switched the lightsaber off and held it by her side. "You know, I don't agree with you Jedi." She sidled towards him as she spoke. "You're all so high and mighty about protecting the galaxy and the sacrifices you make to keep peace-"

  "The Jedi put their lives at risk to restore order," Cal intervened. Who is she to criticise us? he questioned. "How come you know so much about us?"

  Sadira's eyes darkened even more as her fingers grazed her necklace. His question had struck a cord somewhere deep inside of her. "Yeah, you put your lives at risk and look where that got you?" Cal noticed how she skipped over his question, but he reminded himself of the two weapons in her hands before he pushed her any further.

  Cal sighed, and decided to back down. "Ok, you're entitled to your opinion." Not that I agree with it, he wished he could say, but refrained from doing so. There was a small bout of silence, before Cal remembered something. "Do you know where my droid is?"

  Sadira's demeanour softened. "No." Cal felt his heart rate increase. "He ran away when I captured you, I couldn't find him. I guess he was lucky."

  Cal sighed in relief. "You know," Sadira began. "If I'd have known you were a Jedi, I would've declined the offer."

  "I thought you hated us." Cal was beyond confused.

  "I do," Sadira replied honestly. "But I..." She trailed off, then started towards the prison door. When she reached it, she stopped and turned back to face Cal. "Nevermind." She tossed the lightsaber towards him. He caught it with ease.

  "Wait," Cal exclaimed, just as she went to leave. "Why did you give me this? What do I do now?"

  She shrugged. "I heard you've been here before, you'll be able to get to the arena easily." Sadira pressed her hand to a panel and the door opened. Cal could do nothing but watch as she walked to the other side. The barrier lowered, and Sadira span around to see Cal once more. "Have fun out there," she quipped, a small smile playing on her face. And then she turned and walked away, leaving Cal alone.

Once again knowing the way like clockwork, Sadira began the route to the arena. Like she had said, she knew that Cal would find his way through the tunnels in no time, so she had to be ready.

She entered the hallway that surrounded the arena, then made her way up a staircase which led to Tormo's viewing box. Tormo greeted her as she arrived, standing from his Ogdo-skin couch to pat her on the back. "You did an amazing job, Sadira," he praised. "Come, sit." He gestured to the couch, and Sadira joined him. Tormo glanced out of the glass box and into the arena. "I am beyond excited for this rematch." His voice had an almost childlike excitement to it.

A few others joined them. Sadira couldn't name any of them, but could tell from their masses of jewellery and serious expressions that they were somewhat rich and highly regarded. They shook hands and chatted vicariously as Sadira sat next to Tormo, feeling out of place. Then, a high pitched shrill sounded from somewhere in the room and the crowd dispersed, taking their seats behind the main couch.

Tormo sprung up from his seat and stood at the front of the room, staring out into the arena. He pressed on a remote, then a holo-projection of him burst into life in the arena. The crowd roared.

"Greetings again, Cal Kestis," Tormo started. His hologram's booming voice mixed with the clear, closer voice that Sadira could also hear. The sheer volume made her head throb.

"You have been brought to me by my best Bounty Hunter, Sadira Carrino, as I'm sure you're aware." Tormo glanced at Sadira, grinning. "Can we all have a round of applause for her, please?"

Sadira's cheeks flushed as the audience clapped and cheered. She wasn't used to this sort of attention.

Tormo waited for the sound to die down, then continued. "Cal, I'm sure you're aware of why you're here. You beat us last time, and was lucky enough to escape. But your friends won't come to save you now, I've made sure of that. This challenge will be even harder for you-" He glanced around at the crowd. "And even more entertaining for us! Let the battle commence!" The audience erupted into joyous cries once more.

Sadira peered down at Cal, who looked much smaller from where she sat. He seemed determined as he ignited his lightsaber, holding it in front of him in defence. Two pillars arose from the ground, and a few small creatures that Sadira had never seen before emerged from them. Cal defeated them with ease, but Sadira couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. As much as she disliked Jedis, she didn't enjoy watching him fight. Of course, she pushed the sensation down, refusing to acknowledge it.

After a few rounds, Cal was damaged, but still fighting nevertheless. Tormo was right about the guy—he sure was persistent.

Someone tapped Sadira on the shoulder, breaking her train of thought. She recognised the person as the Haxion Brood Commando, with his gun grasped firmly in his hand. "Come with me," he spoke, his true voice masked by some sort of robotic filter he wore.

Sadira arose, following the Commando down the steps and through the hallway. They approached a door, and the Commando nudged her towards it, keeping his gun aimed at her. "Press the button," he said.

Sadira hesitated. She knew in her mind exactly what this was, but didn't want to believe it. "Okay," she mumbled, then did as she was told. The door slid open to reveal the arena, just as she had thought. The Commando pushed her into it and shut the door before she could react.

"Time for Phase Two," Tormo said.