Of Second Chances and the Surviving Fight

"C-Cal Kestis! A pleasure and an honor to meet you!" Cal gave the Jedi survivor before him a small smile.

He had just arrived on Tatooine when he saw this young Jedi being pursued by the Purge Troopers. After dispatching them all, Cal was introduced to Nari, a Jedi Padawan who survived Order 66, as he carried him to the Mantis for safety.

Before leaving, Senator Organa also gave him a Cloaking Device to use on the Mantis. That guy had access to more useful technology than he thought, seriously. With that, it meant he could hide the Mantis effectively and also call it to his side anytime he wished to. With that, Cal treated Nari's wounds using the Force, able to relax and not be constantly on the lookout. He had became acceptable in that skill after having to be alone, learning from both the Jedi books and personal application as he had been through a lot of scrapes over the past years.

Cal had to admit he really pitied him, reminded of how he too had once been just a Padawan when the Jedi Order fell. At least Cal was lucky to get an actual Jedi Master to complete his training before he had to develop his own skills once Cere left, while Nari, evidently, had no one.

"I knew the Inquisitors couldn't have rounded up all the Jedi! In fact, you beating the Ninth Sister and the Second Sister is proof that the Jedi is still able to rise up again! Can I come with you? I'm just a Padawan, but I can learn. I can help!"

Well, he sure is enthusiastic and a real fan.

Cal just smiled. It would be good to have another Jedi. "Okay, Nari. You've got nice spirit. I'm sure I could teach you into proper shape, but I came here to find Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. Do you know him?"

Nari's expression soured. "Yeah, but I wonder if he'll help. When I saw him, I was delighted. He was one of the greatest Jedi of our age! And yet he just told me to bury my lightsaber in the middle of the desert and quit being a Jedi!"

Cal frowned as he made use of Telepathy to review Nari's memories, a skill he had learned from Cere before she left. He wasn't exactly the best, but he knew enough to view some memories.

And he had to admit Master Kenobi was every bit as cynical and defeated as Senator Organa and Nari had claimed him to be. The sheer anguish, the broken tone in his voice was even worse than he had been back then.

"Alright, Nari, you should rest up a bit."

With that, Cal lead Nari to the quarters on the upper level. While Greez would still be the one who could work on the Mantis the best, when he was gone, Cal did get a few services from Saw, who was quite willing to lend technicians to help improve the ship.

One of those improvements were the increase of space in the quarters of the ship and the other was the training room in the lower levels, which Saw had happily lent droids and various equipments to help him develop his skills.

After the newest member of his crew was safely tucked in, Cal went to the holotable room and activated the communications to Senator Organa.

"Cal Kestis! So you've arrived? I'm on my way to Tatooine now. I also happen to know where Obi-Wan is. Where can we meet?"

"I think we'll just have to find one another, Senator, for now. I've got disturbing news on Master Kenobi as well."

Cal proceeded to relay to the Senator about Master Kenobi's current state, and needless to say, the Senator was grim.

"I see. We shall have to work hard to convince him, then. Speaking of which, I've received news that there will be two Inquisitors at the Anchorhead, where Luke lives with his uncle and aunt. They're moisture farmers, and that's also near where Kenobi lives. Any chance you could ensure no harm is done?"

Cal smiled sardonically. "I'll be there in the evening."

"Just how much have you learned, Nari?" Cal questioned the Padawan before him as they stood at the training room. It was surprisingly elaborate, due to Saw insisting on making sure Cal would remain at shape and grow stronger, filled with dozens of droids, even including ASP battle droids that could replicate the skill level of a Jedi Knight to a Jedi Master.

"Well, I've learned the basics to average levels. I studied Form I and Form IV and had learned a few Force techniques before everything went down."

Cal gave an encouraging smile at Nari's clear nervousness. He too had been a bit out of sorts when he first took up Jedi Training again. "Alright, then we should spar first. I'll see your skill level, and based on it, I'll teach you how to develop your abilities in the best way possible."

And so it was within a minute that Cal had Nari disarmed of his Lightsaber and force-pushed to the ground. Nari was clearly not far into his training, indeed. His lightsaber technique was a bit crude and unrefined, even worse than he was back then, relying mostly on a wild version of Form I, with little from Form IV apart from it's acrobatics, while his Force skills were minimum, Cal not even breaking a sweat against Nari's Force Push.

"Alright, Nari, you should start with refining a few more techniques from Form I. Form I should focus more on disarming techniques and maintain a consistent balance between offense and defense. You mainly use the sweeping techniques of Form I, but that would not be enough against an Inquisitor. As for your Form IV, you make too much use of the acrobatic sword techniques. You should rely on the more grounded spinning strikes and use the acrobatics sparringly, or else you'll get tired easily. Not only that, if you want to make use of Form IV, you got to make sure you can retain sufficient defense. Here, I'll show you..."

And so Cal displayed the techniques of both lightsaber combat forms in front of the awed Padawan before him, making sure to emphasize on the balanced techniques of Form I first before moving on to Form IV, demonstrating the importance of retaining fluid motions of the lightsaber to deflect blaster bolts while in mid-air and performing various spinning attacks more on the ground than on the air.

"There. Now, work on it. I'll have to go out and search for Master Kenobi. You can use some of the training droids, and there's some manuals for you to learn."

"Yes, sir!"

And so Cal traveled through the deserts of Tatooine. It was as every bit as hot as the rumors had claimed in the day, and even Cal had to use the Force to keep himself from sweating, despite all the things he had been through.

Nevertheless, Cal eventually made it to Anchorhead, and as Bail had said, there were two Inquisitors there.

He watched on calmly with a hood over the robe he wore, but when the Third Sister had attempted to kill Owen Lars, that had crossed the line.

Cal revealed himself, and blasted the Third Sister away from the man, earning stunned gasps as Cal made his way forward, igniting his lightsaber and shifting it into it's double-bladed form.

"Cal Kestis! I should have killed you before you had grown as powerful as you are now!" The Fifth Brother shouted as he ignited his red double-bladed lightsaber and charged.

It soon became clear that Cal was the superior duelist after having developed his skills over the course of five years. Now that he thought of it, the Fifth Brother's skills with a Lightsaber was focused mostly on brute force and aggression, relying on a crude version of Form V and Form VI. Cal simply danced around the Fifth Brother's wild attacks, blocking them all using Form III, before he then retaliated, quickly pushing back the Fifth Brother.

The man's resilience and stamina was great, as was his strength, but Cal had learned from their previous fight, so he opted to overwhelm him with speed and finesse, traits that the Fifth Brother clearly lacked. It so happened that when using the form of a double-bladed lightsaber, Cal could rely more on his variation of mixing Form III and Form IV, using acrobatics to avoid the flat and grounded techniques of the Fifth Brother and deliver aggressive strikes that send the man back, while sweeping the wide blades with precision and making sure to keep an eye whenever the Fifth Brother made to attack him.

Cal's senses alerted him to the Third Sister attacking from the back, easily dodging the attack and shifting his approach into that of Jar Kai as he split his lightsaber into two.

The fight intensified as the two Inquisitors attempted to defeat him with superior numbers, but it became quickly evident that those two had little skill in working together as a team, their approaches often clashing, and Cal made full use of such a weakness as he masterfully maneuvered himself back and forth, using both Form IV and Form VI's style of dual-blade combat, shifting between Jar' Kai techniques and Force skills as he repeatedly pushed aside one of the Inquisitors while engaging and swiftly overwhelming the other until the fight returned to a two-on-one.

Eventually, Cal managed to disarm both Inquisitors of their lightsabers and throw them far away with the Force. He had been slightly injured, a few scrapes, but that was nothing compared to the state of his enemies, who were both clearly rattled while Cal only gave a few breaths, their injuries way more numerous than his.

"This isn't over! The age of the Jedi is over, Cal Kestis. One day, the Empire will reign supreme!" With that, the two Inquisitors left and Cal made sure their ship had departed before he turned towards Owen, who was watching him with suspicion.

"You alright?" Cal asked the farmer calmly, causing the Lars to grunt.

"I guess I owe you one."

"Uncle Owen!" Cal watched as Owen's wife and the boy that was the son of the Chosen One march forward and hug him.

"Thank you, good sir. Would you like to stay at our farm for a while? We don't have much, but we could-"

"No need, miss. Always happy to help against the Empire." Cal said with a smile, but his eyes were on Luke. 

He could already feel the immense power of the Skywalker. It was untrained and undeveloped, but Cal still could feel that the boy had enormous potential.

"Don't even think about trying to train him." Owen snapped as he noticed Cal staring at Luke as he and Beru left.

"You don't understand, Mister Owen. His fate is not yours to decide. You can do all you can, but the Force has dictated an absolute will on the future of Luke Skywalker. You can keep him happy and content for now, but he will eventually become a Jedi. You should understand that." Cal said empathetically.

"Like how his father died?" Owen said coldly, causing Cal to shake his head.

"Your brother died a hero. There is a much larger galaxy out there, and far greater things than just a normal life. Believe me when I say that sometimes I do contemplate on just quitting all this business, but I can't. So many people are counting on me to resist. One day, your nephew too will have to shoulder that burden, and there's nothing you can do to stop it when the time comes."

With a small sigh, Cal decided to end the conversation. Owen was safe, and so was Luke and Beru. "I do hope you enjoy what time you have with him. When the time comes, please don't make things worse for yourself."

Without any other word, Cal left the town, his senses already on Kenobi, having noticed the man before but unable to interact with him due to having to protect Owen and the townspeople from the Inquisitors.

It had taken a while, but Cal eventually was able to track Kenobi to the cave he was staying on.

The man had apparently just arrived too, as he reacted with surprise upon seeing the hooded figure.

"Master Obi-Wan Kenobi." Cal called out as Kenobi turned back to look at him, his surprise increasing.

"I see you didn't need my assistance after all, Mister Kestis, to find my old friend." Senator Organa said with a smile as he lifted the hood on his face.

"Neither of you should have come here." Kenobi said softly as he eyed both of them warily.

"She's headed for Daiyu. They hid their signature behind a freight transport. The ship is on its way there now."

"I- I can't." Cal shook his head as he regarded the once great Jedi Master before him. He clearly had been traumatized by all that he had been through, a natural thing, as even Cal still struggled with certain traumas after all he had experienced.

"She's my daughter, Obi-Wan. Even this Jedi Knight before you is willing to risk his life and rescue her after only hearing my word of how important she is." Senator Organa said firmly as Kenobi's eyes widened.

"You told him? About all of it?" 

"Not all. Only what Mister Kestis here needs to know."

Cal narrowed his eyes at that. Was there something he was being left out of?

"Kestis... Cal Kestis. Yes, I remember you. You were the apprentice of Jedi Master Tapal, a great Jedi Master. I knew him well. You- You already have the skill and power of a Jedi Master, in fact greater than some Jedi Masters, from how you handled those two Inquisitors. Why do you seek my help?"

"Look, Master Kenobi, I've heard from Nari that you believe the Jedi are defeated and we have to wait for another chance, but that doesn't mean we should give up. We could still help the people until the hopes of the galaxy, the children of the Chosen One, are ready, at which point we could be there and help them fulfill their destiny."

Kenobi shook his head, looking defeated. "I'm not the Jedi Master I used to be. If you're willing to help out, then Leia will be better off with you. I can't leave the boy-"

"This isn't about the boy, and you know it! You've made mistakes. We all did! But it's in the past. Move on. Be done with it. You couldn't save Anakin, but you can save her." Senator Organa insisted after remaining silent at the banter between him and Kenobi.

"And what if I can't?" 

Cal gave Kenobi an empathetic look. "Failure is not the end, it is a necessary part of the path. Hope will always survive in those who continue to fight."

Kenobi turned to Cal, anguish and conflict clear in his eyes.

"A wise Jedi Master named Eno Cordova, who taught the Jedi Knight who helped me become the Jedi that I am now, always said those words."

"Eno Cordova..." Kenobi muttered softly.

"There is no one I trust more with my child than you. Please, old friend. For her. One last fight." Senator Organa pleaded.

"If you want to protect Luke, then I understand, but I'll tell you this. I too had wallowed in my misery for years after Order 66 and wanted nothing to do with the Order. I believed the fight was over, and I survived for years as a rigger for the Scrapper Guild. My connection to the Force was damaged, and I was left with only a minimum amount of lightsaber skill. Even so, in the end, I came out of hiding because I couldn't bear to keep watching the Empire's abuse of the people of the galaxy. I chose to believe that despite everything, the galaxy is still worth fighting for, with or without a Chosen One."

With a solemn smile, Cal chuckled bittersweetly. "In the end, it was the journey I went that allowed me to become what some have called me as an "Informal Jedi Master". I grew stronger by overcoming my pain and trauma. You could too. You could choose that path. I'm not going to force you, but you can still make a choice to be better, to fight again."

Kenobi placed his head on his palms, deeply shaken, and Cal and Senator Organa watched anxiously as the former Jedi Master looked visibly torn, before finally he lowered his hands.

"Very well. I'll try and support you."

Cal allowed a small smile. "Thank you. I can't promise you that you would find all that you want or need in this adventure, but I do hope it gives you at least a degree of peace."

Kenobi chuckled a bit. "Perhaps..."

"Well, that settles it. I'll be leaving now. Update me about any developments. And... Cal? Thank you?" Senator Organa said with a happy smile.

Cal smiled as he nodded. "You're welcome, Senator."

And so it was that after Kenobi retrieved his lightsaber, hidden in the dessert under a wooden casket, that Cal returned to the Stinger Mantis with one of the greatest Jedi Masters joining him.

"This ship is... quite the lightly armed freighter. You don't use this for combat?" Kenobi asked as he examined the ship.

"No. With Saw Gereera's help, I modified the ship a bit, but it still is more focused on speed. It can jump between any planet within a few minutes at best and an hour at worst." Cal replied just as Nari came out of the training session.

"Oh! Master Kestis! You're back!" Cal rolled his eyes at him being called "Master", while Kenobi said nothing surprisingly. Apparently, seeing him fight like a Jedi Master was more than enough to make him acknowledge Cal as a Jedi Master despite never receiving that title from the Council.

"You convinced him!" Nari said excitedly as Cal nodded.

"So how is your training going?" Cal asked his new informal apprentice.

"I defeated 5 training droids in a minute! You were right, my technique was seriously flawed, but I've improved."

Cal chuckled. "We all have to learn. Now, time to go to Daiyu. You ready, Master Kenobi?"

Kenobi nodded. There was still some wariness, but he seemed willing to see this through.

Oh well, Cal would have to work for it, but it could be done.