But This is Not Black and White

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, BD-1 and you
WHERE: Sh'Ka
WHAT: Totally avoiding Certain People while trying to recenter himself
WHEN: Mid-July
WARNINGS: N/A
NOTE: Will match tag format/preference!


"I will find you, Cal Kestis."

While the sentiment in those words is nothing new, the real concern that haunts the young Jedi is the fact that the threat is new and most importantly, here on this planet. Worse yet, within a confined area of a planet that they really had no great means to travel to, much less any knowledge of any possible places beyond the two cities they currently have access to.

Cal had thought that being on the run would have been over for him. He'd finally come out of hiding, fearlessly faced the Empire and the Inquisitors it sent relentlessly after him and his friends. He'd infiltrated the Fortress Inquisitorious and somehow made it back out alive. Being able to stay alive after everything is always a positive outcome. Being brought back to Agra 10 was considerably a vacation in comparison.

Once again, he finds himself in a defensive mode. At least he has the Force to rely on, and the one who might seek him out does not, but Cal had learned early on to be wary of Albert Wesker. Those concerns had only been further underlined once he'd found himself in the man's dreamspace.

If nothing else, Sh'Ka proves to be at least much more bearable for the weather. Cal had had BD-1 shoot off a few messages to Tony, Jon and Echo to tell them where he'd be if they needed him, an abrupt enough message to leave without seeing them, but the last thing he wanted was to draw attention to them if Wesker was on the prowl. He decides to revisit the power plant where he'd last set up camp, back when he'd led a small team on the repair work for the power grid. If he's going to be here, he may as well make himself useful and see if he can pick up on what was being done about the water.

It's been easier to find focus here too, for some reason. Calmer. Quieter. When he's not working on the water treatment equipment or tracing water lines, he's up on the roof of the hotel, meditating. It's not an easy spot to get to but it's peaceful, and the view's pretty nice.

Comments

[newmemorywhodis]

"...They were meant to fight the Calamity," Link says softly. He doesn't look at Cal, instead gazing off into the distance, as if at memories unseen. "But it corrupted them."

He falls silent for a moment. Then his eyes flick towards BeeDee. "Yes."

But this, perhaps, was not a good thing.

[out_of_order]

Cal looks down. Corrupted guardians... That hits a little close to home. The Inquisitors hadn't just appeared out of nowhere, after all.

"Sorry to hear that..." he says softly. Even BD-1 gives a mournful hoot.

[newmemorywhodis]

"The Calamity's gone now," Link says. "They are too."

It's a kind of reassurance. The people of Hyrule, at least, were more than glad to no longer have to fear a stray encounter with a Guardian. But even if they were corrupted - even if they weren't people in the way that BeeDee and York were - it still might not be the kind of thing Cal and BeeDee are glad to hear about.

[out_of_order]

"I see," Cal nods. Probably best, in Link's case. At least the Guardians sound like something less complex than a droid if they only had a singular directive. And Cal knows it's harder to fix things when it's people.

Jedi who have touched the Dark Side still struggle with it. He's seen Cere. He's not sure how easily it would be to completely pull back an Inquisitor to the Light. It still hurts to think about Trilla.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link falls silent for a moment, then. Lost in his own thoughts, just like how Cal seems to be lost in his. Whatever it is that Cal is thinking about though, Link doesn't pry.

Instead, after just watching Cal and BeeDee continue to work for a bit, Link says, "I can look for more pipes."

[out_of_order]

Cal lifts his head then, nodding at Link. "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'll see if there's anything that can be done for this one," he says, turning his attention back to the pipe there, but with it marked off, at least they can come back to it.

He suspects they're going to have a lot of work ahead of them.

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods, decisively. Says, "Bye". And then runs off, to find more pipes.

For the rest of the day, Cal will find Link periodically showing up wherever he happens to be - each time with another report of damaged pipes to give.