revivalproject | [Audio]

Just doing what I can. And if it wasn't for BeeDee's urgency, I would've never known you were here.

[Echo nods at the droid, setting one knee in the sand to help Cal slip into his seated position.]

What is this place, anyway?

I don't know... Some place of power. I thought I felt the Force more strongly there. I've heard there are places like that. But this was...

[He shakes his head, turning it towards Echo. ]

...I feel like I need to apologize. I saw... I can see things that have happened. Usually they have to be strong memories, impressions in the Force, an echo. Attached to places, objects.

When I was in there, it...it was like the flood gates were opened up.

[The ARC Trooper's helmet meets Cal's gaze, its visor a small blessing when it comes down to making a clone faceless. He's frowning, however, as he tries to understand what Cal is telling him.

To the clones, the Force is still very much a foreign concept, mysterious and hard to grasp unless one sees it in practice. Levitating objects, he's heard of. But this version of the Force is something he's never thought possible.]

And you were overwhelmed. [At least, this is as far as he can comprehend how it all works. But for a moment, he looks back in the direction of the cave.] ...What exactly did you see?

I saw the Agrii. They were...hiding. Taking shelter from the storms. Some of them were dying...

[He can still remember parts of what he's seen rather clearly.]

They couldn't do anything about it, didn't understand why something like that was happening all of a sudden. They thought the caves would protect them, but it wasn't guaranteed.

The Agrii? [He looks back at Cal.] I think I can see why they tried the caves. From the looks of this planet, there aren't many places to hide from a storm. And normal caves don't do...that.

[The blaster, still pointing down at the sand, is gestured in the direction of the caves.]

...Was there anything else? Any clues pertaining to what happened afterward?

Yeah...

[He's feeling immensely better, but he's still shaken from what had happened, thankful just to have been broken away from it.]

No. [Cal shakes his head.] It was just...overlapping instances, different perspectives. So much fear, confusion...pain.

...and then I saw some of the things you've gone through.

[The ARC Trooper goes quiet, not moving an inch from where he kneels. His head, however, drops slowly, slightly, a few degrees from where he originally was looking.]

Ah.

[Another long pause seems to draw out before he chuffs a mirthless laugh.]

...Not every moment was a winner.

I'm sorry...

[Cal feels the need to apologize again, even knowing he couldn't help it. It had still been prying into someone else's personal life.]

...I think that's how it goes for everyone. But...you all got through it, somehow. Despite how bad things got, despite the losses...

[He lifts his head to look at Echo again, and perhaps in that look is a hint of the padawan he had been those five years ago, lost and alone.]

How do you manage to keep going?

[Echo shakes his head.]

I don't really have much to hide. I'm sorry you had to experience it.

[He turns toward the former Padawan after another beat passes, his brow creased behind the black visor. His answers can be simple, like fighting for the greater good or carrying out the duties given to him in his station. Although they are honest, it all sounds superficial the more he goes over them.

So he offers another answer.]

...I keep my brothers in mind. Despite our differences, we all shared the same dreams. Same goals. And we all knew the risks that came with our line of work.

If I didn't think about that constantly, then all of our hard work – all of their sacrifices – it would've been in vain.

No, it... It was a reminder. But I'm sorry all the same.

[Cal's gaze drifts downward again as he listens. It sounds so simple. It also makes his heart ache, knowing how it all pans out with the clones. But they had been made soldiers, and they still sacrificed so much.]

...I lost sight of any goals. When my master died...I just felt like it was all my fault. I couldn't do anything. I waited for word from the Council, thought maybe we'd regroup, fight back and straighten things out. But...the Republic became an Empire, and everything just changed.

I hid for five years, because I knew if the Empire got wind of a Jedi, they'd come for me. It was just about survival. Existing isn't much of a goal, but it was something.

[When they had first met, Echo already had been informed of how the Clone Wars came to an end. But to hear what happened after the fact – everything that happened from Cal's perspective...

He doesn't know what to say at first. Nothing will fix what the young man has already gone through.

The ARC Trooper lifts his head. His hand rises, hesitating before he softly clasps Cal on the shoulder.]

I'm sorry you had to go through all of that.

[He tenses slightly at that, glancing at Echo again. Slowly he shakes his head, his smile faint, bitter.]

We can't change the past. But we can't forget those sacrifices and let them be for nothing, like you said.

[The padawan looks down at his right hand, fingers still curled in towards his palm, feeling almost numb now for how long he's held it that way. He coaxes them to open, revealing a stubbed shard of crystal, a crack threatening to split it in two.]

...I needed the reminder. I keep letting myself fall back into the same loop, thinking I'm a failure. But you never quit. I don't think I really did either, but I just kept losing sight of what helped me to move forward.

[Echo nods. His gaze then falls away to glance at what Cal has in his hand, his brow lifting slightly at the cracked shard. His voice nearly drops to a whisper as he shakes his head.]

I always thought the jedi were resilient. Still do. As far as I can tell, you had enough reasons as to why you lost your way. It's just good to see you're finding your way back.

[A beat. He withdraws his hand, resting his forearm across his knee once more.]

Speaking of reminders...I apologize for what happened during the storm. In prioritizing your safety, I wasn't fully aware of how deep the cut went. I should've communicated better instead of acting upon whim.

[Cal snorts lightly in a mild laugh.]

The good ones are. We're supposed to be. We're protectors... But I don't know how well anyone can bounce back after being suddenly called traitors to the very Republic we fought for. Those who've survived, anyway.

[He rolls the crystal piece in his palm before closing his fingers over it again, nodding to himself. Maybe...

When Echo speaks again, he blinks and looks over.]

No it's... [He laughs briefly.] Okay, I was a little upset at that, but I think it was mostly with myself for being useless. All I could do was cower in the ship, and then I got lost trying to find my way to the city.

[The clone's head tilts to one side.]

I think it would take time. Having that happen is a giant blow to all of the effort everyone put into saving the Republic...

[Shoulders square for a second or two, dropping down again as he sighs.]

–Ah, I don't blame you for feeling that way. Trying to get back to the shuttle was a pain. The rain made it harder to see anything and all of the extra distractions didn't help either.

I don't know if it will ever recover. It's been five years since the war's end, and people who haven't witnessed or been helped directly by the efforts of the Jedi seem more susceptible to believe that they had been a part of the very things we'd been fighting to prevent. Some maybe had their doubts, true, but... with the Empire in control, no one dared say anything, and I can't blame them.

[The news he'd heard from those later on in time didn't exactly reassure. Even hearing of events centuries past made him wonder if they'd ever break the cycle they seemed to be in.

It's a depressing line of thought. He tries to pull back from it, focusing on the now.]

Yeah... At least I wasn't alone.

[He smiles a little, patting BD-1 on the head, the droid borbling happily.]

[As he listens, a low 'heh' emits through the vocabulator.]

...This 'Empire' is a real piece of work.

[And that's Echo being polite. There isn't much he knows about the Empire – or anything else long after the Clone Wars, for that matter – but he gets the feeling the situation doesn't improve.

Like Cal, he's also fine with dropping it for the time being, smiling as BD-1 gets some well-deserved attention.]

Yeah. The little guy's very reliable.

You don't know the half of it.

[But enough talk about the Empire. BD-1 beeps and then hops up along Cal's arm to clamber up behind him, sounding his approval of Echo's opinion of him as he peers at the helmeted clone.]

He is. Don't know where I'd be without him.

[Cal slips the crystal into a belt pouch and then slowly starts to get to his feet, testing how steady he's feeling.]

[Echo chuckles, also getting up to see that some of the sand is still sticking to his knee and shin guard. Brushing it off, he looks back to Cal to make sure he doesn't fall.]

So. Do you think you've spent enough time out here?

[He's a little wobbly at first, but the padawan doesn't lose his balance. Dusting himself off, he gives a weak laugh.]

Yeah. I think I'm ready to get back to work on things in the city.

Sounds good.

[The clone checks his gear out of habit, but cants his head as he holds the blaster low and close to his body.]

Ready whenever you are.

[Cal nods, then turns to head back towards Temba.]

Let's go.

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