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MYRIA HAD CRIED out in joy at the sight of the Wookiee's escaping. They cheered along with her, happily smashing the heads of Stormtroopers. "We're almost there!" Sage called from the front of the group. "I'll need BD to close the door!"

"He'll be ready!" Cal yelled. BD let out a loud whoop.

"We have to get the Wookiee's out safely!" Myria added, pushing herself to run next to Cal. He looked down at her, his red hair falling slightly out of place.

He nodded. "We will!" Another blaster shot rang out through the tunnel, followed by the cry of a Wookiee. Myria nearly stopped, but her hand was grabbed by Cal, who pulled her along. "Keep going!"

"But-" She gasped.

"No! We help who we can, Myria!" He shook his head. "It's not worth the risk of losing you!"

Several more blaster shots rang out, but this time it was followed by the fumbling and crashing of Trooper armour. Pride shot through her as Myria watched Wookiee's beat their oppressors. She and Cal hurried to where Varian was yelling for them to hurry. "BD! We need you!"

The little droid jumped into action, leaping from Cal to Varian, to Sage, who was waiting at the control panel. When they reached the others, Cal let go of Myria's hand. She looked down the tunnel to where Wookiee's were still being chased. There was little time to act. She removed her blaster from her holster and began firing at Troopers.

Cal watched her in amazement. Seeing her hit every single shot, it was like seeing the old her. However, that moment was short-lived as her cry snapped him out of it. Myria glared harder, teeth clenched and clutching her shoulder. Val had rushed to her side. "Are you okay?" He asked hastily, trying to remove her hand so he could see the wound.

"I'm fine!" Myria spat. Her hand held steady as she shot again, nailing a Trooper right in the head. Her head whipped to Cal. "Are you just gonna stand there, Jedi?"

"Oh!" He fumbled for his lightsaber, igniting it quickly. Myria shook her head, withholding her laugh. Cal began deflecting the blaster shots — he even managed to knock a few Troopers down. Myria had to admit; she was impressed.

She pressed down on her wound with a hiss. The Wookiee's had nearly all successfully made it out, only a few who laid motionless on the muddy floor. Myria looked away, bitter that they were unable to help them all. "Ready?" She called to Sage and BD. Sage gave her the thumbs up. She nodded. "Alright. Everyone back up!" She called to the Wookiees.

"Ready BD?" Sage questioned the little droid. He beeped with determination. "Good. Close it." With a few sparks, the control panel sprang to life and the doors to the tunnel slammed shut.

Everyone took a moment to catch their breath. Myria looked around at the cave they had found themselves in. "A cave?" She questioned Sage. "This is your shortcut?"

Sage nodded. "Troopers won't go down here," She explained as the group began to walk, the Wookiee's following them. "We can set up camp safely."

"Safely?" Varian scoffed. "You know how many Wyyyschokk live down here?"

Myria shuddered. Wyyyschokk were giant spider-like creatures that attacked everything in sight. If they were seen by one, no doubt they would never make it to the Origin Tree. "What are Wyyyschokk?" Cal asked.

"I thought Jedi knew everything," Myria laughed, but upon seeing Cal's face, she stopped. "Oh, um...giant man-eating spiders."

Cal nodded slowly. "Lovely," He looked around the cave warily — it was large and open, pale-green crystals hung from the ceiling, a few falling now and again — for such a beautiful place it was hard to believe such ugly creatures lived in it. "Where could we safely set up camp?" BD whooped in agreement.

Sage looked around, eyebrows furrowed. "We know a spot," A male Wookiee called from behind. All of the humans looked over.

"Where?" Sage pressed.

"Follow us," He nodded, and beckoned them in the opposite direction.

They began following. Cal leaned over to Myria. "What did he say?" He whispered.

"He knows a spot," She whispered back.

Just like the Wookiee said, they came across a small cave within the cave with a small, flowing waterfall. "Wyyyschokk don't like water. You will be safe here," He patted Sage softly on the shoulder.

"Are you not staying with us?" She glanced around the larger cave nervously.

The Wookiee shook his head. "No, but we thank you for your help. We will continue your good work in freeing our kind. Your mother would be proud, Sage."

He left with a small nod to the rest of the group. Still clutching her shoulder, Myria approached Sage. "You know him?" Sage nodded silently and walked off deeper into their new camp. Myria frowned. The Wookiee had mentioned her mother, who had died a few years ago. Sage was never one to talk about her feelings, so she let her go. "Varian?" She called. "A little help?" She gestured to her now bloody hand.

Varian nodded vigorously. "Come, sit," He moved her to a smooth rock and pushed her down lightly. "Cal, could you pass my bag?"

"Sure," Cal was quick and ready to help. He handed Varian the bag, which he rummaged through until he found his first aid kit. He watched as Varian instructed Myria to remove her shirt very carefully and turned away with a blush as she did. Myria hissed as her shoulder moved uncomfortably. "I'm so sorry," Cal sighed, biting his lip anxiously as Varian began his work.

"It's not your fault, Cal," Myria spoke through gritted teeth. "Damn," Varian had placed disinfectant on the wound. "That hurts, man,"

Varian rolled his eyes, focusing on her shoulder. "I forgot how big of a baby you were," He laughed to himself, cleaning up the rest of the dried blood and dirt. "Suck it up, Ria," He pulled out his needle and tread.

Myria sucked in a sharp breath and looked away. Her eyes met Cal's, who looked concerned. "Just look at me," He smiled softly.

"Okay," She nodded, wincing as Varian began his work. Her eyes watered slightly, but she never looked away from Cal. He said he knew her when they were children, that they were friends. The more Myria watched him the more she wished some form of her memory would come back to her. All she could recall was blood and horror but Cal seemed to be the opposite — he was the good part of her past. "When did we first meet?" She asked, instantly regretting the question. "Sorry."

Cal shook his head. "No, it's okay," He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I was five, you were six. It was our first day of youngling training," She didn't know how long Cal had talked for, but longer than Varian's stitches took. She hadn't realized that they were now inches apart, Cal telling stories from the Jedi temple and her telling stories of her life on Kashyyyk. "I once overheard Jedi Master Mace Windu call us little tyrants," He laughed fondly.

Myria found herself laughing along with him. It was so easy to talk to him, like there had always been a connection between them — which there was. The laughter died down and they both fell silent. Myria resisted the urge to ask the question that just popped into her mind — a dark and sad one — one she was sure Cal wouldn't want to answer. "What is it?" Cal asked. "I can see the distress on your face."

"Huh?" Myria snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. Once again, his eyes bored into her — bright blue that she felt drawn to for some unknown reason — was there something Cal wasn't telling her? She shook off that thought and sighed. "I just don't want to bring up bad memories, is all. It's alright."

"No!" Call shook his head. "I'm open to any question you might have." He insisted.

Sighing again, Myria glanced down at her hands. "What happened to you the day they Jedi fell?"

Cal paused for a moment. "Wow, I was not expecting that," He laughed nervously. "Well...we were just starting training for the day..."

Cal had woken up extra early. Myria promised to call him, to check up on him. Being away from her was hard, but after their successful mission on Bracca, he couldn't wait to talk to her. He turned his holo-deck on and waited. He nearly threw up when the signal connected.

Myria stood in her new robes, smiling widely. "Hi, Cal!" She cheered. "How are you? How's Master Tapal?"

Cal smiled just as widely back. "Good! Great, actually! Bracca was a success! How is the mission to Kashyyyk?"

Myria shrugged. "Boring, without you or Master Kenobi to keep my company. I don't mind Master Yoda but he is a bit..."

"Outlandish?" Cal laughed.

"Very," Myria agreed with a chuckle. She looked around at something and then sighed. "Gosh, I'm sorry Cal. I'm being summoned."

Cal frowned, but quickly recovered. He didn't want to make her feel bad. "It's okay. I should go to training now, anyway. Talk to you tomorrow?"

Myria smiled softly. "I'll see what I can do," This time, the clear voice of Master Yoda called her. She groaned. "Gotta go! Love you, Cal!"

And she was gone. Cal froze and a slow smile spread across his lips. "I love you too," Sighing deeply, he headed for the door. Clone Troopers roamed the halls, each greeting Cal on his way to training. He had to admit, he liked having the battalion around. "Master!" He called as he rushed into the training room! "Sorry, I'm late!"

"Myria, was it?" Jedi Master Jaro Tapal chuckled from above. Cal blushed and shook his head. "Alright. Clear your mind and begin."

"After the obstacle course, I met up with my Master and then it happened — Order 66," Cal spat. "An implant in the clones' brains, making them follow the order. They killed nearly every Jedi that day, including my master," He took a deep bad shaky breath.

Myria didn't know what came over her. She reached out and grabbed his hand. Cal's head snapped up, a wave of old emotions flooding through him. He hadn't been touched like that in a long time — with so much care and comfort. "I'm sorry, Cal." She frowned.

He shook his head. "He saved me. I'd been living on Bracca ever since. Then, the Inquisitors found me and...here I am," He chuckled dryly. He looked back up at her, blue eyes watering. "As I watched the Albedo Brave explode, I could feel you call out to me. You were in pain, you needed my help," His voice cracked and he turned away, but her hands tightly held his in place. "But...I was halfway across the galaxy and I tried to reach back out, to let you know I was okay and alive...but I could no longer feel you. I thought you had died."

Myria watched him carefully, a deep frown on her face. "It's like I did," Cal's head snapped to her. "Or...the old me. I don't remember a time before Kashyyyk, and I thought I'd never want to....until you, Cal."

"What?" He sniffled.

"Any memories I had of my old life came in bits and pieces — fragments if you will — but when I had that dream and saw you and then I saw you...a part of me wants to know why I feel this way, but a part of me is also scared," She looked over to Sage and Varian. who were now watching them. She huffed. "I guess what I'm saying is, is that I want to remember you, Cal."

AUTHORS NOTE
wow! The first long chapter, can you believe it? Also, I'm not sure if those spiders are afraid of water but when I played the game they never followed you in, so I'm going with it.