ZEFFO

There were many questions that Cal wanted to ask. He wanted to know why she was here. Why the angels were now walking amongst them? Why not of all times? Where were they during the Purge? The angel was right beside him. Asking these questions should be easy. He didn't have to hesitate or go on some quest to find the answers.

And yet, he couldn't find the courage.

BD-1 climbed up his leg and sat on his back as they made their way past the hanger they landed on. Cal found a narrow hill that led upwards and followed it.

For a while, all that was heard was the crunching sound from their boots as they stepped through the melting snow.

"What are the Jedi?"

His head snapped up to see her looking at him.

"What?"

"Jedi. That word keeps popping up. I understand you're a Jedi and Cere used to be one. But what does that mean? And how does it relate to 'Force-sensitive'?"

"Oh, um. The Jedi Order used to be made up of Force-sensitives."

"Did they train?"

"Y-Yeah."

"So it's an army made up of soldiers that have the Force."

"We were peacekeepers."

"Oh."

As they reached the top, Cal jumped back as something jumped out. It was the ugliest thing he'd ever seen and two of them were gnawing on a dead Stormtrooper. He unclipped his lightsaber and took them out before Diane could get involved.

"I've seen this armor before," she spoke.

"They're called Stormtroopers," he told her.

"Stormtroopers," she whispered under her breath. Like she was trying to memorize the word.

"Cal, can you hear me?"

Cal smiled as Cere's voice came through his comms.

"The Empire. They found Zeffo."

"If they were following the Mantis we would've been swarmed already."

"Could they be looking for the tombs?"

"Let's hope not. Just got our comms working. I'll try the same workaround to crack into theirs."

"Sounds good to me."

"Are we still proceeding with the mission?" Diane asked.

"Huh? Uh, if you mean by finding the tombs then yes."

Diane nodded her head.

Cal bit the inside of his cheek and used the remaining courage that had bubbled from the depths of his stomach.

"Are you really an angel?" he asked.

Diane's eyes flickered to meet his eyes.

"Yes."

Cal looked to his left and saw the remaining land they had to climb.

"Why walk among us now? After all this time?"

He went first, climbing up the small rocky cliffs. When he looked up, he saw her standing at the top, waiting.

"We don't. Not that I'm aware of."

"So, then why did you come here?" Cal asked, finally catching up to her.

"...I was curious."

After that, the conversation on the matter dropped and the trio walked in silence as they trekked up the hill until they came to a stop when they were met with a group of Stormtroopers.

"Wait here," she told Cal.

"No!"...Is what he wanted to say.

Instead, only stutters came out, and even then, she continued walking.

"Cover your eyes," she yelled.

Cal ducked behind one of the metal crates in the area, pulling BD-1 to his front chest as his back faced her. Out of pure curiosity, he left one eye open only to see nothing but the shadow of a bright light coming from behind. When it completely diminished, Cal stood up and turned around.

Diane stood in the middle and around her was nothing but piles of salt. BD-1 hopped off from his grip and ran toward the red and white sign. A fond smile formed on Cal's face, watching the cute little droid get excited about something.

"What's it say?"

BD trilled and the smile on Cal's face dropped.

"What did he say?" Diane asked.

BD showed a translation to her using a holographic format.

THIS AREA IS OFF LIMITS. IMPERIAL CODE: 994364:
NO SELLING OR TRADING

"Oh," Diane said. "Should we turn back then?"

Cal scoffed and gave her a look of disbelief.

"Why would we turn back?"

"Well, it clearly says the area is off-limits."

"So?"

"So we're just going to...walk on by?"

Cal shook his head, not believing the words coming out of her mouth. They were fugitives. On the run. And now here she was, telling them to turn back just because a sign told them to do so.

"Come on," he beckoned.

⤠⤟

Diane was in unfamiliar territory. The angel knew this and yet, whenever she saw a Stormtrooper she was suddenly reminded. Sometimes she was reminded when she was overhearing Cal and BD-1 talk. The droid only spoke using 'trills' or beeping noises. Yet, the redhead knew exactly what he was saying.

They had passed through an abandoned Zeffo village. They had to stop every once in a while due to Cal's ability to sense 'echos' (whatever that meant, Diane had no clue). She didn't ask either and allowed him to lead her toward the entrance of a cave.

"Okay," he said. "We have no idea what we're walking into, so stay close and no sudden movements."

He took out his 'light saber' and hovered his arm up so they could see in the dark. Diane followed behind him and as they walked deeper into the cavern, a realization washed over her.

"It's a building," she said.

"A facility used by the Empire," Cal told her, observing the logo that was painted on one of the crates beside them.

They walked together through the darkness and when they arrived out of the cave, Diane saw that they had much more ground to cover.

"Cal."

"Yeah?"

"Permission to fly us across?"

"F-Fly?"

"Yes."

"Um... Sure?"

Diane grabbed Cal and just like before, within seconds they were somewhere else. And just like before, Cal hunched over and spilled any remaining contents from his stomach. BD-1 jumped from his back and crawled up to Diane's shoulder.

He took a deep breath before glaring at her and BD.

"That was flying?!"

"Cal," Diane said, staring off into the distance.

He followed her line of vision and saw a massive structure in the distance. It looked like a person. It was tall, old, and looked as if it'd been there for centuries.

"Whoa. That's gotta be one of the Zeffo."

Diane walked ahead, BD-1 moving to her upper back.

"Traitor," Cal whispered.

The trio made a short distance as Diane saw a slope made of what she could only describe as a clear glowing blue material.

"What is this?"

Cal sighed.

"Ice."

"What do we do?"

Cal glanced between her and the icy slope before them. Suddenly, an idea formed in his head.

"Have you ever been on a slide?"

"A what?"

Cal smiled and patted her back. From Diane's perspective, it contained warmth and innocence. But to someone who had the ability to read people, they could see the layer of mischief that lied underneath.

"You'll love it."

And then, he pushed her.