The two teenagers got out of the Mantis and set off, taking a different path than their last visit to Zeffo. After walking for a while, they came across a massive wreck. They stood on a ledge, with water below them deep enough for a jump.

Cal activated his communicator. "You see the Star Destroyer? It's a Venator."

"There could be useful intel inside," Cere responded.

"We'll try to find a way to it."

Cal and Willow nodded to each other and jumped into the water. It hit Willow like an icy wall. Driven by adrenaline, she quickly surfaced. She looked around for Cal and spotted him a few meters away. He seemed to be looking for her too, and when their eyes met, he signaled her to follow him to the opposite shore.

Shortly after, they arrived, and Willow was glad to be out of the cold water. Her clothes clung to her skin, and the strong wind on Zeffo didn't help her warm up. She pulled out her wand and conjured warm air from its tip. Soon, both her clothes and hair were dry.

She glanced at her companion, who was silently watching her.
"You too?"

"Just to dry off a bit," he said, and Willow noticed he was also shivering slightly. Without hesitation, she cast the spell on Cal, and he let out a contented sigh. "That's amazing, Lills. Thanks."

"Anytime," she smiled. The two looked around the small island and discovered two crashed ships, each large enough for one person. Cal radioed the pilot: "Greez, are you busy?"

"I was just about to - uh, no... not busy. Do you need something?" came the reply.

"There are two crashed ships here. You weren't the only pilot struggling with the storm."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're just noticing this now? Where have you been?! I mean, no one flies better than me."

"Yeah, okay. I just wanted to thank you."

"Oh, well you're really... You're welcome, kid. I - I, uh... gotta go! I'm busy. See you, bye."

Willow raised her eyebrows at the sudden awkwardness of the usually straightforward pilot. "Wow, he really needs to learn how to take a compliment."

Cal rubbed his neck.
"Hm, I guess that's not normal for him."

The girl didn't respond but continued onward. The young Jedi followed her, and together they climbed parts of the large wreck. In the debris of one of the huge turbines, they encountered small black flying machines. Willow assumed they were also some kind of droids.

"Probe droids," Cal confirmed her silent guess. "They're watching us."

„Boo-Boop trill!" BD-1 chimed in.

The floating droids started firing blasters at the team. Cal deflected the blaster shots with his lightsaber, and Willow slammed them to the ground with Descendo!

The deeper they went into the turbine, the more probe droids they encountered. Willow and Cal complemented each other perfectly in the fight, and it went smoothly. A bit out of breath, they emerged on the other side of the turbine.

To their left, a bit away from the wreck, lay the body of a trooper. Willow watched as Cal knelt in front of the lifeless body, closed his eyes, and extended his hand. Unconsciously, she tilted her head, not quite understanding what he was doing.

After a few seconds, he stood up again.
"The commander was killed by a lightsaber."

"How... How do you know that? What did you just do?"

"It's called psychometry. With the help of the Force, I can see certain information about people or objects through a kind of echo. Usually, it's memories. This ability is quite rare among Force users."

Willow nodded, fascinated by his ability. She already had the utmost respect for his use of the Force, let alone being able to do it to this extent.

Cal pointed to the top of a mountain, not too far from them.
"See that up there? That should be the dome of the next tomb. I suggest you fly up there and wait for me. Keep an eye out for Imperials, okay?"

The Hogwarts student nodded silently and grabbed her broom.
"Don't keep me waiting too long," she said before she hopped on her broom and flew to the designated point. The distance wasn't far, but she enjoyed every second. She loved flying on her broom and hadn't realized how much she missed it in the few hours she had been here.

Knowing it would take a moment for Cal to reappear, she stayed on her broom, circling the tomb. This way, she could see the Imperials coming from all directions.

After a short while, she heard his voice in her ear: "I'm in an elevator. I think we're getting close."

"Is that also a Force-thing?" the girl wondered.

"Yes, more or less. I noticed it earlier. This feeling in the pit of my stomach. At first I thought it was Greez' cooking."

She heard an indignant sound from Cal's little droid and had to laugh.

"Now it's getting even stronger. I think the closer we are the worse I feel."

"What does that mean? Are you okay?" Worry tinged Willow's voice.

"It can't mean anything good."
And with that, the communication cut off.

A new wave of unease settled in Willow's stomach. Without hesitation, she contacted Cere.
"Cere, Cal is on his way into the tomb, I'm waiting outside at the exit. He mentioned he doesn't have a good feeling about this... Should we intervene?"

"Don't worry, dear. His gut feeling will be a warning to act cautiously. I'm sure we don't need to worry. The Force is strong with him."

"Thanks, Cere. I'll report back if there's anything new."
Her doubts temporarily eased, she continued her rounds.

Quite some time had passed, and Willow hadn't heard from neither, Cal or Cere. She hadn't observed any unusual activity in the sky, but that was due to the increasingly dense fog.

It was quiet. Suspiciously quiet. A fresh wave of concern flared up in Willow. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally decided to land. Once on the ground, she paced back and forth in front of the exit.

"Cal?" she tried to reach him. "Can you hear me?"
But all she heard was constant static. Frustrated, she ended the attempt to communicate.

As if on cue, the redhead stepped out of the tomb.
"Cal!"

"Willow, I need to talk to you," the seriousness in his voice made her stop immediately.

"What? What happened? I tried to contact you."

"Yeah, listen. You won't believe what just happened. Do you remember when our conversation abruptly cut off earlier? When I stepped out of the elevator?"

The girl nodded, unsure where he was going with this.
"Right. Standing in front of me was none other than the Second Sister. She's one of the Inquisitors I told you about when we were taking care of your plants. She attacked me, wanted to know where to find the Holocron. Of course, I didn't tell her anything. But then she mentioned something that nearly got me. She said that sooner or later, Cere would betray us, just like she did to her. At first, I didn't know what she was getting at, until she took off her helmet. Lills, the Second Sister is none other than Trilla."

Willow had trouble following him as he reported his experience too quickly. When he finished his account, it took her a moment to understand why he was so upset. Then it hit her.
"Cere's Padawan?"
Cal nodded.

"But... But that can't be. Cere said Trilla is dead," she met Cal's gaze. And without a word, she understood that Cere had lied. She just didn't understand why the former Jedi had lied. Willow saw that her friend was angry about it. He took a deep breath and swallowed his anger.

Cal turned and walked ahead: "For now, that's secondary. We should check in with the Mantis. Trilla probably knows where they are."
Willow moved and followed him.

„Boo-Boop!"

When he tried to contact the crew, only static sounded. The same static Willow heard during her failed attempt to reach Cal.
"You sure the comm's fixed, buddy? They're not answering."

„Boop-trill Beeb!"

"Something's wrong. We need to get back."

Their path led them through another part of the enormous Imperial base.
"Nobody here. Do you think it's a trap?"

BD-1 made some noises, and Willow nodded in agreement. She didn't know exactly what the droid said, but his tone gave her a hunch.

"We've walked into many of those lately," Cal replied as he suddenly stopped. "Wait, do you hear that?"

Willow didn't respond, the tension inside her skyrocketing.
Together, they went deeper into the base and found themselves in a huge icy cave.

Completely perplexed by the extent of the Imperial occupation, they didn't hear the bounty hunter coming. He attacked them from behind, but Cal's reflexes were not to be underestimated. Skillfully, he blocked the blasters and grenades, protecting the three of them from being hit.

The fight was exhausting and unlike any other fight Willow had ever had. The opponent was quick, both in dodging and attacking. Almost all the spells Willow fired missed their mark.

It was only a matter of time and carelessness before both were hit by an electroshock grenade. This grenade was different from those of the Empire. The electricity was so strong that both Willow and Cal were knocked out within seconds. The world around her went pitch black.
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