Caleb Dume Post 66 - Tumblr Posts

Febuwhump Day 19: "You Deserve This."

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: The Bad Batch

    Caleb ran through the crowd of people. Behind him chased Crosshair. Watch its and move it kids were thrown at him constantly as he tried to make his way to the woods. In the woods he could hide, he could be safe. If need be he could draw his lightsaber in the woods. He couldn't hear, not anymore.

    Crosshair finally had the chance to right his brother's wrong. The Jedi that ran in front of him would be dead by the end of the day.

    Once at the woods the child jumped into the trees. It would be harder to find him this way. Hopefully he could lose Crosshair and make it back to the town on the other side of the woods.

    The soldier didn't take his eyes of Caleb. He wanted him jump from tree to pink tree. The forest was beautiful; unfortunately neither had the time to really enjoy the rare beauty of nature.

    When Caleb's foot slipped on the branch everything felt over. He hit the ground hard and laid still for a moment. Crosshair ran over, ready to kill the little boy if he wasn't already gone. Scrambling the Jedi went for his lightsaber.

    Crosshair didn't shoot.  Something felt off so he waited. After all he had the time.

    The boy whimpered as he pulled himself against a tree. Tears allowed him to express the pain and terror that gathered in his heart and head. Was this it? With the arm in the least amount of pain Caleb lifted his lightsaber and ignited it in front of himself. "Why are you doing this?" he cried.

    "You deserve this" Crosshair hissed.

    "Deserve this?" Pain and betrayal laced Caleb's voice, "what did I do to deserve this?!"

    "Your acts of treason" The clone answered.

    "Treason? I didn't commit an act of treason!"

    "There is no need to lie. The Jedi betrayed the republic."

    "What? Well what did they do?" Now curiosity took over. If he was gonna die he should at least know why.

    Crosshair was quiet. What did they do? "It doesn't matter! You're a traitor and traitors need to be dealt with."

    "I'm not going to die for something I didn't do!" Caleb started attempting to stand, "I won't let my life be cut short! My mom saved me I won't let it be for nothing! There are still people who I need to help, places I need to go! I want to live to see peace! Take your shoot Crosshair! Take it!" The boy stood as steady as he could. The tree provided enough support for him to use both arms for his lightsaber.

    The pain the child was in was evident. Crosshair could see it written all over his face. Did he deserve this? 'Yes he's a traitor. No he's just a kid, he couldn't have known.' the sniper argued with himself. It made his head hurt. Throwing his rifle Crosshair walked over to Caleb. "Put that down for a minute."

    It took a moment but Caleb complied. Grabbing the little medical equipment he had the clone rapped what he could. Both were confused by the others actions. When Crosshair walked back over to his rifle the humming of a lightsaber greeted him. "Relax. Cut it up; make it a crutch." Crosshair loved that rifle but with everything he had done to this boy letting him use it was a small way to help.

    Caleb grabbed it and cut it to fit his body. Walking was still difficult but slightly less painful. "Thank you."

    Crosshair just stared at him before walking away. This kid didn't deserve to have to grow up in such a dangerous galaxy, he didn't deserve to lose everything he had. Now Crosshair was thinking. The empire hated people who think for themselves. Things started to fall in place and the man finally realized he was the bad guy. The empire was the separatist but worse. Worse in the way that they made people believe they were good.

    Crosshair wasn't sure what to do next. All he really knew is whatever awful things he may face, he deserved it.

Febuwhump Day 28: "You're Safe Now."

Fandom: Star Wars

Timeline: Post Order 66 (Character is Caleb Doom/Kanan Jarrus)

  Caleb ran. Gray and Styles followed. Depa's body lay on the ground behind him. Other members of his beloved battalion followed the two officers. The Bad Batch tried to help, except for Crosshair. Hunter yelled that they would take care of the child. "Taking down a padawan shouldn't be too hard!"

    The child ran for the trees. Not long after he would come to a cliff. Hunter talked to him, trying to reassure him that everything would be alright. Caleb took a step back and fell.

    Kanan woke up. His breathing sped up and tears dropped out of his eyes. Hera touched his shoulder and the man jumped. "Kanan? What's going on?" She asked. He leaned into her shaking.  "It's okay. You're safe now." She rubbed her hand gently over her lover's head and held him.

    Hera knew what this was about. Nightmares always got worse nearing the anniversary of the Jedi purge. Kanan had already explained what the nightmare had been about, assuming it was the same one he kept having. The man's reaction was always the same.

    "You're safe Kanan." After a moment his tears dried and breathing became less panicked. He pulled away from Hera briefly before resting his forehead against hers.

    "I know." He responded. "I know."

Februwhump Day 1: Helpless

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Summary: Kanan opens up about 66.

  It was time. Kanan had never told anyone about order 66. He sat down with Hera and sighed. "Hey love, how are you doing?"

    Kanan didn't answer. He looked at her.

    "I know today is hard on you. Just let me know if you need anything." She stood, assuming like every year, he wanted to be alone.

    "I felt helpless." He spoke. "I was helpless."

    Hera turned around and sat back down in the pilot's chair. She watched Kanan as he shifted, trying to make himself more comfortable.

    "When they killed my master, I had been walking with a few clones. The group was called the bad batch. They had some genetic mutations. That's probably what saved me." Tears already threatened to spill from his eyes.

    "I heard shots. I turned around and the men were trying to kill her. I- I ran. She told me to. It was the last thing she ever said. The bad batch had ignored the order, other than one. They let me go."

    The Jedi looked up at Hera for the first time since he started talking. "I was helpless. From then until I met you, I felt so helpless. It was like I couldn't get control of my own life. Rather it was the alcohol or the memories, I just couldn't."

    The pilot grabbed Kanan's hand gently. "It's okay."

    "I've only felt that helpless a few times. I watched her die Hera. I couldn't save her. I felt that way when Ezra fell back when the Grand Inquisitor died. I thought-" his voice broke. "I can't do that again."

    Tears fell down his face. Hera pulled him into a hug. They stayed there for a minute before Kanan pulled back. "I feel helpless to fate."

    "It's going to be okay."

    "Okay."

Whump: The Musical Day 2: Wicked ("No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.")

Fandom: Star Wars (bad batch time zone but not the batch)

Warning: referenced and an attempted suicide of a side character

Summary: Caleb stops a man from killing himself. When some citizens see this they report him to the authorities.

    Why did Caleb have to save that man?

    Roofs were a good place to travel when you didn't want to be found. The ex-padawan learned that pretty fast. Being above everyone had its advantages. Seeing everything that was going on below you made being someone everyone wanted dead at but safer.

    But then he came across a man who was ready to jump. Before Caleb could stop himself he started to talk. "Sir?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

    The man looked panicked as he turned around. "Get going kid. You don't want to see this." Before he could say anything, the twi'lek jumped.

    Running to the side of the six story building, instinct kicked in and Caleb reached for him. Before the man hit the ground, he found himself levitating. There was a look of surprise on his face, as well as the faces of the people nearby.

    The danger the child had put himself in, hadn't made it's way to his fears yet.

    Caleb ran down the stairs. Skipping steps made him reach the bottom quicker. Bursting though the metal doors, the boy ran to find the man who was still sitting on the sidewalk. "Sir?" He started. "Are you okay?"

    Crying, the man tried to smile. "Thank you kid. I'm okay."

    "So, what's been going on?" Caleb said as he sat next to the older man.

    "You're a child."

    "Then let's find someone for you to talk to." He stood again and extended a hand to the man. The Twi'lek nodded and took his hand.

    "Do you have any family or friends?" As he spoke, Caleb started to feel the eyes on him. He realized what had happened. Shoving the thought off to the side, he starts to lead the man away from the crowded street.

    "No."

    "Same" was the first thing that came to Caleb's mind but he figured he probably shouldn't say that.

    "How about I take you to the nearby hospital? They can help you there."

    Despite the look of defeat in his face, the man agreed.

    They took the scenic route. Caleb knew he needed to avoid larger streets. With the empire around and with them knowing he was around, hiding was important.

    As they closed in on the hospital, a voice came from behind them. "There! Get the Jedi!"

    Turning around, Caleb looked at them. Then he turned to the man, "I have to go. Please, take care."

    Then it was time to run. The padawan did a lot of that. It hurt, having to run away from the man. Every part of him wanted to finish taking him to the hospital.

    The imperial presence on the planet was a large one. Hiding, Caleb ducked into a building. Then he started to run for the roof. They seemed to be his only safe place. He always liked sitting in the highest place he could find at the temple.

    The kid made his way to the stairs. Tripping over some stairs on the third floor, slowed him down. His ankle was sore.

    On the stairs of the sixth floor, imperials caught up to him. The door was in sight. Pushing the men down the stairs, Caleb threw open the door to the roof. Without looking back, he jumped to the next building.

    After a while of jumping from building to building, Caleb took a break. Out of breath, he started to curse himself out. Why did he have to save that man? Jedi  instincts were going to get him killed.

    "No good dead goes unpunished I guess" he whispered. It seemed he almost lived by this saying. Every time he helped someone, something bad happened to him. Maybe he should learn to control his companion. Maybe he should have just let the man have his way out.

    Listening to his surroundings, he deemed it was safe to wait a few more minutes. Sitting down, Caleb looked at his ankle. Luckily, he had just twisted it.

    It was time to move. There was a nagging feeling in the kids heart that told him he needed to make sure the man had gotten to the hospital alright. It wasn't too far, even if he had been running in the opposite direction.

    The stairs down the building he had ended up on, creaked as he walked down them. Opening the door, Caleb faced the night. The beautiful sunset that had previously painted the sky, was gone. It was a pretty sight to kill yourself too. The red and orange in the sky would have matched the red on the pavement as well as the orange of the man's skin.

    Caleb snuck around, trying to find a discreet way to the hospital. "Why am I doing this?" He muttered. "This is gonna get me killed."

    After a while of walking and a few close calls with the empire, Caleb found the hospital. Seeing the nurse reach for the phone sent a cold chill down the kid's spine. "Excuse me?" He said, his voice going up a few octaves. "Did a Twi'lek come in earlier to be admitted to the psychiatric ward?"

    "Are you family?" The nurse asked, setting her phone down. She hasn't been calling about him.

    "No, I'm the person who stopped him and brought him most of the way here. I just-" he sighed, trying to keep from crying. "I just wanted to make sure he got here okay."

    The nurse came around from her station. "He came in. He's been admitted." She put her hand on his shoulder. "You're a good kid."

    "Thank you. I'm just doing my job." That probably sounded strange to the poor nurse.

    "Can I call your parents, I'm sure they'll be proud of you for saving that man's life."

    What did he tell her? She was right, Depa would be proud. "My Mom's out of town. I'll just head home."

    "Okay. Stay safe."

    "Can I do me a favor?" He asked quietly.

    "I'm sure I can." The girl kneeled beside him.

    "Can you tell him I got away safely? That I came to check on him, and if the empire asks, can you say I was never here? I'm just trying to survive and every time I do something to help people, it always gets me caught and I'm just so tired." Tears welled in Caleb's eyes and the nurse tightened her grip on his shoulder.

    "Of course I can." She pulled him into a hug and Caleb started to cry. It had been so long. The boy wasn't sure how long he had been there, but by the time he stopped crying, his throat was sore and his eyes hurt.

    The nurse let go of him and walked around the counter. Grabbing soothing she walked back over to him. "Use this to get you something to eat. This is a safe place for you."

    "Thank you. For everything. Hopefully this doesn't hurt you. My Captain, Styles-"

    "You fought in a war?"

    Instead of answering, Caleb continued his sentence. "He used to say that no good deed goes unpunished. Just be careful." Before she could ask any more questions, Caleb made his way to the door.

    The nurse caught up to him, "hey kid." She kneeled down beside to make sure no one else would hear what she had to say. "May the force be with you."

    There was something comforting about hearing that. "Thank you." With that he left the hospital and shortly after that, the planet.