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"What do you know?" Cassian snapped. "We don’t all have the luxury of deciding when and where we want to care about something. Suddenly the Rebellion is real for you? Some of us live it. I’ve been in this fight since I was 6 years old. You’re not the only one who lost everything. Some of us just decided to do something about it."
Normally, Jyn would have ignored the jab, continuing to press him about his intentions for her father. But after reconnecting with Saw Gererra, only to lose him again, and then to have the same thing happen with her father… Jyn was not in the mood to let things slide.
"Suddenly this is real to me?" She taunted. "I'm sorry that I only entered the fight when I was seven, instead of six. Perhaps Krennic could have come a little earlier to kill my mother and capture my father so that I could have been involved as early as you! Oh, wait, I forgot the part where I was born in a prison because my father refused to use his talents against the Republic. I've been in this fight since before I was born." She shot back. Someone whistled softly behind her, but she had no interest in figuring out which of the men it was.
"You think I've been doing nothing until you grabbed me? I was raised by Saw Gerrera. I was his best fighter — fighting your precious war against the Empire — until he abandoned me when I was sixteen. I still tried to fight, but without connections, without resources... you, with your councils and your alliances and your forms and chain of command that tells you where you can help… with your droids and ships and supplies and friends. You get to be all high and mighty about how everyone should have been doing more, like you? Some of us had more important concerns, like how to get enough food to eat."
There wasn't much space to stalk off and sulk in a ship, but Jyn succeeded by ducking down a hatch into the mechanical underbelly of their commandeered transport ship. She hated being so open — sharing the dark, painful parts of her past that she normally tried to ignore — but something about Andor made her emotions bubble to the surface, making her more outspoken. Too late now to wish she had just kept her mouth shut.
oOo
Cassian sat in the cockpit with K-2, pointedly ignoring their passengers. The monk had stared at him disconcertingly, somehow without words informing Cassian that he was very much in the wrong. Bodhi the pilot had shortly followed Jyn, muttering something about telling her about her father, meaning that there was no awkward competition for the pilot's seat.
"Cassian-" K-2 began.
"Don't." Cassian stopped him quickly. Thankfully, K-2 fell silent again, ostensibly focusing on flying.
Allowing himself to slouch in his seat, Cassian frowned. He was an intelligence officer; he was trained in dealing with people! But somehow Jyn Erso made all of his training fly out of his mind. He knew better!
He dealt with civilians all the time, and he never begrudged them their desire or need to live simply, focusing on survival instead of fighting back. He had also met former soldiers who retired, done with fighting their battles, even though the war was not over. Their choices were different from his, and Cassian accepted that.
Except, apparently, when it came to Jyn Erso. He had allowed her attitude to get under his skin, to make him unreasonable. That fiery spark in her eye just made him want to challenge her. That and the way she easily bantered with K-2; he enjoyed that as well. But he had let it go past banter and challenging conversation, into territory that hurt.
What's worse was he had seen the signs. Cassian had been the one to grab her from the floor in Saw Gerrera's base. She had been upset, and he'd noticed it, but it hadn't even occurred to him to check that she had the message. Afterwards, he'd blamed her for not grabbing it, even though he should have checked. And he'd seen the pain in her eyes.
Cassian knew he had made a mistake with her, just as he had realized that his orders to kill Galen Erso were a mistake. One mistake he had kept from making, only to blunder right into the second.
"Need to be nicer to her," he thought, barely aware he was voicing the thought aloud.
"I'm not programmed to be 'nice'." K-2 quietly replied.
"I wasn't talking about you," Cassian said. "But you are capable of being nice, programing or not. You should be nice to her the way you are to me."
"I don't know her," K-2 grumbled. Which was true; it took a while for his droid to warm up to people — a product of his capture and reprogramming, most likely.
"So get to know her." And if K-2 learned something that might help Cassian with his own floundering interactions, all the better.
oOo
"Are you capable of learning new things?" Jyn asked K-2, her tone only half sarcastic. From his place in the cockpit, beside Bohdi, Cassian listened but didn't comment.
"Of course!" K-2 sounded offended. Then grumpily added, "if I want to."
Jyn ignored his tone. "Good, because you're going to learn one of the first lessons that Saw Gererra taught his rebels: deception."
"I know how to lie," K-2 protested. "I like you. See?"
"That isn't the kind of lie I mean," Jyn said, not put off by his insult. "I mean when we were on Jedha; you were fumbling all over yourself talking to the Stormtroopers. We're going to another imperial base and it's likely you'll need to tell that kind of lie again. This time, I'm going to make sure you don't fumble it and get us all killed."
Because he was listening so intently, Cassian could tell that even Jyn's final barb wasn't one of anger, or malice. She really did seem to have a soft spot for K-2. Considering that their relationship had begun with him grabbing her by the throat and slamming her into the ground, this was great progress. It also boded well for Jyn forgiving Cassian for their fight after Eadu.
"Now, where are the rebels, K-2?" Jyn demanded.
"Uh… the rebels… they went… over there!" He haltingly replied.
Jyn sighed and shook her head. "Let me give you a few scripts."
oOo
"Kay, do you have the base schematics pulled up?" Cassian asked as soon as they were behind the door. He had debated leaving it open, but at the moment stealth was more important than the potential to be cornered in the access room. They could always open the door again if they needed to get down one of the connecting hallways.
"I do."
"Good," Jyn said. "Now, what's the best location we can send folks that is far from us and the ship, but that it might be logical for us to go to?"
"Munitions, hydroponics, and the kitchen," K-2 promptly replied. Then, surprising Cassian, he softly added. "I liked your story about poisoning the water supply."
"Kitchens it is," Cassian said sharply. He had no idea what K-2 was talking about — clearly something Jyn had shared with him while training him in deception. "Where is that?"
"Seventh quadrant, second floor. You know, they shouldn't be called quadrants after the fourth one, When you break something into eight they should be called octodrants."
"You should file a complaint," Jyn replied cheerfully. "Now remember, if anyone asks, you heard reports of rebels near the munitions storage. Leave your side open, and if we hear anything we'll help."
"I know. And if not, I have a blaster!" he finished happily. Cassian shook his head at Jyn upon hearing that, but she just stared back defiantly. He did have to admit that K-2 had done well in her crash course on spying and lying, and he'd earned it. Kay had even had the thought to hide the officer they'd knocked out, and close the door behind themselves, apparently thanks to Jyn telling him about a mission that went wrong in some weapons factory, from what Cassian picked up from their references.
Jyn and Cassian worked together, quietly going through the data records system while K-2 helped and pretended to man the outer console. Together, they heard a brace of Stormtroopers march up. Cassian held his breath, afraid to make any noise that could be heard over the comlink and expose K-2.
"Have you seen any rebels?" one of the Stormtroopers demanded.
"Rebels?" K-2 sounded surprised, for a droid. "I have not. But I heard on the radio that rebels were sighted by the munitions warehouse. Are those the rebels you're looking for?"
"Munitions? Let's go!" they heard the Stormtrooper say, quickly followed by their marching footsteps receding.
"They're gone," K-2 said after a long moment.
"Well done!" Jyn congratulated him.
"Yes, Kay, you've finally learned how to lie," Cassian added drolly. "I'm so proud."
"I had a good teacher," K-2 replied, his tone somewhere between taunting and fond.
Moments after they found the Stardust file, as Cassian was preparing the extraction handles, they heard another group of Stormtroopers approach K-2 over the open comlink. Jyn and Cassian both froze.
"Did the rebels come this way?" one questioned K-2.
"They have not," K-2 replied. "I shall make enquiries." There was a pause as he presumably pushed something on the console. "Excuse me, but has anyone seen the rebels?" he asked a moment later.
Jyn had already slipped her helmet back on to mask her voice and quickly replied, "Rebels sighted in quadrant seven, heading for the second floor!"
"There you are, Sir," K-2 concluded.
"Move out!" a Stormtrooper shouted, and a few moments later K-2's side had quieted again.
"Have you found it?" K-2 asked.
"We've got it!" Cassian replied, locking on with the extractor handles.
"Then I shall escort you to the broadcast—"
"No, Kay, you go back to the ship; help Bodhi and the others," Cassian instructed. He and Jyn would be fine on their own from here out, and the others might need him.
"Very well," K-2 replied.
oOo
"Antenna alignment. Ready to transmit," said the computer as Cassian jogged back towards Jyn from the antenna. He was limping slightly from the TIE Striker's blast, but he looked alright otherwise.
Jyn quickly tapped the instructions to transmit, but before she could pull the lever to confirm it, a voice spoke from the tower door. Behind her, she heard Cassian ready his weapon. "Who are you?"
Jyn shifted to look at the newcomer, recognizing Krennic instantly. He had his gun aimed at her, but he kept glancing between her and Cassian. Jyn casually rested her hand on the lever, but decided to reply first. "You know who I am. I’m Jyn Erso. Daughter of Galen and Lyra. You’ve lost," she said smugly.
Krennic frowned. "Oh, I have, have I?" his gaze settled on her.
"My father’s revenge. He built a flaw in the Death Star. He put a fuse in the middle of your machine—" Cassian shifted noisily and Krennic swung his gun towards him. Jyn quickly yanked the lever down "—and I’ve just told the entire galaxy how to light it."
"Transmitting. Transmitting," said the computer.
"The shield is up, your signal will never reach the rebel base," Krennic taunted her, swinging his weapon back to her. "All the ships in here will be destroyed. I lose nothing but time. You, on the other hand, die with the Rebellion."
Jyn was now inching her hand towards her blaster, but Cassian beat her to it. He clipped Krennic, and it was enough to throw him backwards, his own shot going wild. A second later Cassian grabbed Jyn's arm and towed her back the way he had come, towards the antenna.
Glancing at him in confusion, she saw his eyes focused on the end of the walkway. Following his gaze, Jyn felt relief swamp her and she picked up her pace, shifting to support Cassian instead of the other way around. There was their transport ship, hovering at the end of the walkway. She could see Bodhi in the pilot's window, straining to keep it on their level. Baze and K-2 were on either side of the open cargo ramp, covering Krennic with their weapons.
Gratefully — and not risking looking down at the open air beneath her — Jyn and Cassian jumped together onto the ramp, rolling and falling into the cargo hold. "They're in!" Baze yelled, and the door started closing.
"They did it," Chirrut said quietly. Looking at him, Jyn could tell that he'd been injured — he was lying down, bleeding heavily from his side — but Pao had a medical kit and was treating him. "The Force around them… is ecstatic," Chirrut continued weakly.
Jyn quickly knelt beside him. "You know, it's customary to ask if we did it, not tell us that we did," she teased gently.
"You should try playing Trooper Sabacc with him," Baze said fondly.
"I wouldn't think monks would gamble," Sefla commented. Jyn saw he was nursing his own hastily wrapped arm, but he too had survived. He was the only other one in the hold, however. Unless someone else was in the cockpit with Bodhi, only the seven of them — plus K-2 — had survived.
"I got to use my blaster," K-2 interrupted their banter to report. He sounded giddier than Jyn had ever heard him. "And I caught another grenade."
"He saved my life with that!" Bodhi called down the ladder. "I just received word from the Profundity. They got the plans, a— and the planetary shield is down, but it's dangerous up there. We're to get out any direction we can."
"It's the same power as Jedha," Chirrut said softly. "A storm in the Force…"
"That's all I need to hear," Cassian said, grabbing the ladder. "Let's punch it." He rushed up to the cockpit, and, after giving K-2 a fond congratulatory pat on the arm, Jyn followed. She settled in the back, out of the way, and watched Cassian and Bodhi pilot.
Honestly, Jyn hadn't expected them to survive. They had known before they started that going to Scarif was likely a one-way trip, and Jyn had made her peace with that. After what happened with Saw Gerrera, and then her father… it had been a hell of a week, and it seemed like she had nothing left but completing her father's mission.
Now she had a future to look forward to, and, watching Cassian and Bodhi expertly navigate, hearing snippets of the banter between K-2 and Baze drifting up from the hold, Jyn thought she might know how she wanted to spend that future. For the first time since she was sixteen, waking up alone and abandoned, Jyn had people around her she cared about— people she might even consider her team. Maybe even — no, she didn't dare hope for that much.
After spending so long on her own, Jyn had tried to believe that she was happy that way — no one can disappoint you if you don't expect anything from anyone — but right now she couldn't wipe the smile from her face whenever she looked at Cassian.
oOo
"Well, those of us who have ranks are stood down for a week until they decide what to do with us," Cassian said, plopping down beside Jyn.
Jyn couldn't hear the quiet mechanical tells that indicated K-2 was beside him, but she didn't look up from cleaning and servicing her blaster to confirm it, as she was working on a particularly tricky bit. "The Rebellion doesn't like their members to rebel without permission?" Jyn teased absently.
"I just explained how we were all led astray by a dangerous escaped criminal who wooed us with her promises of hope," Cassian teased back.
Jyn laughed, and lost her grip on the tiny finicky crystal clamp. "Damn."
"Eh, turn it in to the armory; we have a technician droid specially crafted to take care of those kinds of things." Cassian shrugged.
With a quiet sigh, Jyn put down her tweezers and screwdriver, resigned to her failure. "I'm not used to having armories and technicians," she said, glancing at Cassian. Unlike their fight on Eadu, she wasn't trying to point out his advantages, but just stating a fact.
Cassian chuckled. "I know what you mean. I used to be able to completely disassemble and reassemble my blaster in under two hours. Now… it would probably take me three or four — I'm so out of practice."
Jyn gave up on her blaster and loosely wrapped it up in the cloth she'd been laying out the parts on. Shoving it to the side, she shifted around to sit side by side with Cassian. He was leaning back on his hands, looking up at the horizon, and Jyn followed his gaze. The hulking red mass of Yavin hung over them, filling most of the sky.
Honestly, it made Jyn feel a little claustrophobic, after what happened on Jedha and what they had narrowly avoided on Scarif; she didn't like the looming presence that was reminiscent of the giant walls of debris. The Empire could pop around on the back side of Yavin 4 and vaporize them all, and they'd never know until those earthen walls were upon them. Jyn shuddered, and tamped down on her instinct to run.
"They want to make you a sergeant, you know," Cassian said, nudging her shoulder with his own.
"You're joking."
"I'm not," he shook his head, though she saw a hint of a smile.
"You know, I was one of Saw Gererra's best soldiers. I think that rates better than only being a sergeant." She said loftily.
"You have to prove you can follow orders first," Cassian teased.
"Oh, well then I'd rather have no rank," Jyn decided, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I'm not much of a follower."
"Ah, that's just as well," Cassian decided. "If you were a sergeant, I'd have to fill out a form before I was allowed to fraternize with you. And I'm horrible with paperwork."
"I should make you fill one out anyways," Jyn teased, shifting her head slightly so that her breath would hit his neck. At this close distance, she saw his pulsepoint beat harder, and quietly delighted that she had this effect on him.
Cassian looked down at her, and Jyn saw the emotions swirling in his eyes; emotions she wasn't sure she wanted to put names to yet — everyone else she let herself love had then abandoned her. "No form, no kiss; that's the rule" she teased as he leaned closer.
"Ah, I'm a rebel: we're bad at following rules and getting permission," he said.
"There is that," Jyn agreed softly, even as he ducked down the remaining inch and kissed her. She decided to let the paperwork slide, just this once; their squad was a rogue one, after all.