Cassian climbed into the cockpit of their stolen cargo shuttle. He was furious, at the orders that he had been given, at the Rebellion for bombing the platform, and at Jyn for yelling at him. He had left the rest of the crew in the cargo area, not wanting to see any human at that moment.

He let out a low growl and balled his hands into fists. It had been a long time since a mission had made him want to hit the wall, a bag, or even the infuriating person. She had taken over his thoughts since Jedha. Even K2 had noticed that Cassian was acting differently. Jyn, somehow, was able to get under his skin and to get him to feel. Emotions had been buried long ago. Emotions got spies killed, but here he was, feeling.

You might as well be a stormtrooper. The words she had said to him repeated in his mind. You might as well have pulled the trigger.

Cassian abruptly sat down. He needed to get her voice out of his head, and flying had always helped his thoughts clear. Something about being in control of a small vehicle in the dangers of space seemed to ground him in a way that living on Yavin 4 never had. Space was his home, as much as anywhere could be.

K2-SO turned to look at his captain and friend. "You seem upset, Cassian. Is it because of that girl? I told you it was a bad idea to bring her along."

"K, I'm not upset. I'm just frustrated about Eadu, and how our mission went sideways." Cassian thought back to sitting in the rain watching as Galen Erso threw himself in front of his scientists. He had watched Erso allow himself to be humiliated, and then saw those scientists killed anyway. Galen's face had been so sorrowful, so regretful and broken.

"Well, I still don't like her. But I am glad you didn't obey General Draven this time. Jyn would not have been happy with you, and she already has the support of everyone else on this ship. And besides, she's right. With Galen Erso gone, we need to go to Scarif to get the structural plans for the planet killer. She will be useful in that mission."

The captain listened to his robot make an analysis on the results of Jyn's father dying. As angry as he was at her, she still had a fire in her that pushed her to keep going, to keep fighting. That kind of fire was rare, even in the Rebellion.

"K, why did the Alliance bomb the platform. You did tell them that Jyn was out there, right?"

"Well, I told them that Alliance forces were on site, but I never received a reply. The next minute, the X-wings were flying overhead."

With every word, Cassian felt his anger start to melt away. He was grateful to K for not mentioning Jyn's name. General Draven was known to order the assassination of allies to protect the Rebellion, so had he known about Jyn, he would have probably ordered Cassian to shoot her. Cassian shuddered at the thought. He couldn't even pull the trigger on her father.

A soft noise sounded behind Cassian, causing him to turn around. Jyn was standing at the entrance of the cockpit, looking very unsure of herself. The need in her eyes was back, pulling Cassian into their green depths. She cleared her throat, and glanced down at the ground.

"I just wanted to say that I am sorry. I should never have compared you to a stormtrooper. You tried to help me, and I appreciate that." Cassian started to say that he, too, was sorry, but she rushed on. "I also wanted to say thank you for coming back fo rme on Jedha, and again on Eadu. You didn't have to; I was not of use anymore. But you came anyway. So, thank you."

Jyn turned to go back down the ladder and to rejoin Bodhi and the Guardians, but Cassian reached out and laid a hand on her arm. She flinched at first, but turned back to him, looking him in the eyes.

"Jyn, I'm the one who should be sorry. I should have told you about the orders that I had received, but I didn't. I shouldn't have yelled at you and I shouldn't have ever put your father in a position where he could be hurt. I am truly sorry."

Cassian and Jyn were standing quietly in the cockpit, just drinking in the sight of the other, when K suddenly spoke up. "Well, I am going to go for a walk around the ship. I can feel my joints tightening from the rain." He stalked past them, and went down the ladder into the cargo hold.

The unexpectedness of his departure caught them both of guard, and they gave each other a smile in amusement. Not a true smile for either of them, but still a smile. Cassian sat down in his chair and Jyn climbed into the one that was just vacated by the reprogrammed droid. It was then that Cassian noticed her hands.

He got out of his chair and gently took one of her hands in his and examined her fingers. They were torn and scratched, in some places, still bleeding. Jyn tried to pull her hand away and hide the injuries, but Cassian held firm. He carfully peeled off her gloves, mindful of her cuts. The gloves were full of holes and tears, still wet from the rains of Eadu.

"Jyn, what happened?" he asked softly.

"It's nothing, just a few scratches."

Cassian looked up at her. "These are far deeper than a few scratches, and there are blisters all over your fingers and your palms." Cassian let go of her hands for a moment and grabbed the med kit he had found earlier.

"Cassian, I'm fine. These aren't that bad."

But the captain just gave her a look that said she was not going to change his mind. She sat quietly as he cleaned her hands, not even flinching when he poured an antiseptic over the wounds. Cassian wanted to cry over her hands, they were so bad. She hadn't said a word, and most likely wouldn't have told anyone. She has been taking care of herself for too long. She doesn't even know when it is okay to ask for help or to let people know she is injured.

"The man in white was there," Jyn said so quietly, he almost didn't hear it. "He was going to kill my father, just like he killed my mother. The bombs hit, and there was fire everywhere, but he still got up. He got away. The engine blew me over the edge, and I had to climb my way back up. The metal was too hot, and the rain was too cold. And Papa was gone."

Cassian realized that Jyn was choosing to trust him again, by telling him about what happened, telling him about her mother. He looked up from her hands and into her starry green eyes. Stardust, he thought. Her eyes are full of stardust. He squeezed her wrist gently, letting her know that he understood, and that he cared. "We will finish what he started. I promise you."