If any one planet could be considered hell, Mustafar was at the top of the list. With its fields of lava, endless heat, and whispered rumors about the presence of Darth Vader, it certainly seemed to fit the bill for a place of fire, brimstone, and suffering.
By contrast Scarif might have been in the running for heaven. It was known to most as a paradise with white-sand beaches, tropical climate, crystal clear oceans, and lush vegetation. Even after the planet had gone under Imperial control, it was a dream posting for every stormtrooper and officer in the Empire.
But for Bodhi Rook, former Imperial pilot who had defected after the influence of the late Galen Erso, Scarif was as close to hell as he ever hoped to get. He was surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of death and chaos and wanted nothing more than to do his job and get out of there...preferably not alone.
So many who had come on the unsanctioned mission were already dead. More were sure to die before the day was over. The ground troops were dropping like flies, and the pilots didn't seem to be faring much better. Bodhi knew men died in battle. It was inevitable. He had not known any of his comrades for more than a couple of days and so didn't have time to mourn or feel pain over their loss...but he hoped to the Force that at least a few of them might survive. The motley crew of five- six, counting a sarcastic droid -that had left Jedha had already developed something of an attachment to one another. Surviving life and death situations did that to people. Bodhi knew that whoever came out of this alive would be friends for life.
If anyone does, his more pessimistic self reminded. There were no guarantees in life.
Bodhi shook off these thoughts and ran through his mental checklist again even as blaster bolts sailed past the shipping crates and threw sparks everywhere. Lists were the only way he could keep his thoughts organized after what that monster had done to his mind. Steal a shuttle? Check. Jump to hyperspace? Check. Sneak past the planetary shield and land? Check. Guard the ship? Check. Plug in the extension cable? Check. Find the plans? Well, Jyn and Cassian were taking care of that. Contact the fleet? Check. Now they should be working on knocking out the planetary shield so the plans could be transmitted.
Bodhi paused and frowned. What came next? Once the fleet acknowledged the transmission, Rogue One's job was done. All Bodhi had left to do was wait for the others to come back and get out of there. Then, once in hyperspace, Bodhi could let someone else take over for a while and see who had the medical kit. The blaster wound on the back of his thigh was burning and making it hard to concentrate.
One thing at a time, he reminded himself. Find everyone else first. Then worry about your leg.
A soft whoosh and the sound of metal hitting metal shook Bodhi from his thoughts. He whipped his head around to see a handheld explosive rattle around on the deck, blinking red and beeping rapidly.
Bodhi's eyes widened in alarm and he dove for the device, snatching it up, hurling it back outside, and curling into a fetal position in one swift movement. A deafening explosion and a wave of heat soon followed.
It took quite a bit of time for the pilot to screw up his courage and make sure he was still alive. He didn't quite believe it until a triumphant voice crackled over the comm.
"Rogue One, are you there? Rogue One, the shield is down. Commence transmission!" It was Admiral Raddus.
Bodhi shuddered in relief and crawled back to the comm station. "Thi- uh...this is Rogue One. Acknowledged." He switched channels. "Cassian! Jyn! It's Bodhi, they've done it. The shield is down!"
He was greeted by static. Bodhi frowned and pressed the mic again. "Cassian Andor? Captain Andor, do you read?" No answer. He tried again. "Jyn Erso, do you read? Jyn!"
No response. Bodhi's heart sank. Not Jyn. Not Galen's daughter. The pilot's shoulders fell, and he bowed his head. "Ah, Galen. I'm sorry."
A full minute later, the comm crackled. "Bod-? Bodhi -ook, do...-ead?" It was a female voice.
Hope returned to Bodhi in a rush and he fumbled with the mic switch. "Jyn! Yes, I'm here! Have you gotten the plans?"
"-odhi, yo- -eak- up," The distortion was terrible and seemed to get worse by the moment. "Sor- can- -alk la-." And then the voice was gone.
"Jyn? Jyn?" Bodhi swore and kicked the console in frustration. Hopefully the Fleet would get the plans in time. The nervous pilot had the sneaking suspicion that there wasn't much of that left.
Either way he made up his mind that, assuming the Admiral received the transmission, he was going to wait exactly five minutes, and if there was no further word, he would take off and move as close to the tower as he could, circling until he found out who was still alive.
"Come on," grunted Jyn, gripping Cassian's shoulder as the two of them staggered out the lift doors. They almost looked drunk at first glance. Neither of them could walk very fast or very well owing to the multiple injuries they had received in finding and then transmitting the plans. Both of them had fallen multiple times, and Cassian had been shot in the side. There was no time to find out just how bad the injury was. At the moment their survival instincts overrode any other thoughts. They just wanted to get away.
It should have been mission accomplished. They'd found the plans and transmitted them, getting rid of Krennic in the process. The last member of the team that had been heard from was Bodhi, but further communication was impossible now. Neither Jyn nor Cassian had their comlinks anymore. Their plan at that point was to find the nearest intact vessel and commandeer it.
No sooner had the pair emerged than their plans of escape turned to slag. The muffled sizzle they'd heard in the lift turned out to be the primary laser of the Death Star, now hovering in the sky. A fireball that lit the sky and reflected in the ocean was rushing toward them. It seemed far enough away at the moment, but that meant little. It would reach them in minutes.
Jyn's shoulders sagged in defeat. So much for that idea! She glanced wearily at Cassian. Was there any point in going on now? They were both going to die, anyway.
Cassian said nothing but tugged her forward with a stubborn grunt. It was enough to keep Jyn going. The pair continued to stagger on toward the beach. Even now, they would keep walking.
Each step was another stab of pain up Jyn's twisted ankle, another searing bite from the cut on her arm. The pain didn't really matter anymore. It was all going to be over soon. Still, she found herself unaccountably worried about Cassian. He could hardly stand, and forever pressed a hand to the wound on his lower abdomen. Walking must have been torture for him. Grunts of pain were constant.
Finally they could go no further. They'd reached the edge of the ocean. At the moment both their legs gave out, and they sank into the sand. Jyn was careful as she released her grip on Cassian, lowering him slowly to the ground. For a moment they just sat together, staring at the rising sun of destruction still coming their way.
"Jyn," panted Cassian, staring at her with a new sense of pride and camaraderie. "Your father would have been proud of you."
Jyn's eyes stung and she managed a faint smile for the man. I'm going to see Papa again, she realized. And Mother. They're waiting for me. The fear left her. A sense of contentment flooded Jyn. She met Cassian's eyes and found something different there. They were softer than before, without the edge of coldness that had always been present since before they met.
Cassian, while still in pain, had a look of peace on his face. He took Jyn's hand and gave it a squeeze before pulling her into a warm embrace. They would meet their end together.
The spray of sand on their faces and the low whine of an engine interrupted the moment, and both were startled to see their stolen shuttle settling down mere meters away from them. Bodhi, barely visible through the hazy cockpit window, pounded on it and waved to them urgently. The door was open.
Adrenaline flooded Jyn's system anew as she glanced at Cassian, as if to ask if he was seeing what she was seeing.
Cassian's eyes filled with hope and he struggled back to his feet, still grunting with pain.
Quickly Jyn rose to help him. She half carried, half dragged him up the ramp and collapsed with him the minute they were aboard. "Bodhi!" She cried.
"We got the plans, Bodhi. We sent them," panted Cassian as he felt the ship lift off.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Gone."
Bodhi's enthusiasm immediately dropped. "Oh...uh-oh." That blast wave was getting awfully close.
Cassian heaved to his feet. "Bodhi, get us out of here!"
"I could use a little help," called Bodhi in his nervous tone.
"I'm coming." Cassian staggered forward to the cockpit with his arm still pressed to his side, eyes fixed on the ladder.
"What- Cassian!" Jyn hurried after him. Here they were about to escape and he was going to kill himself, moving around like that. "You're crazy!"
"I'd rather be crazy than dead," retorted Cassian. "Jyn, man the dorsal lasers!"
"But you're-"
"That's an order!"
Jyn groaned, but scurried to abide the Captain's wishes. He had a point. They had no idea what was waiting for them in orbit. Even if they outran the blast wave, every Imperial in the system would have them in their sights.
Bodhi pushed the ship to full throttle, sweating rivers as the blast wave chased them off the planet. The shuttle began to rattle, threatening to fly apart. Within minutes they burst out of the atmosphere...
...and straight into the path of a dogfight in progress, with the Death Star to their right, an Imperial Star Destroyer to their left, and Rebels and wreckage scattered between.
Cassian grimaced from something other than his wounds. The Fleet was in shreds. Half of them seemed to have disappeared altogether while the other half was being decimated. One fighter or another occasionally broke free and jumped to hyperspace, but the larger command ships didn't have much of a chance. TIEs swarmed like insects, firing green bolts at anything that moved. He mashed the mic pickup. "Attention, Alliance. This is Captain Andor of Rogue One. Do you have the plans?"
No answer. Bodhi cringed and opened his mouth to say something, but an irritable wave from Cassian silenced him.
The captain moistened his lips and tried again. "This is Rogue One, do you copy? Anybody? I'm not getting anything," he reported, yanking off the headphones.
Bodhi sighed. "That's what I was trying to tell you. External comms are out. I haven't been able to raise anyone."
Cassian swore softly and slapped his hand on the console. There was no way of knowing if the plans had been received or not. They'd done all they could. "Well...then we can't do any good here. Get clear and jump-" A muffled blast from behind and a jolt interrupted him. Cassian growled. "Great. Looks like the TIEs found us. Jyn, blast as many as you can! Bodhi, get us out of here right now."
Bodhi nodded, his hands flying frantically over the controls. "I know, I know, I'm working on it."
The next jolt cut their shields in half and send a fresh wave of agony through Cassian's ribs. He yelped through gritted teeth.
"Cassian," came Jyn's voice from behind. "We have to help them. They're being slaughtered-"
"There's nothing we can do for them now!" snarled Cassian. Pain and frustration had made his temper flare. "The battle is over. We won't do any good getting ourselves killed. Now, back on the lasers!"
His tone offered no room for argument, and Jyn turned back to the guns. She destroyed two...four...five of them in the wild flight out of the system, jostled about and holding on for dear life. At one point Bodhi skimmed the surface of the Death Star itself, dodging laser turrets and TIEs alike.
And then, at last, they were clear...with six more bogeys on their tail.
"Bodhi, come on, go, go, go, GO!" urged Cassian.
"Got it!" Bodhi set the final coordinates for Yavin and eased back on the throttle. Stars stretched into starlines before them as the shuttle leapt into hyperspace and left Scarif, the planet that had become hell, far, far behind.