A/N: It's great to be back! I've literally served years of writer's block and guess what cured it. Almost ;) since I'm pretty rusty, please feel free to leave a Review later on. Bouncing questions and ideas would be fun, too.
This is my first Star Wars fic ever in my life so I can only hope I'm actually ready to dive in. Almost anything is possible in the Star Wars universe given all the lore and other theories going around, but I'll likely keep this more or less canon.
Right then! On with the show.
Bodhi Rook must've been completely out of his mind when he made that choice to follow Jyn Erso.
"COVER HIM!"
He hears their cries as soon as he makes the mad dash for the cargo hold, communications cable in tow. Blasts from imperial troopers barely miss his head, instead hitting…other targets.
He falls to his knees by the communications panel and grabs the headset.
"This is Rogue One, calling any Alliance ships that can hear me!"
He pauses and grits his teeth before shoving his goggles off his head.
"This is Rogue One! Come in, over!"
Bodhi almost jumps when the system crackles, "This is Admiral Raddus, Rogue One. We hear you!"
Bodhi breaks into a smile at the sound of the admiral's response, "We have the plans—" he stammers, "They found the Death Star plans! They have to transmit them from the communications tower. You have to take down the shield gate. It's the only way we're going to get them through."
It was chaos and Bodhi's mind was racing with fresh memories. He had listened carefully to Jyn's words at the control room on the rebel base. With nothing but face and a fantastic story she couldn't prove, Jyn Erso, one and only daughter of his late commanding officer Galen Erso, stood steadfast in the presence of a senator, talking about hope and choices and a battle plan that was doomed to fail. But it was a plan nonetheless, and one that was better than outright giving up on everything that the Rebellion stood for. Bodhi had felt it in his heart. If choosing to follow Jyn was the only way he could finally make things right by himself, then he could live—or die—with that choice.
He was only praying now that the choice would be all worth it despite the costs.
"Standby, Rogue One. We're on it!" The admiral's voice brings Bodhi out of his own head and he replaces the headset. "This is for you, Galen."
Just then, he sees a shore trooper twist a detonator and prepare to throw it directly at him. Bodhi quickly grabs a blaster case that had fallen earlier after the jump and without second thought, throws it at the oncoming detonator.
..2..1.
The detonator lands only meters away from the shuttle and the blast throws Bodhi backwards onto the steel floor of the cargo hold. The shockwave that follows sends a tremor through the shuttle. He struggles to get up, ears ringing, vision blurred and lungs beaten out of breath. His face goes white as soon as he sees the destruction outside. All the new comrades he had made barely hours ago, along with all the troopers within blast radius, dead.
Bodhi manages to stumble to the shuttle doors and he realizes he's trembling. What have I...He had just sealed the fate of no more than five men of the Alliance.
"I can't stay here," he says to himself.
You're our only way out of here.
Bodhi snaps his attention back to the comlink strapped to his collar. "Captain! Cassian, can you hear me?"
No response.
"Cassian!" he tries again, "Jyn! Kay, can anyone hear me?"
His heart was pounding. It was either he was alone in this fight already, or he could still make it in time to find the last of their team and extract them, if the Force willed it. He quickly unplugs the cable from the communications panel and hurries to the upper deck.
Reset antenna alignment. Reset antenna alignment. Reset antenna alignment.
Jyn set her jaw and looked to see the console at the end of the platform. She never doubted the implications of seeing the mission through and through, but she hated how real it had become. She had just lost Cassian in the data tower.
She lost him because the damned fool was trying to protect her.
Jyn fights off the haunting images of Cassian's body falling through metal beams and pulls out her blaster, making her way determinedly for the console. Her bad leg was weighing her down like a ton. Craning her neck, she squints her eyes against the glare of the sun and begins to realign the satellite dish.
Ready to transmit.
The sudden familiar wail of a TIE engine tears Jyn's attention from the satellite and onto an oncoming TIE striker, its wings folded in attack position. It was firing right at her. She dodges the bright green blasts and heads back for the satellite dish when two blasts send the platform rapidly on a downward bend. Jyn clutches the crevices of the platform just as her legs dangle precariously over the beach.
I can't die here! She gasps and looks down to see her blaster fall to the fighting on the ground. She has no weapons on her now. I can't die here!
She pulls her dead weight back onto the creaking platform, clawing her way up, her chest heaving as her bones scrape against the cold metal beams. I…will not…die here! She grips the railings to bring herself to her feet and practically drags her leg as she continues towards the satellite dish's base-
"Who are you?"
Jyn straightens up and she is suddenly face-to-face with a red-faced Krennic. His blaster is aimed right at her head.
She almost smiles.
"You know who I am." She wanted her cool, calm voice to send chills down his spine. "I'm Jyn Erso, daughter of Galen and Lyra. You've lost."
Krennic growled, "Oh, I have, have I?"
"My father's revenge," Jyn replied. "He built a flaw in the Death Star, He put a fuse in the middle of your machine, and I've just told the entire galaxy how to light it."
That was a lie. For now.
She doesn't miss it. Krennic's eyes twitches in momentary doubt. "The shield is up," he manages. "Your signal will never reach the rebel base. All your ships in here will be destroyed; I lose nothing but time. You, on the other hand, die with the Rebellion."
She clenches her fists as Krennic spits out the last word, but before either of them can move, a blast hits Krennic at the back and burns through his chest. The white-clad imperial dog falls to his knees and forward on his arms. Jyn's eyes widen as she looks up to find the shooter.
Cassian!
He nods and keeps his blaster up at Krennic. Jyn nods back and wastes no more time to finally initiate the transmission. The screen flashes the upload sequence.
Transmitting. Transmitting.
Jyn lets out a breath and gets to Cassian. She places her hands on his back and chest, careful not to apply pressure on his ribs. She turns to take one last look at the director's lifeless form, the scoundrel who had her mother shot, had her father enslaved.
She almost screams as she lunges for the body, unthinking. Cassian is quick to hold her back, "Hey, Leave it!" he almost barks it like an order, but his tone quickly softens, "Leave it. That's it…that's it."
…she concedes.
"Let's go," Cassian gasps.
The last of the Blue Squadron flies overhead, fighting off imperial strikers, buying them more but little time. The sound of ships as they crash on the beach and in the water is like a punch in her gut. She feels Cassian's weight against her grow heavy. They could still count their team before this madness started. We were 17 strong. Jyn pulls Cassian's good arm over her shoulders and leads him to the elevator, just as she notices the Death Star emerging on the skyline.
They will not make it out alive this time. Jyn shuts the elevator doors and they begin their descent to the base of the tower.
Jyn leans against the wall of the elevator and looks up at Cassian. She finds him looking back at her, his eyes meaningful but clouding over with exhaustion. "Do you think…anybody is listening?"
Jyn manages a small smile and she brings a hand up to his shoulder. "I do," she says, sounding more confident than she felt. "Someone's out there." She watches as Cassian's head starts to droop to the side and she realizes he is struggling to keep his bearings.
Their confines are dim and brief flashes of daylight from outside are only enough to illuminate their faces seconds at a time. Cassian manages a small smile despite the circumstances. He would never have forgiven himself had he stayed on Yavin 4. He could live in this moment, even if it were his last. He could find peace. He could find rest. He feels the warmth of Jyn's hand on his face and takes strength from it. Here they were, both battle-worn and bloodied, two unlikely comrades on a mission accomplished.
And nothing more.
He feels a weight in his chest as he looks at the expectant grey eyes quietly asking questions, searching him intently for answers.
"Jyn," Cassian says, barely over a whisper. The effort of speaking is emphasized by the way he clutches his side. "Your father would have been proud of you."
Jyn's face crumples, but she fights what should have come next. Lost for words, she can only gently stroke Cassian's cheek.
The elevator stops and the doors open. Jyn leads Cassian outside and the glare of the sun is not enough to distract them from the sight of the bodies of rebel soldiers and imperial troopers scattered all over the citadel's base. Some faces Jyn could barely recognize from her brief time at the rebel base, others she could no longer make out from their injuries. She dared not ask if Cassian recognized any of them as his friends…
They barely start to make their way to the beach when the ground starts to rumble. Jyn's face goes pale. Has the Death Star struck?
"Jyn! Look!"
Jyn snaps her attention to follow Cassian's gaze. A familiar imperial shuttle is lowering itself a few paces before them, its cargo hatch opening to reveal an empty dark interior. For a moment, they are breathless, but Bodhi suddenly appears at the hold and he is flailing his arms, yelling, eyes wide.
"LET'S GO! THE WEAPON IS CHARGING!"
Jyn grips Cassian closer to her side and they scramble for the cargo hold, fresh adrenaline pumping through their veins. She suddenly hears the Death Star blast off the satellite dish right above them. She does a double take. No! Did the plans make it?
"Jyn, come on!" Cassian grabs her shirt and urges her into the shuttle.
The cargo doors close shut before she can take another look.
"Bodhi!" Cassian yells and Jyn suddenly has no idea how he is quickly making his way to the upper deck.
"Hurry, Bodhi! Calculate a jump to the nearest hyperroute!"
"I'm not sure we'll make it!"
"Just do it!"
Jyn hurriedly joins the men on the upper deck. Cassian is barely holding up in the co-pilot's seat running calculations in the system. "Full power, Bodhi! Get us to orbit!" He says through gritted teeth.
Jyn presses her hands against the cockpit windows. The ominous cloud of destruction was gaining speed behind them, taking the ocean and sands with it. This was all too familiar, and this time, she had every reason to be afraid.
Bodhi was piloting the shuttle away from the cloud on full throttle, beads of sweat forming on his brow. Smaller imperial fighters were zipping past.
"Let's go!"
Cassian's hoarse voice brings Jyn back to her wits. She runs to his side and leans behind his seat, her heart pounding, "Where to?"
"The Corellian Run. It's the nearest hyperroute to Scarif. We will stay on it until we can figure out our next destination."
"Captain, I'm not sure if this ship can still sustain—"
"Not now, Bodhi!" Cassian snapped. The roar of the cloud behind them was threateningly closer and they could see palm trees and imperial hangars beneath them crumbling from the quake, being swallowed by the earth. "Trust me," Cassian glared into Bodhi's eyes, "Punch it."
With one hand, Jyn grips the back of Cassian's seat. Her other hand clutches her necklace. The shuttle tilts upward as Bodhi engages the jump to hyperspace and the clear blue sky quickly warps into a shocking electric blue. The shuttle makes the jump and suddenly nothing but the hum of the engine can be heard.
Scarif is behind them.
A/N: Thanks for reading this far! Don't forget to leave a Review if you have the time. Any form of feedback is a gift. I hope to see you here next time. Till then, may the Force be with you :)