"Jyn..!"
I quickly pull out my blaster and fire back at the troopers and the general.
I see Jyn moving above me, as she takes cover in this enormous tower.
We have to get the blueprint to the top…
Jyn moves to my side and we start climbing up, I try to give us cover by shooting back.
Jyn continues to move upwards while I manage to disable a trooper, who falls down into the void.
"Keep going, keep going!"
Just as I started to think we might even make it out of here and get to the top, a scream escapes my lips, as my hands lose control.
I have been hit by a blast in my lower stomach, and the agony immediately makes my body go weak.
"Cassian..!"
I try to reach up, to grab something to hold on to, but I am already falling down.
This is it. I was ready to die for a cause, then this must be it.
I hit some sort of pole, once, twice, and I feel my body breaking, and after I hit a third one, my body falls on a plateau.
I hear the shooting continue. And I almost feel Jyn thinking, and looking down… looking at me…
Jyn… hear this thought… you must go on!
My body is limp, it hurts, and I am unable to speak or move, but I hear Jyn climbing, up and up… and the shooting stops.
I take a deep breath, and feel every fibre in my body protesting, but I know what I need to do. We are in Citadel Tower and it is dangerous, even for someone like Jyn.
I gently push myself onto my knees and try to sit up.
I breath out… and try to ignore the pain.
"Okay then…" I say to myself, "here we go."
I grab the data-wall and hoist myself up.
My muscles are sore and I don't have much power, but I manage.
Step by step I climb up and up, closer to the top of the tower.
I hiss at the pain, and try to ignore it for the largest part.
When I am almost out of the tower, there is a large kind of disk that tells me it's going to cut me in half…
I squeeze my eyes together and focus on the disk. It opens, and it closes. It opens, and it closes. It opens… I breath in, wait till it has closed again and jump upwards through it.
I hold on tight and pull up my knees as fast as I can… and, to my surprise, the disk closes again – but underneath my feet.
I've almost made it to the top.
I try to climb upwards and listen to what is happening around me, and something tells me it's not good…
I have reached the top, but before getting completely out of the tower, I first check my surroundings. I see the general pointing his blaster…. Probably at Jyn.
"No…"
I quietly move out of the data tower towards the bridge, I take cover, I aim at the general… and I shoot. He falls down and Jyn's and my eyes meet.
Jyn immediately runs towards the panel and transmits the data.
I look at her and she smiles.
We have done it.
Jyn walks towards me, and glances at the general.
I can almost feel her anger… I stop her before she gets the chance to go to him.
"Leave it, leave it…" I feel her relax.
"That's it… That's it."
Her focus is shifted back to me.
"Let's go", I tell her.
Jyn supports me and I lean on to her as we stumble towards the elevator.
"Do you think .. anybody .. is listening?" I ask her.
"I do", she responds, "someone is out there."
We go into the elevator and I let my body rest against the wall.
Both Jyn and I are in pain… but we are content. The mission is completed.
The doors of the elevator open, and we stumble towards the beach.
All we see is destruction, and death…
I have seen such things before, I have been in situations similar to this before, in war zones, but it had never affected me in this way. Destruction and death was now the only thing left for the two of us, and yet… I felt some sort of peace.
Rebellions are built on hope, and that is what we gave them: by transmitting the blue prints of the Death Star, our rebellion continues to be, because they have hope.
They will destroy the Death Star and the Empire will come to an end.
I am sure of it.
I can see the sea. The sand of the beach knows what is coming; it is already destroyed by those that have walked on it, have fought on it, have died on it, just now.
Jyn is on my side, supporting me, and I keep holding on to her, and we keep running… but we know what is coming.
At the beach, so very near to the sea, my grip on Jyn loosens and I fall down at my knees.
She slowly goes down with me.
I look at her.
"Your father would have been proud of you, Jyn."
She takes my hand… and it was enough.
We looked at the horizon, a horizon that was fading, crumbling, and we would soon be one with the Force..
I had always convinced myself that I would die for this cause, for the rebellion, that is how I would end. But I had never imagined that Jyn would be by my side… someone I had begun to care about, a lot.
I feel no more pain. I look at Jyn, and I embrace her.
We hold each other tight… and it feels like home.
Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso have been killed by the Death Star whilst hugging.
Their last moment was one of peace and love.
The blackness they are surrounded with starts to clear, like a fog, and the sunlight comes through. They both stand up.
Someone is walking towards them… it is Galen Erso, Jyn's father.
"Stardust..?"
They are among the dead, but Cassian and Jyn know that they are amongst family and friends.
"Papa..!"
Behind Galen, Chirrut and Baze appear, holding on to each other, and next to them walks Bodhi.
"My friends…" says Cassian, as he walks up to them and embraces them.
"Chirrut, you have something to say?" Baze urges his friend to talk.
"I am one with the force and the force is with me," says Chirrut, smiling.
Bodhi lays his hand on Cassian's shoulder.
"Did we do it..?"
Cassian nods. "Yes, we did it. We have transmitted the data… someone must have gotten it."
Then, a white light appears behind Cassian, and two people start to move closer…
"Cassian…?" comes the voice of a woman.
Cassian immediately recognizes the voice, turns around and runs towards the two people.
"Mother..! Father…!"
At last, the two young but courageous rebels have been reunited with their families, in a place where no-one may ever do harm to them again, for they are with force now.
"May the force be with us", whispers Jyn, as she sees Cassian truly happy for the first time.
The end
(aka we all cried)
Author's note:
Thank you all for reading this small story! I just had to write this down in order to process what had happened. Everybody dies? Seriously? Why..? Like I can cope with such things, who am I even kidding right?
I might write an extended version or an alternate version, let me know what you think of this and what else you'd like :)
May the force be with you!