(A/N) So I picked this idea up from a prompt over on the R1 kink meme a little over a year ago. Unfortunately, it took me awhile to get around to it, but the idea stuck with me. Because hey, who isn't curious to see what the Star Wars universe looks like completely gender flipped? So here's our little starter. Let's see what you all think. :)

Rogue One: Another Side, Another Story

Chapter 1: Tell Me A Story

Chirrin and Ambeiza

"Chirrin! Get back here this instant! Chirrin!"

Seven-year-old Chirrin Îmwe giggled madly as she raced through the temple corridors, clutching at the sack she held under one arm. She had the advantage in this chase and there was no way she was giving it up.

"Chirrin, you horrid little womp rat! If you don't stop right where you are, you're going to be scrubbing the kitchen floors until you're older than Master Hava! Stop!"

"Don't make promises you can't keep!" Chirrin sang as she ran. Risking a glance behind her, she could see that the cook was falling behind, huffing for breath as he quickly lost ground. It wouldn't be long before she was in the clear.

That one glance back, however, caused the young girl not to see the obstacle that awaited her around the next corner until it was much too late.

Chirrin crashed directly into another body, sending both of them tumbling to the stone floor. Hardly taking notice, the girl quickly picked herself up, making certain her prize was still secure.

"Hey!" her unfortunate victim shouted, catching her eyes before Chirrin had the chance to dart off. It was another little girl, not much older than Chirrin herself. She was dressed in a worn traveller's cloak and the tight braids her long hair was kept in had been mussed in the collision. She looked ready to spit fire in her anger but, for some reason, Chirrin found something amusing in that anger. Before the new girl could say anything, Chirrin offered her a hand to help her up.

"Run," she said with an easy smile.

"Huh?" the new girl mumbled in confusion, staring at the offered hand uncomprehendingly.

"Run!" she repeated gleefully as she seized the girl's hand and pulled her up, breaking into a run before her new companion was even properly on her feet. Chirrin's pursuer was just a few steps behind them.

"What are you doing?!" the other girl shouted as they ran, but she never stopped. She kept ahold of Chirrin's hand, managing to keep pace with her, maybe even accelerating her a little bit. Whatever it was, the pair managed to pull out ahead of their pursuer, leaving the old cook in the dust.

When they raced out of the temple and down into the sacred groves, Chirrin quickly pulled the new girl off to the side and down to a small spot where the stone foundation had crumbled away. The hollowed out space beneath had always been large enough for Chirrin, but with the new girl it was definitely a bit more of a tight fit. When she started to speak, Chirrin quickly covered her mouth with her hand, glancing back outside. She kept that hand in place until she'd watched the cook go by, sweeping out into the groves to search for them. Chirrin giggled quietly as she let her hand fall away.

"That was fun."

"I…you…wha-…who do you think you are?" the new girl finally managed to demand in a huff. "You can't just go around knocking people over and then telling them to run. What did you even get me into?"

"Chirrin Îmwe," she responded with a lopsided grin.

The girl stared back at her for several moments, face shifting slowly from anger back into confusion before she finally mumbled out, "What?"

"If you ask more than one question at once, you cannot be surprised when you receive your answers out of order," Chirrin replied sagely. "At least, that's what the masters tell me. You asked me who I thought I was. I think I am Chirrin Îmwe, but that's just my own view on things. Though, really, what can I give you but my own point of view?" Chirrin wondered, only half to the new girl, who just offered a sideways glance and a raised eyebrow. "As to what I've got you involved in, here. Share in the fruits of our labor," she said as she slipped a piece of ripe miru fruit from the bag in her arms and offered it to the new girl.

"Great," the girl said with a pained sigh. "I've gotten myself mixed up with the temple thief. Great way to start off," she said just before her stomach growled rather loudly. Chirrin offered her an encouraging smile as she continued to offer her the piece of fruit.

"Whether it is or not, you won't get very far on an empty stomach. You might as well eat," she said, grabbing herself a piece of the delicious ripe fruit and beginning to munch on it.

Growling and shaking her head, the girl finally sighed and took the fruit, contemplating it for a few moments before taking a bite. Chirrin could see the exact moment her demeanor changed as the flavor burst in her mouth.

"I can't even remember the last time I had fresh fruit," she groaned through another mouthful, chin already sticky with the fruit's red juice.

"See why it might be worth lifting a bag every once in a while?" Chirrin asked, grinning at the wry smirk the girl responded with, but that amusement was quickly tempered with a pair of narrowed eyes.

"How much is every once in a while? Mitz said he didn't want me getting back into old habits."

Chirrin shrugged as she carefully scooped the bountiful seedpod from within the fruit, slowly plucking out each and every one of the seeds. "Few times a year, I guess. Keeps us all at the top of our game. Is that why they sent you here, though? Community service?"

The girl looked at her oddly for several moments before responding with an uncertain, "Not…exactly? I mean…got a bit of a record, but it's not…my mom's dead."

Chirrin could tell from the slight widening of her eyes that she hadn't meant to go quite that far, but Chirrin had found that she seemed to have that effect on people. They liked to tell her things. Chirrin didn't much like the notion of abusing that trust with this potential new friend, so she decided to tread a little more carefully.

"Ward of the temple?" she asked the girl as she plucked a new fruit from the bag, inspecting it for the perfect place to bite into.

"What if I am?" the girl snapped back, apparently trying to cover for her earlier show of weakness.

"Then you'll join the rest of us wards while they look for your family. Maybe you've got a father somewhere," Chirrin said with a shrug, shifting her attention between the girl and the fruit.

"Heh, I haven't got one of those," the girl responded with an indifferent shrug of her own. "Not that Mom ever told me. Maybe she didn't even know."

"Then you'll stay here with us. That's what happened with me. I was left on the temple steps. They don't even bother looking for other family when that happens," Chirrin explained as she went about gathering the seeds from her second miru.

"So…no idea who your family is?" the girl couldn't seem to help asking.

"Well…they say my father was a Guardian…one of the greatest – Korrin Îmwe. I'm going to be like him one day," she declared proudly.

"And…your mom?" the girl pressed.

It was at this point that Chirrin would usually start spinning stories – an enforcer for one of the local security outfits, a navigator on a spice freighter, a bounty hunter notorious from the core worlds to the Outer Rim, a holo star on Coruscant, even a fallen Jedi knight on days she was feeling particularly adventurous. Chirrin loved to tell stories. Truth and untruth were of little consequence to her. Somehow, though, she got the feeling there was nothing she could say to this girl that would shock or amaze her. Maybe something else entirely had guided her footsteps to the kitchens this morning?

"Like I said, left on the steps. You know, I can't just keep thinking of you as 'girl' in my head," she pointed out.

The girl raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Huh?"

"You know my name. I don't know yours yet. I assume you have one?" she prodded.

The girl stared at her for several silent moments before responding with a single word.

"Beiz."

"Just Beiz? Nothing else?"

"That's all you need to call me. My name is Ambeiza Malbus," Beiz said with a glare, throwing her name out like a challenge; and that was exactly what it was. Even Chirrin had heard the stories of Druzale Malbus, the infamous Black Sun assassin who had plagued Jedha's meager law enforcement so many years before. But she had never heard any stories of her having a daughter – and that was probably the point.

"Then it's nice to meet you, Beiz Malbus," she said, reaching out her free hand to properly shake the other girl's. Beiz's eyes darted mistrustfully between her hand and her grinning face for a long moment, no doubt having been prepared for the name to send Chirrin running the other way.

"It doesn't- bother you?"

"You obviously don't know how rare it is for someone to actually listen when I tell them to run. I think you and me can get along."

Beiz considered her for several more minutes before ultimately returning the handshake. In years to come, she would often joke that she would've been better off not taking that hand, and it was certainly true, but it hardly meant that a single word of those jokes was ever sincere.

XxX

Cassia

Seven-year-old Cassia wiped the muck from her forehead as she slogged through the swamp, trying to keep her breathing under control as she moved. Most little girls would have stopped to rest by now, or just not been there in the first place.

Cassia Andor was not most little girls.

"There's a spark inside of you, mi angelita," her mother had declared proudly, even as she lay dying. "You must never let it die. Never let it burn out."

Cassia had taken those words to heart. Maybe she couldn't wield a blaster or man a heavy mortar like her three big brothers, but she was no less a fighter. When none of the couriers could get through the swamps without being picked off by Imperial forces, Cassia had been quick to volunteer. She knew she could get places others couldn't. Even if she were captured, who was going to suspect a little girl?

"Mama would kill me if she knew I was even considering this," her oldest brother had said to her as he was tucking her into her cot. Relio was the leader of their cell and it was down to him to make the difficult choices.

"I can do it!" she'd pleaded, trying to sit up, but he'd pushed her back down again, movements gentle but firm as he pulled her ratty blanket over her. "Please, Lio, I want to help. Let me help."

"I shouldn't," he'd said, face torn by more emotions than Cassia had names for. "What sort of brother would that make me? To send my baby sister out into the killing fields…"

"One who's a leader," she'd said proudly as she'd looked up at him. "One who knows why we fight. No one else can do it. You know I can get through, Sarge. You hafta let me try," she'd argued, knowing that reminding him of his rank might be the only thing that could change his mind.

And she'd been right. She'd felt Lio tense against her as he'd leaned down to kiss her goodnight. When he'd pulled back, his face had been resigned. "All right, soldier, we'll give it a try. But I want you to promise me if disruptor fire hits even half a klick from you, you're going to turn right back around."

"Promise."

The only promise to her brother she hadn't kept, of course. Blaster fire had struck much closer than that, but she'd never turned back. She'd been afraid, but she'd kept going, and she'd made it through the Imperial line that divided the Horuz swamplands, reaching their contact in the city – Talena. Like Cassia, the old woman would never be suspected of having rebel sympathies, so it was easier for Talena to sneak intel and supplies right under the Imperials' noses. Whenever Cassia made the dangerous trek across the line, Talena always saw that she was decently fed and then sent her back laden with ammunition, supplies, and news. It was never much, but it was at least enough to bolster Horuz's fledgling rebel cells.

Tonight wasn't just a supply run, though. No. Tonight she was carrying a message. She'd already managed to make it past three patrols. She was so close now. They needed her to get through!

The Imperials had been jamming communications between the rebel factions for weeks now. Rumors were circulating that they were being picked off one by one. Their own unit had received more concrete proof of the rumors in the form of a survivor of one such attack. Akan had barely escaped with his life. Armed with that knowledge, Lio had sent her to try and get word to the other factions, to present the burgeoning Empire with a more united front.

Cassia would have breathed a sigh of relief when she finally reached the sewage drain off that would allow her access to Spayre City, except that she knew better than to breathe too deeply here. She was out of danger, small enough to be able to take the sewer lines into the city where none of the others had been able to, but it was undoubtedly the most unpleasant part of the trek. She would just have to do her best not to breathe too much on the way through.

"Maybe you ought to take up with a bantha herd," Dezi, the youngest of her older brothers, would always tease whenever she came back from assignment. "You always smell like the wrong end of one when you come back."

"Why don't you climb through a sewer pipe and see how you smell," she'd snap back, nose in the air, despite the fact it was only about as high as her brother's chest. Whether or not she could actually look down her nose at Dezi, she was never going to just let him tease her.

"And drag these lovely flowing locks and fair skin through all that muck?" he'd jibe with a showy toss of his head. "Forget that."

"That's what I thought, pretty boy," she'd snip back, always on Dezi for the vanity that was only partly a joke. Pretty boy or not, no one had ever manned a disruptor cannon better than Dezi Andor. And their middle brother, Luneil, would always watch their bickering without comment, offering up his own silent brand of laughter. The sniper never really had much to say, so when Luneil did speak, he was listened to. Just before Cassia had departed on this desperate run, he'd pulled her into a tight hug.

"Be careful," he'd whispered insistently in her ear. "You must live."

Shaking away the thoughts of her brothers as she shimmied her way out of the sewer pipe, Cassia made the brief run to Talena's small apartment building. Even though she'd reached the city, there was still curfew to consider this late at night, and Talena had no shortage of sharp words for her on the subject.

"To send you in at this hour," the old woman snarled quietly upon responding to Cassia's signal, quickly letting her into the building. "Your brother has gone mad."

"No. This is important. It's urgent," Cassia insisted, not even waiting for her contact to lead the way up to her apartment. "We need to make contact."

"Hold up there, little miss. You've not refreshed or eaten yet. I'll not have you stinking up the place and giving yourself away. This isn't your ice planet. Scent actually lingers here."

"Then I'll clean your apartment when I'm done. There's no time to lose," she tried to explain as they entered Talena's small living quarters.

"All right. All right. What's the message?" the old woman pressed as she pulled a chair up to her antiquated comm system.

"The Empire really is trying to pick us all off. Now's the time. If we don't stand together, then we'll die alone," Cassia relayed, coming to grip the back of Talena's chair in trembling hands, only then permitting herself to remember the look of terror in Akan's eyes as he'd recounted the destruction of his base.

"Lio Andor's poetry if ever I heard it," Talena said with a bitter chuckle as she worked to raise the nearest camp. "He really ought to start-"

Whatever the rest of her statement was, Cassia never got to hear it. The sudden heavy boom of proton bombs sounded in the distance and Cassia felt their force rattle the planet beneath them. Immediately, she felt her heart drop into her stomach.

No. It can't be.

Before she was aware of even moving, Cassia found herself out on Talena's small balcony, eyes desperately scanning the distant skies as she prayed not to see what she knew she would.

Even from this distance, she could see how the night was lit with smoke and fire from the explosions. She could hardly imagine what they must be like up close – the air thick with ionization as trees and dirt and living beings crackled and caught fire moments before vaporizing entirely.

Lio. Luneil. Dezi.

"No," she choked out, slowly backing away from the sight. But then she was running, dashing headlong out of Talena's apartment. "NO!"

"Cassia, stop! Come back!" Talena shouted after her, but she didn't listen. She kept running, right down into the street. Forget the sewer. She was going to fling herself straight at the city gates and kill any stormtrooper that tried to stop her. Maybe her brothers were still alive. Maybe she could still help them.

Please. No. You can't be dead. You can't leave me like Mama and Papa did!

The only sound she could hear as she raced down the street was the pounding of her own heart in her ears. The distant thunder from the continued explosions didn't even register. All she could think of was the sight of her annoying, foolhardy, beloved brothers caught in an explosion – Lio's stalwart amber eyes boiling, Dezi's precious hair catching fire, Luneil's skin cracking and roasting, all in a single hideous moment of agony before they all just fizzled out of existence, with not even a pile of ash to mark their lives.

Cassia didn't realize she was coming up on a checkpoint. Nothing penetrated the haze she was running through until a body crashed into her, arms wrapping around her as they went crashing to the ground.

"NO! NOOO!" she shrieked like a creature gone mad, fingers scrabbling desperately at the rough pavement, scraping until they bled. "Let me go! LET ME GO!"

"Stop, Cassia. Stop!" Talena pleaded with her, a thread of pity and pain weaving through her voice that the little girl couldn't bear to acknowledge. "It's too late. It's already done. You can't help them now."

Cassia already knew that. She'd known it from the moment the distant thunder had pierced her ears, but to admit that to herself was just too painful. To admit to what she'd lost…it meant she was truly alone in the galaxy. So, even as Talena carried her back to her home, she continued to struggle in the old woman's arms, screaming desperately for the only family she still had left.

"Dez! Luneil! Don't leave me here by myself! Lio! LIO!"

Later that night, as Cassia lay tucked in on Talena's couch, she just stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling of the apartment, her hands clenched tightly into fists. She hadn't resisted the old woman's attempts to get her into the refresher, or to bandage her injured hands. Talena had raised a cup to her mouth, but she wouldn't drink. She'd pressed food to her lips, but she wouldn't eat. She'd laid her down, but Cassia wouldn't sleep. She'd just lain there with the weight of her grief like a stone in her chest, and all the while, that grief had hardened into rage.

Could things have been different if she'd been faster? Been better? Something?

Had they known? Had they sent her out knowing she would fail…just to keep her safe? Why? Why would they save her just to leave her alone?

Would she ever be able to forget the feel of her own blood beneath her fingernails? Her brothers' blood?

No. None of that mattered. It didn't matter because she wasn't the reason her brothers were dead. Her family…Mama…Papa…Lio, Luneil, and Dezi…they were all dead because they said 'no'. When the Empire asked for compliance they wouldn't give, they'd all stood firm and declared they would rather die than bow to that kind of power. The Empire, the Republic, the clones, the Jedi…at the end of the day, wasn't it all the same? Power that demanded total obedience?

Well…now it was Cassia's turn to decide. She already knew she would say 'no', but was it because she believed in something the Empire couldn't take away…or simply because she hated them? Hated them for taking away everything she loved? She didn't really know. She just knew that if this hate in her heart wasn't directed somewhere, it was going to kill her, and that couldn't happen yet. It wasn't until she noticed Talena holding her that she realized she was crying.

"I hate them!" she sobbed into Talena's chest as the old woman stroked back her hair. "I hate them and I'll never forgive them!"

And for the life of her, Cassia didn't know if she meant her brothers or the monsters who'd killed them.

XxX

Beni

If Beni Rook were honest with herself, she would have to say that she didn't really remember a time before the Occupation.

She remembered people being different. She remembered her mother's smile, her brothers' pranks, Alini's singing. She remembered their neighbors talking, laughing, calling out to each other as they headed off to work or to market in the morning. Life in the holy city of NiJedha had never been easy, but it hadn't exactly been harsh either.

But then the stormtroopers began to patrol the streets. Laughter was replaced by the sounds of armored boots striking the stone pathways. Lively chatter dimmed to angry mumbling and frightened whispering. The way her older sister had once described it to her was that it was like a light going out. The shining star at the heart of NiJedha had been dimmed, banked down to a thing barely flickering. Beni had always liked to think she'd understood Alini's words, but it was hard to say. All she really seemed to know was that people had once been happy, but now they were not. They were afraid - afraid of this far, distant thing called the Empire.

While the nine-year-old could only vaguely grasp the full effect this Empire had on her life, one thing she did understand was that kids were always going to find ways to play, even when the world around them was so frightening. Her brothers were certainly no exception, and it seemed she was always going to be their favorite target.

"Keep away from Beni!" Arran shouted for all the market to hear, holding aloft his prize as the three younger Rook boys took off with him.

"Bring those back right now!" Beni howled, feeling her face go red with rage as she leaped after them. A five second head start probably wouldn't seem like much to most people, but in the crowded streets of NiJedha, it was practically life or death; and in Beni's case, that might prove literal if her idiot brothers damaged her treasure in any way.

"Catch us if you can, little Ben-Ben!" the second oldest, Gerrit, teased as Arran tossed the coveted object his way, spurring Beni to alter her charge mid stride and lose her momentum. She'd barely managed to begin the new pursuit when Gerrit tossed her precious treasure to the next brother.

"Khemiya, I swear, if anything happens to those goggles, I'm gonna pitch your models over the outer wall! I'll burn every last hair off your body!" she screeched, ducking around a moving fruit cart in an attempt to cut her brother off.

"You gotta catch me first, Ben-Ben!" he jibed right back, whirling about to head in a completely different direction.

"You don't want to know what's gonna happen when I do!"

"Oh, yeah? I won't even- oof," Khem's taunt was abruptly cut off when he crashed directly into a monk, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Ach! Darn it, Khem!" Arran snarled.

"I've got you now!" Beni crowed in triumph as she closed in.

"Zev's open, Khem! Get a move on!" Gerrit shouted to him.

Looking desperately in every direction, Khem finally threw the flight goggles when he saw the youngest of the Rook brothers jumping up and down halfway down the next row of stalls.

"NO!" Beni screamed when she saw her treasure go arcing through the air. There was no way clumsy little Zev would be able to catch them.

Zev seemed to realize this mere seconds after she did and made a desperate dive forward, only just managing to catch the goggles before they could smash against the dusty street.

Beni dropped to her knees in shocked relief at the sight, giving Khem the chance to jump up and run away with the others. Seeing her six-year-old brother scramble up out of the dust and disappear into the crowd caused a fresh stab of anger to shoot through her.

"Darn you, Zev! I changed your diapers!" she shouted after him in frustration.

"They never are grateful, are they," the monk said from where she was still situated on the ground.

"Oh, oh...I- I'm..." the girl stuttered for several moments, seriously considering leaving the holy woman in the dust and continuing her pursuit of her brothers, but ultimately deciding against it. She already had an 'illegal operation of an airspeeder' count on her record. She didn't need some sort of disorderly conduct mark there, too. Shifting to one knee so she could stand, she offered the monk her hand. "I'm so sorry, Master. We're- just a pack of wild animals."

The monk shook her head, chuckling quietly as she shifted her legs to sit cross-legged in the middle of the street. "There are worse things to be in a galaxy gone mad, little one. Come. Sit with me."

Beni glanced nervously all around them, trying to spot merchants or shoppers who might be annoyed with them, but really, it was almost as if no one noticed them there.

"Don't worry. People are hardly going to take exception to a blind beggar taking up space in the Holy City. Rest for a moment. Let go of that anger."

Beni eyed the woman warily up and down as she shifted into a sitting position beside her. This woman looked to be many things, but she wasn't sure beggar was one of them. She was clothed in the robes of one of the city's religious orders, simple red and black. Beni couldn't remember exactly which order it was. The Guardians? The Brotherhood? It was difficult to keep track of which cults were technically legal anymore. As for blind, that was a difficult call to make, as she couldn't really make out any of the monk's features beneath the black cowl she wore. But apparently her assessment took too long, because the woman began to speak again.

"You are suspicious."

"How would you know what I'm feeling...if you can't see me?"

"A person would have to be deaf and a moron as well as blind not to know that the young lady screaming at her brothers is angry, and I can feel your hesitation in the space beside me. You are not as unreadable a stone wall as you might believe, Beni."

"How did you-"

"Your brothers were shouting your name for all the quarter to hear, child," the monk pointed out, her head tilting to the side in an almost wry fashion. "I would not be surprised if the garrison that arrived this morning knew your name by now."

"Right," Beni muttered, feeling her face flush in embarrassment. "I'll be sure to put itching powder in their food tonight."

"You know they only do these things because you react in anger, don't you?" the monk pointed out. "If you do not give them the reaction they want, they will quickly lose interest in their games."

"I know that," she growled in frustration before reminding herself to take a few calming breaths. "Alini's always telling me to just ignore them, but...it's hard. How am I supposed to just let them run off with the only thing in the world that means anything to me?"

"What is it they took from you, if I may?"

By the time she'd reminded herself that this woman couldn't see her, Beni had already looked away from her. "It's silly. I know it is."

"Nothing you give your whole heart to is silly, Beni. Believe me. You can tell me."

"Well...it's a pair of flight goggles. They're not anything special...not really. They're even starting to fall apart. I'm being stupid, I know...but..."

"But...?" the woman prompted when she didn't continue.

"They...belonged to Jestra...my father's partner."

"Your father?"

"Yes. Zeri Rook. He- made cargo runs for the Republic during the wars. He was captain of a ship...and Jestra was his pilot. They were killed over Ryloth during the Separatist sieges," she recounted, almost as if she were reading the information from a textpad.

"My condolences," the monk said softly.

"It's all right," she rushed to reassure the woman. "Well- no. It's not. Not really. I know it's been tough on my family, but...I don't really remember my dad too well. I was three when he died. But I do remember that last time they were home. Jestra gave me her goggles, said she needed new ones. It wasn't really- that it was the last time I saw them. It was what she said...that last time," she tried to explain. She'd never really been able to, and her big sister was the only one she'd ever tried to tell any of this to.

"And what was that?"

"I always loved flying. Even back then. Jestra took me with her a few times. She said I'd fly on my own someday...that I'd leave Jedha behind one day. She said that...once I got my own wings I could go anywhere I wanted...that I'd be free. She said not to let anything stop me. I keep those goggles because I don't want to forget what she said. I want those words to be true. They're- precious to me," she said, staring down at her hands as she came to a fumbling halt. She couldn't remember ever having said something so true about herself to anyone other than Alini. What must this woman think of her? A scrappy little nobody with hardly any past - and no future.

"Well, have youever forgotten what Jestra said to you?" her one woman audience asked her.

"I...well...I guess not," she admitted after several moments of thought.

"Then you never will. Her words will be with you always. But perhaps all you really need to make her words true is that little bit of inspiration."

Beni might have responded to the holy woman's words, except that was the moment the now familiar sound of stormtrooper boots pounding against the stone suddenly crowded out the regular afternoon sounds, causing the people to scatter in an effort to make way for the white-armored soldiers.

As Beni leapt clear of the unexpected procession, she caught a glimpse of what had gotten the cadre so riled up. Several of the soldiers had her brothers in custody, each boy looking every bit the penitent wrong-doer.

Gerrit was the last of her brothers to be marched past her and when he caught sight of her, he offered her an apologetic look. On his way by, he managed to slip her the goggles without the troopers noticing.

Well, whatever her brothers had gotten up to after escaping her, she certainly wanted no part of it. And whether the troopers were simply escorting the rowdy delinquents home or if they were actually being arrested, who could say, but she would enjoy reporting it all to their older sister.

"Guess I didn't have to-" she started to say to the monk as she turned back to look at her, only to realize that the woman had disappeared into the crowd. She looked around several times, but she could find no trace of the woman she'd only just been speaking to. If Khem hadn't crashed into her earlier, Beni might almost question if she'd ever even seen the holy woman at all.

She hadn't even been able to ask her her name.

Well, whoever you are...I sure hope you're right, Beni thought to herself as she secured the flight goggles back around her neck, taking the opportunity to gaze up at the sky through the crumbling, spiraling towers of NiJedha.

No. She didn't care what it took. One day, she was going to touch that sky. She would do whatever she had to. One day, Beni Rook was going to have wings of her own.

No matter what.

XxX

Jin

Jin Erso sighed dramatically as he scuffed his boots against the black sand of the beach.

It wasn't that the four-year-old expected his grumping to actually gain him anything. It was more from a desire to do something, to vent his feelings in some way. He hadn't complained when they'd left Coruscant. He hadn't protested having to leave his friends behind. He hadn't even complained about leaving all his toys behind. He'd understood that something was wrong, so he hadn't complained, and where had all that not complaining gotten him? Alone on a barely inhabited rock of a planet with nothing to call his own.

Everything Jin had known was gone, and even though Papa had told him to be brave, not to let Mama see how sad he was, he couldn't help wanting to express that sadness and anger in some way, so he kicked even harder at the sand.

Jin moved closer to the shore until the sand became more like mud and he kicked large clumps of it into the air. He grunted and cried with the effort of it as angry tears began to trickle down his face.

No! No crying! He'd promised Papa he wouldn't cry! But...what was there to be happy about anymore? Unable to stop the flood of tears now that they'd started, he sobbed as he kicked wet sand into the air, and he kept on kicking until he'd completely exhausted himself – until his little legs gave out on him and he found himself sitting on the disturbed terrain with mud and sand clinging to his rough clothing. He thought he'd managed to cry all his tears, but then he heard his mother.

"Jin?"

The little boy rolled over in the sand to look at Mama, only to see the small smile drop from her face when she saw the state her son was in. It didn't matter how hard he tried to stop crying. That tiny, devastated look on Mama's face brought on a fresh wave of tears. He buried his face in the sand to keep her from seeing, but it didn't work.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly as she sat down beside him, laying a hand on his head, but he flinched away from the touch.

"'m sorry," he mumbled against the gritty surface. "I know 'm not- supposed to cry."

"Who told you that?"

"P- Papa. H- he said that- I had to be b- brave."

"And you have been, my Stardust. No boy could have been braver, to do the things we've asked of you without complaint. You've been so brave. But being brave isn't about never crying," Mama explained, reaching to pull him into her lap. This time, he didn't protest.

"Then...what is it about?" he asked, looking up at her with a tear and mud-streaked face.

"It's about doing what you need to do in spite of those tears. The important thing is, even when you're afraid, or sad, or angry, taking it in stride and taking a step forward anyway," she told him as she started to wipe the mud from his face. "You've done that. You've always taken one more step forward. If you ever feel like you can't handle something, all you need to do is focus on that next step forward. So Jin, from here, what's the next step?"

As Jin looked up at his mother, he could feel a tiny smile lift the corners of his mouth. Mama could always do that. Even though she couldn't be around all the time, she could always make Jin smile when she was.

"Well," he started with a hiccup, "I did have to leave my toys behind."

"You did at that," his mother said with a small laugh. "So we'll have to do something about that. We'll start from scratch, build you a whole new army of toys, and I think we'll start right here with this little one," she said as she pulled something from within the folds of her tunic. When Jin twisted in her arms to see what his mother had presented him with, he saw a very simply built doll that was made to look like a stormtrooper.

"Ooh!" he squealed in excitement, but before he could reach for the toy, he found himself glancing guiltily up at his mother. "But...didn't Papa say they were bad?"

"Indeed they are, but every brave hero needs something to triumph over, doesn't he?" his mother posited as she handed him the doll. "That's how all the stories begin – a villain appears to take everything you love away from you..."

When Mama didn't continue, Jin stopped examining his new toy to look up at her. Mama's eyes were far away. Jin looked off in the direction of her gaze, but he couldn't see anything she might be looking at. Whatever it was, he supposed he just couldn't see it.

"Mama?" he started, holding up the new doll. "Wanna play with my new toy?"

His mother blinked several times before looking back down at him, her eyes finally coming back from wherever they'd been. Then she smiled at him.

"Of course, Stardust. What shall we play?"

"We'll play 'Escape'," Jin declared in excitement as he hopped up from his mother's lap. It took Mama a few more minutes to climb to her feet, but Jin was already off like a shot, streaking away across the beach with his new toy swinging wildly through the air.

Knowing full well that Mama was following, Jin led the way up into the hills, not back toward their new farm, but off into the rockier, unsettled territory further out on their land. Only this morning, this same landscape had looked lonely and empty and desolate, but now, with a new friend in tow, it was suddenly a great big world to explore and play in.

Once Jin had reached his desired spot, he settled his new toy (Stormie, his name was Stormie) atop a pair of boulders with great ceremony. Then he easily scrambled off the rocks, slipping down to the side to wait for his mother to catch up. When she finally did, she quickly caught sight of the tiny wooden trooper's position, dropping to her knees to crawl the rest of the way to Jin's hidden perch beneath the boulders.

"What are we escaping from?" Mama whispered.

"From the Empire soldiers. Just like we did back home. Want you to follow me and do just like I do," Jin whispered back.

Though she was still crouched over, Mama managed to offer him a firm salute and a stern expression. "Yessir."

"All right. Keep quiet," Jin ordered, raising a finger to his lips and grinning before making his next move.

The boulders were positioned just above a steep hill that rolled down into a narrow ravine. Struggling to suppress a giggle, Jin rolled down the hill, head spinning round with the world even after he'd reached the bottom.

Mama reached the bottom just a few moments after him, but when he heard the beginnings of a laugh, he scrambled over to her and placed a hand over her mouth.

"Shh," he insisted.

Mama nodded, her eyes twinkling with excitement, and once Jin was sure she was going to be quiet he began to crawl down the ravine, occasionally sneaking glances back up at Stormie and ducking down when he felt certain the stormtrooper might be watching.

Following the ravine around a natural curve, Jin discovered a cave mouth in one of the hillsides. Gasping in excitement, he quickly scuttled forward into the cave. Once inside, he was pleased to discover a large scattering of big rocks along its back wall.

"This can be our secret base," Jin declared in an enthusiastic whisper, climbing in and around the small boulders. "They'll never find us here."

"I think you're right," Mama whispered back, crawling to the rear of the cave and settling in among the small boulders. "This will be a very good hiding place."

"I hear 'em," Jin said as he crawled over to his mother, cuddling in beside her. "The stormtroopers. They're coming. Do you hear the blasters, Mama?"

"Yes," his mother whispered sharply, and when Jin looked up at her, for a moment it didn't seem like she was playing. For just a moment, there was real fear in her eyes.

"Mama?" he started again, tugging on her tunic, and when she looked down at him with a flickering sort of half smile, he offered up a brave smile of his own. "Don't be scared, Mama. It's just a game. If the stormtroopers ever do come, I'll protect you. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

At his words, his mother's smile blossomed fully and she ruffled his hair before leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

"I believe you...my brave Stardust," she said, pulling Jin into a tight hug.

"Jin!" Papa's voice suddenly sounded in the distance. "Gaila!"

"It's Papa!" Jin started in excitement, hopping up from Mama's embrace. "We need to tell him about the cave we found. Then we can all hide from the soldiers."

"Absolutely. You go on ahead. I'll be along in a moment," his mother told him, slowly getting back to her feet.

"Okay," Jin answered, off like a shot once again.

If Jin had looked back, he might've seen the extra look of sadness in his mother's eyes, might've seen her look around the cave, beginning to mentally plan and measure to make a true hiding place of their little out of the way space.

But Jin did not look back and he didn't see all the ways his mother continued to protect him, to shield him from their true peril. He did not see his mother beginning to plan for the day when it wasn't a game anymore.

XxX

(A/N) Good? Bad? Awful? Meh? Any interest in seeing how this changes things?