Disclaimer: Umm… if Star Wars was mine, Rogue One would have ended very differently indeed.
Author's Note: This many continue if it gets enough reviews. Hint, hint…
They stood in front of him, dirty, bruised, and in a couple of cases, bleeding. They looked at the ceiling, the ground, each other… really anywhere, but at him.
"I'm sorry. What happened?" Captain Cassian Andor stared at his men with an incredulous look on his usually dispassionate face. They had just returned from Wobani with the woman they knew as Liana Hallik. Cassian knew her to really be Jyn Erso, daughter to Galen Erso. Their mission had been to liberate her from Imperial custody, thereby earning her gratitude and her willingness to lead them to her father. From their chagrined faces, the Intelligence captain gathered not all had gone to plan.
"Well…" Melshi was staring at a spot over Cassian's left shoulder and fidgeting. Cassian was surprised. Melshi was the most unflappable of his men.
"Yes?" he urged.
"We blew the door and got into the transport just fine. I confirmed she was Liana Hallik and told her we were there to get her out. I uncuffed her." Melshi stopped and shuffled his feet.
"And?" Force, it was like pulling teeth.
Melshi cleared his throat and sighed. "She kicked me in the nuts and knocked these two down with a shovel."
It took every ounce of Cassian's deeply-ingrained, long held training not to laugh right out loud. If he had, he would have astonished the men in front of him. He had a reputation as a good captain, an excellent spy, and a focused and driven man. He did not have a reputation for having much of a sense of humor. As it was, the corner of his mouth twitched an infinitesimal amount.
"I see," he said calmly. A tiny furrow appeared between his eyebrows as he thought about this. "So, how did you catch her?"
Melshi relaxed at Cassian's lack of mocking response and finally met his eyes. "K2."
Cassian's lip twitched again, and he nodded. Of course it was Kay.
"Well, thank you for bringing her in. If you'll escort her to the council room, you can go off duty."
This was why Cassian's men admired and respected him so much. Anyone else would have tormented them endlessly. Cassian Andor did not.
Melshi and the others gratefully turned to leave. Cassian stopped Melshi one last time. "Melshi, make sure she's cuffed, would you?"
Melshi scowled. "Oh, yes, sir. Definitely."
Once Melshi was gone, Cassian finally allowed his smile to cover his face. He really needed to meet this woman. He didn't trust her much at all, but his men knew what they were doing and the fact that she'd taken them all out so easily spoke well of her skills.
He briefly wondered if she was attractive and then shook his head for being ridiculous. She'd been in an Imperial prison for who knew how long, and all he needed from her was information. That's it. It was time to go meet her.
He stood in the shadows of the conference room, so he could see her before she saw him and sighed when Melshi brought her in. She was not attractive. She was beautiful.
Shit.
This was a complication he did not need, but fortunately he was renowned for his skill at ignoring such things. He was notorious on Yavin IV for turning down every woman (and quite a few men) who tried to get him into their beds. None had managed to snag his attention thoroughly enough to be worth the effort. But wouldn't you know that this rough, angry, disheveled daughter of an Imperial engineer would turn his un-turnable head. He shook that head and leaned up against the display to watch her.
Maybe it was the strength she was showing in the face of the unknown. Or the way she didn't back down from General Draven. Maybe it was the way her answers to his questions strictly answered them, but still left things out. Maybe it was her eyes.
Damn it!
He had a flash of his humbled men. Hell, maybe it was her skill with a shovel. This trip to Jedha was going to be interesting.