They Rebelled
Part II
Yavin IV: Former Rebel base - Two standard months later
The venue was perfect.
It took Mon Mothma an effort to convince Master Luke Skywalker and his students to suspend their lessons for a day in order to hold the occasion. Of course, when she mentioned the reason for the celebration, Luke could not argue. Neither could Leia. Both of them were present here in different capacities twenty years ago. They each completed the mission for which Rogue One had died for.
She looked around at the vast area of the ancient Massassi temple. Apart from the thousand or so in attendance, the place was empty. Yet, her mind supplied the image of several X-Wing, Y-Wing, and A-Wing fighters lying dormant waiting for a battle that was soon to come. A battle that would change the galaxy's history. The Rebellion had numerous bases in the years before this battle. But this was the place where the Rebellion truly began.
And it started here with the rescue of Jyn Erso after her Imperial arrest.
Mon Mothma looked down at her small datapad she held in her hand and the words of her speech. She knew the speech, having written it herself. The device was only there in case she became too weak to remember it. She wouldn't forget this time. For as long as she had left to live she would never forget them.
Leia Organa Solo started up the small stage with a temporary podium and called for all to take their seats. Everyone complied. Still after all these years, Leia had that same commanding presence mixed with grace. More than once did Mon Mothma believe that Bail would have been proud of her. She spoke to the crowd through the amplifier.
"Thanks to all of you for coming to this special occasion. It is an honor to be back here. Twenty years ago today. It was here in this temple where we analyzed the plans for the Death Star in order to find its weakness." Leia gestured to the elderly gentleman who was seated beside Mara Jade Skywalker and said, "With the help from the then General Dodonna, we found the weakness. And my brother sitting here now famously executed that destruction." She could hear the sound of her husband's throat clearing and she smiled. "With the help of my future husband, Han Solo, and his co-pilot, Chewbacca." The Wookie gave a small roar of acknowledgement.
She continued. "The rest as they say is history." She paused for effect and asked, "But how did we obtain those plans? We were only told that it was Rebels who stole them on a secret mission. The details of that mission have never been disclosed. Until now.
"Citizens and members of the New Republic, it is my honor to introduce the woman who began the Rebellion from its beginning. She is here to finally speak about that secret mission on its twenty year anniversary." Before Leia even stepped away from the podium, the crowd roared with applause as they stood for the figure of the Rebellion. Mon Mothma practiced her walk to the podium so she could gain enough strength to do so without stopping or falling. She reached the podium as the crowd continued their deafening praise for her. She sat the datapad on the podium and gazed up at them. She felt a sense of honor not for herself, but for those who could not be there with her and struggled to keep the Rebellion alive along her side. Perhaps they did feel the honor through their spirits in the Force. The applause and cheers continued to cascade over her thoughts. She bowed her head in acknowledgement and then signaled for them to sit and listen. One by one they ceased their cheers and returned to their seats.
She paused to catch her breath before beginning the long speech she was about to give. She dismissed the weakness, for this was a speech that should have been said twenty years ago.
"Thank you for that reception. I don't normally conduct these type of events in the recent years of my illness. But I considered I would make an exception in this case." She paused and continued. "It has been over forty years since the genesis of what would be known as the Rebellion began. It started out as a simple petition to reduce the power of then Chancellor Palpatine. The Delegation of 2000, we called ourselves. It was instigated by Senators Padme Amidala and Bail Organa." She looked down at Luke and Leia. "You can sense how well that petition went over with Palpatine. Through the years the small Rebellion became the Rebel Alliance. A separate and secret military made up of common citizens of various worlds in the galaxy who yearned for a life that wasn't in control of the Empire.
"We had small victories over the years. And many failures. I prefer to think of them as lessons. One lesson we hadn't learned was to not act like a military. We included former soldiers and spies from various worlds. They made too many hard compromises. Ones that lost lives. Not long before the Battle of Yavin, we had seemed to lose our way and meaning." She paused to catch her breath from talking, though it was perceived as a dramatic effect. "Until a young renegade thief reminded us of what the Rebellion was about. Hope."
"I was there when they brought in Jyn Erso from our rescue of her while she was incarcerated at an Imperial prison camp on Wobani. She had a long list of crimes for a young woman of twenty-two years of age. Theft of Imperial weaponry, destruction of Imperial property, forgery of Imperial documents, assault on Imperial personnel. If you hadn't guessed the common theme of her crimes, they were all committed against the Empire. It wasn't until very recently while reviewing her old data, that I remembered when she stood not far from this very spot. Her crimes were recited back at her. When asked to give a response to these crimes, she simply stated, 'This is the Rebellion, isn't it? I rebel.'"
After a few murmurs of chuckles from the crowd, Mon Mothma went on. "An ironic aspect of Jyn Erso's involvement with the Rebellion was that her father, Galen Erso, was one of the main designers of the Death Star itself. We sent her on a mission to contact her father in the hopes of reasoning with him. She was convinced that her father had worked on the Death Star under coercion. We had no proof, but Jyn had her own parental proof. She knew her father was not capable of creating a weapon of such mass destruction out of free will. Nevertheless, the mission ended with the death of Galen Erso."
She took a sip of water that was on the podium for her and continued. "Jyn had claimed that she received a holographic message to her from her father. It seemed that he placed a specific flaw into the station, unbeknownst to his superiors. A flaw that we discovered here once we analyzed the schematics of the Death Star. Was the thermal exhaust port put there on purpose? We will never know. But Jyn did. She had faith in her father. She proposed a mission to steal the plans of the Death Star that were on Scarif. None of us wanted that great of a risk over fear of destroying the Rebellion. I'm sure many of those here who were there at the time remember thinking how could a small band of freedom fighters with no experience go up against an Imperial weapon that could obliterate whole planets. But Jyn tried to convince us, not that it could be done easily, but that it had to be done out of necessity. She used the one word that started the Rebellion in the first place. Hope."
"I understood that more than anyone in the room. Yet, I still could not approve the mission. The fear of defeat was too strong." She paused for a breath. "Now, as the students here at the Jedi Academy and anyone who speaks with Master Jedi Luke Skywalker can tell you, fear is the path to the Dark Side of the Force. I'm not sure if Jyn believed in the Force, yet she did tell me about her kyber crystal necklace that was given to her by her mother. She did teach us that whether we attempted the mission and failed or simply did nothing, we would still be subject to the same darkness of the Empire. But everyone, including myself, chose to do nothing. I cannot tell you how much I regretted that decision. It was not meant to be. At least, not with my authorization."
"Luckily, there was a small group of those who agreed with Jyn Erso. They decided to proceed with the mission anyway. One of the crew was an Imperial defector. Bodhi Rook, a pilot. They stole an Imperial shuttle and began to take off unannounced. When the flight commander demanded their call sign, Rook made one up on the spot. Rogue One. Looking back, I realize that there was no name more fitting for the members of that crew. They succeeded in transmitting the data that supplied the plans for the Death Star. It cost them their lives. None of the crew survived. The plans were eventually brought here to the base. Their mission was accomplished with their deaths. And, as Leia said earlier, the rest is history."
More applause came before she took the moment to take another sip of her water. When she finished, the crowd took the cue to cease their applause. She continued further. "History went on for the Rebellion, but the memory of how we stole those plans disappeared in rumors. Because Rogue One acted on their own, not much of their acts are on official record. A few months ago, Commander of the Imperial Fleet Pellaeon, rediscovered old archives on the Battle on Scarif. What has been a secret mission for twenty years is now to be public knowledge for the galaxy. We shall now know and remember the sacrifices of Rogue One." More quick applause. Once it subsided, she said, "And always remember this: If Jyn Erso and Captain Adan had followed my orders to not proceed with the mission to steal the Death Star plans, if they also chose to do nothing, we may not be standing here together as the New Republic today. There may not have been a Bastion Accords." Under her words, more applause rose. She strained to raise the volume of her voice despite the amplifier. "There may have never been a compromise between the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic as we know it today!" More applause and cheers. "Rogue One did what they knew was necessary in order to maintain hope in the galaxy! A lesson for us all in the generations today and the ones to become!"
The crowd then roared with cheers. She let them cheer for a few moments. She felt weaker than usual. She was not used to these speeches since her illness grew further. She knew she would struggle and pay for it later. It would be worth it. She held up her arm in a signal of silence. When the audience was quiet again, she began again by asking them, "How do we pay tribute to the members of Rogue One after twenty years in the shadows? Easy. I chose this location specifically. In this base twenty years ago today, the Rebellion truly began. And now, we have something that will forever etch them into history." She turned to a few men off stage and nodded. They brought up to the stage a large plaque with a piece of red cloth over it. They eased it against the front of the podium and pulled away the cloth.
The poster sized plaque showed the old symbol of the Rebel Alliance in red at the top. Below were a long series of names etched ceremoniously in the plaque's material. Above those names were six more names listed in a larger font. Mon Mothma announced, "Here are the names of the members of Rogue One! Below are the many crewman who fought and died on the beaches of Scarif. Above them are the names of the main crew who sought out the Death Star plans to transmit them at the greatest cost." She then shouted out the names of the six main members. With each one she named, the crowd grew louder.
"Bodhi Rook! Baze Malbus! Chirrut Îmwe! K-2SO! Captain Cassian Andor! And, finally, Jyn Erso! May their names never be forgotten again!" The crowd cheered louder.
Mon Mothma let them cheer again, but she had another announcement. She raised her arm again to motion for silence. She began again, "This plaque will be placed here in this temple for all to see and remember the members of Rogue One. A well deserved honor to be sure. But every team has its leader. And leaders create their own honor and pass it on to others whether they know it or not. Jyn Erso was that leader. And for that, she deserves a special tribute." She turned to one of the men who helped bring up the plaque. He was in a Fifth Battle Group uniform from the New Republic faction of their military. "Commander Gherik, I understand there is a new Republic-class Destroyer that needs to be christened."
The middle-aged man answered, "Yes, it is almost ready to be released from space dock. It has no namesake at this point."
"Then, if you will permit me, may I suggest it to be known as the Jyn Erso."
The Commander smiled and said, "It shall be an honor, milady."
Instantly, the crowd cheered again. Mon Mothma looked across at the roaring crowd. She then raised her voice as loud as she could. "May hope live on in the spirit of Rogue One and Jyn Erso! May their spirits be one with the Force!"
The cheering continued on.
And on.
THE END.