-Chapter Four-
Yavin IV
The council was more willing to listen to Jyn this time. She told them everything she knew about the battle station, and she and the analysts went over the plans, finally studying a holographic projection of it.
She pointed to the northern trench. "There. That exhaust port leads directly to the reactor module."
"And how will the pressurised blast make it explode, exactly?" Dodonna asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. "But my father said that one blast will set off a chain reaction and take the whole thing out. He was the genius, not me. I just know he said there's a flaw in the reactor that he was hiding."
One of the Alliance scientists said, "If it's a weak spot in the containment for the reactor, a proton torpedo would definitely set it off. And a reactor meltdown that size would, at the very least, destroy their life support systems and disable the weapon, if not take out the entire station."
One of the other generals, whose name Jyn hadn't gotten, gestured to the projection. "These other exhaust ports are a lot smaller and aren't straight into the core like that one is. It's like a giant arrow pointing to a big self-destruction button, labelled 'push me'. How did he get that design past everyone?"
"Knowing the Empire," Mon Mothma said dryly, "it was probably buried in quite a lot of bureaucratic nonsense. It's only two metres. Can our fighters get that shot?"
"We'll have to try," Dodonna sighed.
Mothma nodded. "Ready your assault plan. I'll leave that to you gentlemen. I'd like a word with Sergeant Erso and Ensign Rook."
The chancellor stepped away from the console and Jyn and Bodhi followed with no little trepidation. She'd expected to just step to the side, but Mothma led them to her private office. The war room was far underground, but the chancellor's office was high up in the ziggurat.
"Princess Leia pled on your behalf, and I agree with her. We're not charging you with anything, though Draven disagrees." Mon smiled faintly, hazel-blue eyes crinkling at the corners. "He's rather fond of Cassian and he won't admit it, but he was quite upset at the thought of losing him."
Not as much as me, Jyn thought, but kept it to herself.
"Captain Andor," Mothma continued, "is in stable condition aboard the medical frigate you received treatment on. He had several broken ribs and a fracture of his right leg, and a moderate concussion but no internal bleeding. There's also some swelling from injuries to his back that have put pressure on his spine, though his back is not broken. He's in a medically induced coma, but expected to make a full recovery. Chirrut Îmwe's prognosis isn't as positive, but we're doing the best we can for him. I've retroactively sanctioned the Rogue One mission as part of Operation: Fracture. Provided we make it out of this, you'll be commended and face no disciplinary action."
Jyn let out a slow breath. "Thank you," she breathed.
Mothma nodded, glanced at Bodhi. "Truthfully, without you, we would be facing the end of the Alliance in truth. But we are not. That said… Your future, both of you, is in question. You still ran an unsanctioned operation in enemy territory. And neither of you are in the Alliance. I'm afraid that you will need to make a choice. We can give you funds and deliver you to a destination of your choosing. Or you may officially join our Alliance."
"I'll join," Bodhi said. "I mean, I don't have anywhere else to go, so I might as well stay here and- and help, right? I'll join."
Mon Mothma turned to Jyn, who remained silent. "You don't have to decide immediately. But in the next day or two."
Jyn chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, before saying, "I… need to talk to Cassian before I decide."
The older woman studied her. "Are you and Captain Andor… involved?"
"Something like that."
Mothma sighed. "Since you're both still injured, and you have no role in the upcoming battle, I'd like you both to evacuate to the medical frigate. And I do apologise for General Draven. Leia told me what she overheard him say to you and I don't agree that the temporary misplacement of the plans was in any way your fault. I also believe that Scarif was a necessary thing, despite how costly it was. Actually, as I'm thinking about it, perhaps you would do us a favour, and pack up Captain Andor's quarters? I don't believe he has much, none of us do. But since he's unavailable to handle the evacuation on his own…"
Jyn nodded. "Of course. We'll do that."
"Then go to the main hangar and inform them that you need to be shuttled to the frigate on my orders."
"Yes, ma'am."
"And may the Force be with you. Dismissed."
Bodhi waited until they'd procured access to Cassian's room before asking, "So, you and Cassian, huh? When did that happen?"
She cast her eyes around the room, noting that Cassian did, indeed, own very little. There was a trunk under the bed with a few blasters in it, one at the foot with a handful of changes of clothes. It was more than she had. Everything she owned was what she wore.
"It's complicated," she said in reply to Bodhi.
"Because I thought you were going to murder him on Eadu…"
She ignored him, gathering the few things Cassian had on his tiny desk: a holocube, a stack of datapads, a few data sticks and disks. She didn't look at any of it; it wasn't her business. Then she crawled under the desk, retrieved three more disks taped to the underside, and did the same to the bed.
Bodhi, meanwhile, stripped the bed and gathered Cassian's toiletries and shaver from the tiny refresher attached to his quarters. Everything went into the trunk.
"You think we got it all?"
She shrugged. "I've checked every hiding place I can think of. I'll check the 'fresher, but I think we've found all of his stashes."
Except one. Jyn found the small, plastic pouch inside the lid of the toilet tank, wrapped in more plastic. Wondering what he would have stored there, of all places, she gave in to curiosity and pried the waterproof seal open. Inside, she found two things: a flimsiboard coaster and an earring.
The coaster advertised "Blue Moons Cantina". The earring was a dangle of three stars on chains.
Her breath caught. So this was where that earring had gone. And he'd kept it?
"Jyn? We should get going. Jyn? What's that?"
She hastily shoved the items back in the pouch and sealed it again, hoping her face wasn't as flushed as she felt. "Nothing."
Jyn dropped the pouch into the trunk and quickly washed her hands, just in case.
The trip up to the frigate was one of the longest of her life. Jyn had clearance to see Cassian now, no interference from Draven. She didn't know what she was going to say if he was awake.
To her surprise, they assigned her to stay with Cassian. Jyn wondered if that was Leia's doing or Mothma's. In the end, it didn't matter.
Her heart caught in her throat when she saw him lying on the bed. She remembered then that Mothma had said he was in a coma. Jyn didn't have to say anything, after all.
Navin wasn't surprised to see her. "We're going to be pressed for hands with this battle coming up," the doctor explained. "I thought you'd like to keep an eye on him. He shouldn't wake up, but if anything changes, you can alert us or a droid."
"Yes. Thank you."
Cassian's things were stored in the corner, out of the way. Jyn fished the holocube out of his trunk and set it on the table between the two beds. It was clear that hers was an afterthought, shoved in to fit, but she didn't care. She was with him.
She had no holos of anyone that had mattered to her. No parents, none of Saw. The only things she had were the crystal around her neck and a cheap, chainless metal locket in the lining of her vest. She worked open the tiny pocket and pulled out the locket. It took both thumbnails to pry it open. Inside, curled into the cavity where a holochip was supposed to go, was a thin braid of dark hair.
Jyn touched it gingerly, just for a moment, than snapped it shut and hid the locket once more.
She'd thought she'd never see Jeron again.
But now she could tell Cassian.
And maybe he would hate her, but she'd bet anything he would help her.
Jyn had just dozed off, head on Cassian's bed by his arm, when alarms began to sound somewhere in the ship. Here, it was a red light above the door that started flashing without sound.
She didn't have to ask. The Death Star had arrived.
The door slid open and Baze filled it. He looked no less diminished for his lack of armour and cannon. "Little sister," he said. "The planet killer is here."
"I know." She stood, wincing at the crick in her neck. "But we have the plans. Or they do. We're sitting this one out."
"You think they'll succeed?" he asked. His gaze went to Cassian's prone form on the bed.
"They'd better," she said grimly, or we're all dead."
He nodded. "The captain. How is he? They've told us nothing. They took you away."
She told him everything that had happened since they'd been separated in the hangar. He frowned thunderously, then grinned widely when she got to the part about Leia.
"I want to meet this princess," he said.
"I think I like her," Jyn said. "Though I don't want to be in her place. Did you hear about Alderaan?"
Baze nodded, all hints of a smile vanishing from his rugged face.
"Leia is from Alderaan. And apparently, they made her watch."
The big warrior winced. "I like her even more now."
Jyn gave him a half smile, but it held no mirth. "How's Chirrut?"
He sighed heavily. "Still in bacta. Or again. They wanted me to leave him. But I won't. Not again. He's my husband."
She patted his arm, aware it was a little awkward. "I'm sure he'll pull through. It just may take some time."
Baze's dark eyes fixed on her face. "Half his blood was in his abdomen," he told her. "Another few minutes…"
"Don't think about it," Jyn said. "That way lies madness. He's alive. He's getting the help he needs."
"And we're going to be blown up again," Bodhi said from the hallway. He poked his head into the room. "Is this where th-the party is?"
Baze snorted. "Funeral, maybe."
Bodhi entered in a timid, slightly jerky way that reminded Jyn of a bird or a small rodent: eyes darting, motions abrupt. From his repetitions of "I'm the pilot" and his sometimes scattered speech, Jyn suspected that Saw had subjected him to the Bor Gullet. She motioned for him to sit on her bed and she resumed her chair beside Cassian.
"I don't want to distress you," she said slowly. "But I need to know. When Saw and his people captured you, did they… Did Saw use the Bor Gullet?"
Bodhi flinched, eyes going wide, and he brought his hands up to his ears. "I'm the pilot, I'm the pilot."
She stood and went to him. Jyn wasn't a touchy-feely person-except, apparently, with Cassian-but she wrapped her arms around Bodhi.
"It's dead," she told him. "It can't hurt you. Kriff, Bodhi, I'm so sorry. You of all people didn't deserve that."
He let out a shuddering breath and murmured, "I'm the pilot."
"I'm sorry I brought that back," she said softly. "Are you sure you want to join the Rebellion? Not take some time first? You've been through a lot."
Bodhi sighed. "I don't have… anywhere else."
Jyn nodded, and after a moment, so did Baze.
Suddenly, Bodhi blurted, "I didn't think we would make it back."
Glancing at Baze, she met the warrior's gaze. "I know," Jyn said quietly. "I didn't, either. But I'm glad we did."
"Yeah." Bodhi started fidgeting and Jyn let him go, returning to sit by Cassian.
She didn't realise she had taken his hand until Baze said, "I'm glad you and the captain have stopped fighting."
She flushed, but didn't let go of Cassian's hand. "It's complicated," she said, echoing her earlier words to Bodhi.
"Do you… think they'll do it?" Bodhi asked. "Destroy it?"
"Maybe," Baze said.
Jyn resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I choose to have hope."
"I choose to spend what time I have left with Chirrut," Baze grumbled, and lumbered off back to his room.
Bodhi hunched his shoulders. "I don't have … anyone."
Jyn smiled. "You can stay here with me until it's over."
Whether that was in victory or death didn't matter.