Chapter 10: The Victory They Died For

After the heated argument that involved a General being held at gunpoint by a female of lower rank inside the command room, Cassian follows Jyn, where she doesn't stop walking until they were at the end of the hallway. Cassian places his hands on his hips as he watches Jyn calming herself down; he wonders what was going through her mind then, and at the current moment.

"What were you thinking, hm!?" Cassian exclaims, almost shouting. "Do you want to get us killed!?"

"Sorry. I just…still can't get over his death." Jyn finally comes with an answer for him. She paces back and forth in front of Cassian, trying her best to chill her mood.

"Just don't do that again, okay?" Cassian asks more calmly this time. He eyes her, hard. "Understand?"

Jyn nods. "Yes, CAPTAIN."

Cassian smirks and pats Jyn's shoulder before walking past her towards the stairs. "Good girl."

Jyn pauses for a moment. She suddenly remembers something about the young man that they saw in the briefing room earlier. After thinking it over, Jyn turns around to catch up to Cassian at the stairs. "Cassian!" She gets his attention.

"What is it?" Cassian gives Jyn a curious look.

"That man in the desert robes at the briefing room…didn't we see him in a vision?" Jyn asks, looking up at her Captain and scanning every bit of his eyes for a reply.

"Vision?...Wait a minute…" Cassian looks down at the floor, trying to clear his mind and recall the event.

"The vision. Right before we walked out that gold door and continued our lives. That man was in the vision, in the exact place, in the exact situation." Jyn informs.

After realizing what Jyn is trying to imply, Cassian widens his eyes and looks into Jyn's eyes with slight shock. "I-Is….is he the one who will-" He starts to ask.

"Destroy the Death Star?" Jyn finishes for him. There is a long pause between them before Jyn continues the conversation. "I think so. I have the feeling, just as my father has."

Suddenly, a distressed voice announces through the P.A. speakers.

"The Death Star will be in targeting range in approximately one hour. I repeat, the Death Star will be in targeting range in approximately one hour." The announcer informs the entire base.

At that very moment, Jyn & Cassian both look at each other with worried eyes and faces filled with fear. Mon Mothma never mentioned anything about the Death Star on the verge to destroy the Rebel base on Yavin 4. They felt their hearts drop with a bang. They felt as if time had frozen the moment those words from the P.A. speakers lingered through the air and haunted their minds. Realizing that the Death Star had found them yet again, Jyn immediately wraps her arms around Cassian, exerting much force around his torso. Feeling his heart sink in response, Cassian reciprocates the hug by wrapping his arms around her and holding her gently. Since Jyn is a lot shorter than Cassian, to further deepen the hug, Cassian rests his cheek on her head, and Jyn presses her head into Cassian's chest, feeling the warmth of his chest and hearing his smooth steady heartbeats.

They stay embraced like that at the stairwells for a very long minute.

Jyn eventually breaks the silence after feeling tears bursting from her eyes; the tears trickle down her cheeks slowly. "Did my father really do it….to protect me?" Jyn mumbles since she kept her face pressed into Cassian's warm chest. Cassian rubs her head gently in the hug to show some affection to accompany his answer.

"Of course, Jyn." Cassian whispers into her ear.

Hearing his reply, and while still keeping her head pressed into his chest, Jyn reaches for her kyber crystal necklace and holds it firmly in her hand, while her other arm remains wrapped around Cassian. The two Rebels feel the strong emotional bond between them at that moment.

"We're one with the Force, the Force is with us…" Jyn whispers quietly, but her voice sounds trembled, like as if she is about to cry from fear that the Rebel squadron won't be successful in destroying the Death Star. Cassian closes his eyes, and they remained gently embraced in each other's arms.

Were they going to face the face of death again? Will the Rebel squadron be able to destroy their biggest fear in time?

((()))

"The Victory They Died For"

2240 hours

Rebel Alliance

?

The Death Star trenches, Outer Space

"Watch out, watch out! Bogey on your six! Get out of there, Red 2!" Wedge Antilles of the Red Squadron warns out loud through the comms in his X-Wing aircraft fighter.

"The trench is too narrow! I can't-" The Rebel pilot responds in great distress before being shot down by the laser bolts of an Imperial TIE Bomber trailing behind them.

The duo of Rebel pilots, one of which is Wedge, continue to stay in formation, maneuvering swiftly with their quick reflexes through green blaster bolts from Imperial anti-aircraft turrets stationed along the Death Star's trench. The TIE Bomber kept trailing behind them, and it won't be long until the Imperial pilot gets the opportunity to shoot down another Rebel.

"We're only ten miles out! Keep your bearing!" Wedge orders the other pilot while keeping watch on his tracking computer screen.

The Imperial TIE pilot decides to attempt to attack the accompanying Rebel pilot, targeting his X-Wing and releasing the green laser bolts from the TIE Bomber's blaster canons.

Luckily, the Rebel pilot is able to roll his X-Wing repeatedly and dodge the attacks.

"That was close! We can't shake him off our tail, Wedge! We're basically sandwiched!" The Rebel pilot yells out in frustration.

Wedge shakes his head. "It's now or never. The Death Star is closing in on Yavin! We don't have time!"

"Damn it!" The Rebel pilot curses out loud, feeling that the TIE pilot is going to shoot him down any second.

Then, suddenly, out of nowhere, red laser bolts came raining down from above them. Wedge and the other pilot are surprised, as they look up to see another Rebel pilot rescue them from an inevitable attack. He smiles and takes the lead in the three-man formation down the trench.

"I thought you weren't ever going to show up, Red Five!" Wedge comments, chuckling slightly.

"I thought I could use some real target practice this time!" The mysterious Rebel pilot, Red Five, responds with a laugh. "Hey, both of you retreat to the fleet. I've got this."

Wedge frowns. "What!? Are you crazy? There's hundreds of TIEs here!"

"It's okay. Trust me." Red Five says with much confidence.

Wedge hesitates before signaling the third Rebel pilot to break formation and retreat out of the trench. "May the Force be with you, Red Five."

Flying solo in the Death Star's trench, Red Five watches his tracking computer that shows a simulated projection of the trench and the estimated distance remaining to the exhaust port that led to the Death Star's core: the weakness that Galen Erso secretly built in for ease of destruction. Red Five breathes heavily, for he is nervous because he only has two proton torpedoes left loaded in his X-Wing. He begins to sweat from nervousness and anxiety.

And another factor of his nervousness occurs: a TIE bomber with two TIE Interceptors descends from above the trench and trails closely behind Red Five's X-Wing. They were prepared to take him down.

Suddenly, a surprising voice spoke into the Rebel pilot's ears out of nowhere. Realizing who it is, Red Five smiles.

"Use the Force, Luke." The voice advises him.

Thinking about what he has learned and what he has witnessed over the past few days, he agrees with the voice. Red Five decides to deactivate his tracking screen, and instead chooses to fly down the trench using only his eyes.

This sparks a reaction from the command center on Yavin 4. "Red Five, you just switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?"

"Nothing! I'm alright." Red Five responds calmly and concentrates on flying down the trench while maneuvering past anti-aircraft projectiles.

"Hmph…the Force is strong with this one…" The pilot of the TIE Bomber mutters under his breath before attempting to fire at him.

The next thing that happened, was that the two TIE Interceptors were shot down in a flash out of nowhere. The TIE Bomber pilot gets caught off guard and looks around confusingly, wondering where the incoming fire came from.

Descending down to the trench, a Corellian YT-1300 freighter aircraft with the words 'Millennium Falcon' painted on its side, comes in to the rescue and fires a couple of shots at the TIE Bomber. As a result, the TIE Bomber gets slightly damaged and ricochets off one of the walls of the trench and rolls off into space.

"Han!?" Red Five exclaims after watching his pursuer take damage.

"YAAAAAAA-HOOOOOO! You're all clear, kid! Now let's blow this thing up and go home!" The pilot of the Corellian YT-1300 aircraft screams out excitedly before ascending out of the trench to leave Red Five to the task.

Red Five smiles as he and his X-Wing were about a quarter of a mile away from the exhaust port. Taking a deep breath of confidence, the Rebel pilot pushes the red buttons on the control stick, releasing two proton torpedoes from his X-Wing. The projectiles enter the exhaust port…

Upon seeing the proton torpedoes enter down the main shaft, Red Five pulls up quickly to avoid crashing into the dead end, and he ascends high above the entire space station, the Death Star.

"Red Five, what's your status!? Red Five!? Come in, Red Five!" Command inquires through the comms from Yavin 4.

But there is no answer. No answer from any of the Rebels at the Death Star.

There is only silence.

Silence.

Just silence….

((()))

Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, and several officers stand around the central hologram table, staring at the speaker & waiting for any response from the Rebel squadron in outer space. The people in the observatory have just announced that the Death Star was going to be in targeting range in five minutes. They were on the edge of death.

Jyn and Cassian stand with them, with their hands covering some part of their chin, lip, or mouth, indicating that they, too, were waiting for a response from the squadron. Both of them were the most anxious and most frightened out of all the Rebels in the base. Cassian looks over at Jyn, who then crosses one arm underneath the other and grasping her kyber crystal necklace tightly with the other hand. Their hearts were beating rapidly in response to their fear and anxiety of the Death Star's attack.

The silence looms around the room for what seems to be the rest of the five minutes when…

"WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOO! YEEEAAAHHHHH! WE DID IT!" A loud, happy, & excited voice exclaims through the comms radio. It is so loud that it stung the ear drums of everyone listening in the command room. "WE DID IT, BABY! THE DEATH STAR IS LONG GONE! TIME TO GO HOME, FOLKS!"

Mon Mothma, Princess Leia, and everyone else in the command room sighs loudly in what seems to be the greatest relief after they hear the voice of the Corellian YT-1300 freighter's pilot excitedly and loudly announce the good news.

"Death Star is confirmed destroyed. I repeat, Death Star is confirmed destroyed. Mission successful. Returning to base." The leader of the fleet informs the command center through the comms radio.

"We did it!" Princess Leia happily declares, approaching Mon Mothma and embracing her happily in a long hug. All of the other staff in the command room raised their hands in victory and celebrated with smiles on their faces.

But they weren't the only ones celebrating their big victory.

Jyn and Cassian, after hearing the confirmation of the Death Star's destruction, were in shock and awe simultaneously. They didn't know what to think or what to say at the current moment. They couldn't believe what they just heard. Cassian had his hands on both sides of his head in response and his eyes were widened and his mouth was open in awe, and Jyn let the kyber crystal necklace fall back down to her chest after placing her hands on her mouth, indicating that she was in shock and awe as well.

Deep down inside, they felt so happy that they wanted to scream all of the frustrations, worries, and fears out of their chests.

Cassian immediately, but quietly leaves the command room to head down to the main hangar. Noticing him leaving, Jyn follows him quickly without saying a word.

Cassian, now arriving in the hangar with his hand covering his mouth and his other hand placed on his hip, paced around excitedly. He wanted to let go of his fears already, and he wanted to express his joy in any way he could. Luckily, the main hangar was empty, and there was no one around at the moment. He also felt Jyn's presence behind him. He gathers the courage to turn around and find Jyn with a smile on her face.

"Jyn, we did it!" Cassian exclaims happily.

Jyn nods and grins so very happily. "Yes!"

"Now our mission is complete! Your father's plan worked!" Cassian tells Jyn with much enthusiasm, and he steps closer to her. Cassian places his hands on Jyn's hips, and Jyn places her hands on his shoulders. The two of them smile happily into each other's eyes like as if they were communicating silently through their minds.

"We did it, Cassian…We did it…" Jyn now says softly in a quieter voice.

"Chirrut…Baze….K-2….Bodhi….they didn't die for nothing. They didn't die in vain." Cassian tells her in a quiet, calm voice. He strokes her brunette hair gently.

Jyn nods, agreeing with Cassian, and tears begin to burst from her eyes. "This is the moment we sacrificed our own lives for…and we did it, Cassian. We did it…" Jyn says to him before eventually releasing her cries. She lets her head rest on Cassian's warm chest, and she also lets the tears fall down her cheeks. Her arms then wrap around Cassian in a gentle hug.

Cassian nods and returns the hug, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her closer to his chest. He feels so warm with her. He felt that they were heroes for the Rebellion, and the trillions of innocent lives around the galaxy. Seeing his Stardust so happy and victorious made tears appear in his brown eyes.

The two Rebels immediately take the moment to look each other in the eye for a very long minute. They admire each other's beauty and each other's happiness. This was their moment now.

Jyn cries more tears from the happiness that she is feeling deep in her heart, and this now causes tears to release from his eyes as well.

"Now we're free.…mission accomplished. Jyn…" Cassian says in a small whisper that is almost inaudible. He whispered Jyn's name after he says that because he clearly sees that Jyn has begun crying more intensely and has begun to hyperventilate: her breaths stutter in between small gasps of air in conjunction with her crying.

Cassian felt Jyn's pain. It was the pain of finally becoming truly happy and feeling free from the reign of terror after such great efforts, and it was a good kind of pain, a different kind of pain.

"Cassian…." Jyn mumbles. Her cries cause her to hyperventilate before continuing. "….w-we did it….f-for t-them…for Rogue One, Cassian…" Jyn says while looking up into Cassian's brown eyes with tears flooding her green eyes and tears trickling down her face. She hyperventilates while waiting for his response.

"Always….for Rogue One…" Cassian declares tearfully before pinning Jyn against a large stack of metal crates.

Surprised, Jyn lets her arms pin against the tall metal crates by Cassian's hands. In a split second, Cassian kisses Jyn's lips repeatedly and so very passionately like as if there is no tomorrow. The two gasp for air and moan slightly in between kisses.

"I-I'm sorry….I'm sorry f-for….everything…." Jyn mumbles while kissing, crying, & hyperventilating.

"Me too…" Cassian answers back at Jyn while returning her kisses. "I love you….I love you…." Cassian declares in between kisses. "….I love you so much….I love you, I love you, I deeply love you…."

Jyn closes her eyes and reciprocates every kiss on the lips that Cassian places on her, while allowing her tears to trail down her cheeks. "I love you…" Jyn happily declares.

They decide to deepen their passionate moment and take it further: Cassian slowly removes his brown jacket while kissing Jyn's soft wet lips, exposing himself in his white short-sleeve shirt. Jyn does the same by slowly stripping off her jacket, revealing her white tank top. Cassian places his hands on her upper arms and rubs them gently as he kisses his female Rebel against the metal crates in the hangar. The two cry tears as they kiss, and it is such a beautiful moment.

After kissing for who knows how long, Jyn begins to cry even harder. Everything was overwhelming her: the victory, their four deceased best friends, the fears and worries being released, the memories of their mission in Scarif being released from her mind, and their special moment of making their love to each other. The moment was a sign: a sign with love written all over it with the letters Cassian Andor and Jyn Erso engraved in it. It was their perfect moment of peace.

"C-Cassian…" Jyn whimpers tearfully.

Jyn back begins to slide against the metal crate, because she was sliding down to the floor. She wanted to give out, but she couldn't. Her love for Cassian kept her alive in the moment.

Jyn and Cassian both slide down against the metal crate and onto the floor, so that the both of them are now sitting on the cold solid floor of the main hangar against the metal crate. The two Rogue One members continue to kiss each other's soft lips, cry tears, and repeat the words 'I love you…so much' softly to each other. The twenty-seven year-old Captain/Intelligence Officer and the twenty-one year-old Sergeant just couldn't get enough of each other.

After about five minutes, they stop kissing, and instead embrace each other. With Cassian sitting next to Jyn, he wraps both arms around her and rests his head on her head, and Jyn rests her head on his shoulder. Their tears still flow down their faces, and they both hyperventilate from their never-ending cries. They keep their eyes closed. They embrace each other because they so truly deserve their moment. They deserved it since the beginning. It was as if the Force meant to bring them together.

Jyn and Cassian's moment was so special, because it honored Rogue One. They did everything for Rogue One. They risked everything, but it led to greater reward. They fought bravely in the end they thought was survivable, and their result was triumph, true victory. It was truly a joyful moment for Jyn and Cassian. The destruction of the very space station of the plans that they sadly & inevitably sacrificed their lives to send was the moment that they waited to bask in victory. It was for Rogue One. It was for Jyn's parents. It was for Cassian's parents. It was for the Rebels that assisted them and died on Scarif. It was for the Rebellion. It was for the people of the galaxy.

It was for everything.

That is what Jyn & Cassian happily died for, and were willing to live for again.