AN: Thank you as always to aewgliriel for the Star Wars knowhow.
Chapter 26: Cost and Benefit(Cassian/Lando/Leia)
No mourners, no funerals.
Another way of saying good luck. But it was something more.
A dark wink to the fact that there would be no expensive burials for people like them,
no marble markers to remember their names, no wreaths of myrtle and rose.
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom
It comes on like a switch. Or like a slow gear churning inside Cassian's head. All the bits of Cassian Andor get filed into something compact and he pulls out Jorus Vance from a drawer.
It's almost like wearing a second skin over his own, inhabiting these other people.
It's been years and he's still not entirely sure how to feel about it but he mentally prepares Jorus. Prepares to step into him if need be.
Nadjia said that Dimaar would know they are from the Rebellion but no more than that. He'll pull out Jorus if he needs to. If he needs to become somebody else in order to walk out the door.
They've been lucky so far. With Nadjia's contacts and evading the troopers they've been extremely lucky indeed.
He only hopes it will hold as he watches Bodhi get pushed into the back room.
As he and Nadjia walk to the table he takes in the room.
The Old Steel is a quiet, dimly lit place. There are maybe 10 little tables scattered around, with 3 or 4 longer tables hugging the walls. The bar takes up most of the far wall and the entryway is up a few steps giving the whole bar a feeling that it might be slightly underground.
There are no windows, the only way in or out seems to be that entryway. There's a low murmur of noise from the bar's few occupants and a hum of music playing from a tinny speaker somewhere overhead.
Nadjia picks a table for them towards the back of the room. It's a small rectangle with a chair pulled up to each side of it.
Nadjia sits down at the head of the table so she's facing the door and Cassian sits to her left, facing the bar.
The table looks to be made of old oka-wood that's been worn and scratched during many long years of use. He studies the marks and water stains with a forced interest rather than looking around the room. Better to appear occupied rather than like they're obviously waiting for someone. Nadjia watches the door with a look of boredom and nudges Cassian with her knee beneath the table.
He does not look up but watches from the corner of his eye as three Imperial officers enter the bar and settle at a table in the middle of the room.
Shavit.
They're a strange procession walking through Bespin's now empty halls. Vader ordered the building to be cleared of all unnecessary personnel and Lando obliged because what choice did he have?
Earlier he stood in the carbon freezing chamber as the body of his friend, encased in carbonite was pushed flat on the ground with an ominous clang.
"Well, Calrissian, did he survive?" Vader asked as Lando knelt beside what looked uncomfortably like a stone coffin and studied the readouts.
"Yes, he's alive. And in perfect hibernation," Lando replied, glancing up to study Han's friends. The two girls clustered together and staring down at Han looking like two very different portraits of misery. Chewbacca stood over them both with his paws cuffed and his teeth bared.
Behind him, he heard Vader say, "He's all yours, bounty hunter. Reset the chamber for Skywalker."
And Lando had to bitterly wonder who the kriffing hell is this Skywalker friend of theirs? And what could possibly make him worth all this?
"Skywalker has just landed, my lord," said one of Vader's officers as Lando rose to his feet.
"Good. See to it that he finds his way here," and then Vader walked towards him.
It had been a minute since Lando first met the man, but it still made his skin crawl to be in his presence. Without thinking about it, he took a few steps back towards where Leia, Jyn, and the wookiee stood.
"Calrissian, take the fugitives to my ship."
Lando stared at the dark lord feeling his temper flare.
"You said they'd be left in the city under my supervision," he snapped and Vader took another step closer, looming dangerously.
"I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further," he said before he swept out of the room leaving Lando to consider what his altered plans could look like. His hand flew to his throat, thinking of the girl, Jyn, nearly choking to death only minutes ago.
Now he walks with them and a squad of troopers, heading for Vader's ship like a good little soldier.
It's possible, if they play their cards right, that a betrayal wouldn't blow back on Bespin.
Can it even really be called a betrayal when the Empire goes back on their word constantly?
It's possible, he thinks as he watches the two guards pushing the carbonite slab with his friend down a branching hallway.
It's possible he'll just wind up dead if he does anything more than what he was told.
A lot of things are possible and Lando thinks he's had enough of the Empire's game. He's not particularly in the mood to send Chewbacca and two sad girls to their deaths.
He thinks it's time for his own game of chance.
And then there's the sound of laser fire just down the hall.
Leia turns curiously at the sounds of laser blasts, her skin prickling with a sudden awareness she's not entirely sure about.
She's been holding Jyn's hand since they were marched from the carbon freezing room. Jyn barely even twitched when Leia reached down to clasp her cold fingers. Her eyes are shadowed and tired and Leia can imagine the chaos she's feeling.
Leia's feeling a little chaotic herself.
"I know, me too."
She wants to sob aloud every time she thinks of his face as he was lowered into the chamber. Something loosened in her chest knowing he's alive but it only makes the sting worse as the Imperial guards take him away to Force knows where. He's alive and she can't get to him and it makes her want to scream.
As the sound of fight down the hall quiets, the last laser blasts echoing in a sudden silence, Leia squeezes Jyn's hand and she feels the girl respond in kind.
Something's coming, she can feel it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Lando subtly press a few buttons on the comlink on his wrist.
A few tense minutes pass and Leia can feel something is about to happen. Someone is here.
Suddenly the guards around them start moving faster, herding them towards a lift at the end of the hall. Some of them start firing down a nearby hallway and Leia cranes her head to try and see. She's being forced to move too fast but suddenly it clicks.
It's Luke.
She leans over to Jyn and whispers it.
"Jyn, Luke's here."
"What?"
"He's here, " she whispers through her teeth and Jyn stares at her, nodding slowly.
"We need to warn him," Leia says and Chewie's howling and they're almost at the lift.
"Okay, how?" Jyn asks and as a reply Leia turns, straining against the guards around them.
"Luke, it's a trap."
It's all they can do to shout and Jyn pushes back as well, raising her own voice to shout, "Get out of here, Luke." Her shout still sounds raw like the bruised skin on her throat and Leia keeps trying to fight against the guards. She needs to make sure he hears them. The guards are still shooting but she can't see and returning fire.
"It's a trap!" she shouts, craning her head out of the lift. She sounds desperate and for a moment, she doesn't care.
"Get out!" Jyn yells beside her and they're both dragged into the lift. The doors close, cutting them off, and Leia looks at Jyn, her eyes wide and fearful. Jyn returns the look silently.
Leia's almost positive it wasn't enough. He didn't hear them or he didn't listen and a new fear grips her heart.
Just how many friends is she going to lose today?
Driss brings Cassian and Nadjia each a glass of Corellian ale.
A common drink, and a cheap one at many bars. He's guessing it's what Nadjia usually orders, since they never asked for it.
(They should have ordered at the bar. It's lucky that Driss brought them the drinks; it would have been conspicuous if they sat in the bar, not drinking.)
He takes a measured sip of the ale, knocking it back slowly, but only letting a few drops pass his lips. He can take a few glasses without getting muddied but it's best to pace oneself. They could potentially be here awhile. Nadjia does the same, swallowing hard like the harshness of the alcohol burns her throat and then she grins at him.
This is what people do in bars, they have fun. He smirks back at her, playing along. He sees when her eyes flick away from him to the door but he doesn't turn his head until the chair to his left is pulled and a Bothan in an olive green Imperial uniform sits down at their table.
Cassian looks up to study Dimaar Se'lab. His fur is a reddish brown, his mane and beard have been cropped short enough to add to the appearance of being military. His uniform is that of a lieutenant.
The Imperials at the nearby table all looked up as he walked in. As the Bothan settles at their table, he salutes the other men before facing Nadjia and himself.
Dimaar takes one look at him with a flat expression before turning to Nadjia.
"You didn't say your companion was Cassian Andor, " he murmurs, keeping his voice low and his expression neutral. Nadjia laughs like he just said something very funny before replying just as quietly, "You never asked."
Cassian takes another measured sip of ale so he can school his expression back to calm. When he rests the glass back on the worn down wood he can look up at the Bothan with a lazy smirk. To a bystander it would look like the three of them are enjoying a good drink after a long day's work and they would be half right in that assumption.
"You know this is rapidly becoming more trouble than it's worth," Dimaar says, keeping his posture relaxed and his voice low.
Nadjia leans back in her seat with a catlike smile that contrasts with the sharpness of her words as she replies, "And yet you know full well that if the Empire had a functioning weapon of this magnitude, it would dangerously shift the balance of powers in the galaxy."
Dimaar narrows his eyes at her as he signals Driss for a drink.
"The Empire has been relentless in pursuing the leak, it's taken weeks and I've only just managed to throw them off the scent," the Bothan says through his teeth as Driss comes over with another glass of ale. Dimaar takes the glass with a smooth grin for the barkeep as Nadjia leans forward, resting her hand on her chin. She waves daintily at Driss, who grunts at them before heading back to the bar. Cassian watches him go, taking a chance to glance at the door to the storeroom behind the bar. The little glass window is too warped and tinted to clearly show anything inside but Cassian's fairly sure he can make out the shape of Bodhi staring through the glass.
He grits his teeth a little, thinking he should have told the man not to try and watch. It's lucky that Driss's blue bulk mostly hides the door from view when he's behind the counter.
"I'm guessing this little costume was a part of throwing them off the scene?" Nadjia asks Dimaar, pointing a lazy finger at his uniform.
The Bothan sets down his glass and looks at Nadjia and then Cassian. His expression does not change, but his fur bristles in irritation.
"I was nearly shot three times getting this information out. The Alliance should be making it worth my while," he says and Nadjia grins at him, still resting her chin in her hand.
"And we discussed this," she says with the sort of patience one might apply towards children. "The Alliance can't afford to make it worth your while beyond a few thousand credits, when we both know you could get more on the market. But you can't afford to let the Empire finish a weapon that would allow them to shoot Bothawui out of the sky the moment it suited them."
Dimaar bares his teeth at her for a moment before taking another drink of ale. Cassian suspects he chose this seat intentionally so the Imperials were behind him and would not see his face too well.
Nadjia simply smiles, unfazed by the bared teeth, and lifts up her glass like she's toasting him.
"You Bothans are always so delicate. Being shot at is hardly uncommon these days."
She takes a sip and Cassian raises his brows at her a little, but doesn't say a word. She knows her contact and he's here as backup. But the Bothan growls and Cassian wonders if she's gone too far.
Than he realizes the baring of teeth is actually an almost carnivorous grin and the growl is little more than a rough chuckle.
"Yes, I saw that little display at your hotel today, it wasn't what I would call covert ," he says and Cassian bites back a grimace.
"Well, we were surrounded and you insisted on making us wait an entire extra day," Nadjia says, leaning back in her chair again and crossing her legs. "A girl's gotta make do in a pinch."
"If that was a pinch, I would hate to see you in a real bind," Dimaar replies and now Nadjia grins at him for real, with too many teeth.
"You definitely don't want to see me in a bind," she says, "And stop flirting, you're making Jorus uncomfortable." She jerks her chin at Cassian and the Bothan practically rolls his eyes.
"Call him what you want. You can call him an Ewok for all I care, but his face is on their watchlists. You shouldn't have brought him here."
Nadjia glances at Cassian sidelong and Cassian takes another sip of ale, grabbing at the opportunity to hide his face for just a moment, swallowing down the spike of panic at having their suspicions confirmed.
The ale is cheap and burns its way down his throat. He focuses on that heat for an instant. Focuses on the hum of music and low chatter that's masking their conversation from the few nearby ears. When he looks up, Nadjia is staring at Dimaar, her smile stopped before it reached her eyes. She shakes her head a little and rolls her shoulders, sliding back into that liquid ease and letting her smile smooth over into flirtatious.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed your extra day, now would be a good time to hand us the drive so we can get the hell out here."
"I did enjoy my enjoy my extra day," Dimaar says, his black gloved paw toying with the rim of his glass, "I used it make sure the Bothans weren't wasting their investments by handing over the plans to you."
"We already blew up one Death Star. You were the one who said the Rebellion had the best odds of putting the plans to proper use," Nadjia says with one hand on her glass like she's thinking about either drinking it or smashing it. One pale white finger rubs at the condensation forming on the sides.
"And we both know that you have a copy of the plans back on your ship wherever it is," she adds and Dimaar shrugs.
"We Bothans like to protect our investments―" he begins.
"―You sure do," Nadjia interrupts, sounding a little sardonic as she takes another drink from her glass.
"I was simply weighing the costs and benefits," Dimaar says, leaning back in his seat, still with one hand around his glass.
"And what did you conclude?" Nadjia asks sweetly.
Dimaar shakes his head at her and reaches back into his pocket. Cassian shoots Nadjia a furtive look, unsure if he should have his blaster out and ready to shoot. She gives a little shake of her head and before Dimaar can pull out what Cassian hopes are the plans from his pocket…
"You three look like you're having such fun. Would you mind if we joined you?"
They look up and it's the three Imperial officers standing at their table. The one in the center of them spoke, his smile pale, wide, and far too friendly.
Nadjia replies with a smile that's just as bloodless.
"Why, of course, please have a seat."
They are so karked.
AN: I WROTE SPY STUFF(I mean the impetus for this whole bit was inspired by a flick and I WON'T TELL YOU WHICH ONE YET) but anyway I rather like how this turned out.