I was well into my cups when Elya found me. Her features were set in a frown, and she slapped my hands away when I tried to drag her down in my lap. The pilots laughed, especially Bodhi – who I now knew. My little assistant was pissed… Yet, she circled my shoulders with her arms, and the ache that resided within my chest dulled. "Don't make a fuss, Galen. You know it is forbidden to get drunk on the base, I don't want the guards to drag you away to sober up."
Right.
I wasn't such a fun companion right now anyway, so I swayed on my chair, and allowed Elya to drag me up. Unfortunately, my legs had turned to jelly. The lithe woman pushed me back with a hoof as she staggered, and Bodhi's quick reflex was our only saving grace. "Come," he laughed.
And, dragged between them both, I let them lead me away. I wasn't a drinker, not even close. Never had been. Needless to say, that the smallest amount of alcohol got to my brain really, really fast. Anything but to think of Jyn again, anything but that image of my ten-year-old, clinging to a Rebel terrorist for protection. That image was about to destroy me.
Elya and Bodhi's hushed voices barely reached my conscience as I allowed my mind to wander in the stars. But when they dropped me upon her mattress, rolling me to the side, I couldn't help but overhear the short exchange of information. "What happened?" "You can stop looking," she responded grimly. "They found her."
I buried my head in my hands in an attempt to chase that information away; it was useless. Jyn. My beloved stardust. How stupid had I been to think her safe? Stupid booze, my head was pounding as if the Kybers had taken residence inside my skull.
A blissful breeze suddenly drew me from those depressive thoughts, as is someone had just blown upon my nape. My head snapped up, but Elya and Bodhi had not moved from across the fresher. I blinked, taking in the low lights, ready to spiral out of control again.
This time, I heard Lyra's voice shout in my head: 'Not now, you idiot !'. That's it, I was going completely crazy. But as I pondered, I saw that Bodhi was getting ready to leave. And suddenly, a peculiar though popped up, and I pinned the pilot in place with an intense stare. He was from Jedha !
Bodhi Rook froze, like an animal caught, hoping that danger would pass.
"Do you know where those crystals are from, Bodhi, son of Jedha ?"
The lean man blinked his surprise. "Wha… ?"
"The jedha temple. This is where they are from. Vader ordered the Jedha temple destroyed, and we experiment on the Kybers gathered from its ruins."
I couldn't tell him more; it would be too dangerous to risk mentioning a weapon. Any rumour, and the whole base was done for. Beside him, Elya watched me, eyesbrows scrunched in confusion, wondering if I had lost it altogether. The pilot stiffly nodded, then swore under his breath before he left us.
The seed was planted, and I thanked my brain for being able to multitask, even drunk. Would it come to fruition ? I had no idea… only time would tell. Exhausted, I sagged into the mattress, not even bothering to undress. I felt Elya pull those damn shoes off, and loosen my uniform. I was too heavy to even help her. Despite my pitiful state, it took me forever to fall asleep. Elya's caress in my hair was the only thing that kept me from going mad.
All night long, I slumbered, started awake, cried and asked forgiveness to Lyra. I yelled at her in my dreams for abandoning Jyn, for returning to me when she should have been a mother before all ! So much anger, much anguish to dispel. But when morning came, I knew the only, true responsible was Krennic. Orson Krennic, former friend of mine who had just nailed his superiority in my face and thrown my child to the wolves.
So despite the headache and nausea, I woke up with one single purpose; to destroy it all, and return to Jyn. It was time to get to Saw Guerrera and give the plans to the alliance. The Death Star would be destroyed even before it was completed. When, at last a plan of escape started to take shape, I allowed my eyes to open.
The low lights were still on, bathing the room in its eerie gloom. Elya slept like the dead, propped on her shoulder to keep her hand over me. I didn't have the heart to shake her awake; I owed her an apology. She had been my anchor, my lifeline this night. I owed so much to her. I needed her if I wanted this plan to work. Needed her to support me, to challenge me, and to give her perspective in my flawed plans.
For even my mind couldn't foresee the military details that Elya would take into account. She had been on this base before I was, knew its layout better than I did. Its people and its surveillance structure.
So the least I could do was to allow her a little more rest; I had felt her presence, and her lips upon my temple more than once this night. Her long hair sat in disarray, tumbling over her shoulder with stray curls falling on her cheek. I knew, now, that the pale light didn't do them justice. I remembered how her hair shone like fire upon in plain sunshine.
Beautiful.
Now I could only watch the dark circles under her eyes and the unhealthy tone of her complexion. Elya was tired. I lifted a finger, caressing a stray curl. There were very few moments when my mind offered a little reprieve, and getting lost in the contemplation of her face were of those. I loved her, and I was quite sure she returned the feeling…
There wasn't any doubt left at the back of my mind; she wasn't Krennic's pawn anymore, and her affection was genuine. So this escape plan had to be flawless; I couldn't handle losing her either. It took a moment for Elya's breathing to change, but she was alert as soon as she opened her eyes.
"Galen," she breathed. "Are you… all right?"
No. No, no, no! How can I be all right when my little Jyn is lost in the galaxy being shipped on battlefields ?
But she already knew that, so I nodded. The young pursed her lips, her gaze serious. There was no time to beat around the bush, though. That masquerade must end. "Elya … have you found anything more on Krennic's spy ?" She shook her head. "No. Orson was upset when you left, but as tight-lipped as ever. Could be Sahali, or anyone else. I have no idea." And while her mind roamed, once more, the crew – old and new assistants – of our lab, Elya bit her lip.
"Galen… What will happen to our fellow scientists if we make it ?" I couldn't control the grim look I sent her; some would die. There was no way around it … and it affected me. But not as much as it affected Elya who supervised them all day long. Those people were her people now. Her little hand searched for mine, and I squeezed it hard.
"Do you think he would kill them all?" she whispered. "Like the separatist when they handed you over ?" The memory of an officer's uniform flashed before my eyes. Despite my imprisonment for political reasons, Chieftain Gruppe and the people of Vallt had been more than decent, allowing me to remain with Jyn and Lyra after the birth. Our strange truce, turned to friendship, ruined by Krennic's order to eradicate the whole base. I doubt any of them had survived my "retrieval" by my trusted friend. "War is unfair, Elya."
A tear slid down her cheek at the realisation that, maybe, her defection would cause innocents to die. I admired her when no other droplet joined the first. Elya was a strong woman, or lucid, perhaps. Our colleagues were no innocents, even if they did not realise their power. They worked at building a weapon that might eradicate planets. Make an example of one world.
"So what do we do now?", Elya asked. "I have given instruction for improvement to the shaft team", I said. "Officially, to align the energy discharge and allow for closer shots." Elya's delicate eyebrow lifted upon her forehead. "Officiously?"
"It will create a chain reaction", I responded.
Her green eyes flashed with understanding, and I congratulated myself on having won over the most intelligent woman of the empire. It would overload, and then… I had become a terrorist, just like Saw Guerrera. But I didn't plan to stay to ensure my suggestion were applied; many years would pass before the weapon's design would be entirely complete.
In the little months that remained, I would ensure that those new plans be enforced … but it wouldn't come from me. I would have to convince them it was their idea. If not, they would discard it as soon as I deserted. It needed to be sound, look safe, and travel the scale up the ambitious young men I had spent a few evenings with… Flattered, rather, like a despicable manipulator.
I had learnt from Orson … the best I knew. A bittersweet compliment. "So how do we get out of here?", she asked.
"I might have an idea."