A/N: Another in the line of "how they might have met before they met without knowing they met". I have several snippets I've jotted down. Some may appear as brief stand-alones, like this, or they may get incorporated into a longer story. This one didn't seem to be going any further, so here it is. I do have two longer stories in the works, one being a multi-chapter (not sure about the other yet). No telling how long before either makes it to completion, though.
Providence
"Stop right there!"
Cassian froze in place. Blast! He'd almost made it back to his ship, and happening to cross paths unexpectedly with a group of stormtroopers wasn't in his plans. Time to bluff.
"Yes?" he asked, turning toward them and giving his best appearance of being innocent of any wrongdoing.
"He matches the description, sir."
"Where have you been just now? What were you doing?"
"I stopped in a café for food and was just heading home." I'm harmless, I couldn't be the person you want. He sent the thoughts toward them, not really believing he would be that lucky.
"Let's see some ID." The trooper held out his hand expectantly.
"Of course." He was slow and careful as he reached for his scandocs. If he could avoid being shot, maybe he could still get out of this. At least the information was in his head and not in any form they could find on his person.
He had his eyes lowered as he reached for his ID. A small ball went rolling past him, and into the midst of the three stormtroopers facing him. With their helmets, the troopers couldn't see well down or to the side, and they gave no indication of having noticed. It had almost looked like a thermal detonator, but that wouldn't make any sense considering how those devices worked. Even so, the hair on the back of his neck rose, and his muscles tensed, inherently expecting something to happen.
Just then, the device went off behind the troopers. He only had time to register it before it exploded. It was the troopers' armor that protected him from the blast; well, from the worst of the blast. His arm was still peppered with some kind of shrapnel. The remaining troopers forgot about him, instantly hastening to find the attacker, and he remained on the ground, feigning worse injuries than he truly had.
As the troopers stepped away, spreading out to search the nearby areas, a hand snagged his jacket from behind and gave a hard jerk. "Come on!" someone hissed.
He didn't bother to question it. Immediately he was on his feet and scrambling after the other person down a narrow alley. She made several twists and turns as she went, but clearly knew where she was going. After several minutes of running, she came to a stop.
The voice that had spoken was definitely female, but she had a head scarf secured over the lower half of her face so he couldn't get a good look at her. All that was evident were a pair of light green eyes. She looked about to speak, but then her gaze shifted past him and she gave him a shove to the right. "That way."
He could hear the tread of troopers advancing, though they didn't seem to be running in pursuit. Best guess was that she had spotted the troopers before they had spotted the two of them.
At the next pause, he asked, "Who are you? Rebellion?"
She just looked at him and didn't reply.
He persevered. "Why are you helping me?"
Still no response. She moved off again, leaving him to follow. When they neared the town's landing ports, she turned to him. "You're on your own now. Good luck."
Before he could ask any questions, she took off at a run, quickly disappearing from sight. Curious or not, the wisest course was to get off this planet before the stormtroopers found him or shut down flights.
"K, get it fired up. I'll be there in a minute." He tucked the comlink back into his jacket and retreated into the port.
"Any problems?" K-2's hands slid over the controls as he spoke. Cassian dropped into the chair beside him.
"A little, but I got unexpected help."
"Indeed?"
"Not much to tell. Was stopped by some stormtroopers, but this person set off an explosive that drew their attention away from me. Then she led me away from them and took off when I was clear. Didn't get a name or anything."
"Is that why your jacket has holes in the sleeve?"
He glanced down. "Yeah, shrapnel. Don't think it's anything serious though. I'll clean up once we're in hyperspace."
"Well, let us hope such help always appears when you require it."
"Can't argue with that, pal. Can't argue with that."
2-8-18
