Warning: Dead body robbery.
OOO
Han said, "I have a bad feelin' about this."
"Why didn't you say so before?"
"I did say so before. About fifteen times since we left on this cock and bull errand. Ain't my fault you hear only what you wanna hear, kid."
I raised my eyebrows, hands going to my hips. "Then why'd you agree to come with me and help?"
"It's a fine line between comin' to help and comin' to make sure you don't get yourself shot up," Han retorted easily.
"Will you both stop arguing?" Cassian said with cool impatience. "You'll get us noticed."
"And I for one don't fancy an Imperial welcome," added Jyn Erso severely.
"Unfortunately, the likelihood of us getting caught is high," said K2-SO, a reprogrammed Imperial droid in the couple's possession. Much like Leia's administrative droid, C-3PO, K2 enjoyed citing statistics—mostly dire ones about our sure imminent deaths. "Very high," added the droid. "Would you like to know the probability of our imminent demises?"
"Quiet, K," Cassian and Jyn said in sync, like a true married couple. Han's frown etched deeper.
"Quieting now."
Unbelievable, I mused. He and 3PO would get along great…
We stood at the edge of the funeral home on Lah'Mu. Here Galen Erso's body was being embalmed and prepped for shipment to Coruscant. His would be an open-casket with an open-viewing for the Imperial public the day prior to the actual lavish and eventful funeral. So these poor workers felt rather under some pressure to make all perfect for the Imperials coming tomorrow for the body.
We were counting on the effects of said pressure to go our way.
I certainly felt pressure, albeit of a different sort. Dizzy, disgusted at heart, I joined Han in the break-in through the back. Given he had the break-in experience and Cassian and Jyn had the more spy-based expertise, we'd agreed to divvy our tasks with Han and me entering and Cassian and Jyn guarding with K2-SO.
This robbery was necessary. I knew it was necessary. All of this depended on getting the Death Star plans to know the weakness and precisely where to attack when the time came. With Scarif so heavily guarded and us with nothing but a few people on our side, this was the only way to do that. Erso knew it. We all knew it.
But robbing a man's corpse… even with permission… that was incredibly wrong. Incredibly revolting. Point blank. Once again, I found myself faced with another dark task on this path I'd chosen, a dark task meant to serve the light… but nauseating and terrible nonetheless. And how could I balance the two? Doing something so awful for a cause so good? How could I balance the scales and not lose my way in the process?
At least Han had come with us. For all his protestations about coming only to make sure I didn't get into trouble (ridiculous, anyways, like I was no more than five), I knew he was now half-heartedly on board. In the very least, he was giving it a shot. Considering helping.
(Maybe my speeches actually were effective on their recipients.)
Having my best friend by my side gave me enough strength to go on.
Han and I snuck stealthily through the back hallway, which proved dark and badly lit. An advantage. Somehow, and we didn't ask how, Cassian had managed to get blueprints of the building. So, we knew exactly where to head. Down the hall. Turn left. Two rights. Down a flight of stairs… I used the Force to keep any possible run-ins at bay. Thankfully, the place was so poor they didn't have security cameras, so that wasn't an issue, either.
When we arrived at the hall with the door at the end leading to where the body lay, Han nodded to me. "You good, kid?"
Still sickened, I scoffed easily. "Sure I am. People die all the time on Tatooine." I neglected to mention the part where I ran the opposite direction from any corpses I came across, not stopping until I was well away.
Galen Erso lay pale and still, his grip finally and forever on a small flash drive of the Death Star plans given to him by his "friend" and wife's killer, Orson Krennick, who'd visited him shortly before his death. Erso's face was peaceful. His eyes were closed. He was well and gone, now.
Slipping out the alternate, identical drive from my pocket prepared to the late scientist's specifications, I quickly switched the drives, pocketing the Death Star plans. My heart hammered. The hope of the galaxy now sat in my pocket, poking against my leg. I'd just touched a dead man's hand—I was looking at a corpse—we might be able to actually destroy the Death Star now—
I knew I needed to get used to the load of all my responsibilities, and all I now necessarily held on my shoulders. But… it wasn't easy.
"Goodbye," I whispered to Erso, bowing my head to him. "And thank you. You began this." Where it would go… we had yet to see. But he had acted in hope for the sake of us all. That needed to be honored.
With that, I left the man to what I hoped might prove peace within the Force with his wife.
OOO
Though the plan had been for me to head straight back to Tatooine with the plans safely retrieved, I knew I had to make one stop on Alderaan. Namely, I had to have a tough conversation with two people. Soon, all of Alderaan's royal family would head to Coruscant for the funeral—and head into a Gundark's nest of potential dangers for the previously-hunted Padmé.
Truth be told, I didn't particularly look forward to this talk. Soon after my initial burst of hope and happiness, I had realized that Han and Leia may not feel the same way—at least, I suspected that Leia wouldn't. For so long, Leia had expressed relief that her daughter didn't bear the Force-sensitive legacy of us and our progenitor.
Han, too, had always taken comfort in having a daughter "like me". He didn't have to feel uncomfortable and out-of-place when things like "feelings" and "knowings" came up. Padmé was like him.
Princess Padmé Solo wasn't Force-sensitive, to Leia's relief, and Han's pride.
Only she was. And she wielded great power without even knowing it. Great power which put her family and her world and all of our secrets in danger. But the greatest danger… was to her. From without—
And indeed, from within.
OOO
Author's note: Thoughts?
Warm wishes,
Hope
