Chapter 4

All things considered, his room was at least as good as what he had as a stormtrooper, and he wasn't having to share the space with nineteen other troopers. The food wasn't much better here, though. The truth was, he was bored. He'd been here nearly a week and they had put him to work doing a few odd jobs, but always with a guard. He hadn't seen the KX unit since they arrived. Droids weren't exactly what you could call friends, but right now he was about the closest thing TG-1243 had. Correction – that 'Tag' had. The droid had been adamant that his designation was not an appropriate name for a former stormtrooper, and had chosen Tag to replace it. He was okay with that. It felt less impersonal than a designation number anyway.

Voices outside drew his attention. "Can I talk to him?"

A moment later, and a man stepped in. They eyed one another carefully. Tag's entire body was tense. This man didn't look like someone who could decide his fate, but looks might be deceiving.

"I'm Bodhi," he said, taking a seat and gesturing for Tag to sit also. "K tells me that you are interested in being a tech."

He nodded warily. K? That must be what they called the droid. He had always used the full designation of K-2SO.

Bodhi leaned back in the chair and smiled slightly. "Did you intend to defect or did it just sort of happen that way?"

He considered the question, then shrugged. "I wasn't looking to do it. But the droid, K-2SO, persuaded me it might be worthwhile."

"So, you still aren't really sure you want to be here then."

At least the comment was said without judgement, no threat behind it. Tag rubbed his face. "I don't know. Everything happened so fast. What the droid said made sense and the next thing I knew we were on a ship and flying away from Scarif." He paused, then asked, "Is it true? Did the Empire really build that…that planet-killer?"

Bodhi nodded. "If you had stayed any longer, you'd be dead now. Some others and I just barely managed to escape the blast."

"But why? Why would the Empire destroy its own base?"

"Because Rebels were attacking it, and I think they realized we were after the Death Star plans. They didn't want to risk those falling into our hands, so they destroyed the archives to prevent it. Along with a whole lot of their own people. The expendable ones, like stormtroopers."

Tag's jaw tightened at that comment. "What would you know about it?"

"A great deal. I was expendable once, too. I was an Imperial cargo shuttle pilot before I joined the Alliance. They treated us pretty much the same as they do stormtroopers. Use us up and throw us away."

"You…you defected?"

"Yes, less than a month ago. I'm the one who alerted the Alliance that the Empire was building the Death Star, and brought word that there was a flaw that could be exploited. That's why we needed the plans on Scarif – so it could be destroyed."

"Did you? Did you destroy it?"

Bodhi nodded. "Just a couple of days ago. Our fighters were able to use the weakness and now it's gone. Only trouble is, the Empire knows where we are so we're in the process of evacuating."

"Yeah, I kind of heard about that. They've been having me do some work without saying why, but I heard others talking and figured it out."

"What is it that you want to do now? You weren't planning to defect, but you have. Going back isn't an option – they'd consider you a deserter or a traitor and kill you. What are you hoping to do now?"

Tag shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't plan this, I didn't expect this and I have no idea what to do now."

"You listened to K enough to leave the Empire. Did you listen enough to want to join the Rebellion?"

Tag met his gaze for several seconds before shifting to look at the wall instead. "Is joining even possible? I don't get the impression they trust me."

"They don't. Why would they? You haven't yet given them reason to think you're here willingly, by choice, and that you want to stay and contribute to the Cause. So far as they know, K just managed to somehow force you to help him."

"He talked about freedom. And choice. I'd really like to have a choice about what I do."

"Yes, but that doesn't answer whether you want to be part of the Rebellion or not, as part of that choice. They won't just kill you outright. If you didn't want to help, and knowing you couldn't go back, they'd probably be willing to drop you on some planet and let you make your own way from there on. If that's what you want."

"You stayed."

"I became a pilot when I was younger. I didn't think much about working for the Empire. They were hiring and they paid, and I needed the money to help support my family. It wasn't until I had become part of it that I began to see things that weren't right. And then I saw what they did to my home, Jedha. People were killed, they lived in fear, the temple was destroyed and the city was being gutted of anything of value. But by the time I realized all that, there didn't seem to be any way out." He sighed and looked down at his clasped hands. "Lucky for me, I met someone who helped me see differently. Who helped me realize that if I was brave enough and willing to act on what I believed, I could begin to make things right." His eyes flicked up. "I didn't act soon enough to prevent the Empire from destroying my home of Jedha City with their Death Star. I watched it happen and could do nothing. But I'm fighting now."

Bodhi glanced at a wall chronometer. "We'll talk again. I need to get back to work. Think about what I've said, about what you want." He stood, then clasped the other man's shoulder and smiled encouragingly before exiting the room.

xxxxx

"What? No, I want to go with Cassian!" Jyn didn't know why she hadn't expected Draven to pull something like this.

"The Alliance has greater needs than what you want, Miss Erso! You will be of more use elsewhere, not on the medical frigate! They can give you periodic updates on Andor's condition," Draven snapped.

She crossed her arms speculatively. "Then I want K-2 with me wherever you assign me."

Draven's eyes narrowed. "Why? What does that droid have to do with anything?"

"Sir, if I may," Melshi interjected, and Draven gave him a nod to continue. "Everyone knows K-2 really belongs to Captain Andor. He won't take well to being separated from him – K's allegiance to the Rebellion is tied to his allegiance to Andor. If he stays near Sergeant Erso, he might prove more cooperative, since she could share the updates on the Captain's condition with the droid."

Draven considered a moment, then nodded. "Very well, arrange it, Sergeant. The last thing I need to deal with right now is that troublesome droid. And you, Erso, make sure he keeps working. He'll be your responsibility."

"Yes, sir." A small victory, but she'd take it. Hopefully K-2 would not find the arrangement objectionable.

She didn't see the droid for several hours. "K, you and I are assigned to the tech frigate. We ship out the day after tomorrow, 1300 hours."

K's receptors studied her. "Why would we both be assigned on that ship? I can see why I might be, but I have not observed that you are particularly tech oriented."

She grinned. "No, but I am Cassian oriented. Since they won't let either of us go aboard the medical ship, I'll be able to get information about him and can make sure you hear it. If they separate us, they won't think to tell you anything, any more than they thought to tell you when we were rescued from Scarif by Luke. I have enough tech knowledge to make this reasonable."

K's processors whirred. "Your reasoning is sound. This is acceptable."

"Good. I know you don't like being apart from him; neither do I. But until we find a new base, I don't think we'll be able to accomplish that. For now, this is the best I could come up with. And, if necessary, between the two of us I'm sure we'll figure a way to get to him if we have to…"

"I can see why General Draven is not fond of you, Jyn Erso. You have a blatant disregard for following orders." He turned back to his work, before adding, "Perhaps that is why I am beginning to like you."

xxx

"Where did you guys get assigned?" Jyn looked at the two Guardians questioningly.

Baze gave a small smile. "Chirrut is still 'recovering' from his injuries and so is on the medical ship. So am I, seeing as how they can't tell us what to do. We stay together. End of discussion."

She grinned. "Good. And now I have a direct source of information on Cassian…"

"Do not worry, Jyn," Chirrut assured her. "We will keep a close eye on the Captain for you, and fill him in on all that has happened since Scarif."

"I heard K-2 will be going with you."

She looked back to Baze and nodded. "I knew I didn't stand much of a chance arguing with Draven to let me on the medical frigate, but Melshi helped persuade him to send K with me. To keep K out of trouble and cooperating, as though that's possible. But I didn't want them sending him off who knows where and then never telling him anything. It isn't fair to do that to him, even if he is just a droid to them."

They all fell silent for several minutes and then Jyn observed, "They'll waste us. Draven still doesn't want to acknowledge that what Rogue One did was necessary and he certainly doesn't like me, so he'll waste all of us on petty work that anyone could do. Most of us have specialized skills that could be put to better use."

"Do not be so certain of that, Jyn. General Draven may not appreciate you, but others do and they will prevail upon him eventually. The Alliance suffered many losses despite this victory. They cannot afford to waste you for long," Chirrut said.

"I'm just worried…"

"Worried that they won't let you see Captain Andor again?"

For all Baze's lack of conversation, what little he did say was usually to the point. She nodded. "I'm sure Draven is using this evacuation as an excuse to separate us, and if he has his say about it, we'll stay that way."

"That presumes that the Captain will not object when he is recovered," Chirrut pointed out. "Do not underestimate his tenacity in accomplishing his purpose." A slight smile played around his mouth, and Jyn couldn't keep from responding with a grin of her own.

"There is that. Draven might not like it, but Cassian has 'skills' that let him get what he wants. And he knows how to work Draven."

xxxxx

Jyn didn't have a lot to pack. Most of what they'd given her prior to Scarif was gone now. She had managed to retain little more than the clothes on her back from that. The quartermaster had given her another satchel and two changes of clothes, along with some personal hygiene items, a jacket and he'd even scrounged another scarf for her. Still, looking at the small pile spread on Cassian's bed, it was more than she usually had.

Cassian's pack wasn't much larger. He'd lost that vest he was so fond of when the shuttle blew up on Scarif, along with his uniform jacket. Despite that, his favorite blue parka and a leather jacket were the largest things in the pack. She was going to let him request whatever else he wanted himself, rather than do it for him. He would need things wherever he was, and no telling when she might be able to return his possessions to him. There was no point in her toting around things he needed.

A knock at the door surprised her. She had left her three companions less than an hour ago, with no plans to see each other right away. She opened it to find Melshi standing there. For a moment, they just stared at one another.

Finally, he cleared his throat. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." She stepped aside to let him enter and then closed the door behind him. He settled into the one chair, so she perched on the side of the bed.

He looked over the piles on the bed then commented, "You're packing Andor's things?"

She nodded. "With the evacuation and him still unconscious, I thought it better than making the medical staff have to keep track of his bag."

Melshi nodded in agreement, then cleared his throat again. "I was able to read some of your file, only a shortened version. Tell me about yourself. I know you can fight in hand-to-hand combat, but if you were with Saw Gerrera, I suspect you know a whole lot more."

Her brow wrinkled at the question, unsure why he might be asking. Still, she had no reason to hide her past or her skills, at least not here or from him. She gave him a brief rundown of her best skills and even the ones she was less good at, letting him ask questions if he wanted clarification of anything. When she finished, he sat in silence. At length, too curious not to ask, she pressed back with her own question. "What's this about? Why do you want to know about all that?"

He shoved to his feet, his hands behind his back. "It could be…useful. No promises, but I may try to make use of your skills when appropriate." He met her eyes. "We lost a lot of talent on Scarif and the fight's not over. I'll need to fill in with whatever I can find."

She slowly rose, but gave him a nod of understanding. "You know where to find me if I can help."

"Yeah." He turned without another word and left.

For several seconds she stared at the closed door, but then a smile crept over her face. Chirrut was right – Draven wasn't going to be able to ignore her forever; there were some who valued what she could offer.

xxxx

"Little sister, are you there?"

"I'm here, Baze. I heard from Bodhi four days ago. He couldn't tell me where he was, but said he was well. Said to tell you two hello for him. What's the news from your part of space?"

"Nothing much has changed here, though there is someone who would like a word with you. Hold on."

Her heart lurched. Could it be Cassian? Awake? She tried to tamp down the rising hope for fear of disappointment.

"Jyn?" His voice was weak, but she would recognize it no matter what.

"I'm here. How are you? Finally awake, I guess."

"Yeah, finally. I'm…I'm getting there. The doctor says it will take time to regain my strength and for the ribs to finish mending. Overall I'm in pretty good shape, though."

"I'm glad." That didn't even begin to describe what she was feeling, but at the moment she couldn't find the words to be any clearer. "Uh, did Baze and Chirrut tell you the really good news?"

"About K? Yeah. They told me. I still can't believe I'm not dreaming."

"It's no dream. He's here with me and just as outspoken as ever, but we've learned to tolerate each other fairly well. Just so long as we don't spend too much time together."

He chuckled softly, but it led into a coughing fit for several seconds and she could hear Baze encouraging him to take a sip of water. Finally, he came back on the line. "Take care of him for me, will you?"

"You know it. Oh, and I have your stuff, too. I cleaned out your room and kept everything with me so it wouldn't get lost while you were out of it in the medbay."

"Thanks." His voice was sounding weaker and breathier.

"You should rest, it sounds like, but have Baze call again tonight – say four hours from now, if possible. I'll try to have K with me so you can speak with him."

"That sounds great," he murmured.

Then Baze was back on the line. "We're losing him, so I guess that's it for now. Four hours. I may have to wake him up – the doctors won't like that."

"Then they'll have to not like it. He needs to talk to K, if he can't see him. Just for a couple of minutes. It will do them both good. Thanks, Baze."

"No problem. Stay safe."

"You, too. Hello to Chirrut for me."

"Hello back," a voice called in the background, and she laughed.

"Four hours," Baze reiterated, closing the line.

She stood there smiling, until a sudden thought crossed her mind. Maybe… She took off for her quarters. It took a couple of minutes of searching to find where she had put it, but buried among Cassian's things was a comlink. Hopefully, it would connect her to K, wherever he happened to be just now.

"K? K, are you there?"

When the silence stretched on, she almost gave up but decided on one more try first. Before she could, however, a tentative voice was heard. "Jyn?"

"Yeah, K, it's me." Success!

"What are you doing with Cassian's comlink that is set to my secure frequency?"

An eyebrow quirked in surprise; she hadn't known that. "I found it among his things when I packed up his room. I was hoping it would connect me to you. Anyway, nevermind that – I just spoke to Cassian. He's finally awake, sort of. Still has a lot of recovering to do, but it's a start. Baze is going to contact me again in four hours. Make sure you find me then so you can talk to him, okay?"

"Understood." There was a pause and then, "Thank you, Jyn Erso."

She smiled. "Any time, K."

xxxxx

"K, is that your stormtrooper? What was his name?"

K-2 turned his receptors in the direction she was looking. "Affirmative. They are only given designations. However, now he is called Tag."

"Tag?"

"His designation was TG-1243. I thought it would be problematic if he should continue to go by that on a Rebel base."

"Ah. Come on, then, you can introduce me." She strolled toward where the man sat alone. "Okay if I sit here?" She plunked her tray down, not waiting for a response.

He blinked at her in surprise as K-2 droned, "Tag, this is Jyn Erso. Jyn, this is former stormtrooper Tag."

"Good to meet you, Tag. Oh, and thanks for helping K get off Scarif. K and I have a mutual friend and once he's recovered, I'm sure he'll want to thank you himself." She added quietly, "We thought we'd lost the big guy."

"I don't get it. Why is everyone friends with a droid?"

She chuckled. "He grows on you. Some droids just have a unique personality."

"Are you referring to me? Droids do not have 'personalities', they have programming."

She looked up at him. "Trust me, K, you have personality. Just ask Cassian when he's awake. I'll agree that not all droids do – most don't – but you certainly do, and I've seen a few others in my life." She started eating.

"Why are you sitting here?" It was probably rude to ask, but Tag really wanted to know.

"Would you rather I didn't?" After a moment, he shook his head. She resumed eating, but told him, "I know what it's like to be an outsider. A lot of these people probably don't think I belong here either."

"What do you mean?"

"Ever hear of the Partisans? Saw Gerrera?" He nodded. "I used to be part of that group for a lot of years. Then more recently I've been on my own, a criminal as far as the Empire is concerned; Rebels too, I guess. That's how I ended up on Wobani."

"You were imprisoned on Wobani?" He'd heard of the place – the hind-end of the galaxy, where criminals were sent to disappear and never be heard from again. They gave 'sentences', but he'd never heard of anyone finishing their time and leaving Wobani. "How is it you're not there now?"

She looked up and grinned. "My particular talents were needed elsewhere, so someone came to get me."

"Erso. Isn't there an Imperial scientist or something by that name? I think I heard his name on Scarif a couple of times."

She stiffened, then forced herself to relax. "There was. He's dead now." Her eyes came up to meet his. "He helped build the Death Star, and then he helped to destroy it. That's why we came to Scarif – to get the plans enabling us to exploit the weakness he had built into that monstrosity. My father wasn't given a choice about helping the Empire, so he took his revenge the only way he could."

Tag swallowed hard. "Your…father?" He hesitated. "Ummm, how is it he worked for the Empire, but you were with the Partisans?"

"When the Empire pressed him into service the second time, they killed my mother for trying to interfere. But my parents had anticipated being found, so they had a place for me to hide. When the Imps couldn't find me, they left me there and took my father. I was eight years old."

Tag dropped his gaze to his plate, ashamed, even though he had nothing to do with any of what she had just said. He had been part of the Empire, served them. He had been involved in other instances where people were killed or families torn apart. And always he just kept following his orders. He had told himself it was necessary for him to do so, that it was necessary for the greater good, that there was nothing he could do to change any of what he witnessed, but now he wasn't so sure that was true. These people, these Rebels, were fighting and dying in the belief that they could make a difference, that they could make things better for everyone.

"You're here now. Why wouldn't they trust you?" It felt like he was looking at a giant puzzle, but important pieces were missing.

"I went to Scarif. I helped get the Death Star plans so it could be defeated, but I'm not officially part of the Alliance." She considered briefly and said, "I guess I should probably do something about that."

She shrugged, taking another bite and swallowing before continuing. "Anyway, they need to be sure they can trust you. By now you've seen the lies and tricks that are played to gain advantage. It happens in the Empire and elsewhere. They don't want to welcome a 'friend' only to find a knife in their backs. You – both of us –," she waved her fork back and forth between them, "have to give them a reason to believe we're on the same side, that we'll stand and fight when it gets bad, not just run for cover and sell them out to save ourselves."

"Not sure what the point of me being here is if they don't trust me. What use am I? I've moved a few containers around, packed or loaded up some equipment, but that's all."

"K says you did a good job getting him back online, and doing the tech stuff required to transfer him to an undamaged body. You have tech training?"

Tag shrugged, slouching in his seat. He'd been surprised how often he did that, now that he wasn't wearing armor that precluded it. "Not much. I mostly taught myself, and the techs showed me some things since I was willing to help them. Those designated to be stormtroopers don't need to have that kind of knowledge."

Jyn noted the bitterness in his tone. "You were designated a stormtrooper – you aren't now. And I didn't ask what you needed to know."

He lifted his chin in challenge and straightened. "I always wanted to be a tech. I just…I never got the chance."

Jyn washed down her last bite with the dregs of her caf. "Well, guess we'll have to change that, won't we." She stood and gave him a nod, walking away and leaving him to his own thoughts.

K-2 stood also but lingered, and Tag looked up at him. "You will find that Jyn Erso is not much concerned with what others think of her, or even with what they want her to do. It would appear she has decided to champion your cause, and you could not find a more determined ally."

xxx

Since they'd been aboard the ship, Tag had even less to do than before. At least on the base, they were working on their evacuation and an extra pair of hands could always be put to use. That wasn't the case here. He didn't know how he came to be on the tech frigate, but it was frustrating to be here and unable to do anything.

"Hey you, Tag. Follow me."

He blinked and stood. His current guard waited expectantly and he hastened to go with the man. They made their way to the lower levels of the ship where droids in various states of functionality filled the area. His guard signaled for him to wait by the door and went to speak to someone.

Tag used the time to peruse the room. It wasn't that much different than the tech bays he'd been in with the Empire, learning whatever he could. The room put an itching in his fingers, the urge to bury his hands in grease and wiring and parts.

He suddenly realized that his guard was signaling him over. "This is him. Name's Tag. The stormtrooper that came back with K-2SO." The other man made a sour face at the mention of K's name. Evidently he was acquainted with the KX unit. "This is Sergeant Daster. He oversees the repair shop. You'll stay here and work with him." With that introduction, he turned and left.

Sergeant Daster looked him up and down. "So, young'un, what can you do? They say you know something about tech work."

"Uh, mostly just small stuff. The Imperial—" He stopped, not sure he should mention that connection, but Daster didn't even blink. "Well, I'd go to the tech shop after hours sometimes and they taught me a few things. And I read what I could get my hands on."

"Yeah, okay. We'll start you on something simple, then. See how you do with that." He turned toward a pile of parts, crooking a finger for Tag to follow, and soon had him settled reattaching limbs to various droids.

To be continued…

invented characters:

Sergeant Daster – head of the tech shop on the tech frigate

Dr Lesorid – kind doctor caring for Cassian

All other characters actually are taken from the existing Star Wars universe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ch 4 note: I originally was going to give the stormtrooper the name of 'Tig' (a riff on the TG, like Finn came from FN), but back in the original Star Wars days, a friend of mine wrote a few comics (for Dark Horse). His title characters were Tag and Bink, two hapless rebels that disguised themselves as stormtroopers to get out of a jam and blundered from one mishap to another. Once I remembered that, I just couldn't use any other name than 'Tag' for this guy (though there is no other connection to the original character).

Ch 4 note: I couldn't find a date when the Jedha Temple was destroyed by the Empire. So, for my purposes here, I have it happening after Bodhi has already joined the Empire. Since Bodhi was born 25 BBY, if he joined them at 17 that would be 8 BBY. At that time, Jyn would be 13, making this five years after her mother was killed and her father taken. I am assuming the need for kyber came later in the Death Star construction, so the Empire hadn't begun stripping the Temple just yet to meet their need.