This chapter might have taken longer than I had hoped and it might have gotten away from me a little bit there at the end. I think I've got it going in a good direction for the next chapter and beyond, though! Also, random thought (and thinnest graspable straw ever) of the day for those of us that are still bummed that Jyn (and Cass, I guess) didn't make it out of Rogue One alive, this is a universe where, canonically, Darth Maul survived getting chopped in half and falling down a bottomless pit and Boba Fett (canonically? I can't remember with all of the EU Legends business that happened) survived getting eaten alive by the Sarlacc, so Jyn could definitely (probably not, but maybe) still be alive! Anyways, I hope y'all like this chapter! Thanks for all the feedback for the first chapter!

Jyn found herself back in her old room on Coruscant, peeking through her door at the scene in their living room. The man in white was speaking to papa, she couldn't see mother, she was probably in the kitchen fixing drinks for the three of them. Jyn didn't want to go out, the man in white appeared to be saying something important, but she couldn't help it. She slipped past her door and tiptoed closer to papa.

Once again, papa spotted her before she could hear anything and, once again, he swooped her into her arms and said those sweet words that he had said a thousand times to her. He walked her back to her room, the shadow from her doorframe covering his face for only a second. When he passed back into the light, though, it wasn't papa carrying her and she wasn't a little girl. Cass was carrying her now, he looked distressed and his breath was coming in a ragged cadence. Jyn could hear explosions and blaster fire in the background, there could have also been screams but she couldn't tell.

The U-wing they had been using came into view and Cassian set her down. She didn't remember getting wounded but she couldn't stand up. The others walked up to her then, Baze and Chirrut and Bodhi. She could hear Kaytoo in the background, "Tell her she needs to get up already, we haven't much time."

"Would you calm down Kaytoo, she needs some time!" Cass shouted back. The explosions that continued to grow closer told her that Kaytoo was probably right. "We need to go soon, though, Jyn. You need to get up."

Bodhi and Chirrut offered to help her up and she accepted their outstretched hands. Baze moved to stand guard and Cass ran over to the U-wing to help Kaytoo finish his preparations. The thuds from the explosions grew closer, louder, rattled her bones. Jyn instinctively shouted out at Cass, he turned around just in time for her to see his face when the starfighter behind him blossomed into flame, throwing her against a tree trunk meters behind her.

Jyn startled from her seat, the control panel in front of her blacked out except for a single blinking red light. She had no idea how long she had been out but they had slipped out of hyperspace at some point. The blackness of space spread in front of her, pricked with the bright white lights of stars untold millions of lightyears away from them.

The ship shuddered around her as something took hold of the shuttle. Jyn shot from her seat, the adrenaline pumping out any of the sleep that had been lingering in her system. Could the Empire have found them already? Cass had told her that he had set coordinates for a backwater system not affiliated to either the Rebellion or the Empire but that didn't mean that they hadn't run into an Imperial patrol. She had had worse luck before.

She raced for the weapons locker and grabbed a blaster rifle. If these were Imperials, the E-11 wouldn't be of much use but she found herself determined to take a few of them with her. Jyn threw the rifle around her shoulder and rushed over to Cassian, still knocked out where she had left him. With some effort, she dragged the unconscious Rebel intelligence officer behind a crate. It wouldn't offer him a lot of protection, but it was all that she could manage. The shuttle settled down onto whatever had grabbed it and Jyn took position behind some cargo near the ramp. She folded the stock back and waited, sighting the ramp.

Within seconds of the shuttle coming to halt a strong grinding sound erupted in front of Jyn. Her eyes darted to the ramp's controls, she hadn't remembered to jam them. Not the Empire, then. Whoever it was didn't have the means to open the ramp normally. Maybe pirates. Possibly smugglers or salvagers. She could deal with smugglers and salvagers, pirates were a bit trickier. They were making quick progress on the ramp, this lot wasn't worried about being gentle.

The ramp wrenched open in short order and she could hear a mixture of different voices speaking basic and a few more alien languages. She figured there were at least four different people at the bottom of the ramp, maybe as many as six. She couldn't let them all come up the ramp at once, she was a good shot but those odds weren't great and the chances of Cass getting hit in the crossfire were too great. She fired a shot over the entrance to the ship.

The voices at the bottom of the ramp stopped and then there was a torrent of murmurs. What if they had grenades? If they were trying to scrap the shuttle for anything of value, a grenade up the ramp would make a mess of plenty of expensive equipment. Hopefully, they knew that. The murmurs stopped and a gruff voice came up, "Imperial?"

So they were going to try and talk her down, a lot preferable to a thermal detonator up the hatch. She could talk with the best of them, she just had to hope that they weren't just buying time while they looked for a hatch to come up behind her. She knew enough about the T-4 to recognize it and it turned out to be fool-proof enough for her to manage the ship while Cass was down for the count, but she didn't know anything about possible escape hatches. It was best to get on with it, then, "Not Imperial."

The gruff voice mumbled incoherently down the ramp before responding, "So it's stolen, huh? Not too many groups out there dumb enough to steal an Imperial shuttle without a plan."

She didn't hear any footsteps coming up the ramp yet, at least. This crew was being cautious, not spoiling for a fight. That likely ruled out pirates. She had worked with pirates before and could count on one hand the number of crews she knew that wouldn't rush up the ramp the second her first shot rang out. Still, best to keep her wits about her, "Who said I don't have a plan?"

The gruff voice laughed at that, quickly followed by the other voices around it, "The fact that you're sitting in my cargo bay right now tells me you don't have a plan. So you're a rebel?" It was less a question as much as it was a statement. She couldn't quite tell if she heard admiration or disdain in the tone of it. She could only hope for admiration.

"Maybe," she felt the word in her mouth as she spoke it. "Maybe not. How likely are you to try and blast some rebels in your cargo hold?"

The laugh came back up the ramp. That couldn't be a bad sign, could it? Every second that they didn't rush up the ramp made her and Cassian's survival more likely but the answer to this particular question would go a long way to easing her concerns. The leader called up, "No friend of the Empire on this ship, at least."

She let out a breath that she hadn't realized she was holding. Her grip on the blaster rifle loosened a fraction but she remained alert. There was still a long way to go before they were in the clear.

"Any chance you could tell me who I'm dealing with?" asked Jyn. "Not to pry, but it might help ease our negotiations a bit."

"Negotiations is it? I thought we were just having a nice chat. Let me come up and we can get better acquainted," said the leader from the ramp. Heavy footfalls started making their way up and she couldn't have that just yet. She let out another shot from her blaster and the steps stumbled back a bit.

"Just you, your friends can stay outside for the time being," shouted Jyn from behind her cover. "And no blaster, hands up and come up the ramp slowly."

An argument started grumbling from down the ramp. The boss let out an unintelligible shout and the argument appeared to end, "Alright, miss, just me. No blaster, no crew. I'm coming up!"

Jyn steadied her grip on the blaster rifle as the footsteps thudded up the ramp and a rather large besalisk came into view. Scars ran up and down his face and arms and she felt certain that there were more under the vest. He was true to his word, though, his hands were up and there didn't appear to be any weapons strapped to his body, not that he'd need any. He stopped at the top of the ramp and sized Jyn up, "The name's Io Krodd. Pleasure to make your acquaintance miss…"

"Talina, friends call me Lina," she shifted away from the cargo she had taken position behind and lowered her rifle slightly, but not too much. Her finger was still resting on the side of the trigger. Io had been rather understanding, but he was a long way away from being trusted.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lina, and welcome aboard the Stormspike." Io wore an easy smile, he kept his hands up but lowered them to a more relaxed position. Jyn was beginning to think her and Cass had lucked out and gotten picked up by some salvagers when Io noticed Cass's foot limply poking out from the crates she had sheltered him behind.

Io began to walk towards him and Jyn immediately sighted his head, "Take one more step towards him and I'll end you."

"Whoa there, Lina! It just looks like your friend here needs some help," Io's hands had raised a bit but his smile was still easy, he seemed to be challenging her to make good on her threat as if his people wouldn't kill them both if she did. "I've got some decent medical equipment aboard."

She hesitated for a second, shifting her position slowly to put herself between Io and Cass's unconscious body. She only had moments to make the call and Cassian could definitely use the treatment. Io hadn't done anything to make her think he was a threat, he had been pretty patient with her random blaster fire and strong talk.

She slung her blaster behind her back and moved to Cass, "He has a blaster wound and took about a 15 meter fall onto a metal platform." At the sound of her voice, Cassian stirred faintly, his eyes opening just a bit and finding her. He smiled.

Io came up behind her, shouting down the ramp, "Tell Ora we're going to need her! Got a couple of injured up here!" His laugh came behind her and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. From her crouch, she tried to unholster her pistol but Io's fist came down on her head lightning quick. Jyn's vision blurred over before she hit the deck and blackness soon followed.

So, Pirates then.

Jyn could hear them arguing before she could see them. She couldn't make out everything that was being shouted but at least part of the argument was about what to do with the new cargo that the pirates had picked up. Whether or not she and Cass were included with the "cargo" she couldn't quite tell. The voices appeared to come to an agreement and she heard their footsteps draw closer. She opened her eyes and found herself in a small cargo hold, her hands bound behind her. They had taken her vest off her and, along with it, the concussion grenades that she had found on the pad back at Scarif.

The door slid open and two pirates dragged Cassian into the hold, dropping him next to Jyn. He was conscious now and, after a quick inspection, they had apparently patched him up enough to where she wasn't worried about him bleeding out on her anytime soon. Why the pirates had bothered healing him at all, however, was a little worrying. As if on cue, Io stepped through the door and leaned over the two rebels, "We might not be friends of the Empire but a pair of rebels on a stolen shuttle'll surely pick up a pretty price from one of the outposts on Kessel. If you're lucky, they'll just put you lot to work in the spice mines."

Io's smile had grown decidedly more sinister since the last time she had seen him. The Besalisk laughed as he walked out of the hold and the door slid into place behind him, a soft click letting her know that it wasn't going to be easy to open it back up. So they were heading to Kessel, it was in the right direction, somewhat, but she would rather not be on the ship when it pulled into port there. Cassian swung his bound hands around his feet in front of him and pulled a set of tools out of his boot, "You know, Jyn, before you came into my life I had never been captured. It's now happened twice in as many weeks."

"Good to see you're okay," said Jyn, rolling her eyes and maneuvering her own hands around in front of her as she started looking around the hold for anything of use. "Any idea how long we have until these pirates make it to Kessel?"

Cass wasted no time getting to work on the door's lock as she started looking through the scattered boxes, their bound hands making their work just difficult enough to be frustrating. After a few clicks, the lock sparked and the door opened, Cassian peeked out the door and turned to Jyn, "An hour, two tops. Let's not be here when they land, yeah?"

"You'll hear no objections from me," said Jyn. "I think our friend Krodd might not be a fan of that plan, though." The two smiled at each other, Jyn mostly at the sight of Cass doing marginally better. He still was a long way off from being healthy but they were no longer against the clock.

Finding nothing useful in the scattered rubbish around her, she joined Cassian at the door and the two started to methodically and silently make their way down the hall. A door near them began to cycle and the two quickly took places in narrow gaps along the corridor. A pirate came into view, apparently bored at this stage of the journey, and meandered toward the rebel duo.

Cass and Jyn exchanged a look and as the pirate walked by them Cass gave a whistle. The pirate faced the noise and began to unholster his blast pistol when Jyn brought her clasped fists down on top of his head, knocking him out. Jyn picked up the pistol and covered down the hall as Cass rifled through the pirate's pockets.

"Any luck finding a key for these?" she asked, gesturing to the bindings around their hands while covering the corridor for any other unwanted company.

Cassian winced as he pushed the limp body over to check more pockets and shook his head at Jyn as he came up empty. She slid the pistol into her pocket and helped Cass drag the unconscious man back to their cargo hold, the ordeal taking longer than it should. Aboard an unknown ship, the two would have to rely on a lot of luck to make their way back to their stolen shuttle before they were found out. Jyn found herself subconsciously grabbing her kyber crystal necklace before putting it back and thanking the pirates for doing a terrible job of checking her before throwing her into their hold.

She pulled her pistol out and the two made their way back to where they were in the corridor before coming upon an intersection. Jyn turned to Cass, "Alright, so where to from here?"

Cass laughed quietly at that, "I can take us back to their medbay, but other than that I'm just as lost as you."

The two quickly looked down both ends of the hall but nothing particularly stood out, "Alright then, how about… Left?"

"Left? Why left?" asked Cassian, looking for anything that made a shuttle bay more obvious than to the right before looking at Jyn.

She shrugged, "We have to start somewhere." The two took off to the left, keeping their footfalls soft. It wasn't long before the two came to another door, sounds of grinding gears and voices coming from inside letting them know that it was occupied. Cass leaned near the door and help up a finger, letting Jyn know that he only heard one voice.

Jyn and Cass took position on either side of the frame. Cassian mouthed a countdown to Jyn and she readied her pistol. As he ended the countdown, he hit the door panel and the two slid into the room. At the far end, a pirate hunched over machinery apparently oblivious to their infiltration.

Cass and Jyn slowly made their way to the mechanic, careful not to make a noise. Jyn gently tapped his shoulder with her blaster. The pirate turned his head, his eyes growing wide with sudden realization and Cassian springing to cover his mouth before the pirate could shout an alarm, "You shout and my friend here will blast you, do you understand?"

Jyn pushed her pistol into the pirate's back to emphasize Cass's point and he nodded. Cassian reached down to the pirate's belt and relieved him of his own blaster pistol. The pirate put his hands up and Cass turned him around, "You're going to help us get off this ship but first, unlock these cuffs."

With the initial shock wearing off, the pirate's eyes grew harder and a snarl formed on his lip, "If you think Io's just going to let you off the Stormspike, you've got another thing coming."

His snarl turned into a smug grin. Jyn raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes at Cass, "I mean, he's got a point, there's no way we're getting off the Stormspike."

Cass gave a contemplative look in return and began nodding his head, "I suppose so…" Cassian's head struck out lightning quick into the pirate's face, who grabbed at his nose as blood started flowing. Cass grabbed his shirt and shook, "Get these cuffs off of us and then point us towards our shuttle. If we need anything else from you, we'll ask, got it?"

The thug held his nose and nodded through the pain. In short order, he had split the bindings between the shackles, allowing their hands to move freely but unable to remove the bracelets themselves. Cass looked around the room for anything else of use but couldn't find anything, Jyn turned to the pirate, "Where's our shuttle?"

With the blaster stuck in his face and his shirt turning red from his bloodied nose, the pirate was much more helpful, "Take a right out of here, follow the hall till you get to the main corridor, take a left and the hanger where your shuttle is at the end."

"And where did you put our stuff?" asked Jyn.

"Jyn, we don't have time for that," said Cass as he moved back to the door.

"They took my vest," stated Jyn, matter-of-factly. Cass gave her a look before she added, "And my concussion grenades."

That seemed to work with Cassian and he grabbed the pirate by his collar and dragged him to the door, "And you're going to show us where her vest is."

For his part, the pirate merely nodded and began to lead the duo through the corridors. For as big a ship as the Stormspike appeared to be, there were surprisingly few people moving about and the group made it to the cargo hold where the pirates had begun to place the various pieces from the shuttle they were currently stripping. Jyn found her vest near the door, the concussion grenades where she had left them.

It wasn't long after that before they found themselves at a large blast door, supposedly for the hangar that their shuttle was trapped in. Cassian roughly pushed the pirate against a wall, "Now, when we get in there, how do we open the hangar doors? Are there any clamps on the shuttle we'll need to take off?"

"You can take care of all of that on the panel by the hangar door," said the pirate, his bloody smile only a little bit disconcerting.

Cass maneuvered the pirate in front of him, still holding his pistol on the back of his head. Jyn moved to the door panel and opened it. The shuttle came into view, several pirates surrounding it, working to strip its valuable parts. Walking amongst the clutch of pirates, standing a solid head taller than the rest, was Io, directing the work.

Before Cass could do anything the pirate screamed, "Io! The rebels got free!"

Krodd immediately turned to the duo and let out a savage roar.