Jyn ran into her father's drawing room with the frills of her night dress bobbing behind her. Galen stood from his chair while Krennic continued to sip from his glass of brandy.
"What's the matter Jyn?" Galen asked as he knelt in front of his crying daughter. "You look frightened."
Jyn nodded meekly as her lip trembled. "...I had a nightmare," she mumbled.
"Ohh." Galen lifted Jyn off the ground. He held her close and put her ear to his chest. "It's going to be all right. I'll always protect you."
Krennic watched the tender family moment with apathy and finished his glass sip by sip.
Once Jyn had calmed down, Galen set her back on her feet. He smiled reassuringly. "Are you feeling better, Stardust?"
Jyn nodded.
Galen tousled his daughter's hair. "Let's see if we can have your mother make you a lavender tea. Would you like that?"
Jyn nodded again, more enthusiastically this time.
Galen turned to his guest. "I'll be right back."
Krennic smiled. "Of course. Family comes first."
Jyn took her father's hand and walked out of the room. The door slammed behind them.
Jyn gasped and bolted upright in her hammock. She turned towards the now-open deck hatch and squinted at the figure standing below it.
"We're out of Hyperius," said the backlit Cassian. "Get yourself ready." He turned and passed out of view.
Jyn quickly threw on her kit and went topside. What greeted her first was the chill in the air. In the cabin, she had thought it left over from the Hyperion stream. She turned up her collar and gazed out at the dawn-lit desert they neared.
A ruined port city straddled either side of the river mouth towards which the ketch sailed. Only four fishing boats now made use of what must have once been a lively harbor. The tall sandstone lighthouse stood watch over the crumbling city below, its fires one of the few signs of habitation.
"That's Jedha," explained Cassian as he took the wheel from Kay-Tu. "Or what's left of it. We find Saw, we find your father."
Jyn idly watched the dunes, craggy mesas, and tributary rivers roll past. Her mind wandered, imagining her reunions with Saw and her father. Would they recognize her? Would she be welcome? How would she react? These and a hundred other questions guided her imaginings. Soon she would have the true answers.
Cassian led the ketch into a tributary that flowed through a sizeable rock formation and dropped anchor near a natural arch. As he and Jyn crested the nearby ridge on foot, a vast carved mesa loomed into view. Across its top and surrounded by an impressive ornate wall sat the Holy City.
Located at the conflux of several ley lines, Jedha City was situated on and in one of the largest red mesas in the land and held a great many religious structures including temples, monasteries, minarets, catacombs, and ossuaries. Though subjected to no less than twenty sieges, the city never fell to foreign invaders by force. Everything changed when the Republic guardianship turned to Imperial occupation. What few religions survived thus far faded out or scattered under the Empire, leaving only the Guardians of the Whills and a few lonesome holdouts to call the city home.
Cassian's pigeon cooed in its little cage as he pulled out a pair of binoculars. He focused them on the Great Road that girt the mesa and led to the main gate. Jyn meanwhile was more focused on the colossal warship anchored at the river bend closest to the city.
"What's with the Destroyer?" Jyn asked.
"It's because of your old friend Saw Gerrera. He's been attacking the cargo shipments."
"What are they bringing in?"
Cassian handed her the binoculars. "It's what they're taking out."
Jyn looked at the spot that Cassian had been observing. She could see a considerable stormtrooper security detail escorting a heavily-laden self-propelled wagon. Another empty one was on its way back towards the city.
"Kyber crystal," Cassian answered before Jyn could ask. "All they can get. We wondered why they were stripping the temple. Now we know. It's what powers the weapon."
"The weapon your father's building," said Kay-Tu, suddenly coming up from behind.
"Maybe we should leave Target Practice behind," Jyn said, giving the automaton a dirty look.
Cassian cocked an eyebrow and looked at Kay-Tu.
"Are you talking about me?"
"She's right," Cassian said. "We need to blend in. Stay with the ship."
"I can blend in. I'm an Imperial automaton. The city is under Imperial occupation."
"Half the people here want to reprogram you," Jyn said. "The other half want to put a hole through your head."
"I'm surprised you're so concerned with my safety."
"I'm not. I'm just worried they'll miss you and hit me."
As Jyn started off towards the city, Cassian stifled a laugh.
"Doesn't sound so bad to me," Kay-Tu mumbled as he turned back towards the ship. Perhaps he could find something of hers left behind that he could accidentally knock overboard.
The structure that Saw Gerrera had chosen as his Partisans' base of operations in Jedha was at one time known as the Cadera Monastery. It was an ancient holy site built like so many of Jedha's monuments into a mesa and likewise fell into disrepair after the death of its founding order. The skeletonized remains of thousands of monks still occupied the catacombs below though one section had been cleared to make room for a very different purpose.
Bor Gullet turned out to be one of the profoundly telepathic Bors of Maires. Bodhi stared frozen at the brown and purple tentacled mass before him, straining against his restraints and fearing what the Bor would do to him.
"Bor Gullet can feel your thoughts," Saw explained from the other side of the cell's bars.
Bor Gullet's many milky eyes blinked arythmically as it shuffled towards Bodhi. They held no malice, but instead curiosity. If anything that was more unsettling.
"No lie is safe."
Bodhi started to hyperventilate as the velvet soft tentacles gently but firmly ensnared him.
"What have you really brought me, cargo pilot? Bor Gullet will know the truth."
The tentacles slithered along the sides of Bodhi's head, lingering at his temples. He felt a gentle, insistent pressure at the center of his mind unlike anything he had ever experienced.
"...The unfortunate side effect is that one tends to lose one's mind."
Bodhi shot his eyes in Saw's direction. He whimpered. "No!"
An instant later, Bodhi felt as though a second mind had merged with his own. The Bor was maybe only as intelligent as a child, but its understanding of the world was profound. Bodhi saw the truth of everything he knew, free from the filters of ego or bias. He saw his relative insignificance in the world - a single sapience among trillions. Everything he had done hadn't even been worth a drop of ink in the endless chronicle of history. Only one thread prevented his fall into the total inescapability of deepest madness, and he could feel it stretching tighter by the second.
Despite martial law and water rationing imposed by the Imperial occupational government, Jyn was surprised to see the high spirits displayed by Jedha City's citizenry. Children laughed and played in the streets unfazed by the armed soldiers patrolling nearby. In the market, vendors professed the quality of their wares at full volume surrounded by the wonderful spicy aromas from the roving food carts. Some religious adherents whose clergy had since departed the land stood interspersed among the crowds, distinguished by their garb.
Even with all the wondrous sights, Jyn's eyes kept drifting back to the grey and green bird looking out from its cage on Cassian's hip. "Do you bring that pigeon everywhere?"
"Yes. One of the first big lessons I learned in my line of work is that magic communications can be tracked to their source. Pigeons can't. They're perfect for last ditch messages. Nobody thinks twice about a bird."
"Oh." Jyn remembered as a child reading about birds carrying messages a long time ago before comm crystals and fonts. "Does... he? She?"
"He."
"Does he have a name?"
"Charami."
"Does that mean anyth-" Jyn accidentally bumped her shoulder into that of a passerby. A large leather doctor's bag fell from the passerby's hand, causing the instruments inside to jangle noisily. She turned and saw the owner was a male human with a horribly disfigured face.
The man bared his teeth and pointed accusingly at Jyn. "You just watch yourself!" A rough-looking Aqualish took a place at his side.
Cassian put himself between Jyn and the two men, reaching out a placating hand. "Wait, no. Sorry, sir. We don't want any trouble. Sorry." He put his hand on Jyn's back and led her away. "Come on."
The disfigured man muttered an insult under his breath and retrieved his bag. He cocked his head for his Aqualish friend to follow. They had a boat to catch.
Jyn and Cassian continued on their way, passing by a crier announcing a reward for information relating to the turncoat cargo pilot. A child next to the crier passed out flyers printed on cheap paper to anyone that wanted one.
"I had a contact," Cassian whispered to Jyn. "One of Saw's Rebels. But he's just gone missing. His sister will be looking for him. The Temple's been destroyed but she'll be there waiting. We'll give her your name and hope that gets us a meeting with Saw."
Jyn furrowed her brow. "Hope?"
"Yeah. Rebellions are built on hope."
Shouting from one of the side streets caught Jyn's attention. She stopped and through the crowd could see a squad of stormtroopers carrying out a raid of some kind. The horrified occupants of the home wailed as the troopers forced them out at gunpoint.
"Is this all because of your pilot?" Jyn asked.
Cassian's lack of an answer provided enough of one.
The Temple of the Kyber was the tallest structure in Jedha City with an overall shape of a steep step pyramid. Once, great crystals adorned the edifice with one at the apex shaped into an eight point star. The vaults and catacombs underneath also held over two thousand statues masterfully carved from solid Kyber. The Empire stripped out everything they could. Not even the ancient mummified monks were safe.
Jyn glanced around the plaza in front of the bare Temple. By the many ruts worn into the stone by countless feet over thousands of years, she could tell that this was once the busiest part of the city. Now though, only a lonely few roamed. A blind monk sat at the base of the obelisk at the plaza's center, blessing everyone who passed him by.
Cassian put his hand on Jyn's shoulder. "Wait for me." He continued towards the Temple.
Jyn leaned against the pedestal of one of the statues at the obelisk's corners and folded her arms.
"Would you trade that necklace for a glimpse into your future?"
Jyn blinked and looked around.
"Yes, I'm talking to you."
Jyn's eyes drifted to the blind monk who was facing her with a friendly smile. He beckoned her closer.
"I am Chirrut Îmwe."
"How did you know I was wearing a necklace?"
"For that answer, you must pay." Chirrut smiled and chuckled softly.
It was then that Jyn noticed a tall, broad man in dusky red armor with a portative Treeby gun taking a mild interest in their conversation.
"What do you know about Kyber crystals?" Chirrut asked.
"My father, he... He said they powered Jedi's Lightblades."
Cassian called out Jyn's name. "Come on. Let's go."
Jyn looked from Cassian to the monk then back. As she started walking, Chirrut called out to her. "The strongest mountains have hearts of Kyber.
Cassian frowned at the monk as Jyn approached. "Come on. We're not here to make friends."
As the pair left the plaza, Jyn decided to ask about the monk. "Who was he?"
"One of the Guardians of the Whills. Protectors of the Kyber Temple. But there's nothing left to protect. So now they're just causing trouble for everybody."
Jyn noticed that Cassian seemed to glance around as much as his pigeon was. "You seem awfully tense all of a sudden."
"We have to hurry. This city is ready to blow."
While heading for the gate Jyn and Cassian found their way blocked by throngs of people standing to either side of the main thoroughfare. The Rebels pushed through to the front of the crowd and the reason for the disturbance quickly became evident. Stormtroopers had been the ones to part the crowd and they now stood guard to ensure the passage of one of the self-propelled wagons and its escort.
"Citizens of the Empire," announced the officer atop the wagon, "Imperial forces tirelessly fight Saw Gerrera's reign of terror over the people of this beloved city. Truth and justice are the tools of the Empire."
The announcement continued, but neither Jyn nor Cassian paid it any heed. Instead, they were more focused on the armed figures moving across the rooftops with varying degrees of stealth. More stood scattered among the crowd.
"Tell me you have a backup plan," said Jyn.
Before Cassian could respond one way or another, an improvised petard arced from a rooftop and landed squarely amidst the densest grouping of stormtroopers. A loud blast rang out followed by terrified screams and cries of agony.
Civilians stampeded away revealing stormtrooper corpses perforated by bent nails. The insurgents on the ground used the confusion to move to cover and open fire on the Imperials while their rooftop comrades did the same.
Jyn and Cassian ducked into an alleyway and drew their pistols.
"I think we found Saw's Rebels," Jyn said as she palmed her revolver's cock back.
Bodies from both sides littered the ground, staining the cold sand red.
Gunsmoke filled the air to the point that firing blindly became necessity. Amid all the visual and auditory chaos, there was one sound that did not belong.
It wasn't until Jyn's ears had recovered from the initial bomb blast and the ongoing gunfire that she heard a child crying nearby. She peeked around the corner and saw a girl of about two or three years standing amid the gunsmoke, wailing at the top of her lungs.
Without giving it a second thought, Jyn darted out of cover towards the girl. Cassian yelled Jyn's name in protest but could not grab her in time.
Jyn kept her head down and ran all while bullets whizzed by. As she scooped up the girl in her arms, Jyn heard another nail bomb hit the ground nearby. She curled around the girl and threw herself behind an upturned bread cart. The bomb studded the cart with nails and left Jyn's ears ringing but had otherwise no effect.
A frantic woman ran over to the huddled pair, crying out something in a language Jyn could not understand. She took the woman's meaning though and handed the terrified girl to her. Jyn watched the mother and daughter run to safety while a cold wind swept away a great deal of the sulfurous smoke.
The new clarity brought with it renewed fighting and revealed to Cassian the Imperial Treeby gunner atop the cart aiming his weapon at the jharokha balcony above Jyn. He yelled for her to get away and she scrambled across the nail-strewn ground a moment before the gunner fired.
The Treeby shell detonated against the side of the balcony's stone screen, destroying both it and the balcony's supports. The collapsing jharokha took with it a large section of wall and roof along with the four Partisans that had been using the edge of the roof for cover. Cassian took advantage of a momentary break in the crossfire to put a bullet into the gunner's head before he could reset for a second shot.
Dust from the collapsed wall filled the air and Jyn used her impromptu smokescreen to dart to the closest cover she could make out. To her surprise and alarm, this turned out to be the front of the Imperial wagon.
A quick breeze dispersed the dust only slightly, but it was enough for Cassian to see the white of stormtroopers pushing forward. Of more immediate concern to him though was the Partisan above them lighting the fuze of another bomb. Cassian could tell by the wind up that the Partisan's target would not be the troopers, but the wagon.
Before the Partisan could throw, Cassian put a bullet in his chest. Both the body and the bomb fell into the advancing troopers with the bomb exploding at chest height. Bent nails shredded the Imperials and killed most of them outright. Those that survived and were capable of doing so turned and retreated to regroup.
Jyn looked back to Cassian who nodded. As she ran back into the alleyway, a pair of white compound eyes watched them furiously. The two Rebels fled up the main street as another bomb succeeded in blowing the wagon apart.
The Partisans moved up under their comrades' overwatch and started looting the Kyber cargo. They worked quickly and had nearly taken everything before the Imperials returned in force with the support of an AT-ST. With their objective completed and in the face of this escalation, the Partisans started their withdrawal.
Jyn and Cassian ran into a side street and found themselves face-to-face with a squad of stormtroopers. The Rebels ducked into recessed doorways just in time to avoid the incoming bullets. Cassian fired blindly at the troopers, but they advanced nonetheless.
Cassian swapped his pistol's expended cylinder for a loaded one. At the same time, Jyn drew a spike dagger. The two of them emerged from their cover as one with Jyn rushing the stormtroopers while Cassian cracked off three quick shots.
Jyn buried her dagger into the unarmored neck of one of the troopers then whirled around and stabbed a second in the gap between his chest plate and pauldron. Arcs of blood flew from the tip of the spike dagger as the Imperials fell one by one to the lethal dance.
Cassian lowered his gun, both not wanting to accidentally hit Jyn and frankly awed by the unexpected skill with which she handled the troopers. As more stormtroopers came around the corner, Jyn scooped up one of the dropped carbines and emptied the cylinder into them.
Jyn paused for a moment and reloaded, listening for any more sounds that could herald another wave. Mechanical footsteps from behind reignited her combat instincts. She turned and fired before she could identify her target.
An Imperial security automaton looked at Jyn with its flickering eyes as a wisp of smoke rose out of a bullet hole in its torso. Jyn watched the familiar automaton collapse as guilt wrenched her gut, less for Kay-Tu than Cassian.
Behind where the automaton had been standing, another stood and stared at his fallen kin. "Did you know that wasn't me?" Kay-Tu asked accusingly.
Jyn blinked. "Yeah. Of course."
Cassian frowned at Kay-Tu. "I thought I told you to stay with the ship."
"You did. But I thought it was boring and you were in trouble."
While the Rebels spoke, one of the piled stormtroopers who was less dead than his comrades pulled a petard out and pressed his thumb to the fuze rune. He tossed it towards the Rebels and collapsed. Cassian and Jyn both flinched at the sight of the petard.
"There were a lot of explosions for two people blending in," Kay-Tu explained as he casually caught the armed explosive. The automaton tossed it over his shoulder where it landed in front of an approaching squad of stormtroopers.
An arm flew past Kay-Tu and landed next to Cassian's foot. Charami flapped his wings in startlement.
The automaton looked down at the limb then back up to Cassian. "You're right. I should just wait on the ship."