A/N: Hi all! I'm sorry this chapter took me so long to post. Most of it was written over a year ago, but I lost the last half and sort of gave up. Recently, I felt the need to write again and this is the first story that came to mind (my only story, really). It was slow-going, but once the characters started coming back to me, words just flowed onto the page (don't you love it when that happens?). I'm still framing out the plot, but overall, I'm happy with how this chapter turned out. As always, comments and criticisms are welcome. :) Happy reading! I hope you enjoy!


The Rebel base on Yavin 4 was surprisingly unintuitive. Unlike the clean, monochromatic lines favored by Imperial architects and shipbuilders, the Alliance relied on abandoned compounds and dangerous terrain to conceal their operations. In short, the Rebel high command preferred any sort of environment that seemed too hostile or remote for the Empire to investigate. Star systems in the Outer Rim were particularly well-suited for this purpose.

Compared to other systems, most planets in the Outer Rim were home to rugged, frontier communities and seedy space ports. Although the Empire sought control of these planets as means for stabilizing the Core Worlds and bolstering their regime, few of them were subject to the intense demands of Imperial rule, including the home of the Rebel's first base, Dantooine.

Covered by grasslands and broad savannahs, Dantooine provided the Rebels with an excellent stronghold during the early days of the resistance. Unfortunately, Dantooine was not without some notoriety, due, in part, to the role it played during the Clone Wars. Although the remnants of the clone factory provided the Resistance with most of the equipment necessary to stage successful operations, the location was marked on almost every Imperial star chart. Thus, the location proved unsustainable in the long run. Nevertheless, the former base served as a outstanding decoy, particularly when Rebel agents were captured by the Empire. The appearance of an organized compound, as well as the word of a captured spy, were enough to distract the Empire and allow Rebel forces ample time to move their current base to a pre-disclosed location.

Rebel spies were responsible for scouting potential bases and the list of approved locations was ever-changing. Once a new base was established, a secondary location was selected from the list and passed down through the chain of command. Although the secondary location seemed randomly selected, it often came on the recommendation of the current scouting team; specifically, the team leader. In this case, Captain Andor favored planets that were the exact opposite of his home world, Fest.

Cold, crowded, and uninviting, Fest was the exact opposite of the dense jungles covering most of Yavin 4. The presence of a large, abandoned temple made Yavin 4 an even more attractive prospect, particularly when compared to the frigid plains and icy caverns on Hoth. The Alliance settled easily into the temple after evacuating Dantooine, and the surrounding campus quickly became a frenzied hot bed of activity. Transport ships, fighters, and shuttles constantly came and went from the makeshift tarmac; ground forces supported these efforts with the diligence of a well-maintained astromech droid. Inside the temple, troops and personnel circulated through the dimly lit corridors at all hours of the day.


There was a certain wisdom and logic as to how the Alliance allocated rooms within the temple; for instance: supplicant cells were a natural choice for officer's quarters. Even so, Jyn cursed her sense of direction as she tore through the complicated maze of tunnels, struggling to remember how to reach the infirmary. She should remember by now - she had been there half a dozen times already - but the excitement of seeing Cassian awake seemed to diminish her carefully honed pathfinding skills. She could almost hear Saw chiding her as she rounded the next corner and ran straight into another officer - Focus child!

The officer grunted as Jyn's shoulder collided with his own, the sudden impact causing him to spin slightly on his heel.

"Hey!" he yelped as Jyn stumbled sideways a few steps and then continued running down the corridor.

"Sorry!" she yelled as her footsteps echoed down the long corridor.

"Typical," the officer huffed, but his annoyance was lost on Jyn's retreating form. She was too focused on her destination.


Cassian lay in the recovery ward, his aching back supported by a gently inclined bed and a few carefully placed pillows. It felt like an obscene luxury compared to some of the places he had slept during his time as an intelligence officer, but his nagging sense of self-deprivation eventually gave way to the thoughts rolling through his head. Closing his eyes, he sighed and felt his head sink deeper into the pillows behind him. As far as he knew, all of his brothers, including his best friend, Melshi, were gone. He hoped to find a few of them scattered around the Citadel after he and Jyn escaped the tower, but most of them were dead before the Death Star laser hit the ground.

He swallowed hard and opened his eyes, staring at the rough stone and newly placed wires that lined the ceiling. He didn't know how most of the men died, but he had seen Melshi out of the corner of his eye, pupils glazed and dilated, body prone on the hard ground, his left hand still clutching the crimson smear on his chest. He and Melshi went through training together, and there was no one he trusted more. No one, perhaps, except for Jyn. As K2 would say, her behavior was continually surprising.

Smirking, Cassian thought about the first time he saw Jyn Erso sitting across the control table from Mon Mothma. She looked like a caged animal - eyes wary yet defiant, body tense and ready to move. According to Melshi, she kicked him in the abdomen and hit one of his men with a shovel when they rescued her from the Imperial prisoner transport on Wabani. She ran as fast as she could for the exit, but who knows how far she would have gotten before she was intercepted.

Cassian chuckled. Knowing what he knew now, probably pretty far.

Suddenly, Cassian heard someone speaking with the 2-1B surgical droid just outside the entrance to the infirmary. The voice was slightly drowned out by the equipment operating around him, but it sounded like a female - young and vaguely out of breath.

Jyn.

She was here, alive and breathing. Cassian couldn't quite believe his ears. He'd been told, several times, that her injuries were healed and she had been assigned quarters. Somehow, he couldn't envision the feisty Jyn Erso resting quietly in her quarters, not when she was able-bodied and the shadow of the Empire still loomed over the galaxy. There was too much spunk in her veins to sit idly by and let others fight her battles. Too much heart. He learned that about her on Jedha, the first time she traded barbs with K2, and then later, when she rescued a crying child amid the falling buildings, explosions, and laser blasts. She surprised him further when she fought her way through a squad of stormtroopers with nothing more than a telescoping baton. Watching her in action was...breathtaking. Strong, fluid movements of muscle and sinew led by years of instinct. He had never seen anything like it.

Using his arms for leverage and support, Cassian leaned forward in bed, hoping for a better look around the doorway. He inhaled sharply as his chest folded over his bruised ribs, but it was the sight of his visitor that took his breath away. There was Jyn, framed in the dim, hollow light that flooded through the infirmary entrance. Her bangs were ruffled and her vest was askew, one corner tucked partially under her arm, but she looked just as radiant as he remembered, a shining beacon of hope.

Force help him if he ever failed her.