Galen had asked for Cassian and was waiting for him in his quarters. As the scientist wasn't exactly a guest because of his suspect status, but he wasn't a hostage either because he hadn't been tried yet, he'd been assigned quarters in an area of the base that didn't belong to the guest wing or the prison wing. There were guards constantly at his door, and whenever he wished to venture out of his room, he couldn't do it alone and his guards followed him everywhere like shadows. And what was more, Draven was always informed of his comings and goings, so Galen's movements were always monitored. Draven had gone as far as requesting a surveillance system inside the quarters themselves, but it had been denied, because it would have infringed blatantly Galen's right to privacy. What Draven had been granted instead was permission to conduct periodic searches in the room and Galen himself was frisked every time he went out or came back from any sortie. And finally, to round the security package, anyone who visited Galen, or who was visited by Galen, or who talked with him in private was frisked as well. That measure angered Jyn to no end, as she had the intention to visit her father as often as she wanted to. She had told Draven in no uncertain terms where he could stick those measures, and Cassian, who'd been present during the quarrel between the general and Jyn in front of Galen himself, Mothma and Organa, had needed to turn around so the others present wouldn't notice his amusement at Jyn's fit of anger. Galen had intervened diplomatically in the fight and pacified his daughter, but had succeeded just barely. Jyn and Draven hadn't got along right from the start (what came as no surprise, as Draven's paranoid nature was being fully aimed at her father; Cassian knew what extents the general was capable of reaching) and were at each other's throats at every opportunity, what luckily didn't happen often.

Those had been all the conditions granted to Galen's detractors in the Rebellion. Cassian secretly thought that they were as fair as they could be, and understood that Draven was in charge of the whole base's security, with the heavy responsibility that that position entailed. After all, Galen Erso was suspect of working for the Empire in the design of the most lethal weapon in history, and he had to prove that he had introduced a fatal flaw in the system. He'd offered to draw the necessary designs that would guide the Rebellion to its destruction as, as he alleged, he knew the whole station by memory.

And the man had immediately set to task, to his credit, and was tirelessly working on the designs, as far as Cassian had been able to glimpse.

The Council had discussed and turned down someone's suggestion to send a mission to Scarif in order to steal the Death Star plans, which were stored at the Imperial Center of Military Research on that planet located in the Outer Rim Territories. The Center, where according to Erso must be the vault containing the plans, was very heavily guarded, and rightly so. In addition, the entire planet was covered by a planetary deflector shield, almost impossible to be breached. It was true that the Empire's arrogance could be used against them (and was indeed taken advantage of often in many ways, as Cassian knew well), but regarding Scarif, it was doubtful that the Imps would be negligent to that point, given that the top secret designs of all the Empire's achievements were stored there.

It would be a doomed mission from the start, and the Rebellion couldn't afford an open declaration of war with virtually non-existent guarantees of success, which would only result in heavy losses for nothing and in the Empire's retaliation, most certainly using the very weapon that the Rebellion aimed to destroy, ironically. Moreover, the planetary shield ruled out even any attempt at a stealthy infiltration, as only very specific Imperial ships with the proper clearance (which was very strictly assigned) were admitted, and no transmissions of any type could go through the shield. Not to mention the issue of the theft of the data themselves. The Rebellion would lose the advantage of secrecy the moment the moles were caught, and said moles would have been sentenced to death one way or another. So it would also entail a waste of valuable personnel and the loss of the element of surprise. And, once more, the Empire's retaliation.

It was agreed that the best course of action would be to directly shoot the thermal exhaust port. To achieve that purpose, they would need the best pilots and shooters in the Rebellion. That way there would be many more chances of success with much less loss of lives in the Rebellion's ranks.

Said expert pilots had to be chosen carefully, because hitting the target (which only allowed a margin of error of two meters max) would pose the ultimate problem. Given, of course, that the rebel fleet actually was able to reach the exhaust port before being shot to hell by the station's defenses.

And the whole operation had to be carried out under the strictest secrecy. The personnel in the Death Star shouldn't notice the presence of the rebel fleet until it literally fell upon it. All of which required an extremely meticulous planning and synchronization.

Cassian and Kay had volunteered as members of the attack fleet, but as they weren't authorized to notify anyone who didn't have the clearance, no one apart from the high-ups and the members of the Council knew.

As Galen didn't have any clearance either, he wasn't being updated on any of those developments, but the man wasn't stupid. He must be guessing on his own what his hosts were up to, as he had suggested himself that the only chance at destroying the enemy station was a well aimed shot. He'd just been requested to draw the designs of the exhaust port and the areas through which it could be accessed by spaceship.

The secret weighed on Cassian, especially in Jyn's presence, but there was nothing he could do in that regard. He wondered what her reaction would be if she found out. Cassian bet mostly on fury and a feeling of betrayal for not having been informed, which understandably would stem from fear.

Cassian sighed as he headed for the scientist's quarters. He imagined that the reason for the summons was that the man wished to know him better. On the return trip from Eadu, and in the confines of Cassian's ship, Galen had of course noticed the interactions between his daughter and Cassian, and besides she surely had told her father about him (they were old friends anyway, that was hard to hide). So it was only natural that the man was curious about his daughter's acquaintances and friends, especially after spending fifteen years in the dark.

Cassian had done his best to afford space for the small reunited family. They had spent almost the entirety of the trip together, talking, crying, smiling, hugging and holding hands. It was evident that father and daughter loved each other very much, and Cassian felt happy for them and a bit envious. He missed his biological father and Clem (and both his mothers of course), and he wished he could have them back. But for him, it was impossible, because they were dead. Cassian himself had held their lifeless bodies.

Well, it was heartwarming that at least Jyn had had the chance to recover one of her parents.

When he arrived at Galen's door, he stopped, saluted the guards and raised his arms to allow them their routine frisk, and when they finished their task, he knocked.

"Come in, please," the muffled voice from the inside called.

Cassian walked into the medium-sized and modest room. His eyes were immediately drawn to the man sitting at the table with a datapad in his hands. Apparently it was there where he was drawing the designs, whose progress he showed and explained every evening at Council meetings.

It was evident that the last fifteen years had not been gentle on Galen Erso. The tormented man had aged considerably more than what his real age should have suggested. His hair had turned completely grey, there were deep creases on his face, his features were gaunt and his clothes hanged from his frame loosely. The poor man had suffered a big deal, anyone could see that. That was not in the least the appearance of a thriving person.

"Good afternoon, Sir," Cassian greeted politely.

"Good afternoon, Captain. Would you sit down, please?," Galen offered, gesturing toward the only other chair in the room, at the opposite side of the table.

Cassian sat down and waited for his interlocutor to start the conversation.

"To begin with, I'd like to thank you for caring for my Jyn. She holds you in high esteem." Galen stopped his speech to smile at him honestly. "I can only begin to imagine the hardships she's been through. She hasn't told me much about her past, just roughly, and I haven't dared to pry because I can sense how it pains her. I abandoned her in this ruthless galaxy at only eight years old, and Lyra and I knew perfectly who we were entrusting her with. We had no one else apart from Saw Gerrera, and I'm aware that a guerrilla leader wasn't the best option to raise a child. But we knew that he would do everything he could to keep her alive and to teach her how to survive." Galen fell silent and looked down in shame. "It was all my fault. My naiveté condemned my wife to death and my daugther to a life of mysery."

Cassian shook his head firmly. "No. It wasn't your fault. You dreamed of improving people's life conditions. Orson Krennic is the one to blame for everything, and with him, the Empire."

Galen pursed his lips. "Even so, I should have seen it coming. I shouldn't ever have trusted that bastard Krennic. I assume my part in the blame, and nothing I can do to make up for my mistakes will erase all the pain, horror and death. But I'll do everything in my power to stop the Death Star. I wish I knew how to fly, because in that case I would volunteer to shoot the exhaust port myself if I was sure that I had the slightest chance at hitting it. I don't need to be a genius to guess that that's what the Rebellion is planning. It's the easiest way of obliterating the Death Star."

Cassian would have liked to tell him that he himself was one of those volunteers, but he was sworn to secrecy.

"Don't worry, I won't ask you anything concerning the mission, I'm aware that you aren't authorized to reveal anything and I won't put you in a tight spot," Galen appeased, wisely perceiving the reason for Cassian's silence. "Actually, I haven't summoned you here to stick my nose in the Rebellion's matters. I wanted to talk to you because I wish to ask you a single favor."

"Anything, Sir," Cassian replied without hesitation.

Galen smiled sadly, with a hint of hope in his pupils. "Please, keep taking care of Jyn. You love her, and she loves you, and I'm certain that there isn't a better companion for her. I need to know that, if anything happens to me, she won't be alone again."

Cassian felt very touched by the man's trust in him. And he didn't even try to deny Galen's observations, because they were true, at least on his part. He loved Jyn, had loved her for years. And it didn't matter if she didn't requite his feelings, or if they weren't meant to end up being together. He would always care for her, as long as he was alive.

"I swear, Sir. I'll do anything for her," Cassian pledged. He'd never sworn an oath with more candor. Even his commitment to the Rebellion paled in comparison.

Galen stretched out his hand and Cassian shook it, sealing their deal with a firm handshake.