A Rebel's Hope (Jyn Erso & Cassian Andor)

Chapter 1- Hope

Jyn Erso stared down at the kyber crystal glinting in the planetary light. Her mother's necklace danced on her finger tips nervously as K2SO transmits the clearance code that would get them through the planet's force field.

She clutched the the stone, shutting her eyes in concentration.

She heard someone enter the cockpit, but didn't bother to look who it was as she silently begged for strength from her mother.

She never really had been a religious person, but of all the times to start... this had to be the best.

"Cargo shuttle SW0608...." Jyn's eyes snapped open as she listened to the crackle of the speaker, glacing at Cassian who met her gaze as they waited for confirmation the air so thick even the breathless robot seemed stifled. "You are cleared for entry."

Before she was even able to crack a smile, Bodhi cried out in happiness as he let out a sigh of relief. She dropped the necklace as she felt her body relax, Cassian had barely broken eye contact.

"Impressive." K2 simply stated mechanically.

Suddenly Jyn had hopped up and started towards him, Cassian looked down at her expectantly as she looked him up and down. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but all that came out was a slight sound. Before he could get over his awkwardness Jyn had already looked away to grasp the ladder that lead down to the main hold of the ship.

"I'll tell the others." She stated as she started down below, leaving a dumbstruck Cassian to overlook the descent of the ship.

"SW0608 cleared for landing pad 9, please acknowledge." The voice continued as Cassian gazed out the window towards the island below.

"This is SW0608 proceeding to LP9 as instructed." Bodhi stated, flicking switches as he proceeded to guide their landing process.

As they flew past the cloud line, a fairly large tower came into view, surrounded by sandy beaches and miles upon miles of ocean.

"That main building down there, what is it??" Cassian asked, still studying the ground below.

"That's the citadel tower, they keep all the imperial structural archives up there." He answered gravely, hinting to the amount of hell they would have to get through in order to get to it. "If the plans are anywhere, they will be there."

"And the dish at the top, what is it for?" Cassian looked toward Bodhi as continued his bombardment of questions, knowing that he had to know everything before they reached the surface.

"Guess it takes a lot of signal to send those data files out." He stated nonchalantly as he continued to prep the ship.

Cassian's interest peeked at the large disk on the tower, it could be useful later in the mission.

"Landing track.. engaged." K2 stated as he continued flipping switches.

"Landing track locked." Bodhi responded as he flipped more switches.

Meanwhile Jyn could feel the nervous tension growing among the men faster than a parasite in its host. She knew she had to say something to lift their spirits, inspire them, something...

What do you say to a group of men who know that their end has come?

Who know that it is highly probable that as they have just signed themselves up for a suicide mission?

When do you jump in and tell them "hey don't worry, this might be a one way ship but we will make a difference in a world you will never see again"?

Where do I even begin to comfort them?

She glanced at Baze who looked uncharacteristically nervous, as his eyes flickered above her.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the clanking of Cassian's boots as he climbed down the ladder to land beside her with a sigh.

"We're landing." He stated simply as he looked down at her, briefly glancing up at the men who sat patiently, but completely on edge. He was telling her to say something.

Jyn nodded, feeling fear swamp over her as she stared up at him.

"We're coming in." He said louder than before, and over her head to get the men's attention. He then looked back at Jyn, giving her a slight nod of encouragement.

Any amount of chatter stopped as Jyn turned around to face her tiny army.

This was it.

She swallowed her fear quickly as they began to focus on her.

"Saw Gerrera used to say that one fighter with a sharp stick and nothing left to lose could take the day." She began to feel stronger as she remembered her old mentor, knowing he would support her if he were here. She now had everyone's full attention as she continued. "They've no idea we're coming. They've no reason to expect us. If we make it to the ground, we'll take the next chance." She took a breath, feeling Cassian's eyes on her.

"And the next. On and on until we win." She waited a beat, the men knew there was only a slight possibility of success. "Or the chances are spent." This wasn't a shock to them, they had known this going in.

"The Death Star plans are down there." She glanced back at Cassian, "Cassian, K2, and I will find them." She saw some of them nod in understanding as the reality of the situation dawned on them. "We'll find a way to find them." She alleged strongly as she met every single one of their stares.

She looked back at Cassian when she had finished. His eyes congratulated her, but there was no time to dwell as he rattled out orders to specific groups.

".. Melshi, Pao, Baze and Chirrut. You'll take the main square." He directed, Chirrut just looked around blindly while Base gave slight nod. "Move east and get wide of the ship. Find the position between here and the tower. Once you get to the best spot. Light the place up."

He paused, smirking a bit as he continued. "Make ten men feel like a hundred." Some men gave sounds of approval as they all shifted with their gear. "And get those troopers away from us." He added gruffly.

He looked down at Jyn now, the hint of a smile still on his face but the moment was gone in a split second as Bodhi spoke up behind him quietly, "And what shall I do?"

His voice shook with fear, but his eyes were determined as he looked up at Cassian expectantly.

"Keep the engine running. You're our only way out of here." Cassian almost whispered as Jyn smiled at him favorably, nodding slightly before turning away and looking over her meager team of rebels proudly.

They could do this. They had to do this.

There was no need to remind them of what would happen if they failed.