Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

4. The Encounter

"I work at the base nearby." She noticed Cassian's hand hold the gun even tighter. If he was a quick shot, she could be dead in seconds. Her heart rate skyrocketed, but she remained calm. Talia used her hands to motion him to stop as she talked, "Calm down there, cowboy. Mon Mothma assigned me to it."

A curious feeling stirred in Cassian's mind. How did she manage to get personally assigned by Mothma? She hasn't been found out yet as a part of the growing Rebel Alliance. That was a question to ask later. It wasn't important now. What's important now was the mission at hand. "Who's your handler?"

"Montoya Chizznov."

Cassian holstered his blaster and glanced around the alley. No one was in sight. There were too many cheers and a lot of singing coming from the inside of the bar, so it partially covered the silence. This was one hell of a drop site. Not too mysterious, and not too in the open. Talia blended in, that's for sure. Maybe Montoya did too. He continued his interrogation, "Any idea where he is?"

Talia had the urge to scoff, but held it back. Didn't he know protocol? Spies don't meet directly. There was an establishment of a drop site for a reason. The only spies that saw each other face-to-face were the ones that kept in contact with people from Rebel base, wherever that may be. She relaxed a bit and looked him in the eye. "I don't keep tabs on him. I've never met him in person."

"I got a distress call from him. Came from this planet."

"Well, I can't help you," she stated matter-of-factly. Talia crossed her arms. Being interrogated wasn't fun, but at least she wasn't being held hostage. She could leave at any time, but chose not to. Whatever that distress signal was, it wasn't good. She wasn't looking to die anytime soon over a handler she never even met.

Cassian's eyes locked on Talia's composure. Relaxed, meaning she was comfortable around him. Arms crossed was a bad sign. She had become defensive and wanted to end the conversation. He huffed in disbelief. From one Rebel spy to another, he thought she'd be willing to help. Guess not. "Fine. You're going to help me by staying out of the way."

"Always charming." Talia pressed her lips into a tight line. She couldn't read his expression. He had perfected his poker face, making him unreadable. Not even his tall composure gave off any signals. She looked him over and narrowed her eyes at him.

Cassian ignored her comment and traded it for his own, "I'll be your handler for the time being. You will answer to me, and me only, until I figure out where Montoya is."

An internal scream erupted within Talia's mind. This guy, whoever he was, didn't seem friendly. Plus with Montoya missing, this spy might request direct meetings instead of using the drop site. That only complicated things if they got caught. The only good thing was she knew how he worked out in the field. She could trust him with her life. She could live with that. Talia perked an eyebrow. "What's your name? Or, would you prefer I just call you Rebel scum, or something?" One corner of her lips lifted at the joke, and she stifled a chuckle.

She thinks she's hilarious. Cassian wanted to smile and make fun of how that was a terrible joke, but refrained from doing so. If he let loose now, she would never take him seriously. That's what he told himself, anyway. He couldn't remember the last time he joked with a handler or a rebel back at the base. He'd been gone so much and alone on missions that it was hard to remember. Cassian decided to use an alias. Better safe than sorry. "Captain Joreth Sward," he declared, holding out his hand.

"Talia Revik." She shook his hand, and left a holochip in his palm. He looked down at it curiously, and she explained short and to the point. "This is what I was going to give Montoya."

General Draven had told Cassian her name. This wasn't news to him. He half expected her to lie her way out of it, much like he had. She was too trusting, and that's what was going to get her killed. Though, he was interested in what she had to deliver. He didn't even know what she did to obtain such information. "What's on it?"

Talia stayed quiet and listened in on the environment. The singing inside the tavern had stopped. People were dispersing on the streets. It was getting later in the night where people headed home. Too many eyes. Too many ears. It was a blessing that they were hidden in the alley. She hushed her voice down to almost a whisper, "I work in droid maintenance. I take all the information on what the droids have heard or seen and put it onto this. Then, I clean it up into important bits and drop it off."

He furrowed his brow at such words. Never had he heard someone work in droid maintenance. Then again, he wasn't too sure on the number of Imperial jobs and what they were tasked with. "How do you take the information?"

"Someone has to maintain the droids. They never seem to take care of each other." She stopped crossing her arms, but moved to rub her arms instead. The night had grown chillier, and thunder roared above. That was Talia's signal to hurry it up so she could make it home before it started pouring. When it rained on Kuat, it poured heavily. "It's stored on the droid's databanks. Think of it as their memories."

Cassian scoffed quietly, almost in disbelief. "Never thought I'd see the day where Imperial droids helped us in any way." He put the holochip in his jacket's inner pocket before walking away. He didn't find out where Montoya was, but at least he had officially made progress on his mission.

Talia dropped her arms and knit her eyebrows together in confusion. He's just going to walk away? Just like that? She called out to him, but not too loud, "No thank you?"

"I'd have to see what's on this first," he replied simply. He turned the corner out of the alley and disappeared into the mass of people on the street.

Talia scoffed and walked back to her apartment. This is going to be more difficult than I thought. She rubbed her arms to warm herself up. A cold chill hung in the air, causing the temperature to drop more than it already had. She listened to other people's conversations as she passed by and ignored the dirty looks from people watchers. The Imperial uniform had its downsides.

Thunder played like drums in the sky, roaring and echoing through the streets. Lightning danced across the dark clouds. Rain was imminent, but none of the people around her seemed to be bothered by it.

An unsettling feeling sunk in. She looked behind her a few times, but saw nothing out of the blue. She waved the feeling off as paranoia. Knowing her handler had gotten into some serious trouble might've caused the feeling in the first place, yet she couldn't quite confirm that. Talia felt scrutinized by a gaze; not one of an onlooker, but someone that followed her.

Something was off, and that unsettled her the most.