Cassian and Bodhi hit a very rough patch in this chapter and Orson is dragged into it... so... WARNING!!
I don't own anything.
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Orson's P.O.V.
So we aren't the greatest friends in the entire Galaxy... big deal. We're stuck together whether we are willing to work as a team or not. Sure, we'll have our ups and downs but it won't be long before we become a powerful trio that can rely on each other to watch one another's backs.
Oh, who am I kidding?!? We suck when it comes to teamwork. Cassian and I can't seem to get along and Bodhi is constantly trapped in the middle. I think it's putting a lot of tension on him because he seems to be more skidding than I remember him.
Sparring each other doesn't help vent out our frustrations. Rather, we use it as an excuse to fuel our detest. Today, Cassian thought it would be a good idea to go all out on me during our spar. Needless to say, he's much better than I am and I now have several bruises all over my body, the most notable one on my right cheek. Cassian then used whatever anger he had left to attack Bodhi. Gumdrop bit Cassian to protect Bodhi and soon everything was chaos and no one walked away uninjured. Not even the dog.
Right now, Bodhi and Cassian are fighting in another room and Gumdrop is whining and pawing my leg. I'm sick and tired of listening to the rebels' yelling. Neither has been helping try and alert the other Rebellion members that their communications will be cut short for a little while because we think we found a "lead to Jyn". I decide to make the calls myself.
I connect one of the channels with the channel I could broadcast a message from. "Who is this?" a voice said on the other line.
"Uh... this is... " What do I tell them? If I say who I really am, they'll think I've kidnapped Bodhi and Cassian. I should have put more thought into this.
"Where's Captain Andor of Rook?! What has happened to them?!?"
"I-I'm just a friend of Andor's!" I stammer. "Ah... um... Andor and-and Bodhi are busy at the moment so they asked me to relay s-some information to you guys."
A pause. Hopefully these guys would buy the story and not use some voice recognition technology to find out who I really am. Tense moments pass before the other voice speaks. "Okay..."
"Yeah," I said. "They said that they think they've found a lead to Jyn so they want to check it out. The communications center will be down for a little while."
"If this is true information, what's the code?" A CODE?!? Bodhi and Cassian should have warned me about it!
"Um... Rogue... Rogue One..?"
"HAVE YOU KIDNAPPED ANDOR AND ROOK?!??"
Well snap. Now what? "No! I have not!" I squeak. "J-just... um... just tell your friends about Andor and Rook's absence. Bye!" I hang up. So much for that going smoothly.
I finger the Kyber crystal necklace. It had become a sort of stress object for me. By holding it tightly in my hand and feeling every small detail of the crystal against my calloused skin, I remembered that in order to complete my mission and find Jyn, I had to rely on Bodhi and Cassian to help me. Which meant I had to go through this dead lifestyle I never asked for. Hopefully it would work out in the end.
I grab some snacks for the three of us and sling the bag on my back. I'll be traveling lighter compared to when I left the Erso and came here so that will be nice for me. I enter the room where Cassian and Bodhi are and nearly cry out when I see what happens between the two. Cassian mutters some words at Bodhi then storms out of the room, nearly pushing me over as he goes by me. I wait for him to be out of earshot before running over to Bodhi, who's laying on the floor in tears. I pull the former Rebellion pilot to a sitting position. He reaches up and places his hand on his cheek. "It's okay," I said quietly. "It's okay, we'll get this resolved." I pull Bodhi into a hug and do my best to soothe him.
I can't describe how pissed off I feel towards Cassian right now. Here, Bodhi was doing everything he could to ensure Cassian would be okay and all Cassian did was under-appreciate his friend. I feel like strangling Cassian.
I gently pull away Bodhi's hand to examine his cheek. It looks slightly swollen and I realize that Bodhi must have been slapped multiple times recently. Gumdrop waddles into the room and whines when she sees her master crying. "Look, Gumdrop's worried about you!" I said, trying to cheer Bodhi up. It works and the pilot laughs a little. He reaches over to hug Gumdrop.
It takes us another full day to orient ourselves and leave the place. Immediately, I take the position to walk between Bodhi and Cassian so something like yesterday doesn't happen again. I know I'll never be able to beat Cassian if he decides to fight me with a staff but it's worth a shot trying to protect Bodhi.
There's not much talk between the three of us. Cassian looks mad, Bodhi is depressed, and I am torn between confusion and anger. Only Gumdrop has good spirits as she races meters ahead of us, turns around, and comes back.
I don't know how long we walk before Gumdrop looks like she's about to die. The pit bull drags her small paws and stays in our shadows, panting loudly. I find a large shady spot near a boulder and the three of us stop to rest.
Out of stress, Cassian eats the apple I gave him in less than two minutes. Bodhi can barely eat his apple. I give Gumdrop some water and a little food. Gumdrop takes a drink then flips over on her side and let's her long tongue dangle from her mouth.
I'm not hungry right now. I wait for Cassian to finish his food before saying something. "Cassian, may I talk to you?"
Cassian grumbles. "Yeah... sure, whatever." He gets up and I copy him. We walk off a little ways so Bodhi can't hear us.
This is when I lose it. "How can you be so cruel to Bodhi?! All he is trying to do is bring peace to your kind and make you comfortable. He has gone out on a limb to protect and ensure your safety, Cassian! And what do I hear? You slap him! You're a really good friend."
"You think I wanted this to happen to me? No! I keep telling Bodhi that he needs to back off but he never does!"
"Well maybe if you accepted the fact he is trying to help you it might not look like he's being nosy!"
"I've had enough of you!" Cassian snaps back. "All you and Bodhi do is push me back and forth. You think you are doing the right thing but you aren't! You're only making this situation worse for everybody! I would have never given you a chance to live had it not been for the benefit of the doubt that Bodhi had."
"I don't care if I die again!" I hiss. "I'm trying to say that you need to appreciate what Bodhi has done for y-" I don't get to finish. Cassian's hand comes barreling towards me. My adrenaline kicks in and I seized his wrist and slam him to the ground, pinning his chest under my arm. The Captain's eyes are raging and I immediately regret what I did.
"You know what? Screw you." Cassian pushes my arm off his chest and gets up.
I scowl. "Just be nicer to Bodhi and I won't do that again." I head back to where Bodhi is. Cassian drags behind.
Five hours later (and only about twenty words passed between each other) we reach the area where the flower is supposed to be. I look up and see the Erso's home and Lyra's flower garden. What a coincidence! The flower is in Lyra's garden!
We walk up towards the house and I realize something's wrong. The aura of the place doesn't feel right. The clues are more obvious when we get closer. I notice the front door is ajar. I slip my staff off my shoulder and carefully walk towards the door. I give it a small push. It swings open. The bar is broken and there's a huge mess in the house.
Someone has broken in.
My heart is pounding profoundly. "LYRA!! GALEN!!" I cry and race around the house. The whole place is overturned. "GALEN!! LYRA!!" I start digging through some of the rubble. Nothing.
I can't believe it. My mind is blank. What happened here? I stagger outside and that's when I see Bodhi and Cassian to my right in a fighting positions, staffs out. I look to my left and I see Lyra with a gun. "Lyra?"
Lyra turns towards me. She lets out a gasp, drops the gun, and runs to me. "Or-Orson!" She stammers. "Oh my Kriff, thank the Maker you're here. I thought I heard your voice."
I notice that she has a deep cut above her left eye, which is trickling down her face and causing her to keep her eye shut. "Lyra, what happened here?"
Lyra raises one hand and puts it over her mouth. A strangled cry escapes from her throat and she looks as though she's going to cry. "G-Galen..."
"What about Galen?"
"They took Galen!"
My heart drops. "Who?!?"
"The Empire!"
Jyn's P.O.V
I'm cold.
I look up at the distant warm and welcoming shade of yellow, which I like to think of as the sky. Every second, every minute, every hour that passes, the shade of yellow grows dimmer and dimmer. I beg for it not to leave me. It's so cold down here in this black pit where I'm trapped. I can't swim closer to the light. I don't have the strength. The sight of the yellow light is the only thing that keeps me warm. It's radiant color seems so foreign yet inviting. It's like sunlight, except I think I've forgotten what sunlight is like. I'm not even sure where I am and where I could go to get out of here.
"Jyn, whatever I do, I do it to protect you." My father's words ring in my head, like a song on repeat. I keep my mind off the cold and hunger spasms by debating if his words were true. But I have figured out the answer long ago. I may have died to his creation but I survived until I had completed my mission and my existence in the galaxy had no more use to it. Maybe my Papa couldn't protect me from the pain I was in from not having him. Maybe he couldn't protect me from the labor camps I was forced through. But he did protect me. He protected me and the galaxy up until the very end.
If only he could protect me now from this cold abyss.
The light grows even dimmer. "Please..." I whimper. I don't want to die with a pitch black landscape as the last thing my tired eyes see. I haven't been able to seep, my sides hurt from hunger, my throat is parched and it's painful to talk. If I'm going to die, can I at least choose what I'd like to see when I die?
I think about Cassian. I can't say I'm angry at him but at the same time I hate him. Like always, I was left behind by the Rebellion. First, Orson Krennic left and betrayed me and my family, then Saw left me, and now Cassian. I trusted him...
The last of the light fades away. Tears slip from my eyes, despite having nothing to drink in what feels like forever. I do the most logical thing any lost child would do.
I cry for my parents.
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Well, this was a long chapter... at least we got to see inside of Jyn's head! And poor Lyra. As though she hasn't had enough alone time without her husband or daughter already.
Also, I've always thought of Krennic as a skilled hand-to-hand fighter, which was why he was able to knock Cassian down easily.
Please review!