Talia Revik sat alone at the local watering hole full of Imperial workers. One hand held onto her drink, a variation of a Kibshae, which was a clear liquid that had minimal alcohol. Her other hand was shoved into her pocket, moving Captain Antilles' holochip around between her fingers.
Trusting her handler to send it back to the Rebel base was not an option. The package would bounce between too many people, and who knows if it would even get to its destination. Talia hated that she couldn't go back to the base, but the risk of being followed was incredibly high. All she could do was wait until she figured out a plan on how to get it there safely. She put it in her pant pocket for safe keeping.
Talia set her drink down onto the table and stood up. Time to make the drop. She exited the bar through the back. She looked around and spotted a man soiling against the wall. The rest of the dark alley was empty, thankfully. She could see the people strolling down the street on the far exit. Some storm troopers passed by, causing her to tense up a bit.
Having so many storm troopers only set the city on edge. It only made matters worse since Imperials of all kinds were despised there. Most of their population worked for the Empire in some way, but a lot of them dreaded it. That was shown through the horrible graffiti, beautiful rebellion art works, and more throughout the city.
Talia set her hand against the wall, pretending to be a little sick from the swill the bartender gave her. She needed the man to leave without getting suspicious of her being there. The man turned to glance at her and spoke up in a course accent, "Rough night?"
"Working for the Empire is always rough," she replied truthfully. She coughed and spit up a bit to make her sickness seem real. She made a deep noise as if she were going to throw up.
"Ah, you're one of us. Don't worry. Other citizens feel the same." He zipped up his pants and patted her on the back. "Do you need me to take you to the medics?"
Talia shook her head and gulped loudly. "I'm good." She waved him off and spit out excess saliva. The man nodded and walked back inside the bar.
The rebel spy straightened herself up and glanced around once more before going towards the drop. She removed the brick and stuck her hand in the pocket, but only grabbed onto air. It was empty. Guess he has nothing to say to me. She reached into her inner uniform jacket pocket and put the information holochip into the wall. Talia stuck the brick back, poking it a few times to make sure it didn't move out of place. She shoved her hands in her pockets and headed towards the street at a regular pace.
A pair of hands yanked her back into the alley and she tore away from the person's grasp. She whirled around and almost swung for a punch until she saw who it was. Captain Cassian Andor in the flesh. A mixture of relief and anger tinged up in her stomach. "What the hell are you doing here? Don't you know you being here is-"
Cassian cut her off in a short, breathless reply, "I'm saving you." He pulled her further into the alley and towards the bar door.
She resisted for a second, confused about the whole situation. "From what?"
We don't have time for this. Cassian thought quickly. He turned to her and whispered, "There's a bounty hunter that's going to be here any minute." I'm not going to fail someone else.
"Am I compromised? Or just the drop?" Her stomach twisted sharply into a knot. How? Was it something she did? Did the handler mess up? Was the Empire spying on her? Is she going to be executed? Will her face be plastered all over wanted posters? Talia kept her composure, but couldn't help from frowning at the sinking feeling settling in her system.
As if any of that actually mattered. Cassian thought it absurd to even question it. "Does it matter? People's houses are being checked. There's a bounty hunter. Clearly they're onto someone, and if you don't leave, they'll catch you. I've seen what they've done to rebels, Talia. Trust me. You don't want to stay to find out."
Some of the bar patrons glanced up at them as they scurried through the establishment. Cassian pushed through the door, accidentally knocking over a potential customer. Talia apologized in their native tongue and kept up with the rebel. "I need to grab one thing back at my apartment."
God damnit! Why...? Okay. Okay. Fine. Cassian fought with himself on the decision, but finally allowed it. "Make it fast." It must've been important if she was going back for it. The two maneuvered through the streets like cohesive fish in the sea. His dark eyes glanced around at everyone, and suddenly he felt scrutinized. Then, it donned on him. "You need to ditch your uniform."
"Give me your jacket," Talia ordered as she took off her Imperial tunic, revealing a white undershirt. She tossed her tunic into the trash, causing some people to turn their attention towards it. Once they looked back up to the source, Cassian and Talia had disappeared into the crowd. She put on Cassian's captain's jacket and kept her head down low. Her eyes skittered around everywhere, from anyone following them, to Cassian, then back to the ground. "What made you come back?"
The cold breeze washed over Cassian's skin, causing goose bumps to rise. He shivered slightly and got closer to Talia to remain quiet, "Don't draw too much attention."
"Not drawing attention if this helps us blend in," she corrected him in a low tone. She shoved her hands in her pant pockets and took one quick sweep of the area. "Pretend like we're friends. Or out on a date. Or just taking a stroll. Something. You being this close looks awkward."
Even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, Cassian liked her style. Talia didn't agree with him because he was her superior. The other rebels did that. She challenged him, and made him think. On the other hand, it was a pain to deal with since they were butting heads. As much as she was correct, he didn't reply. He put a good distance between themselves and walked behind her as they entered the Imperial compound.
Once inside the apartment, Talia dove into her room and came out of it just as quick. Cassian furrowed his brow and stepped forward, venom dripping from his tongue once he saw what she was holding, "We're here for a photo album?" His blood churned at the thought of getting caught over such a little thing. Spies shouldn't have the luxury of having heartfelt possessions out in the field. The objects were a liability, especially in situations like now.
The photo album meant more to her than anything. It was all the happiness she had left in the entire galaxy. Ignoring his comment, Talia shot him a glare and pushed towards the door. "Let's go. We can go through the back way."
A click came from the front door, as if it had just been opened. Talia quickly pulled Captain Andor into the kitchen area, just out of sight of the living room. Both of the spies drew their guns, waiting on either side of the doorframe in anticipation. The front door clicked once more as it closed behind the bounty hunter.
The unfortunate part was they didn't have the element of surprise.
Cassian locked eyes with Talia, who seemed calm on the outside, but specific movements told otherwise. Her finger fluttered between the trigger and the front of the blaster, as if she were unsure if she wanted to commit to shooting the bounty hunter. Talia's free hand shook slightly until she balled it into a fist.
I'd be frightened too if I were in her place. Death has touched my life too much already to faze me. Cassian thought as his finger coiled around to the trigger. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple. He steadied his heart rate and exhaled slowly, listening to the footsteps of the Bhok Sivra as she came closer and closer to where the kitchen.
Bhok's gun came into sight first. Talia reacted and hit Bhok's hand with the butt of her gun, causing the bounty hunter to drop it and cry out in pain. Talia went in for a punch to the face. Bhok knee collided with her stomach, knocking Talia down a peg. Talia hunched over, gasping for air for a second.
Bhok noticed Cassian and his readiness to fire his blaster. She quickly whipped out her second gun and shot his weapon. The gun flew out of his hand and was knocked to the other side of the room. He bit his lip as pain surged up his arm. The skin on his hand turned a bright red, and became sensitive as the burn set in.
Talia tackled the bounty hunter, slamming her against the floor. They wrestled for a few seconds before Bhok sent a right hook at Talia's jaw. The rebel spy flinched and groaned, but stayed on track. She used all her strength to push Bhok's gun to face at the wall. Bhok fought back and attempted to aim at the two rebels, but failed. The weapon was thrown to the side, leaving her one thing to do.
Bhok bit into Talia's arm.
Talia cried out as quietly as she could, biting her tongue so her neighbors wouldn't hear. Bhok kicked upwards, launching Talia over her and into the wall. Talia hit the floor and slowly became drenched in her own blood.
The Shistavanen pushed herself off of the floor and dove right for Cassian. Captain Andor shot at her with his retrieved blaster, but both shots missed. She was too quick and dodged his attacks. Cassian aimed low this time and got her right in the leg. It slowed her down, but not much. He pinned her against the wall, yet couldn't hold her long enough to take another shot.
Bhok fought back and the two struggled for a minute. Kick. Punch. Hit. The two exchanged fight moves, hitting and missing at different times. Bhok dug her sharp fingernails into Cassian's arm, causing him to drop the blaster onto the ground. A shot went off and collided with a wall, missing his leg by a few inches.
The bounty hunter slammed Cassian into one of the counters and kicked his legs out from underneath him. He landed on the ground with a loud thud. Bhok bared her teeth and stretched her bloody fingers as she got ready to dig into him.
A few blaster shots fired, hitting Bhok in the chest and head. The Shistavanen twitched before falling lifeless onto the ground. Cassian looked up to see Talia standing there, blaster in hand. Her chest heaved as she breathed heavily, eyes wide and full of adrenaline.
A wave of invigoration washed over Talia. Killing a bounty hunter that worked for the Empire meant she saved lives. All of those people, whether they be deserters, rebels, the scum of the galaxy, or innocent civilians, were now alive because she did the dirty work.
In a flash, confusion and a terrible feeling knotted up in her stomach. Talia just took someone's life. She internally ridiculed Cass for doing the same thing a few weeks prior, yet here she was, committing the same atrocity. The Shistavanen might've had a family. Children. Friends. People that depended on her. Bhok was doing her job to get paid to support them.
And now Bhok Sivra was dead.
Talia had to do what was best for her and the Rebellion...but god, at what cost?
Captain Andor peered at Talia in slight disbelief. The woman that was so against killing finally took a life. The first time you kill is always the worst. He thought to himself. He admired the fact that she took it upon herself to do it to save them and the bigger picture, but she would never be the same again. It was like a switch in the mind; a staggering line between innocence and guilt. Cassian pushed himself off of the ground and walked over to Talia slowly. He set a hand on her shoulder, accidentally startling her. "You okay?"
The rebel spy paled and lowered the blaster. She nodded slowly, holding out the gun to give to him. She didn't want it anymore. Her stomach churned as bile rose up in her throat. Talia's eyebrows furrowed while she struggled to tear her eyes away from the corpse.
Cassian took the blaster and put it in the back of his pants. He grabbed the photo album that had been thrown onto the floor, and gently tugged at Talia's arm. "Let's go."
AN: I loved making this aesthetic for Talia!