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tomeandflickcorner · 6 years

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Rouge One: A Star Wars Story

We’ve reached the movie that pretty much serves as a prologue to the original trilogy, and the film that kickstarted the Star Wars anthology movies. I know this movie got a bit of flack for not utilizing the iconic text crawl, but in this movie’s defense, it’s not the first time a Star Wars movie didn’t include a text crawl. Besides, the point of the text crawl is to fill people in on what happened prior to the movie’s opening and to help set the stage. I’m pretty sure everyone who went into this movie knew what it was going to be about.

The movie opens on a desolate planet called Lah'mu. Here, a man named Galen Erso lives and runs a small farm with the aid of his wife, Lyra, and their daughter, Jyn. Throughout the film, it comes out that Galen once worked for the Empire as one of their chief scientists in charge of the construction of a top secret weapon. However, when he started to find out the true nature of the weapon he was helping to design, he realized that he no longer wanted anything to do with it and deserted his post, secretly relocating to this planet with his family so they could simply live their lives in peace. But it turns out that the Empire somehow managed to locate him. Galen obviously had anticipated this would happen as he was utilizing a Sentry Droid to alert them if any Imperial ships entered the atmosphere, and he and his family had clearly already worked out an escape plan.

While Lyra contacts a man called Saw Gerrera, who is apparently a trusted friend of theirs, Galen takes a moment to hug his young daughter, telling her to remember that everything he’s done or will do is because he wants to keep her safe. He then gets Lyra to take Jyn and run while he goes out to confront the approaching Imperials alone, obviously to give his family time to escape. As such, he goes out to face Orson Krennic, the man in charge of the Empire’s weapon development branch. Krennic tries to convince Galen to return with him to resume work on the Empire’s secret weapon, as development has hit a snag and they’ll need his expertise to proceed with the development. But Galen refuses, stating he no longer wants anything to do with the Empire and their plans. In the end, however, Galen is forcibly taken captive. And Lyra, who had decided to leave Jyn behind in order to come back and defend her husband, is killed. As a result, Jyn is left alone in a secret bunker hidden within the mountain, where she remains until Saw finally shows up to retrieve her.

Have to say, that was a pretty dumb move by Lyra. I get that Galen was in danger and she dearly loved her husband and all. But as a parent, her first priority should have been with Jyn. Chances were, she was going to lose her father that day either way, so she needed her mother even more. Sure, Lyra obviously knew Saw was on his way and that he would most likely take her under his wing. But it still was a bit foolhardy for this woman to walk out on her kid like that. Especially since she and Galen had clearly planned and prepared for this day.

It’s then shown that that whole sequence was some kind of dream/flashback sequence of Jyn, who is now fully grown. And at this point in time, she’s being confined in some interplanetary prison with a number of other inmates. It’s later stated that she’s been arrested for possessing undocumented weapons, forgery, assault and resisting arrest.

The story then cuts to some trading post called the Ring of Kafrene. The thing that stuck out to me was that it appears to be located on an asteroid. Which makes me wonder how they maintain an atmosphere in this place, as people are clearly walking about outside. Do they utilize a similar technology to what the Gungans used with their underwater city? Anyway, it’s here that we meet our next main character, Captain Cassian Andor, a member of the Rebel Alliance. He’s in the process of having a rendezvous with a fellow Rebel named Tivik who informs him that an Imperial pilot has recently defected from the Empire. This Imperial pilot claims that the Empire, who has recently been harvesting Kyber Crystals from the planet Jedah, is building a weapon they’re calling a ‘planet killer.’ And the pilot’s friend, who just happens to be Galen, had sent him to pass an important message to Saw. Unfortunately, a Stormtrooper approaches the two before more could be said, and Cassian shoots him dead. This, of course, alerts some other nearby Stormtroopers, and, because Tivik is injured, Cassian kills him as well. Now, obviously, I can see the logic to this particular action. Since Tivik was wounded and would not be able to keep up with Cassian in evading the Stormtroopers, it would have been inevitable that he would have been captured. And if that happened, the Imperials would have undoubtedly tortured him before subjecting him to a painful, drawn out death. So realistically, Cassian was being merciful to his ally. At the same time, the fact that Cassian can kill his friend without even blinking is a sobering testament to what war can do to a person. Cassian will later admit that he has been fighting in the Rebellion since the age of 6. Meaning he had to grow up way too quickly. It’s in moments like this that I think it’s a shame that the original movies never really gave the characters a chance to actually be human. The original trilogy never really touched upon the lasting effects this war must be having on those who have been fighting for most of their lives. Think about how many might be suffering from PTSD. So the fact that they’re kinda exploring an aspect of all of that with Cassian is kinda cool.

We then return to Jyn, who is now being transported to another prison encampment. Along the way, however, the prison convoy is halted by a group that are soon revealed to be part of the Rebel Alliance. Because they somehow managed to find out that Galen’s daughter, Jyn was aboard this convoy. Not quite sure how they managed to figure that out, considering Jyn had been living under an assumed name at the time, but oh well. When the Rebels break into the prison transport to free Jyn, however, she reacts with hostility and tries to run away. She doesn’t get far, though, as a Droid called K-2SO, manages to stop her. K-2SO, as it’s later stated, was once an Imperial Droid, but he was captured and reprogramed by the Rebel Alliance and is therefore now on their side. And he’s probably one of the best characters in this movie, due to his delightfully deadpan manner. The fact that Alan Tudyk provided the voice for this character only makes it even cooler.

Once Jyn is in their custody, the Rebels take her to their base on Yavin 4, where she’s brought before the leaders of the Rebellion, including Mon Mothma and Jan Dodonna. (Incidentally, I applaud the casting director for their pick of the actress who portrayed Mon Mothma. She looks just like the woman who played her in Return of the Jedi.) During this scene, we also get a glimpse of Bail Organa himself, who really seemed to age well. Even though I was slightly confused as to why the movie decided to play the Luke Theme Music when he first appeared.

When Jyn is brought before the Rebellion leaders, she’s informed that the Rebel Alliance believes her father, Galen, is working on a new weapon for the Empire, but they have learned that Galen has sent a message through the deflected Imperial pilot. A message that has been received by Saw. The problem is, Saw is an extremist who has severed ties with the Rebellion. As such, it’s doubtful that he will react kindly if someone from the Rebellion approached him to retrieve the alleged message. So they’re hoping that Jyn can help them out, considering she and Saw know each other, and he’d therefore trust her. Jyn, however, isn’t initially interested in helping out, as she’s grown too jaded to believe in the Rebellion’s cause and has become apathetic to the Empire taking over everywhere. Not to mention she hasn’t exactly been fond of Saw since the day he abandoned her to fend for herself at some point after the events of the opening scene. But she eventually agrees to assist them when the Rebel Leaders offer to grant her a pardon for her list of crimes in exchange for her help. As such, Jyn is sent to accompany Cassian and K-2SO when they journey to Jedah in order to seek out Saw and retrieve the message Galen sent with the defected Imperial pilot. And with luck, they can then locate Galen himself so he can be brought before the Senate for testimony. It’s at this stage in the movie a mini subplot is initiated, with it being shown a mutual distrust exists between Jyn and K-2SO.

We also get the start of another subplot around this point. This one involving the Empire. Krennic, it turns out, is getting a lot of flak due to the number of setbacks that have sprung up in the development of the weapon that will eventually be revealed as the Death Star. And now, word has gotten out that one of the cargo pilots has defected and has started spreading the word about their secret weapon. In an effort to appease Emperor Palpatine (who has been growing impatient for the Death Star to be completed) as well as prevent the possibility of more planetary systems siding with the Rebel Alliance, Grand Moff Tarkin decrees that an immediate test of the Death Star should be performed. And yes, Grand Moff Tarkin has been placed into this movie through CGI because the original actor, Peter Cushing, passed away from prostate cancer 22 years before this movie premiered. It’s rather hard to rate the quality of the CGI here. On the one hand, it always does look like there’s someone actually there. But at the same time, there’s just something about the face that’s just….off. Though it’s hard to pinpoint what exactly is off about it. It does make one wonder why they decided to insert this character into the movie with CGI, however. If they can find a lookalike actress for Mom Mothma, I’m sure they could have located a replacement Peter Cushing.

Meanwhile, Cassian, Jyn and K-2SO have arrived on Jedha, where they observe a Star Destroyer hovering over the holy city. It turns out that Jedha was once the location of a sacred Jedi Temple. But ever since the Jedi massacre, the temple is now a shadow of its former self. (I wonder if that’s why the planet is called Jedha. It does sound quite similar to Jedi.) Anyway, Cassian informs Jyn that the Star Destroyer is there because Saw and his band of rebels have been attacking the Imperial cargo ships that have been harvesting the Kyber Crystals that were stored and grown in the abandoned Jedi temple. It turns out that the Death Star’s attack beam is powered by the Kyber Crystals, so the Empire has been gathering up as many as they could find. In order to find Saw, Jyn and Cassian enter the nearby city, with K-2SO remaining near the ship.

Once they reach the city streets, Cassian steps away for a bit, explaining that he had a contact on Jedha who disappeared, but his sister would be waiting for them nearby. So he plans on approaching the sister to inform her that Jyn is there, in the hopes that hearing Jyn’s name would enable them to meet with Saw. While it’s not clear, I wonder if this missing contact Cassian mentioned was Tivik, that guy he shot and killed earlier in the movie. If so, it’s a bit unsettling to know that he has a sister waiting in vain for him to come home. But after Cassian leaves Jyn to her own devices, after a surprise cameo of two faces that might be familiar to the long-time Star Wars fans, Jyn’s attention is caught by a blind man sitting nearby when he reveals he knows she’s wearing a necklace. Yeah, Jyn has a necklace of a Kyber Crystal that her mother, Lyra, gave her before her death. I don’t think the necklace is that significant in the film, but I have heard this movie did undergo a few script rewites, so maybe Jyn’s necklace was going to be important in an early version of the script but they then dropped its significance in the final draft. Either way, all we really get from this scene is the knowledge that the Kyber Crystals were also what powered the Jedi lightsabers. Which would explain why there’s a large collection of them on Jedha. But Cassian returns and ushers Jyn away before more could be said.

Cassian and Jyn don’t get far, though, as an Imperial squadron appears at that moment, moving their way through the city streets. They’re apparently transporting more Kyber Crystals off the planet so they can be used to power the Death Star’s laser canon. To avoid being seen, Cassian and Jyn duck into a nearby alleyway, but they then notice a small number of figures moving about from the shadows and rooftops. These people are revealed to be Saw’s band of rebels, as they proceed to attack the Imperial convoy and make off with the Kyber Crystals amidst a whole gun fight. A gun fight that Cassian and Jyn get involved in.

Incidentally, there’s this one moment in this particular sequence where Jyn saves a little girl who had wandered out into the middle of the chaos. From what I’ve seen, there’s some fan speculation that this little girl is a young Rose Tico, a character we meet in the current trilogy. But I don’t think I buy into that particular theory. Based on Rose’s apparent age in The Last Jedi, I think it’s highly unlikely she even existed back then.

Anyway, the gunfight ends up coming to a pause when K-2SO unexpectedly pops up (resulting in a rather nice fake-out moment.) He admits he’d gotten bored waiting around for Cassian and Jyn to return. Although, while K-2SO does help save Cassian and Jyn by fending off a few of the Stormtroopers, they then find themselves surrounded by a larger group of them. In spite of K-2SO’s attempt at bluffing their way out of the situation by taking advantage of the fact that he was originally an Imperial Droid, it’s ultimately the blind man from earlier that helps save them. His name is Chirrut Îmwe. He was once one of the Guardians of the Whills, an order that was charged with protecting the temple on Jedha, up until the rise of the Empire. When the Jedi were wiped out, Chirrut was virtually thrown out on the street. Nevertheless, Chirrut has remained steadfast at his old post. And it’s him who manages to singlehandedly fight off the Stormtroopers that were attempting to apprehend Cassian, Jyn and K-2SO. Although, it’s Chirrut’s friend and partner, Baze Malbus, that ends up finishing the task. Baze is another former member of the Guardians of the Whills, but he’s not as spiritual as Chirrut, as the presence of the Empire on Jedhah has left him with a cynical nature.

Before I continue the review, I’d like to comment on Chirrut, who is one of my two favorite character in the movie. (The other being K-2SO.) Even though Chirrut is blind, it doesn’t seem to slow him down, and he effortlessly is able to take on a number of Stormtroopers at once. This guy is so incredible, you might even forget that he’s blind. Which makes me wonder if he is able to see through the Force. Of course, that presents the possibility that Churrut was Force Sensitive. If that’s the case, I wonder why he wasn’t trained as a Jedi. Did he just not have a master to train him? I don’t think the Jedi Order would have rejected him due to his blindness. Especially since I distinctly remember the existence of the Miraluka, a species that were naturally born without eyes. In one of the Star Wars MM0s, you could even have your character be a Miraluka if you played as a Jedi. So obviously, the Jedi Order don’t usually discriminate against blind Force Sensitive individuals.

Either way, moments after Chuirrut and Baze meet Cassian and Jyn, with K-2SO being sent back to the ship, some of Saw’s rebels appear. They are all set to either capture or kill the four of them, until Jyn steps forward and identifies herself as the daughter of Galen Erso. This is enough for the rebels to decide against killing them, but they still forcibly bring them to Saw’s hideout in the Catacombs of Cadera, also blindfolding them, much to Chirrut’s exasperation. When they reach the Catacombs, Cassian, Baze and Chirrut are placed within holding cells while Jyn is escorted to Saw’s chambers.

While they’re imprisoned, they happen to meet the Imperial pilot that deflected, Bodhi Rook. It turns out that when he sought out Saw with Galen’s message, Saw refused to believe him and, in order to test the validity of his story, he subjected Bodhi to this squid creature called Bor Gullet. Apparently, this Bor Gullet has some kind of mind probing ability that will determine if Bodhi is telling the truth or not. The only downside is that getting mind probed by Bor Gullet tends to have an adverse effect on the victim. Obviously, this was meant to show how ruthless Saw is, as he doesn’t seem to care about what happens to Bodhi if he turns out to be telling the truth. But there’s no real explanation for how he found Bor Gullet or anything like that. Is Bor Gullet a sentient being or is he just an attack squid of some kind? Either way, Bodhi is visibly shaken up from his ordeal with Bor Gullet, but when Cassian notices him and realizes that he is the Imperial piolet that defected, he is able to snap Bodhi out of his state by reminding him that Galen sent him to bring the message to Saw.

Meanwhile, Jyn is in the middle of reuniting with Saw, who is happy to see her again. But Jyn is less than pleased, as she’s still mad at him for abandoning her. Apparently, Saw had left Jyn in a bunker somewhere, armed with a knife and loaded blaster, when she was only 16. And he never came back for her. But Saw tries to excuse his actions by pointing out that people were starting to figure out who she was, or rather who her father was. Turns out Saw’s followers aren’t a hug fan of Galen due to his affiliation with the Empire, and Saw was therefore worried they might take it out on Jyn. While that kinda makes sense, I get the impression that Saw had left Jyn in the bunker with the implication that he’d come back for her, but then never did. If that’s the case, I don’t blame Jyn for being angry. The least Saw could have done was be honest about why he had to send her off on her own.

Instead of fully resolving the strain in their relationship, Saw ends up showing Jyn the message Galen sent through Bodhi. In the holographic message, Galen admits that he did indeed help the Empire build their deadly weapon called the Death Star, but it was only because he knew that Krennic would have simply tasked someone else with the project if he refused to comply. So Galen had decided to take advantage of his position to sabotage the project from the inside. He ended up purposely designing the Death Star with a small but vital flaw. Galen’s message goes on to state that the blueprints for the Death Star are located in a data vault on a planet called Scarif, and if Rebel Forces managed to obtain those blueprints, they’d be able to locate the position of that fatal flaw and take advantage of the knowledge to destroy it.

Galen’s message ends with an emotional personal postscript addressed to Jyn, in which he states he never stopped thinking of her and misses her so much. This message clearly strikes a chord with Jyn, as she falls to her knees in tears. While she had previously acted as if she didn’t care, it’s obvious that she still dearly loves her father and missed him terribly.

However, there’s not much time to mourn, because by sheer chance, Krennic and Grand Moff Tarkin are hovering above Jedha within the Death Star. It had been decided that they would perform a test of the Death Star’s capabilities by directing a half-powered blast at the Holy City on the planet surface. Turns out the Death Star’s destructive laser blast had an intensity dial. Who knew? After they evacuate their troops from the Jedha, hey end up firing one of these smaller blasts down at the planet, right after Jyn and Saw finished watching Galen’s message. (Talk about ironic timing). Fortunately, Cassian had just happened to break himself, Chirrut, Baze and Bohdi out of their cells and, after locating Jyn, he is able to make contact K-2SO, instructing him to fly the ship to their present location on the double. After a brief suspenseful moment, the six of them are able to only just get away from the massive destructive blast enveloping the area. However, Saw chooses to remain behind because of reasons that are not really explained. As such, he ends up dying, along with who knows how many people who were caught in the explosion and destructive aftershock. As far as we know, our six main leads are the only ones who survived.

Up on the Death Star, Tarkin apologizes to Krennick for doubting him, as the test has proven that the Death Star’s destructive capabilities have made up for the multitude of problems that had sprung up during the development. Although, the smile is wiped off Krennick’s face when he’s informed that Tarkin intends to take over control of the Death Star. Krennick sees this as a great injustice as the Death Star was his achievement, and he therefore deserves full credit. Tarkin, however, counters that by stating the recent security breaches, such as Bodhi’s deflection and the possibility that he told others about the Death Star, has shown that Krennick is too incompetent to continue being in charge of the project. Krennick argues that the breaches have been sealed, since, as far as they knew, Bohdi and everyone he told about the Death Star had been on Jedha when they destroyed the Holy City. But Tarkin scoffs at this, pointing out that Bodhi might not have acted alone, as he had been dispatched from the research installation on the planet Eadu right before he defected. The fact that Eadu was the facility where Galen and his crew were working on the Death Star is enough to rouse some suspicion. To follow up on this observation, Krennick decides to make an impromptu trip to Eadu.

Coincidentally, Jyn, Cassian and the others are also on their way to Eadu, as Bohdi most likely told them that’s where Galen was. Although, it turns out that the mission to apprehend Galen and bring him back to Yaven 4 for questioning isn’t quite the true objective. Cassian had been taken aside earlier by General Draven and given secret orders to kill Galen on sight. Which honestly doesn’t make much sense. Sure, the Rebel Alliance obviously believe Galen is loyal to the Empire due to the fact that he works for them and therefore concluded that he supports the construction of the Death Star. But if they kill him, then they lose the chance to interrogate him about the Death Star, and possibly find out a way to combat it. But I guess this is meant to give us this underlining commentary about a soldier blindly following orders. Because on the way, Jyn begins to tell her companions about Galen’s holographic message, in which he’d explained that he only agreed to work on the Death Star so he could sabotage it from the inside, and that he’d purposely designed it with a weak spot on the Death Star’s reactor. Unfortunately, Jyn was too emotionally sidetracked to even think about taking the holographic imager with her when they were escaping the planet, meaning the message was destroyed along with the Holy City on Jedha. So all they have is her word. And considering Galen is Jyn’s father, she’s probably not the most impartial witness. So this is clearly set up to be a test of whether or not Cassian trusts Jyn’s word.

When they arrive on Eadu, Cassian sets off for the research facility where Galen is stationed, taking only Bohdi with him, on account of the fact that he’s been there before and therefore knows the layout of the planet and the facility. However, after they leave, K-2SO and Chirrut tip Jyn off that Cassian is probably not looking to bring her father back alive. (Chirrut comments on how the Force moves in a certain way around someone about to kill, and K-2SO observed Cassian had been carrying a sniper weapon.) As such, she immediately heads off after them. And Chirrut and Baze also follow her soon afterwards. So only K-2SO is left back at the ship.

Cassian and Bohdi manage to make it up onto a rocky outcrop overlooking the research facility, just as Galen and his crew are coming outside to meet with Krennic, who has just arrived. Fully intending to go through with his orders to kill Galen, Cassian sends Bohdi back to the ship so he won’t try to stop him.

Down at the docking platform, Krennic proceeds to announce he knows someone among the research team has betrayed the Empire and conspired with a pilot to send messages to the Rebellion. He threatens to kill everyone unless the traitor step forward. After a tense moment, Galen jumps forward, just when Krennic was giving the order to kill all the engineers. He pleads with Krennic to spare them, as he was the one who conspired with Bohdi and the others had nothing to do with it. However, even after Galen admits to have worked alone, Krennic still has the other scientists gunned down. Which was a jerk move, to be honest. Why would you even do that?

Meanwhile, up on the outcrop, Cassian is aiming his sniper rifle at Galen, with his finger on the trigger. But he ultimately realizes he can’t go through with it. However, that’s when he notices Jyn trying to sneak her way up to the platform where Galen and Krennic are having their confrontation. If that wasn’t bad enough, he then receives word from K-2SO back at the ship that a Rebel squadron is heading their way. Because apparently, when the ship Cassian was piloting went off their radar upon approaching Erso, the Rebel Alliance decided to jump the gun and send backup. Cassian tries to get a message up to the fleet to order them to disengage, but it’s too late as their radios have already switched off. So Cassian has to scramble down to the platform to get Jyn out of harm’s way. But by the time he gets there, the attack on the facility has already started. While Jyn is miraculously unharmed in the ensuing explosions, she can only watch in horror as her father is struck down. She is able to reach him just in time to see him one last time before he dies.

At that moment, Cassian appears on the scene. He has to physically drag Jyn away from Galen’s body, as a fleet of TIE Fighters have appeared to fend off the Rebel squadron. So it’s no longer safe there. They manage to make it back to their ship, thanks to the combined efforts of Chirrut and Baze, who are able to shoot down the TIE Fighters from the ground, and Bohdi, who becomes an official member of the Rebellion by firing off their ship’s guns at his former compatriots.

As they make their return trip to Yaven 4, Jyn and Cassian get into a shouting match over the fact that Cassian had lied to her and had fully intended to kill her father. To Jyn, it doesn’t matter that Cassian had ultimately decided to disobey his orders. The fact that he even considered following them at all without stopping to question if his orders were right and wrong means he’s no better than a Stormtrooper. To Cassian, Jyn has no right to be so judgmental, as she has no idea what it is to be a soldier. Unlike him, who has been on the battlefield for most of his life. Overall, this is a rather deep scene that further drives home what war can do to a person. And I guess I have to give the movie brownie points for not showing a resolution to the argument. Because the only right answer to an argument such is this is that wars are ugly affairs and that anyone who fights in one cannot come out of it unchanged.

It’s at this point in the movie that we get a scene that pretty much only exists to show audiences that, yes, Darth Vader appears in this. For some reason, he appears to live on Mustifar now. Which seems like an odd choice. Considering what happened to him on this particular planet, you’d think Vader would prefer to not have to revisit this place again. Anyway, Krennic approaches Vader to request an audience with the Emperor, to make sure he can fully appreciate the potential of the Death Star. Throughout the scene, it comes out that the Emperor would prefer it if nobody knew the Death Star existed, and to cover up its involvement in the attack on Jedha, the Senate has been told the destruction was the result of a mining accident. Although, that does present an issue with a key moment in A New Hope, which I’ll cover next week.

Back on Yaven 4, Jyn and Cassian have just finished telling the Rebellion about what they’d found out about the Death Star, and what really happened on Jedha. This puts everyone in an uproar, as everyone is shocked and horrified that the Empire has this kind of power. However, this creates a serious divide between them. While some are giving into despair and thinking it would be in their best interests to surrender, others are insisting that they can’t give in and have to continue to fight. Others are suspecting that the whole thing is a trick, and that it might just be a ploy to lure the Rebellion into the open, on account that their main sources of information came from an Imperial scientist and an Imperial pilot. But that’s when Jyn suddenly develops the ability to deliver passionate speeches of encouragement. She urges the Rebellion to rise up, stating that if they give into the enemy now, they condemn the galaxy to an eternal submission. Jyn suggests that the Rebels send their best troops to Scarif and capture the Death Star plans. Because if there is a hope of destroying it, it’s worth the risk.

Unfortunately, Mon Mothma decides that, without the full support of the council, she cannot launch an attack on Scarif. But Jyn isn’t willing to give up. And it turns out her feelings are shared by Bohdi, Chirrut and Baze. Out of nowhere, Cassian also appears at their side, accompanied by a handful of Rebel soldiers. They reveal they also agree with Jyn. As such, they decide to go off to Scarif on their own, even without permission from the Rebel leaders. And they proceed to hijack an impounded Imperial ship to make it to the Imperial controlled planet. When the flight control staff attempt to hail them upon noticing the ship taking off without authorization, Bohdi impulsively decides to state their call sign is Rouge One.

As the newly dubbed Rouge One is leaving for Scariff, Mom Mothma has a one-on-one conversation with Bail Organa, in which they agree that war is now inevitable. Bail Organa decides to return to Alderaan to inform his people that peace is no longer feasible, but states that the Rebel Alliance needs every advantage they can get. Right away, Mon Mothma realizes what Bail is implying. He intends to send word to their old ally, Obi Wan, in the hopes that they can convince him to come out of hiding. Mon Mothma comments how Bail will need someone he trusts completely with a mission of this importance. To this, Bail simply says ‘I would trust her with my life.’ Right away, we can only conclude he is referring to his adopted daughter Leia.

Sadly, we know that this is the last time we’ll chronologically see Bail Organa. Which is a huge shame because he really was a great character. Although, I also have to wonder if he had an ulterior motive for sending Leia to fetch Obi Wan. Especially considering Bail was probably one of the only people in the galaxy who knew that Leia was actually the daughter of Anakin and Padmé. As such, it was only to be expected that she’d be Force Sensitive. And I’d wager that Bail did notice some signs of Leia’s Force Sensitivity throughout the years. So I wonder if Bail’s plan was that Obi-Wan would take the opportunity to inform Leia of her true birthright and train her as a Jedi as well. If that’s the case, it’s a shame that it didn’t work out like that.

And that brings us to what’s by far the best sequence in the film- the Battle of Scarif. When they arrive at the planet, Bodhi uses the knowledge of his time among the Imperials to get past the protective shield that encompasses the planet, stating the Imperial ship they’ve commandeered should have an access code on file. Thankfully, the Empire hadn’t yet logged that particular access code as out of date, and they are allowed to enter through the entry gate within the protective shield. When they land on the planet surface and the Imperial inspection team enters the ship, the Rebels are able to ambush them. By sheer dumb luck, the uniforms they confiscate from them fit Jyn and Cassian perfectly, which allows them to execute their plan. Simply put, Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO will infiltrate the Citadel where the Death Star plans are sure to be kept. Meanwhile, Baze and Chirrut will aid some of the Rebel soldiers in setting off strategically placed bombs throughout the facility, in order to make it look as if their small army is larger than it actually is. This, they hope, will lure the Imperial forces out of the Citadel, making it easier for Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO to retrieve the Death Star plans and get back to the ship, where Bohdi and the remaining Rebels will be waiting to fly them out of there the moment their mission is completed.

Unbeknownst to our heroes, Krennic has also arrived at Scarif at the same time. His intention is to follow up on the discovery that Galen was the one responsible for the security breach. As such, he instructs the Imperials manning the base to inspect every single transmission that was sent from Scarif, no doubt thinking that Galen might have transmitted the Death Star plans from Scarif. But because of this, he’s there when the Rebels start setting off their bombs, signaling the beginning of the battle.

Word of the Rebel attack on Scarif manages to make its way to Grand Moff Tarkin aboard the Death Star. Remembering that the original plans for the Death Star are stored there, he instructs his subordinates to set a course for Scarif, clearly planning to destroy the Imperial base. Which is a rather shred move. He’s clearly deciding to sacrifice the base and the Imperials stationed there to prevent the Rebels from getting away with the Death Star Plans. As for the Rebel Alliance stationed on Yavin 4, they likewise intercept the transmission about the Rebel attack on Scarif. When Mom Mothma hears of this, she ends up sending an entire squadron over there to aid their allies. Which seems to contradict her earlier statement that she couldn’t condone an attack on Scarif without the full support of the other Rebel leaders.

And yes, we do get a cameo of C-3PO and R2-D2 in this scene. It really serves no purpose, though. I guess it was just thrown in to give Star Wars fans something to giggle about.

Back on Scariff, the battle is already underway. Because of the explosions throughout the base, the Imperials are out in force, resulting in a gun fight between them and Rouge One’s ground crew. And to keep the Imperials running around on a wild goose chase, Bohdi and the Rebels back on their ship continue to send out false reports of Rebels being sighted in various sectors. Meanwhile, Jyn, Cassian and K-2SO have made it to the Citadel’s databanks, which they were able to locate by deactivating and scanning the memory bank of another Imperial Droid. But the tide starts to turn when AT-AT Walkers appear along the beach, forcing the Rebel soldiers to retreat. And when the Rebel squadron ships appear on the Imperial base’s radar, they lock down the base. Only a few ships manage to get past the shield before the gates are closed. While this does mean Rouge One’s ground crew now has areal support agaginst the AT-AT Walkers, this does present a problem. With the shield gate closed, Rouge One is trapped, and will not be able to get off the planet with the Death Star plans. Which means they’d have to come up with another idea of how to get the plans to the Rebel fleet fighting out in space

When she and Cassian are notified of this by K-2SO, who is helping them locate the right data file, Jyn suggests transmitting the plans out to the Rebel fleet. But this would only be possible if they take out the shield gate. As such, they task Bohdi with finding a way of blowing a hole into the gate so the transmission can get through. So Bohdi gets to work in trying to send a message to the Rebel Command ship, which is commanded by Admiral Raddus, a Mon Calamari. (Apparently the same species as the well-known Admiral Ackbar), to inform them of the incoming transmission. But in order to do that, Bohdi has to hack into the communications tower. So he contacts the ground troops, asking them to locate the master switch that will enable him to interface with the tower

The battle continues with Rebel troops joining Rouge One’s ground troop in reaching the master switch while the fleet that remains outside the planet’s barrier shield works for a way to dismantle the shield gate. And over at the Citadel, Jyn and Cassian are continuing to try and locate the correct data file. Although, there’s also a brief scene when Jyn and K-2SO reach the pinnacle of their relationship arc. At the start of their reluctant alliance, K-2SO had voiced his objection to the fact that Jyn was allowed to carry around a blaster when he wasn’t. But in this scene, Jyn willingly passes her blaster over to K-2SO. Which is clearly meant to show that these two now consider each other friends. Which is great, even though I don’t think they interacted that much apart from this one moment on Jedah, when Jyn shot an Imperial Droid during the gun battle and briefly froze in shock for a moment, visibly worried that she’d accidently shot K-2SO before getting her reassurance a second later when the real K-2SO appeared.

Anyway, when Cassian is scanning the code names for the numerous data files stored there, Jyn’s attention is caught by the fact that one of the files has been named ‘Stardust,’ which had been the nickname her father had given her when she was a little girl. Right away, she realizes that that’s the file that contains the Death Star plans. While that was clever of Galen, it is still a bit problematic, because what if Jyn hadn’t been there? Just saying, we’re pretty much talking the fate of the entire galaxy here. It seems like a pretty high risk to stake everything solely on the possibility that Jyn would have been present to identify the correct data file.

Unfortunately, before Cassian can extract the data file, K-2SO has to quickly close the door to the vault, enclosing Jyn and Cassian inside. This is because a group of Storm Troopers had arrived on the scene, and K-2SO had been hoping to keep them from being discovered. But his plan backfires when Cassian blows his cover by calling over their comlinks, asking the Droid what was going on. Which was really dumb on Cassian’s part. You’d think he would have been able to put 2 and 2 together and realize they were in danger of being discovered. Either way, when he realizes his cover is blown, K-2SO quickly drops the charade and openly attacks the Stormtroopers, managing to defeat them all effortlessly. He then proceeds to hold off further attackers with the blaster Jyn had given him. But as more and more Stormtroopers arrive on the scene, K-2SO soon finds himself outnumbered and outgunned. As such, he uses the last of his strength to sever the power to the vault, which will prevent the Imperial forces from opening it to reach Jyn and Cassian. The moment he does so, he receives one last hit before dying. So, RIP to K-2SO. He went down fighting.

Out on the beach, the Rebels are trying to reach the control tower in order to flip the master switch so Bohdi could inform the Rebel fleet of the incoming transmisson. But they find their path blocked by a large amount of enemy gunfire, so it appears to be impossible for anyone to reach the master switch without getting gunned down. However, Chirrut, placing full trust in the Force, is able to calmly walk out and miraculously manages to reach the master switch unscathed. Sadly though, the moment he flips the master switch, the Force apparently decides he’s fulfilled his appointed task as Chirrut is then caught in an explosion caused by Imperials shooting the control panel. This obviously devastates Baze, who immediately breaks cover and hurries over to his fallen comrade. The two best friends share one last moment together before Chirrut dies from his injuries. But his friend’s death has apparently led Baze to once again believe in the strength of the Force. As such, Baze decides to continue fighting in his friend’s name. And he manages to take down a number of Imperials before he’s also killed by a grenade. As for Bohdi, he manages to hack his way into the control tower to send a transmission up the Rebel Command ship. And because the Rebel fleet managed to destroy the shield gate with a really impressive maneuver involving a disabled Star Destroyer, he is able to inform Admiral Raddus that the Death Star plans will be transmitted up to them momentarily. Tragically, the moment Bohdi finishes sending that message, he is also killed by a well-thrown grenade. As such, only Jyn and Cassian are left from the movie’s six main leads.

Back at the Citadel, Jyn and Cassian have to climb up to retrieve the data file containing the Death Star plans because the power to the file extracting mechanism was also severed when K-2SO sealed off the vault. Just when they retrieve it, however, Krennic appears out of nowhere and begins to open fire at the pair. Eventually, Cassian is hit in the shoulder and falls. Fortunately, he only falls onto a conveniently placed platform, but he’s temporarily knocked out. So Jyn has to continue the climb to the top of the Citadel alone. After some padding, including a moment when Jyn has to get through a video-game style grate that opens and closes repeatedly, she reaches the top of the Citadel, where she prepares to transmit the Death Star plans up to the Rebel command ship. Of course, the movie has to pad things out even more by making Jyn fix the alignment on the antenna first, but once she’s done that, she’s able to begin the transmission.

But that’s when Krennic appears once again for the final confrontation, holding Jyn at gunpoint. Defiantly, Jyn identifies herself as the daughter of Galen and Lyra. But then, for some reason, she decides to start monologing by informing Krennic of how Galen designed the Death Star with a fatal flaw, and she’s now told the Rebel Alliance all about it. While I get why Jyn would have felt the need to rub it in and let him know of his failure before she died, for all she knew, Krennic was going to survive this encounter. So why would she tell him that the Death Star had a fatal flaw in its design when he could have used that information to rectify the issue before the Rebels could do something about it?

In the end, though, I guess it doesn’t matter. Because Cassian, who had regained conciseness, pops back up again, knocking out Krennic with a well-placed hit from his blaster. He and Jyn then limp their way down to the beach, just as the Death Star arrives at Scariff. Out in space, the remaining Rebel ships can only watch as the Death Star delivers a deadly blast at the Imperial base on the planet below. (And there’s a bit of poetic justice when Krennic wakes up just in time to see his demise coming.) As for Jyn and Cassian, they are able to accept their imminent deaths with peace, knowing that their deaths won’t be in vain as the Rebel fleet had undoubtedly received the Death Star plans. In their last moments, the two embrace as friends, seeing comfort and courage in one another as their bodies are enveloped in the deadly aftershock of the Death Star’s attack.

After they witness the visible destruction on Scaraff, the remaining Rebel ships take a moment to send their respect to the fallen members of Rouge One before attempting to make their getaway. But the Rebel command ship is prevented from retreating when Darth Vader’s Star Destoryer suddenly appears on the scene. The command ship is quickly disabled, with all other remaining Rebel ships being destroyed, so Vader makes plans to board the ship in order to take back the stolen Death Star plans.

On the command ship in question, the Rebels are scrambling to download the plans onto a disk in order to transfer them over to the ship waiting in the hanger bay- The Tantive IV. What follows is a rather chilling sequence in which Darth Vader boards the ship and immediately starts massacring everyone in sight. However, a handful of Rebels manage to make it to the Tantive IV with the disk containing the plans, and they launch the ship from the hanger bay, managing to evade Vader by jumping into lightspeed the moment its path is clear. It’s then shown that Leia is present on the Tantive IV when she receives the stolen plans, with her announcing that they’ve received hope. And on that note, the movie ends, right where we know Episode 4 begins.

Now, something that puzzles me. We saw that the ship Admiral Raddus was commanding was the one that received the Death Star plans in the transmission Jyn sent up. It was that ship that Darth Vader attacked, prompting the Rebels to quickly transfer the plans to a small portable disk so they could get it to the Tantive IV that Leia was waiting in. Well, I guess it makes sense that Leia was originally being transported to Tatoinne on Admiral Raddus’ ship, but why would they redirect the ship to join the Battle of Scarif when Leia’s mission to fetch Obi-Wan was so vital? Wouldn’t going to Scarif put her and her mission in jeopardy? Also, why were R2 and 3PO hanging around in the docking bay on Yavin 4 when they were supposed to be on the ship transporting Leia to Tatoinne?

Also, we see in this movie that Mon Mothma was currently working alongside the Rebels stationed on Yavin 4. So you would think that she would have therefore been involved with the events of A New Hope as well. If so, how come we didn’t meet her until Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original trilogy?

Those issues aside, I think Rouge One was a pretty good addition to the Star Wars mythos. While it is sobering to know that all the main characters are killed off at the end, I think that worked to the movie’s advantage. It really touched on the darker aspects of war that I think the original trilogy pretty much glossed over. And it was rather clear from the get-go that our protagonists were entering into a suicide mission from the moment they left for Scariff.

And that’s it for all the prequel films. Now, it’s on to the original trilogy. Although, chances are it’s going to be the special edition versions, as the original version of the trilogy is rather hard to locate these days, unless you happen to have the VHS tapes and a working VCR. (Unfortunately, while I do still have the VHS tapes, I no longer have the working VCR.)

(Click here to go back to the directory)

#star wars #star wars review #star wars franchise #rouge one #rouge one: a star wars story

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scifibi · 7 years

Note

CONGRATS ON 1.K!!! I'd love to request a rebelcaptain drabble with the prompt "one of us is working nights and the other is working days and every time we see each other we are SUPER TIRED AND CRABBY but also I kind of miss you."

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND, KAT

(side note: i tweaked the prompt A TEENY BIT, hope you don’t mind too much!)

YOUR REBELCAPTAIN FIC:

[also on ao3]

At first, Cassian doesn’t think much of Jyn’s new job at the bar.

It’s miles better than her diner job in every way conceivable — better pay, shorter hours, friendlier clientele (although sometimes maybe too friendly, but that’s nothing Jyn can’t handle thanks to both her black belts). It’s a lot easier for her to tack on shifts to fit her class schedule, which she’s definitely going to appreciate, now that she’s on her very last semester of college.

Plus, Baze is there. Baze always seems to have some kind of weird calming effect on Jyn, which is odd only because the words “calm” and “Jyn” have probably never before been used in the same sentence by anyone on this planet, living or dead.

The best part is, they can keep hanging out with their friends at Baze’s bar without Jyn having to miss out on anything.

All in all, it’s a good arrangement.

That is, until Jyn actually starts working there.

“Eggs for one, then,” Cassian mutters to himself, dropping his free hand from the egg tray before closing the fridge door. Pretty much all of Jyn’s classes for this semester are afternoon ones, but for the past year or so they’ve been living together, she’s always gotten out of bed around the same time he does for work.

Not that he minds or anything. He’s just used to their semi-routine of making breakfast together every morning, swerving and ducking lazily around each other as they pour coffee into mugs and shake cereal into bowls.

He supposes he can’t expect that to go on, now that Jyn’s going to be spending most of her nights at the bar, all the way till the wee hours of the morning.

No problem, he tells himself easily as he dumps his scrambled eggs onto a plate. Just get used to it.

“Hey,” Jyn says when he walks into the bar later that night, her brows raised in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

He slides into a stool at the counter. “What does everyone do here?”

She gives him a wry smile, waving at the mostly empty bar. “Nothing, apparently. It’s six P.M. on a Tuesday.“

He shrugs. "Just felt like a drink.”

“On a Tuesday?” she echoes skeptically, but she’s already moving to grab him his usual beer from the fridge behind her.

“I can drink on a Tuesday,” he says, a little defensively.

She scoffs lightly, sliding the beer into his palm with a rakish grin. “Sure you can.”

“Can’t watch that,” Cassian mutters to himself, flipping the channel. “Not this, either. Fuck, definitely not that.”

He sighs, hitting the power button to turn the TV off before flinging the remote aside. He’s had the longest day at work, and now he can’t even watch any of his usual shows because he doesn’t want to skip ahead of Jyn.

It’s not that she’d asked him to wait for her to catch up, or anything. He just doesn’t want to accidentally spoil something for her. (Laugh if you want, but he has it on good authority that that’s how a good twelve percent of Kay’s friendships have ended.)

Blowing out another frustrated breath, he gets up, and pads into his bedroom. Time to find a book or something — that is, if he even still has one of those lying around.

“Something wrong?”

Cassian starts in his seat, blinking rapidly.

“What? No, I—” He clears his throat, taking his hand off his phone, the device lying silent and still on the table. “Nothing. Sorry, what were you saying?”

Bodhi gives him a funny look, like he’s trying to solve one of his elaborate math problems, or whatever kind of problems it is that engineers solve. “I was asking how Jyn likes the new gig at Jedha?” He shrugs, twirling a few strands of pasta onto his fork. “I texted her a few days ago, but she just replied me a couple hours ago. It was just two emojis, so I couldn’t really figure out what she meant. The thumbs-up one and the poop one. Kind of a mixed message there.”

“Oh, it’s good,” Cassian says, picking up his own fork to resume work on his own food. “Yeah, she’s good. She likes it, I think. I’ve dropped in a couple of times, she seems happy.”

“I’ve been meaning to do that, but work’s been so crazy,” Bodhi says, a hint of apologetic worry lacing his tone. “Was really looking forward to seeing you guys today, though. Shame about the extra shift.”

Cassian shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it. We all know Baze wouldn’t have asked unless he really needed the help, so—” He jumps at the sudden vibration of his phone, letting his fork practically clatter to his plate as he grabs for the flashing device. He scans the screen rapidly, letting out a short breath once he’s finished the short message.

“It’s Jyn,” he says to Bodhi, still reluctant to take his eyes off the screen. “She says sorry again for bailing on dinner. And that we have to make sure to get the panna cotta for dessert in her place.”

Bodhi smiles, watching as Cassian starts typing a reply. “Tell her we will.”

Cassian sets aside his phone once he’s done, exhaling cathartically like some invisible tension’s been relieved. He picks up his fork again and looks up, only to realise that Bodhi’s still smiling at him.

He pauses, unnerved. “… What?”

Bodhi shakes his head slowly. “Nothing. Just…” He blinks, his brows furrowing softly. “This must be hard for you.”

Cassian stares at him. “Huh?”

“Jyn’s job at the bar,” Bodhi explains, his smile widening. “I mean, she’s probably already there or staying late on campus by the time you get home from work."

Cassian frowns, lowering his fork uncomfortably. "Well— yeah, but that’s not—”

“I’m guessing she doesn’t get up in the mornings anymore, either,” Bodhi continues, still smiling that smile. “Not till you’re out the door, at least. So you two probably don’t get to see each other all that often anymore. Or maybe not even at all.” He tilts his head. “That must be hard.”

In the ensuing silence that follows, Cassian can actually feel his tongue drying up in his mouth.

“Uh,” he rasps out. And then he lapses back into silence, unable to come up with any actual words.

Bodhi shrugs, apparently oblivious. “For roommates, I mean,” he says blithely, reaching for his beer. “You guys have gotten so close over the last year and everything.”

Relief washes over Cassian like an April shower, sudden and cool.

“Oh, right,” he says, trying to keep the note of gratefulness out of his voice. “Yeah, of course.”

It’s well past three in the morning when Cassian hears the front door squeak open.

The sound doesn’t wake him up every time, but on this particular night, he’s especially glad that it did.

He hears the telltale spray of the shower come on, and he rolls over, burying a small smile into his pillow. Why is he smiling? It’s not like it’s a surprise. It’s not like Jyn’s ever gone anywhere other than home after her shifts.

It’s ridiculous. Why is he so happy?

A few minutes later, the door to the bedroom swings open. A soft light floods in from the hallway, but it’s snuffed out within moments with the click of a light switch. He listens to the sound of slow, careful fumbling in the dark — the closet door opening and closing, a towel running through wet hair, a quiet sniff followed by a muffled cough.

The mattress barely dips with the new weight introduced to it.

He reaches out, his soft smile stretching wider in the dark.

Jyn jerks in surprise at his arm winding around her waist.

“Fuck,” she whispers hoarsely, but her body’s already twisting towards his, eagerly shifting closer. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t,” he lies easily, pressing a kiss to her temple before dipping lower to mouth at her jaw. Her hair is still damp from the shower. She’s usually too exhausted after work to dry it properly. It’s a terrible habit, but he buries his nose in it anyway, breathing in the light vanilla scent of her shampoo. “How was work?"

"Got a lot of good tips tonight,” she half yawns, nuzzling into his neck. “Only had to kick out one drunk handsy bastard, so I’d give the night a nine out of ten.”

He sighs, lifting his arm so he can tuck it under her head. “Hope you didn’t make yourself liable for any medical fees.”

She shrugs. “Barely a light sprain. Some ice will fix him right up.” Another yawn overtakes her, her warm breath fanning over his collarbone. “How was dinner with Bodhi?”

“Good. He asked about you.”

“What about?”

“He had trouble deciphering your heavily coded text messages.”

She chuckles sleepily, her arm sliding over his chest to wrap around his middle. “I’ll send him a proper reply tomorrow. Words and everything.”

He smiles, his arm tightening around her affectionately. A calm, gentle sort of silence falls over them like a blanket, warm and comfortable.

Cassian takes a deep breath. “I think he knows.”

Jyn’s body stiffens against his. After a long beat, she pulls out of the crook of his neck, blinking hazily. “What?”

“About us,” he clarifies.

That still feels so weird to say. ‘Us.’ It’s only been less than a month since they’d moved from ‘you and me’ to 'us’.

They haven’t even told anyone yet.

It’s the strangest, most wonderful kind of thrill he’s ever known.

“Oh.”

The smile fades from his lips. It’s rare that he’s unable to read Jyn’s tones and inflections, all her little nuances.

“I didn’t say anything,” he says, a little too quickly. “I mean, he was kind of vague about it. He probably doesn't— I don’t know, maybe I was just reading too much into—”

Jyn’s palm drags over his chest, rubbing a soothing circle through the thin cotton of his T-shirt.

“Cassian, it’s okay,” she laughs softly, pressing back into his side. She pauses, and he wonders how it is that he knows she’s biting her lip just from the sound of the silence. “I was just thinking… maybe it’s about time he does know.”

He turns his head, barely able to make out the shape of her eyes in the darkness. “Maybe… maybe it’s about time all of them did.”

She hums thoughtfully. “I don’t know. Pretty sure Baze knows. He’s been dropping hints all week."

"Baze?” Cassian repeats, wide-eyed. “Hints?!”

“He’s not nearly as good at it as Chirrut is,” Jyn adds. “But then again, who else do you think told him?”

He sighs. “Of course Chirrut figured it out. I knew we shouldn’t have sat next to each other at that dinner to celebrate Kay’s promotion.”

“It’s your fault,” she retorts instantly. “You had to wear that shirt. You know I can’t resist that blue on you.” She stretches languidly, her arms reaching above their heads. “So that really means the only person left who doesn’t know is—”

“Oh, no.” Cassian sucks in a deep breath, and blows it out again. “Kay is going to kill me."

He can feel Jyn’s grin, curving against his skin as she presses her lips to his stubbled cheek. ”Us, babe. Kay is going to kill us.“

He wraps his arm around her, pulling her in snug and tight. "Wouldn’t have it any other way.”

It’s really not that bad in the end.

The heated rant Kay goes on only lasts about thirty-five minutes, including the ten or so minutes of cold silence right in the middle.

The bottle of wine he buys for the table right afterwards lets Cassian know just how little fire there is behind his best friend’s supposed ire.

But what really makes it worth it is the solid clasp of Jyn’s fingers, her hand entwined with his through it all.

#hope you like it kat!! =D #rebelcaptain #rebelcaptain fanfiction #rogue one fanfiction #leralynne #mel celebrates 1.5k #my writing

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gretamaya · 7 years

Text

Title: Back Porch

Summary: This is for @invaderhogtwopointohno, who asked for a new neighbors au in the rebelcaptain “May the 4th” exchange. I hope you enjoy the story!

AO3/2446 words

“How do I look?” Jyn asked, stepping out of the door onto the back porch. She didn’t stop to think about why she was asking for Cassian’s opinion. When he wasn’t away on assignment, he could normally be found on the back porch that stretched across both sides of the duplex.

“Good.” The warmth in his voice made the word sound more positive than it was - the lovely smile he gave her had the same effect.

“Thanks,” she said, smiling back. “Um.” Her purpose obtained, she suddenly felt the awkwardness of the situation. “Have a good evening,” she offered weakly. She suddenly wished she was staying here, on the back porch with him, like she normally did. But everyone in her life - her parents, Leia and Han, Bodhi - were urging her to ‘get out there’ and ‘not hide away in your house with no furniture, God, Jyn, you make me look good’ (“Thanks, Han,” she had said, no real thanks in her voice).

“Good luck,” he said, lifting his mug of coffee to her in a kind of salute.

As it turned out, she really should’ve just stayed on the back porch. How could she have trusted Han Solo to set her up on a blind date?

She didn’t know how she knew from one look at the tall, severe-looking man at the bar that things were going to go poorly, but she had. However, she also told herself not to judge a book by its cover.

She really should’ve judged, though, because her judgements were entirely correct in this instance.

“Do you really think watching men kick a ball around is a valuable use of your time?”

“Yes,” she growled. She really hated talking to men about sports. Normally, when they found out she liked football, they immediately started to try to catch her out, by asking her to explain the offsides rule or claiming she just liked it because the men were hot. Somehow this pretentious asshole, who didn’t even like sports, was nevertheless trying to make her feel inferior about sports.

“I prefer to spend my time reading John Chesterfield’s three-volume work on the Crusades. Are you familiar with it?”

“No,” said Jyn. She was frantically trying to think of a way out of this mess.

“It is far more exciting than a football match. Chesterfield’s scholarship is top-notch.”

“Actually, I prefer Niall Ferguson’s scholarship.”

Jyn was a bit surprised when he physically leaned away from her in horror, instead of reacting with glee. “Ferguson’s scholarship is appalling. His inability to build a cohesive narrative from his research seriously undermines any point he is attempting to make.”

“His research really isn’t all that, either.”

He frowned at her, confused. “You just said you prefered his scholarship.”

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean I like it.” She actually found Ferguson awful, she had just been hoping that mentioning him would keep Kay talking for awhile without any input from her. “I was expecting you to launch into a long soliloquy on his attributes. People like you normally like Ferguson.”

“‘People like me?’”

She was prevented from answering by Kay fixating on someone who had just entered the bar. For awhile now, he had been watching everyone that came in with an expectant look on his face. She had thought probably in hope that his real date would appear. Jyn frowned as she realized that she knew who was approaching them.

“Oh, good, my ride is here.” All at once, Jyn’s attention snapped back to the man sitting next to her.

“Your ride? You can’t drive yourself to your date?”

“I assumed there would be alcohol.” He looked down at her beverage. “You’re not driving yourself, are you?”

She snorted. “Of course I am driving myself home!” She could handle a drink. Well, at the moment, she felt like having a lot of drinks and then calling a cab, and feeling that intensified as Cassian approached them. Jyn was both mortified and angry. How did he know this asshole? “Kay… Jyn,” he said, greeting them in turn.

“You know her?” Kay asked, clearly taken aback.

“She is my neighbor.”

Kay looked her over, not for the first time that night. “You did not mention that she was extremely irritating.” Great, thought Jyn, he’s discussed me with this idiot.

“She’s not.” To Jyn: “I’m sorry.” When he offered to pay for their drinks and get Kay out of there, Jyn told him he sure as hell wasn’t doing that and she was going to stay there, drinking.

“But you drove yourself here! How will you get home?”

“It’s called a cab, Kay,” said Cassian and then to Jyn, “I can’t promise he won’t call the cops on you. Why don’t you let me take you home, now, and then we can worry about your car later?”

Before she could respond to that, Kay added, “You should listen to him. Cassian is a sensible person.”

‘Sensible’ was not how she would describe him, not if he had the role in this debacle she thought he did, but to get this over with, she agreed to go with them. Besides, it would give her a chance to confront him about all of this.

Kay, mercifully, did not live far away, leaving Jyn and Cassian alone in the car.

Jyn crossed her arms over her chest. “So how do you know Han Solo?”

“Who?”

“Don’t give me that. You worked with Han to set me up on that date.”

“I would never set Kay up on a date with anyone.”

Jyn had wondered how long he could keep the act up, wherein he looked horrified at this situation instead of enjoying it, but just maybe it wasn’t an act. She was still expecting Han to pull up in a car while they idled at a red light any moment, gleefully shouting about how he had played her.

Getting no response from her, Cassian added, “When he told me he was going on a blind date, I tried to talk him out of it. He doesn’t handle surprises well.”

“If you didn’t set him up, then who did?”

“His friend Cee.”

“Ah.” Cee. Who worked for Leia. Who knew Han. Yes, Cee definitely had the poor judgment required for this.

By this time, they were pulling into the spot in front of the duplex. “You know Cee?” Cassian asked, as he turned the car off.

“Yeah. That explains things. If I had known Cee was involved…”

“You wouldn’t have done it.”

She shook her head, sighed, and leaned back into the car seat. She heard Cassian get out, and wasn’t surprised when the door on her side opened. “I promise never to mention it again.”

“Can you get Kay to never mention it again?” she asked, swinging her legs out of the car.

“I will do my best.”

“Thank you,” she said, fumbling for her keys as she moved towards her door. She looked down at herself. “It’s a shame I got all dressed up for no one to appreciate it.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Cassian had closed the car door behind her, and was moving towards his front door, so close to hers.

She looked up at him, startled. “You wouldn’t?”

He looked embarrassed. He had pretty much looked embarrassed from the moment he had shown up in the bar, but subtle changes in his expression told her he was somehow even more embarrassed now.

He stuck his tongue out slightly, a gesture Jyn had learned meant he had made up his mind about something, and said, “I appreciate it.” She was a bit too startled to say anything, but she didn’t run, so he added, “I know you didn’t get dinner, I could make some pasta if you’re interested.”

She had enjoyed Cassian’s cooking before, of course, when he had found her on the back porch they shared and offered him some of what he had been making. This felt different, though, like he was offering to cook especially for her.

She wondered briefly if he was Kay’s friend because he looked good by comparison, but she quickly shoved that uncharitable thought aside, he had done nothing to deserve it. She was still somewhat stressed out from the disaster her date had been, and she didn’t know how good of company she would be. On the other hand, she didn’t want to be alone, and she did want to eat, and Cassian was used to her moping on the back porch, and she really was dressed too nicely to drink whatever alcohol she had in the house while eating ice cream out of a container and cursing Han Solo’s name.

She realized she was taking to long with her answer when he said, “Look, Jyn, don’t worry-”

“I’m interested.”

His worried, embarrassed look was replaced by relieved embarrassment. He held his door open for her.

Jyn had seen plenty of his kitchen from the back porch but very little of the rest of his house. It was warm, inviting, comfortable - a lot like Cassian, really. He spent weeks away on assignment when reporting on the global effects of climate change - he had seen famine, drought, disease. He just liked to come home to something comforting, and alive, which is why their shared backyard was overflowing with greenery that went untended while he was away.

“Would you like something to drink?”

She was desperate for some alcohol but said, “I really need to eat something first.”

He smiled and in short order a plate of cheese, crackers and fruit appeared in front of her. Jyn had to stop herself from blurting out “How the fuck are you still single?” because she knew what his job required of him, she knew that was why he came home to an empty house and overgrown garden with an new, irritable neighbor who made him feel unwelcome the first time she saw him.

“So…” Cassian began, trying to sound casual, as he pulled food out of the fridge. “Who is this Han Solo?”

Jyn smiled. “A friend from college. Now that he finally got up the nerve to actually get engaged, he keeps trying to hook everyone else up. He’s terrible at it. I don’t know why he thinks he’d be any good, either, he danced around Leia for years before anything happened between them. I said yes to his latest offer just to get him to leave me alone.”

“Ah,” he said as he smiled at her. Then, changing the subject completely: “You okay with mushrooms?”

“Sure,” she said. But she wasn’t ready to let this go. “So you knew I was going on a date, and someone had set Kay up on a date, but you didn’t bother to check to see if it was with one another?”

“I thought it was too improbable. Besides, you didn’t tell me you were going on a blind date, just a date.” He looked over his shoulder at her, somewhat apprehensively. “How long are you going to blame me for this?”

“I can’t blame you, you’re too cute and you feed me.” Cassian’s answering blush told her he didn’t expect to hear those words any more than she expected to say them. He quickly turned back to his cooking - Jyn knew her cheeks must be burning as well. She wished she hadn’t turned down alcohol earlier, she could use some now to drown her embarrassment.

Instead, Jyn watched Cassian as he worked at the counter while she munched on the food he had already provided for her. Is there a particular reason you left out the fact that your new neighbor is really good looking? Leia’s words floated through Jyn’s mind. Leia had gotten a look at him one day when she stopped by Jyn’s house to drop some things off. Leia didn’t like Jyn living in an apartment with no furniture. Jyn didn’t mind - her old furniture had been too much of a reminder of her past life, that she was trying to move on from, and it had been cheap, anyway. Leia, the daughter of a senator, her life mapped out before her, did not do and had never done ‘cheap’.

Jyn had thought about answering Leia with glib remarks like ‘don’t let Han hear you say that’ or ‘I didn’t think it mattered’, but Leia never would’ve been satisfied with that. Leia dealt well with honesty, though, so Jyn had told her she didn’t want to talk about it, and Leia let the matter drop. Or maybe she hadn’t. Leia knew Han, knew Cee. Leia could’ve stopped this whole thing, only she didn’t. Maybe Leia had let it go through, so Jyn would realize she was interested in her cute neighbor. Fine, Leia. Jyn would admit that to herself. She was interested in her cute neighbor. Who was currently cooking for her. Sometimes Jyn felt that they were all being carefully manipulated by Leia, and there wasn’t anything any of them could do about it. Her missteps with Han had been caused mostly by the fact that Han was about as far removed from who Leia thought she should be marrying as possible (and also by the fact that Han was Han).

“Are you ready for that drink?” he asked, with a brief glance over his shoulder.

“Sure,” she said, standing up as she said it. “If you’ll tell me-”

“No, no, no,” he said quickly, leaving the food he was preparing to gently push her back to her chair. “I’ll get-”

Instead of letting him push her back further, Jyn pulled him towards her. He had already been leaning down slightly, making it easier for her to pull him down for a kiss.

Several minutes later, when he came up for air, he managed to say, “The pasta will get mushy.”

“You have more,” she said, turning off the burners. She wanted Cassian more than she wanted food.

(It turned out he did not have more.)

(She, however, had some. From a box of mac-and-cheese.)

(She’ll never forget the horribly cute distressed face he made at having to cook it. She laughed and kissed it off him. “Cassian, I’m hungry.” He grumbled, but was happy to accept her kisses.)

Han was there to greet her at work the next day. “Jyn, look, I can explain-” Han was out of his seat, moving his arm in a sweeping motion, as though to push away the debacle he was prominently involved in.

Jyn walked right up to him and kissed him on the cheek. Han, flabbergasted, sputtering, “Wha- what?”

Jyn just smiled at him and walked away. It was all he deserved, really.

#rebelcaptainmay4 #therebelcaptainnetwork #rebelcaptain #rebelcaptain fic #rogue one #my fic #cassian andor #jyn erso #in which jyn and kay are set up on a blind date #modern au

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