Chapter Fourteen
Let them search the ship - you have nothing to hide. Then, when they start to leave, you can sweep them off their feet, he reassured himself. The stormtroopers were exiting the aircraft, their search completed.
Three, Two, One!
Bodhi braced himself and charged towards the two individuals, using his momentum to swing the wooden rod at a leg, sending the trooper nearest him sprawling on the ground. The other was speaking into a radio calling for reinforcements. A moment later he was dazed, staggering on his feet after Bodhi had caused the trooper to suffer a blow to his head. The trooper rushed to pull out his gun, firing without clear aim. The light rays missed, and to avoid any more shots, Bodhi retreated into the dense shrubbery.
"Halt! Identify yourself, or we'll take you into the hands of our leader!"
__________________◇_________________
They had been walking for ten minutes now. The heat was sweltering. The ten minutes - tick, tick, tick, tick - felt like an eternity.
"Did you hear that?"
All four stopped to listen. There it was again, multiple blaster shots in quick succession. The sounds took all thoughts of the weather away.
Someone's alive!
Everyone was thinking the same thing. The source of the sound got louder as the group ran towards the trees, the leaves and twigs crackling under their feet, whipping across their legs. The shots suddenly stopped, and a robotic voice rang out.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
Jyn noticed the familiar silhouette hidden behind the trees first. "That's Bodhi!"
Cassian, who saw the pilot too, couldn't help but let a grin show on his face.
"But he's still in danger."
"I'll take care of them," Baze growled. He stepped forward with his weapon, crouching down behind leafy foilage.
The trooper that had been talking a few seconds earlier crumpled to the ground.
Bodhi saw a purple colored light from the distance, though he couldn't be too sure - illusions could be playing tricks on his eyes. But then trooper who had just spoken to him let out a yell of pain before he stopped moving. What?? Who saved me?
Peering through the bright sun, the towering trees... Eyes widened in shock - There was Jyn and Cassian! And Baze! Was that Chirrut there too?
No other people were around, not after the two stormtroopers. Bodhi slowly made his way through the trees instead of exposing himself to open territory.
"Everyone!" Bodhi was terribly excited, grateful, stunned, all at once.
"Bodhi!" Cassian was the first to greet him. Bodhi looked at each person in turn, all smiling faces. Even Jyn, whom he remembered was always stoic, greeted him with a different facial expression, a deviation from her usual straight face.
"Okay, we're not safe yet. That trooper called reinforcements so I don't know if or when they're coming. I don't think I heard him say where they were though, before you knocked him out Baze. It should be tough for them to find us."
"Easy to kill." Baze proudly remarked.
"Let's go." Bodhi waved his hand, beckoning the group of rebels to follow in his footsteps.
~~~
"We have the U Wing." Bodhi pointed to the ship in the corner of the trees, part of the metal blinding their eyes from the rays of the setting sun. The team hadn't strayed far since they wanted to keep an eye on their only escape transport. "I've checked the fuel - We can go anytime we want."
Cassian gestured to the empty space around them. "We don't have much with us. We need supplies before we can leave."
"Always the planner," a voice rang out. Without even looking, Cassian identified its source. Only one person would speak to him with that kind of tone.
Cassian shot Jyn a look. "That's not necessarily a bad thing to be, especially for someone that doesn't run around recklessly every chance they get."
Upon hearing his biting remark, she returned his look with a frown on her face, arms crossed.
"We have enough wars to fight on the outside. Let's not have them among us as well." Chirrut held out a hand in front of the two to mitigate the tension that had sprang up over a simple remark.
Cassian stood up abruptly. "I'll go get some food. Chirrut, you're coming with me. Baze, check all the weapons. Bodhi, you'll be with him. And you." He directed his rising voice towards Jyn in a manner that made it seem like an order. "You just stay out of trouble. Bodhi, watch her for me."
He stepped out onto the sandy ground, walking away swiftly, but not before he could hear Jyn complaining, "What makes him think he can go out and find food? I'd like to see him try to bring back something for us all!!"
__________________◇_________________
Cassian stared into the water, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He pinpointed watery shadows dancing just under the surface. The silver scales of a fish flashed before his eyes and he plunged his hand into the water. Having missed his target, Cassian huffed with annoyance.
Chirrut, meanwhile, had struck with perfect accuracy, an arrow of light glowing through the water as a fish lay at its mercy. With his heightened sense of hearing and excellent sense of direction, in a matter of minutes his second catch of the afternoon lay in the water.
"Not a person in touch with the outside I see.." Chirrut said. Smooth stones that lay at the water's edge shifted against each other with a clink as the monk made his way towards Cassian. "More used to working with machines and technology."
"I'm going to prove Jyn wrong. I can catch my own food." Cassian retorted as he scanned the water for another target. He had been surprised by his short fuse over her criticism, and there it remained, the outburst of anger making his concentration fuzzy. It was a few moments before Chirrut responded.
"You care about her, don't you?
Chirrut heard a large splash and the clattering of rocks on sand - a knee jerk reaction from the captain in answer to Chirrut's unanticipated question. The blind man had a feeling he had hit the nail on the head.
"That explains your sensitivity to her comment," Chirrut continued, not giving Cassian a chance to respond. "But be careful, Captain. To care for another can be one's source of weakness or strength."
Cassian felt heat rise up in his face, whether it be from leftover anger or embarrassment. He couldn't think straight, couldn't control the autonomic reaction, no matter what he willed.
Normally adept at word play and deception, he was helpless this time as his mind drew a blank, unable to define the emotion that boiled underneath. But his thinking was for naught, as Chirrut's expression had returned to a look of concentration, directed towards the clear water. His voice, light with amusement, made Cassian refocus on the task at hand.
"You said you wanted to prove Jyn wrong, didn't you?"
Three, Two, One!
Bodhi braced himself and charged towards the two individuals, using his momentum to swing the wooden rod at a leg, sending the trooper nearest him sprawling on the ground. The other was speaking into a radio calling for reinforcements. A moment later he was dazed, staggering on his feet after Bodhi had caused the trooper to suffer a blow to his head. The trooper rushed to pull out his gun, firing without clear aim. The light rays missed, and to avoid any more shots, Bodhi retreated into the dense shrubbery.
"Halt! Identify yourself, or we'll take you into the hands of our leader!"
__________________◇_________________
They had been walking for ten minutes now. The heat was sweltering. The ten minutes - tick, tick, tick, tick - felt like an eternity.
"Did you hear that?"
All four stopped to listen. There it was again, multiple blaster shots in quick succession. The sounds took all thoughts of the weather away.
Someone's alive!
Everyone was thinking the same thing. The source of the sound got louder as the group ran towards the trees, the leaves and twigs crackling under their feet, whipping across their legs. The shots suddenly stopped, and a robotic voice rang out.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"
Jyn noticed the familiar silhouette hidden behind the trees first. "That's Bodhi!"
Cassian, who saw the pilot too, couldn't help but let a grin show on his face.
"But he's still in danger."
"I'll take care of them," Baze growled. He stepped forward with his weapon, crouching down behind leafy foilage.
The trooper that had been talking a few seconds earlier crumpled to the ground.
Bodhi saw a purple colored light from the distance, though he couldn't be too sure - illusions could be playing tricks on his eyes. But then trooper who had just spoken to him let out a yell of pain before he stopped moving. What?? Who saved me?
Peering through the bright sun, the towering trees... Eyes widened in shock - There was Jyn and Cassian! And Baze! Was that Chirrut there too?
No other people were around, not after the two stormtroopers. Bodhi slowly made his way through the trees instead of exposing himself to open territory.
"Everyone!" Bodhi was terribly excited, grateful, stunned, all at once.
"Bodhi!" Cassian was the first to greet him. Bodhi looked at each person in turn, all smiling faces. Even Jyn, whom he remembered was always stoic, greeted him with a different facial expression, a deviation from her usual straight face.
"Okay, we're not safe yet. That trooper called reinforcements so I don't know if or when they're coming. I don't think I heard him say where they were though, before you knocked him out Baze. It should be tough for them to find us."
"Easy to kill." Baze proudly remarked.
"Let's go." Bodhi waved his hand, beckoning the group of rebels to follow in his footsteps.
~~~
"We have the U Wing." Bodhi pointed to the ship in the corner of the trees, part of the metal blinding their eyes from the rays of the setting sun. The team hadn't strayed far since they wanted to keep an eye on their only escape transport. "I've checked the fuel - We can go anytime we want."
Cassian gestured to the empty space around them. "We don't have much with us. We need supplies before we can leave."
"Always the planner," a voice rang out. Without even looking, Cassian identified its source. Only one person would speak to him with that kind of tone.
Cassian shot Jyn a look. "That's not necessarily a bad thing to be, especially for someone that doesn't run around recklessly every chance they get."
Upon hearing his biting remark, she returned his look with a frown on her face, arms crossed.
"We have enough wars to fight on the outside. Let's not have them among us as well." Chirrut held out a hand in front of the two to mitigate the tension that had sprang up over a simple remark.
Cassian stood up abruptly. "I'll go get some food. Chirrut, you're coming with me. Baze, check all the weapons. Bodhi, you'll be with him. And you." He directed his rising voice towards Jyn in a manner that made it seem like an order. "You just stay out of trouble. Bodhi, watch her for me."
He stepped out onto the sandy ground, walking away swiftly, but not before he could hear Jyn complaining, "What makes him think he can go out and find food? I'd like to see him try to bring back something for us all!!"
__________________◇_________________
Chirrut, meanwhile, had struck with perfect accuracy, an arrow of light glowing through the water as a fish lay at its mercy. With his heightened sense of hearing and excellent sense of direction, in a matter of minutes his second catch of the afternoon lay in the water.
"Not a person in touch with the outside I see.." Chirrut said. Smooth stones that lay at the water's edge shifted against each other with a clink as the monk made his way towards Cassian. "More used to working with machines and technology."
"I'm going to prove Jyn wrong. I can catch my own food." Cassian retorted as he scanned the water for another target. He had been surprised by his short fuse over her criticism, and there it remained, the outburst of anger making his concentration fuzzy. It was a few moments before Chirrut responded.
"You care about her, don't you?
Chirrut heard a large splash and the clattering of rocks on sand - a knee jerk reaction from the captain in answer to Chirrut's unanticipated question. The blind man had a feeling he had hit the nail on the head.
"That explains your sensitivity to her comment," Chirrut continued, not giving Cassian a chance to respond. "But be careful, Captain. To care for another can be one's source of weakness or strength."
Cassian felt heat rise up in his face, whether it be from leftover anger or embarrassment. He couldn't think straight, couldn't control the autonomic reaction, no matter what he willed.
Normally adept at word play and deception, he was helpless this time as his mind drew a blank, unable to define the emotion that boiled underneath. But his thinking was for naught, as Chirrut's expression had returned to a look of concentration, directed towards the clear water. His voice, light with amusement, made Cassian refocus on the task at hand.
"You said you wanted to prove Jyn wrong, didn't you?"
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