ghost ― rogue one

SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVEN
( PLANET-KILLER. )

KITRA doubted that there was any place in the galaxy as empty and cold as the catacombs on Jedha. The bitter numbness that crept across her skin seeped deep into her core, turning her bones brittle and making her stomach churn like she might be sick.

Her head swam as the rock around her began to quake and tremble, chunks of ceiling falling from above them and shattering into splinters at her feet. She felt like she was underwater. Every sound, colour and sense was disjointed and slow. She tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope of images in front of her and the contorted symphony of sounds passing her ears and came up empty.

Her father. Galen Erso. Her father. The creator of the Death Star.

Through the chaos she felt a firm grip close around her forearm as Cassian's face swam within her view. His lips moved but she couldn't hear what he was saying. Behind him she made out the face of her sister, Jyn's green eyes swimming with concern. Kit blinked hard, wondering if she could possibly be dreaming. And all at once the sound came rushing back to her.

"I know where your father is," Cassian was saying, his voice low and urgent. Kit flinched, but turned to face him, some glimmer of recognition returning to her dark eyes.

"Cassian," Jyn warned behind him, "We need to go."

Kit managed somehow to get to her feet, her numb body working on instinct. She stumbled out of Cassian's reach to go to Saw, some primal part of her still wanting to take the older man with her. Saw only grasped her frail arm and stared at her solemnly, one thousand words burning in the depths of his eyes. "Save yourself," he rasped softly. "Please."

Kit's lips parted in protest, but regardless her grip on Saw's arm detached and Cassian was able to drag her a step backwards. "Come on," he continued to guide her away. "There's no time."

Kit looked wildly for Jyn, for someone to help her take Saw. But when she found her Jyn only gave her younger sister a soft look, filled with regret and determination, and shook her head.

"Go!" Saw urged again, and Kitra flinched against Cassian's side and leaned into him, the two of them steadily making for the door, Jyn covering her head as she followed after them.

The catacombs were falling apart all around them, rock and dust falling like torrential rain all around them. And then, from the belly of the roar, rose Saw's voice for the final time: "Save the Rebellion! Save the dream!"

She didn't have time to turn back before Cassian and Jyn were pouring through the caves in hot pursuit of the last fleeing Rebels, and all her senses were able to take in was the pounding boots against collapsing stone. And finally, sunlight.

The sun bit painfully at Kit's eyes, white and blue. She stumbled to take it in, but as her eyes adjusted all she was able to make out was the wall of dust steadily expanding towards them, the storm of torn ground and wind shredding everything in its path; the planet-killer.

Panic flared in her chest. This was it. So close to salvation.

And then, like a descending angel, the churning engine of her U-wing cut through the air, manoeuvring to try and hover low enough for the people on the ground to clamber into. "Come on!" Cassian urged her, his hand resting between her shoulder blades to push her forward. And then she was running, joined on both sides by Cassian and Jyn, and in front of her by Chirrut and Baze and someone she was sure she hadn't met before.

Her feet left the ground, her legs reaching for the ramp. Her boots bit the metal and she tumbled forward, regaining her feet in time to stagger behind Cassian into the cockpit. Cassian was quick to shove K-2 out of the pilots chair and take up the controls. "Get us out of here," he ordered K-2 as he sunk into the chair. "Punch it!"

The ship lurched into action and Kit instinctively grabbed the door frame to keep herself upright. The hull shrieked and groaned under the pressure of the oncoming storm, and Cassian was already beginning to lose control. K-2 was reaching out to adjust the thrust, trying to ride the waves of dust the storm provided. The viewport was a complex of rock and dust in a variety of red and brown hues as Cassian worked the ship between imploding mountainsides. But, inevitably, he was a useless pilot.

"Get out of my way," the younger girl demanded as she shoved Cassian from his chair. She was beginning to look more like herself now, the bright spark back in her dark eyes after leaving Saw behind. "Looks like I'm going to have to save our skins again."

Cassian complied without protest and melted back against the wall. This was her element. She felt the U-Wing rise on the crest of the storm as a shadow fell overhead, a heavy cloud beginning to fall in front of them. "K-2 convert the shield power back to the main thrusters." She demanded wildly, jerking the ship to avoid the hail of boulders.

"But that will lea—"

"I know what it will do!" She cut off the droids protests. "Just do it!"

K-2 complied, his skeletal fingers working wildly as darkness began to close in around them. Not this time, she prayed desperately, please not this time. She winced at the sound of something heavy hitting the ship's hull, the steely groan of metal screaming at her to hurry up.

"Look!" Cried out a voice from over her shoulder, pointing towards a speck of light through the collapsing storm.

"Come on!" Kit shouted, her lips curled into a determined snarl as she diverted the last of the power, urging the rickety old ship towards salvation. It wasn't going to make it. Not unless she drove up the power again. She engaged the ship for a final effort and turned on the hyperdrive. "Hold on!" She cried out as the ship emerged into the blue and black spiral of hyperspace, leaving the last of the Jedha storm behind them.

• • •

I know this is short in comparison to the other chapters but I just wanted to get an update out. I promise the next chapter will be longer.