Defiant | Star Wars/Rogue One

Part VI

They reached Eadu amid a storm. Rain pounded the hull of the U-wing, thunder rumbled over the sound of the ship's engines, and the strength of the wind shook the ship with enough force that Mirax feared it would crash. Chirrut sat nearby, once again chanting, "I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me. I'm one with the Force, the Force is with me."

"Twenty degrees to the right," she heard K-2 say from the front of the U-wing. "Ten degrees up."

"Lower, lower, lower," Bodhi corrected. When they'd reached Eadu, Cassian had called Bodhi to the cockpit, relying on the pilot's memory of previous trips to get them to Galen Erso in one piece. "Lower!"

"Are you sure this is the way?" K-2 questioned.

"They have landing trackers here," Bodhi insisted. "They have patrol squadrons. You've got to stay in the canyon. Keep it low."

Warning systems blared and the ship kept shaking. Mirax tried to cling to her hope that they would land, find Jyn's father, and escape safely, but the fury of the storm made it difficult.

"Watch your right!" Cassian cried before the ship made a sharp turn, tipping over stacks of supplies and almost throwing passengers out of their seats. Baze stood and held onto safety straps dangling from the ceiling, though why he thought it was easier than simply fastening his crash restraints, Mirax didn't understand.

K-2's next comment didn't make her feel any better about the situation: "If we proceed, there's a twenty-six percent chance of failure."

"How much farther?" Cassian demanded.

"I don't know," Bodhi confessed. "I'm not sure. I never really come this way. But we're close, we're close. I know that."

"Now," K-2 announced, "there's a thirty-five percent chance of failure."

"Not the time, Kay!" Mirax shouted at the droid.

"We don't want to know," Cassian snapped at the same time. "Thank you!"

"I understand," the droid muttered.

"Now!" Bodhi cried. "Put it down, now!"

"The wind—"

"If you keep going," Bodhi cut K-2 off, "you'll be right over the shuttle depot. Watch out!"

"Kay!" Cassian's warning came a second too late. The ship was jarred as it crashed into something, knocking Bodhi off-balance and sending him crashing to the floor of the U-wing. "Hold on tight! We're coming down hard!"

"Bodhi!" Mirax called over the wail of alarms and roar of the engines, holding a hand towards him. He took her hand, letting her pull him towards the closest chair. He tumbled into the seat, fighting to secure the restraints around himself.

The U-wing crashed to Eadu's surface. Mirax felt a jolt in her heart every time the ship skipped over the rocky ground. Her heart was racing by the time they finally came to a stop. She held her breath, trying to get her heartrate down. She was so tense that she almost screamed when a quiet voice said, "Um, Mirax?"

She jumped in surprise, looking over at the source of the voice. In her fright, she'd completely forgotten about Bodhi. "What?" she gasps, fighting to keep her voice steady.

"You're crushing my hand." Confused, Mirax glanced down. Without realizing it, she'd wrapped her hand around his and was clinging on as if her life depended on it.

"Sorry," she apologized as she removed her hand.

"Mirax, you're with me," Cassian said as he walked out of the cockpit. "Hopefully the ship wasn't severely damaged in the crash." He took a rain-resistant coat and a hat out of a storage compartment and tossed them to her.