Defiant | Star Wars/Rogue One

Part VII

"This is a disaster," Mirax muttered to Bodhi, watching the heads of the Alliance argue with each other. Jyn and Bodhi had just finished telling them about the Death Star and the weakness Galen Erso had placed in it. Mirax had expected the information to rally everyone together, to urge them to attack, but instead seemed to have the opposite effect on most of those gathered.

"The Death Star's existence is an ultimatum we cannot refuse," Senator Pamlo insisted. "Until we know that the Empire will not use it on a populated planet, we must scatter the fleet and disband out military units. We have no recourse but to surrender."

"Are we really talking about disbanding something that we've worked so hard to create?" Bail Organa questioned.

"We can't just give in!" Admiral Raddus agreed.

"We joined an alliance," said a man Mirax thought was called Vaspar, "not a suicide pact."

"We've only now managed to gather our forces," Bail insisted. "If we coordinate at last—"

"Gather our forces?" Finance Minister Jabel echoed. "General Draven's already blown up an Imperial base."

"A decision needed to be made!" Draven snapped.

"The blood of all Taris will not be on my hands," Palmo said. "If it's war you want, you'll fight alone."

"If that's how it's going," Vaspar asked, "why have an alliance at all?"

Mirax wished more than anything that Moria were there. She's looked for her sister as soon as they'd landed, only to find out that Moria had left a few hours earlier for Tatooine, where the tracker placed on the double-crossing smuggler's ship had activated. Mirax believed that if Moria were present, she could have somehow forced the council to fight.

As it was, it seemed only Bail and Admiral Raddus agreed with Mirax's belief. "If she's telling the truth, we need to act now!" the Mon Calamari insisted.

"Councilors, please," Mon Mothma said. "We are all troubled by our situation, but I beg you to open yourselves to solutions from your colleagues instead of—"

"It is simple," General Merrick of Blue Squadron cut her off. "The Empire has the means of mass destruction, the Rebellion does not."

"The Death Star," Jebel sneered. "This is nonsense."

I can feel myself getting dumber just listening to him, Mirax thought.

"What reason would my father have to lie?" Jyn questioned. "What benefit would it bring him?"

"To lure our forces into a final battle to destroy us once and for all," Draven suggested.

"That's insane," Mirax argued. "You know that the Death Star exists—"

"We know a dangerous battle station exists," Draven corrected, "able to destroy a city. We have no confirmation of its full capabilities or weaknesses. This is how the Emperor has always operated, back to the time of the Republic—the gun is less threatening than the lie."

"Risk everything?" Vaspar demanded. "Based on what? The testimony of a criminal? The dying words of her father, an Imperial scientist?"

"But don't forget the Imperial pilot," Jebel added.

"My father gave his life so that we may have a chance to defeat this," Jyn stated.

"So you've told us," General Rieekan said.

"If the Empire has this kind of power, what chance do we have?" Pamlo asked gravely.

"What chance do we have?" Jyn echoed. "The question is 'what choice'. Run, hide, please for mercy, scatter your forces. You give way to an enemy this evil with this much power and you condemn the galaxy to an eternity of submission. The time to fight is now!" A chorus of agreements followed the statement. "Every moment you waste is another step closer to the ashes of Jedha."