Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

5. Loose Ends

Hours had excruciatingly passed by.

Finding Montoya Chizznov was a bust.

Cassian had searched Montoya's place first. Holochips from Talia were hidden in a secret compartment in his wall. Guess the storm troopers didn't find these. After the first sweep, the place seemed to be clean. No hints of where he had gone, or where his captures had taken him.

Captain Andor searched the streets of Pikula twice over, questioning citizens and searching any empty buildings he came across. No one had heard of the guy before, or at least pretended not to. If anyone got taken away by the Empire, people tended to turn a blind eye.

That was something Cassian never understood. If there's something, anything, you can do to help someone, then you should do it. No questions asked. This Empire...this tyrannical government...needed to be stopped. That started with rebellion. But if you don't stand up for the little people, then what kind of person does that you?

Children rushed in front of Cassian, catching him off guard. He stopped suddenly and allowed them to pass. He grunted quietly. Those children are so innocent. So carefree. Luxuries I didn't have. The thoughts trailed across his mind, and a small ache pounded in his heart. Cassian exhaled quietly and continued on his journey down the street.

Eventually, he was in the outskirts of the city. Captain Andor pulled his blue coat closer to his body as a cold front moved in. The winds started to pick up, and suddenly the nice cloudy day formed into an upcoming rainstorm. I have to find him before the storm starts. He wandered for a while against the winds, searching for something, anything as an indication of Imperial activity.

Come on.

Cassian came up to an abandoned warehouse that used to store Republic luxury goods. A small symbol was carved into the door, resembling something like a TIE Fighter. He ran his fingers over it in thought for a moment before his eyes flickered to a window. He peeked in, carefully at first, until he realized he couldn't see in at all. The windows had been boarded up sometime ago.

I'll do this the hard way, then.

There was no way to tell how many storm troopers were inside. This was either an abandoned warehouse, or a secret base for the Imperials. Either way, he had the chance of being outgunned. Cassian considered the odds carefully, but quickly. Thunder roared above him, giving him the best cover for sneaking around. He decided to bite the bullet and infiltrate using an alternate route. The symbol had to mean something, and he was obligated to check it out.

He slipped around the back of the warehouse and observed every inch he could see through the dim sunlight. A window was open on the second floor, but climbing up that high would be a pain in the ass. The loading dock door wouldn't budge, but there was a back door on the side that looked easy enough to open.

The rebel took the latter, which was an easier route. He'd rather be safe than sorry. Dropping in from the second story window could be dangerous, and most likely give away his position. Cassian pick locked the door and succeeded after the third try.

The warehouse was large and empty. The cold atmosphere made Cassian shiver, even through his nice warm jacket. The metal walls appeared deteriorated and rusted over; the concrete floor was littered in dirt and puddles of water. Everything seemed quiet until a noise rang out from the hall to his left.

Must be the office area or something. Cassian took out his blaster pistol and held it close to his chest. He scolded himself internally for removing the silencer back on Dantooine. He should've known to keep it on.

A loud interrogation was taking place in one of the offices. The closer Cassian got, the more distinct the voices became. He counted at least three bucket heads. Nothing he couldn't handle. He'd faced worse before. It reminded of his time on Rhen Var where-