Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

10. Battle of Fresia Part II

AN: I'm thinking of adding in some ideas from the deleted scenes of Rogue One that we never got to see...Think that would be cool to sprinkle in this book? It'd be pretty badass to have a TIE Fighter confrontation scene! 

Exiting the building turned out to be a horrible idea.

Multiple AT-ST walkers and TIE maulers stood between them and their ship. There was a brief moment where the gray and black vehicles stared them down in complete silence. The AT-ST walkers stood tall and thin, compared to the wide and heavy TIE maulers. The maulers looked exactly like TIE Fighters, but with heavy tank treads instead of wings. Talia had never seen designs of the vehicle before, and not knowing what they could do in combat was a terrifying thought.

The two rebels set off in a starting run. Cassian held his blaster close to him as Talia aided him in running. Cassian's stitches tugged at every movement; he couldn't wait to sit back in his comfy pilot's chair to rest his wound.

The Imperial vehicles shot at the pair, missing them by a few feet. The vehicles creaked and squealed as the gears moved. The red bolts fired, one after the other, slowly inching closer to one-hundred percent accuracy.

Talia felt the heat of the cannon blasts as they hit the sand seven feet away from them. Sand and dirt flew up and rained down upon the two. She looked at the chicken walkers and the tanks, then back at Cassian. They were only almost halfway to the freighter. The Imperials were bound to hit their targets with precision soon. She unhooked his arm from over her shoulders, and kept up her pace. She took a deep breath, and didn't hesitate to make this next call, "Keep going. I'll meet you there."

"What? Are you insane?" Cassian glanced over at her as he ran. He clutched his wound, barely grazing it with the fabric of his shirt. His body ached all over, but he had to force himself to make it.

They were almost underneath the chicken walkers now. They would have to move around them to get passed safely. Talia shook her head and switched sides with him. She continued to explain briefly, "Two targets increases our chances of survival. Get to the ship. I'll run the other way."

Cassian shot a few times at the vehicles, only to get nearly shot back in response. He could hear yelling from afar. The Imperials must've alerted the academy. Now the cadets have to join the battle, or get thrown out of the Empire. He grit his teeth to push the pain away. "You're going to die out there." That would not be an option. She was his responsibility, and he would not let the senators down.

Only, Talia thought the same way about him.

"The Rebellion needs you more. Now go!" Talia ushered him towards the freighter as she veered off into another direction, right in front of the Imperials. She fired her blaster at the vehicles, gaining their attention. She jumped and dodged as best she could, avoiding the cannons' fire.

"Talia!" Cassian yelled, his legs still pushing towards the freighter. His dark eyes were locked on Talia and the vehicles. Mierda! He cursed in his mind. Talia had done something so courageous in order to get him to safety. His heart felt light at her act of pure protection and selflessness. No one had done that for him before, and it felt so welcoming, considering she hardly knew him.

A pilot's voice rose up from Cassian's communicator, which lit up yellow when someone talked, "We're going to get destroyed out there! Those anti-aircraft turrets need to be taken out!" Blaster fire sounded off in the background, and the screams of storm troopers echoed off of the walls of the hangar. Panic was clear in the man's voice, "We can't hold the hangar much longer!"

Cassian grabbed the communicator with his free hand and responded urgently, "I'm on it. Give me two minutes!"

Adrenaline refreshed Cassian's body, and eased his pain for another moment in time. Was it better for Talia to go out this way, rather than getting killed by Imperial troops back on Kuat if she got found out? Was it painless this way? She seemed so resolute in her decision, so maybe... Cassian's thoughts rolled around in his mind, creating more and more questions by the second.