Starstruck

Home again - 6

"We're coming in." K2 announced. Out of the small window Jyn could just see dark green mountains sloping lazily across the landscape and wide fields with tall, overgrown crops spilling over the borders. She shivered. Cassian and K2 brought the ship to land expertly with Jyn's instructions and the rest of the crew jumped out into the damp grass under the low, early morning sun. From where they'd landed, directly facing the small house, Jyn could almost imagine the man in a white cape, flanked by troopers, marching towards the house on the day her life had taken a wrong turn. She tried not to let herself dwell on what had happened, tried to remember it was only a mission, but she couldn't forget. "You ok?" Bodhi put a hand on her shoulder, smiling sadly.
"I'm fine." She turned away.
"We'd better get going. We've got no idea if the empire based anyone here." Cassian dragged the last of the equipment out of the ship. "K2, stay here and keep on the comms. You're our getaway."
"Why do droids always have to stay with the ship?" K2 said, sourly. "I'd love to learn more about Jyn and why she turned out like this."
"LIKE WHAT, K2?! YOU'D BETTER THINK CAREFULLY BEFORE ANSWERING." Jyn was ready to draw a blaster when Cassian cut in.
"Just stay put and shut up."

They were about to set off when Jyn called out, "Wait! This is the best part!" She lay flat on the ground and rolled all the way to the foot of the hill to the bemusement of the others. Brushing herself off, she shouted again, "Are you telling me that no one's ever rolled down a hill before?! It's the only way to travel!" Bodhi immediately dropped my to the floor and had soon joined Jyn at the bottom with much laughter. Cassian looked mildly concerned for their mental state but slowly fell to his knees and shot Jyn a deadpan glare before joining them at the bottom at a great speed. Jyn wondered if rolling down hills at speeds that would make hyperspace seem a like drag was a part of rebel boot camp. She'd ask General Draven. It sounded like her idea of training. None of them were 100% sure Chirrut knew what was in store, but he happily rolled down the hill, ending with a graceful roll. Baze wasn't as eager, as it meant taking the bulky ammunition off and rolling it separately, but he soon started to see the fun side. Once they'd all rolled down (Jyn, Bodhi and Chirrut did it a few times more) they began the short trek towards the farm.

Jyn did her best to walk faster or slower than the others. She didn't want to walk in a line like he had, the day it all fell apart. Just taking this route reminded her of the Death troopers. As they neared the house, Bodhi stopped and pulled something out of the long grass.
"Oh, Stormy! What did they do to you?" Jyn recognised it almost immediately. Stormtroopers were less scary in fabric and plastic. Stormy was looking worse for the wear, after spending thirteen years in the elements and being left to whatever creature took an interest in him, but Jyn tucked him in her pocket, positioning him so his slightly crushed helmet peered over the top, inspecting the grass from which he'd been rescued.
"I think that might be the single cutest Stormtrooper I've ever seen." Bodhi beamed at the tiny doll.
"My mother made it so I wouldn't be scared of them. I dropped him years ago, but I don't think he's ready to forgive."
Cassian looked as though he was already over it.
"Maybe it's a good thing to be scared of Stromtroopers when you're on the run?"
"Not when you're five and can't stop having nightmares about your entire family being dragged off and you keep waking up your already stressed parents telling them you're sure that tonight the Empire will find you."
"Your poor parents."
"My mum made this at 2am whilst half laughing, half crying and cursing the Empire in every language she knew. I think this is a voodoo doll, actually."
"I like her already."

They were nearing the small trench leading down to the door way by now. It wasn't much in way of defence, but was narrow and steep to navigate. The door was dented and singed, hanging as sadly as an inanimate object could be from its rusted mechanism. Jyn climbed down the tiny steps first, bringing back memories she didn't know she still had. She remembered that the third step down was longer than the rest. Fourth had a dent that made it narrower. Water tended to gather on six and made it slippery. Twelve was repaired with wood rather than stone. She could remember each family member falling down these steps at some point. Most of them more than once. Her father had been the first, balancing far too much wood in his arms and forgetting number six. Her mother had spotted a ship and slipped in panic, taking a sizeable chunk out of nine with her boot. Jyn remembered she'd been running late for dinner and tripped over a tree root on the way down. She also remembered how she'd screamed the place down, only to realise she'd landed in soft mud and was fine. That was the benefit of living on a farm. Mud (unlike jackets) makes a good pillow.

Once she reached the bottom, she shouted up instructions to the others. One slip would cause a pretty bad pile up. Jyn wrenched open the door and lifted it out the way with Cassian and Bodhi's help. Most of the house was in ruins. Tables had been over turned, glass and vegetation covered the floor, meticulously organised papers were scattered and ripped, cupboard doors dangled off their hinges and various wildlife scuttled in the rafters. As if automatically, Cassian picked up the papers and began to stack them. Bodhi wandered into the kitchen, Baze sat down in the torn up chair to check his ammunition and Chirrut inspected the tattered drawings still pinned to the walls. Jyn wondered if he could guess what they were or maybe sense it.
"What were they searching for?" Cassian had already started to tidy up the living room out of force of habit. You wouldn't think being a rebel would involve much paperwork, but keeping a tidy base of operations seemed very important to Cassian. Even if it meant sifting through broken glass and deciphering notes.
"Valuables. Research. Clues to where I went. If my mum knew anything worth passing on. I don't know if they found much. I think we torched the important files before we left." Jyn replied, making her way through to her old bedroom. Most of the toys were intact, if a little moth eaten, but had obviously been rifled through. The books on the shelf were scattered, some pages missing and the drawings pinned to the wall had been ripped down, joining the glass on the floor. There was a vase of long dead flowers surrounded by shrivelled petals on the broken window sill and ivy snaked through the window and up the wall. Bodhi, sensing cute stuffed animals, joined her, holding two suspicious smelling fruits.
"Are these safe to eat?" He held them up. Jyn grimaced.
"They've been in a cupboard for thirteen years with all manner of wildlife taking their pick. I don't think they're exactly fit for human consumption. Or even non-human consumption. We could bring one back for K2 as a souvenir, though."
Bodhi threw away the fruit. "IS THAT A FLUFFY TAUNTAUN?!" He sat down on the bed next to a bedraggled Tauntaun toy. "We have to bring her back to base! She can be our new mascot!"
"Wait, she has a friend." Jyn held up a dusty loth cat she'd pulled out from under her bed. Bodhi took it and brushed cobwebs from its ears.
"Is there anyone else we need to adopt?"
"I think that's all that are salvageable. The rest can have a nice peaceful life here."
"You have the cutest bedroom in the world."
"Don't call me cute." She jabbed him with the loth cat's ear.
"Sorry." He poked her with the Tauntaun's hoof. "I'm going to see if the kitchen has anything edible."
"Spoiler alert: it doesn't."
"Rebellions are built on hope."
"Don't quote me, I'll set my loth cat on you."
"I have a Tauntaun."
"Loth cat beats Tauntaun."
"Never!" Bodhi sat the Tauntaun on his shoulder and left to sort out the kitchen.