The Stars Between Us

Chapter 1

    Brendon was still tense and nervous after his meeting with Moff Qyui. He'd been expecting to undergo interrogation like the other survivors, but instead he was...promoted. What are they trying to do? Before the Battle of Yavin, Brendon would've been as confident as any suspected traitor before the battle, but now, after seeing what he's seen on Yavin, and hearing about Vader's...techniques, he wasn't so sure. After all, he'd only been a lowly ensign. Who would've noticed if he died?
    Someone came to mind, but Brendon shoved it away. If he wanted to survive, he had to forget about his savior. About his soft face, beautiful eye.
    STOP. If he was thinking about him now, he'd be thinking about him if he was ever in an interrogation. There's no way he could survive that. Go to sleep, Bren.
    Alderaan. The explosion. A transport. Fear. A blaster bolt, closer, closer. I don't want to die. A face. A gorgeous face, shielding him, taking him back to the shuttle. Thank you. No need, Rebels will always save someone in need. Come with us.
    Brendon jolted awake. God, I'm a third lieutenant now. He couldn't fathom why he'd been promoted; he had ran away and hid from the battle. Truth is, he didn't have it in his heart to fight for the Empire. Their cruelty was obvious, and any thought in his mind about a shred of goodness had been destroyed with Alderaan. He'd seen his fellow officers, friends, who only wanted to survive, choked to death right in front of his eyes. And he'd had to throw their corpses in the trash compactor. The idea of fighting, though, of joining his savior...it terrified him. He knew what he was doing was wrong but he didn't know how to stop or was even sure if he would. However, he couldn't stop thinking about his rebellious savior.

    Ryan stood in the hangar. The Death Star was gone. Luke Skywalker would be a hell of a guy to meet. Even as the Rebel Alliance was filled with elation, they were all weighed by their losses. The destruction couldn't bring back Ria, couldn't bring back Peoria. And so through the celebration, through all the congratulations on his rescue work, Ryan couldn't bring himself to be as filled with joy. They're all remembering someone.
    In a way, he thought the congratulations were undue. He hadn't even fought; he'd worked medical and rescue. Though he'd been an ace pilot and wanted to resist the Empire, he'd made it clear to Mon Mothma that he never wanted to kill. Did I do the wrong thing? He'd saved the life of an Imperial officer, someone who worked for the Empire. But he'd been hiding; if he wasn't killed in the crossfire, he'd be executed. Truthfully he just seemed afraid. The look in his eyes when he saw Ryan wasn't disgust or hatred; it was fear mixed with a dash of hope. The look most of Ryan's recruits had.
    Recruiting was really Ryan's only use to the Rebellion. There were trained doctors who were much better than him at medical work, but no one could appeal to the young and afraid and convince them to fight like he could. He would know the basics of Imperial structure; we could use all the information sources we can. How was Ryan to find him? He knew practically nothing about him, certainly not enough to find him with. Wait.
    Starships volleyed above, and a hail of blaster bolts surrounded Ryan. Stormtroopers were shooting everyone who was in the open; Ryan had to be quick and stealthy. There! Only a few feet away, someone hiding behind a rock. An Imperial officer...but someone afraid and in need. Ryan could hear muttering. I'm Brendon Urie, I never wanted to fight, please spare me, whoever's there, I don't want to die. The man's last plea was all Ryan needed to hear.
    Brendon Urie. He'd been striped as an ensign, and would've been staffed on the Death Star or the nearby Destroyer. Ryan opened a databank. Let's see what I can do.

    Being a third lieutenant wasn't too different from an ensign. Brendon still had no authority and no responsibility and a vague sense of guilt when he thought of Alderaan. And just as much free time in his dorm, so that's where he was when the tablet buzzed.
    USER3948: Ryan from Yavin. That guy from behind the rock. You interested?
    IO_URIEB44456: Stop, they can find this.
    USER3948: Let go of your fear. You don't believe in all of it. Wouldn't you rather be saved than executed?
    IO_URIEB44456: You sound like a propaganda bot.
    USER3948: Could a bot tell you that as you were hiding, you admired the beautiful jungle? Could it tell you that your hair shone under the light of the moon, even through all the leaves? Could a bot tell you that your eyes glimmered like one of Hosnian's moons, that your face was so innocent but so perfect?
    IO_URIEB44456: ...
    USER3948: I'm real. Are you going to watch everything you know is wrong, or are you going to do something about it?
    IO_URIEB44456: They're going to find this and kill me.
    USER3948: Not if you come with me. You can be free.
    IOURIEB44456: Where?
    USER3948: On your next leave day, in three days, take a shuttle to Jedha, at the Biggs Cantina. I'll clear this; I'm good with computers.
    IOURIEB44456: Okay.
Treason. That's treason. Brendon could be killed; then again, he could've been accused of treason just for being saved by Ryan. One of the nearby Imperial ships had to have had cameras, they would've seen him being carried by someone who was clearly a rebel and no matter how good Ryan thought he was with computers, Imperial devices were closely monitored. No one could possibly hack them or erase data. I'll be caught, I'll be caught- If he ran away with Ryan, they couldn't get to him. Everyone wants to kill the Rebels. I'll never escape the Empire. But he remembered Ryan's soft hair, his courage...he wanted to be like that. It's not like he had anyone to protect; he was from a poor planet and his parents had died when he was young. He'd grown up surrounded by the injustice of the Empire, but Brendon never felt moved to do anything about, because he's never wanted to do anything about anything. Always, he was passive. Now...now, though, the opportunity to do something, to change that was right in front of him, on Jedha in three days. He had to make up his mind.
    "Leave in three days? Alright... and you want a shuttle? Glad you filed early, the queue was almost full. Well, now you're free then." He was really doing it. He was actually doing it.

    Ryan waited patiently in the back of the cantina. If he doesn't have the spine to come, at least I can have a drink. Honestly, Ryan didn't have any faith in the kid. He'd looked scared out of his wits on Yavin, so he probably didn't have the guts to participate in rebel conspiracy. Still, on the off chance that Brendon found some fighting spirit in him, Ryan thought he could be a good soldier.
    Time ticked on as Ryan sipped on the melted mindstick-blue milk cocktail.  Looks like he won't show, after all. As he stood to pay his check, a familiar face framed by soft brown hair caught his eye. Brendon had come after all.
    "So...umm...do you want me to do rebel stuff or..." Ryan nearly laughed out loud at him. "If you want to do some good, you basically have two options. One: You work as a spy. You can give us some intel on the bases," Brendon was already shaking his head. "I can't handle that. I could barely come here." Ryan sighed. That's what he'd expected, even though a spy would be of great use to them. "Well, then you can join now. We'd get you some new clothes, dispose of all your devices, take necessary precautions so they don't track us. Then I'd take you to the nearest base or ally and they would debrief and assign you. Now, you can wait to make up your mind, but I can only stay in touch so long, and I'm trusting you a lot by coming here to meet." Brendon still seemed apprehensive. "At some point, you have to ask yourself: What are you living for? What are you fighting for? Right now, you're fighting for nothing, and living for survival. Don't you want to be more? To stand up and help those in need?" Brendon nervously nodded. "I-I'll go with you now." Ryan grinned.

    Everything seemed so sudden about it, that now he was a rebel after a short conversation. Is that really how easily it happened? He would have to leave behind...what, exactly? He'd never made friends, never had anyone make his heart beat the way Ryan did. What was he living for? Well, now the Rebellion.