Built on Hope (Cassian Andor FF)

19. Emergency

"You did what?"

Rebels gathered around the campfire, taking swigs of their home brewed drinks every now and then. Cassian introduced them one-by-one to Talia, but there were so many names that she just smiled and waved. Assassins, saboteurs, spies, pilots, mechanics, many of them came from diverse backgrounds. To be sitting in the rolling fields of Dantooine with such brave men and women felt surreal, as if the brith flying amongst the dark starry sky had revealed that she was in a dream.

Talia laughed lightly, grinning from ear-to-ear as she nodded. Cassian blushed, yet covered it up by clearing his throat and taking a sip of his Dantooine Ice-Twist. Talia continued, "At that time, I hadn't..." A breath hitched in her throat, tangling her words together in a web. Killed anyone... A chill crawled down her spine. Bitterness and remorse tightened inside of her chest as she remembered how naïve she had been before that. So carefree and thinking she would never murder a soul. She shoved the feeling away and thought back to her first encounter with Cass. Her expression faltered, but picked back up in a flash. "Cassian's smirk had to be genuine. No one could fake that. The senator that caught us ended up so flustered."

Kalla, if Talia recalled correctly, chuckled for a moment and couldn't hold back her words, "I bet! Sounds like you two had quite the adventure. Must be nice having a partner." Hearing adventures from a second perspective, rather than Captain Andor's, felt like a warm welcome to the rebels, especially in a situation like this. Kalla's green eyes looked between Cassian and Talia before taking another sip of the drink in her hand.

Talia brushed her hair behind her ear, not taking a moment to hesitate before replying truthfully, "It is. I'm surprised Cass has kept me around this long."

"Cass?" Ven, a big, burly man, called out from the other side of the group. He chewed on some sijjo sewi, snorts of breath leaving his nostrils as he laughed.

Cassian sighed. If only he had told her not to say that either in front of them. Then again...he couldn't censor her. A free spirit like Talia can't be caged, unlike Cassian. Caged by his own actions and deep inner thoughts... "I lied to her about my identity, so she insists on calling me that."

"I think it's fair," Talia declared, glancing over at him to see his straight expression. Amused, she leaned back against the giant fallen tree and bit her lip to keep from smiling.

Halron, one of Cassian's closest friends, stared at Cassian with a mischievous grin. The man had told wondrous stories of how he sabotaged many Imperial vehicles, and even weapons within facilities. The one where the stormtrooper blew up his buddy's hand on accident would forever be engrained in Talia's mind. Halron poked fun and winked, "Is she the only one that can call you that?"

With a snort, Cassian ignored him. Rather than egg Halron on and allow the rest to tease him, or whatever they planned to do, he playfully bounced a comment off of what Talia said, "Talia didn't give me a choice in staging that scene. The smile might or might not have been genuine."

Someone within the big circle muttered mostly to themselves, forlorn and shaken to the core, "The alternative is much worse."

The contorted expression on what was left of Bohk's bloody face imprinted itself onto the back of her eyelids, flashing before her in a torturous fashion when she blinked. Her breathing deepened, the image catching her off guard. Talia rubbed her thumb against the top of her hand to distract herself as she admitted, "Which is what I tried to avoid." A stray thought crossed her mind. Cassian can't seem to stay away from death.

Essja, a blue Twi'lek assassin with a rather impressive record, spoke up from the side, "Have you done it?" She stared at Talia with bright, colorful eyes that softened into worry. Some people were made to kill. Others were made to protect, and Talia's words bled that. Essja saw right through them.