Work Text:
Vel pressed her lips flat as the driver opened the emblem-covered door of the shiny New Republic speeder with a flourish. She had hoped to rent a private speeder when they arrived at the spaceport in Fest’s capital city. The planet’s governor, eager to ingratiate themself to the New Republic government in Coruscant, had insisted on providing their own personal speeder and driver. So much for a discreet arrival, Vel thought. Still breeding and training held out and she smiled at the driver in acknowledgment of their service.
Kleya was not bound by either breeding or training and gave the driver a dead-eye look as she left the speeder that made his smile falter. The guests that accompanied them were subdued so it was left to Vel to thank the driver and arrange a pickup code. By the time she was done, Vel noticed the interest their arrival had created on the business-lined street, as shop owners and customers peered from the doors and windows on the street. The owner of the shop they were visiting was not in their window, but they must be well aware of the New Republic officials on their doorstop.
“Well,” Vel said, with a bit of forced cheer, “let’s do this. Shall we?”
There was an actual bell on the door when they stepped into Andor’s Parts and Repair. A woman stood behind the counter with a sour look on her face, apparently alone in the shop. Vel could hear a door slam, as someone escaped out the back. The woman at the counter fit the description of who they were looking for though, so Vel didn’t care about whoever left.
“Jyn Andor?” Vel asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Vel Sartha, special envoy from Mon Mothma, Chancellor of the New Republic. This is Kleya Marki.” Vel gestured to Kleya. Jyn’s eyes darted to her and then moved to the two guests with them. “And this is Bix Caleen and her son, Cassa.”
Did Vel imagine it or did Jyn’s eyes narrow a bit as she looked at the boy. He was the image of his father. Did she recognize Cassian’s face in his son. In the split second it took to turn back to Vel, Jyn’s face was blank.
“Well, it took you long enough to find me,” Jyn said. “I suppose you were busy with the war. But I did my part. I don’t owe anything to the Rebellion or the New Republic, nor do I want anything from you. The more you leave me alone, the happier I’ll be.”
“We’re looking for information about Cassian Andor. What happened to him on Scariff. Why are you using his name? Bix is Cassian’s widow and Cassa is his son. They deserve answers.” Kleya was as direct and blunt as Jyn. Still, Vel thought, it saves a lot of time. Diplomacy would be so much easier if everyone was like them. So would war, though.
“A widow and a son?!” Jyn’s eyes widened slightly as she looked back over to Bix and Cassa and she mused aloud, “He told me that he had lost everything, that he had nothing but the cause. It seems to me like a wife and a son are not nothing.”
Cassa turned and looked up to his mother’s face. She rubbed his shoulders and looked pained.
“Perhaps there’s somewhere we can sit down, have a cup of tea and talk,” Vel suggested. Jyn rolled her eyes and then, with a sigh and a jerk of her head, indicated that they should follow her. She led them through a door and up a set of stairs to the owner’s quarters above the shop. On the way, Vel caught a glimpse of neatly sorted, parts-lined shelves in the back room. When they reached the second floor, Jyn led them into a surprisingly inviting living area, furnished with comfortable, well-built pieces and art on the walls. Large windows overlooking the street let in light. A small but well-appointed and tidy kitchen was visible, and there was a hallway lined with doors that must lead to bedrooms and a fresher. The apartment was brighter and warmer than Vel imagined she would find, from what she'd be told about Jyn Erso.
“Have a seat,” Jyn waved at a small table with four chairs. She turned to Cassa, and asked in a slightly higher-pitched voice that adults use when talking to children, “Do you like to watch Wookiee Whomp?” Cassa nodded enthusiastically. “Here, let me turn on the holo-projector and you can watch while the grown ups have some tea. I bet you’d like some cookies and milk, too. Wouldn’t you?”
Once Cassa was safely distracted and the tea was brewed, the four women sat around the table. A small plate of cookies in the center of the table was left untouched. Having prepared the tea and offered cookies, Jyn obviously felt her obligation to be hospitable ended. She sat, cradled her cup, and said nothing, waiting for them to start. Vel obliged.
“Can you tell us what happened on Scariff?”
Jyn sighed, focusing on the table while she spoke. “We made it to the surface. Cassian, Kay, and I went into the base to get the plans. The others stayed near the ship or spread out around the base. They were to cause distractions when we sent the signal. I believe they did.” Jyn looked up and Vel nodded. Looking back down, she continued, “We made it to the data vault and Kay secured the door while Cassian and I went in to search for the plans. We were going to get the plans and then try to get back to Rogue One and take off. But Kay was overtaken by Stormtroopers. To save us, he locked down the blast doors to the vault before he was killed. Or, destroyed, I guess. No.” Jyn corrected herself sharply. “He was killed. Cassian was distraught. Kay was more than a machine to him.” Jyn looked up again at their faces again, she settled on Bix for a moment. “He was always defending Kay. I mean, the droid was a jerk, but Cassian was always trying to smooth over what Kay said or did.” Jyn smiled softly.
“Really?” Kleya remarked. “The Imperial droid? He didn’t seem to like him much when I saw them together.”
“Cassian and Kay? Oh, that’s weird. It seemed like they were old partners. Cassian really seemed to trust him and like him,” Jyn mused.
“So, you and Cassian were locked in the data vault,” Vel prompted, after a beat.
“Yeah, in the control room. That’s where I found the plans. My father named the plans Stardust and that was his name for me, so I knew. Kay had told us to climb up the data vault tower. The transmission device was at the top of the tower. That’s one of the last things he said, ‘Climb.’ And then, ‘Good-bye’.” Jyn frowned at the memory before moving on. “So, Cassian and I got the plans and we climbed. We were part way up the tower, when the Man in White and couple of his Deathtroopers found us. We came under fire.”
“The man in white?” Vel asked.
“Orson Krennic.” Kleya offered.
“Yeah, I learned later that was his name. I just called him the Man in White. He’s been in my nightmares all my life. He killed my mother and took my father from me.” Jyn said. She looked over to Cassa, his face covered in crumbs and a blue milk mustache as he absentmindedly chewed a cookie, enraptured by whomping Wookiees. “They fired on us from an access door about 60 feet above the control room that we started from. Cassian was hit. Not a fatal shot, maybe, but bad enough that he lost his grip and fell.” Again, Jyn looked down, a pained expression on her face. “He didn’t get up. I almost gave up myself at that moment, but I had to keep going. So, I did.” She looked up again, meeting all their eyes, defiant.
“You had to transmit the plans.” Vel said, simply.
“Yes. I couldn’t let it all be for nothing. I had to take every chance until the chances were spent. Cassian’s chances were spent but mine weren’t.” Jyn nodded. “When I got to the top of the tower, there was an air battle going on around me. I could see the Rebel fleet was there and ready to accept the transmission. I had to reposition the disk and then the Man in White appeared on the transmission platform.” Jyn scoffed. “He took the elevator. Luckily, Cassian had taken out his Deathtroopers, so it was only him. He thought he could point a blaster at me and I’d comply, like my father. But I’m tough like my mother. Unlike her, I’ve been trained in combat. I took advantage of the distraction from the firefight around us and charged him. I disarmed him and shot him with his own blaster. Then I transmitted the plans to the fleet over Scariff.”
There was silence for a moment, the only sound in the room from the Wookiees on the holo-projector.
“How did you get off Scariff? How did you come to Fest?” Vel asked.
“The air battle ended suddenly, and both the Rebel and Imperial ships that survived were heading for space. Then I saw why, the Death Star had arrived.” Jyn answered. “I’d seen it on Jedha, so knew what it was. I didn’t want to die on the tower with the Man in White, so I took the elevator down to the ground. To the beach. I thought that I would die on the beach.” Jyn smiled, bitterly. “But, when I got to the ground, there was a shuttle parked where it shouldn’t have been. I suppose it was his”
“Krennic’s?” Kleya asked. Jyn nodded.
“His pilot must have feared him more than death.” Jyn shrugged. “I killed him and took the shuttle.” Vel noticed Bix flinch at the matter-of-fact admission. How was she ever an operative, Vel wondered. “If I had known that I could escape, I would’ve brought the plans down with me and gone to Yavin with them. I might have stopped to see if Cassian was still alive. I don’t know. At that moment, I knew that I didn’t have time for any of that. I needed to get off the planet before the Death Star fired or die there with him. So, that’s what I did.” Jyn’s eyes turned back to Cassa.
“And Fest? Why call yourself Andor?”
“I had nowhere to go. I had no reason to go back to Yavin. I probably would have been arrested for the Scariff mission, especially if I showed up without the actual plans in hand. Plus, it wouldn’t have gone good for me once I killed Draven, which I planned to do if I ever saw him again.” Jyn looked around, “You know he ordered the murder of my father?”
“Yes,” Vel confirmed.
“So, I thought it best to avoid the Alliance. The best they were going to do for me was give me a flight somewhere safe and some credits. I already had a ship, and I didn’t want their karking credits so…” Jyn trailed off and shrugged, looking around the room. “I looked for a place to go. I had hacked Cassian’s files while we were on Yavin. Fest was supposed to be his home planet. I was looking for a place to recover and maybe live. And, I had enough fuel to get here. I thought I could pretend to be his widow, get some sympathy, and maybe not be shot on sight as an Imperial.” Jyn smiled. “The joke was on me though. There are no Andors on Fest and never have been. No one knows the name. He probably wasn’t from here at all.”
“No,” Bix spoke for the first time. “He was born on a planet called Kenari. He was raised on Ferrix.”
“Kenari? The mining disaster planet?” Jyn asked. As Bix nodded, she continued, “Well, then why the fuck did everything say Fest?”
“Kenari was a secret. It had to be.” Bix said. Jyn looked from her to Vel and Kleya.
“What’s the big deal about being from Kenari, other than the fact that it’s a shithole?” Jyn wondered aloud. Bix just shook her head, while Vel and Kleya shrugged. “Huh. Well, he lied about having a wife and son, so maybe he was just a liar by nature. He didn’t carry a holo of you or Cassa in his kit bag either, by the way.” Jyn looked to Vel and Kleya and continued, “I searched it looking for a weapon.” They both nodded, knowingly.
“Oh,” Bix started. “Cassian never knew about Cassa.”
Jyn’s eyes moved back over to Cassa, a frown on her forehead.
“How old is he?” she asked.
“He’ll be 6 standard years, next month.” Bix supplied.
“But that means he was almost six months old when we left for Scariff. How did he not know his wife had a six-month-old baby?” Jyn asked, incredulously.
“I left Yavin early in my pregnancy. I didn’t tell Cassian that I was pregnant or about the baby.” Bix stopped when she saw the angry look on Jyn’s face.
“Why?” Jyn asked, quietly, her eyes darting back to Cassa and then leaned in closer. “Was Andor abusive or something? Did you have to get away from him?” Her face looked murderous.
“Oh! No! Nothing like that. We were very much in love. He was perfect! It’s just that he was so important to the Rebellion and I couldn’t take him away from that. I know that he wanted to leave the fight and, if he knew about Cassa, nothing would keep him there. I had to sacrifice my happiness for the greater good. The Force healer on Yavin said that the Force showed her that Cassian was unique. Special. That he would deliver a message.” Bix explained, quickly as if it made sense to her but Jyn was confused and looked at Vel and Kleya for explanation. They both looked away.
“He didn’t deliver a message.” Jyn frowned. “Bodhi Rook delivered a message from my father. He died on Scariff, too. And I transmitted the plans, but that’s not delivering a message really. But I don’t think Cassian delivered any messages during our mission together.” Jyn looked at Bix thoughtfully. “Your Force healer was mistaken. Or a charlatan. But, in any case, by keeping the child a secret, you condemned Cassian to his death. Cassian said he had nothing but the Rebellion. He went to Scariff knowing that we would probably die on the mission because he had nothing but the cause he believed in. I think his decision would have been different if he knew he had a child.” Jyn leaned back from the table as Bix’s eyes welled up with tears.
“He was integral to the Rebellion. He had to be there for the success of the mission. And I thought he would come back. He always came back to me. Every time I need him, he always found me and saved me.” Bix whispered as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“And you rewarded that loyalty by leaving him and keeping his child from him.”
“I have to live with my decision,” Bix turned angrily to Jyn. “I have to live with it for the rest of my life that I lost the only man I’ll ever love and the father of my child to the fight!”
“Who should live with it, if not you?” Jyn’s eyes went back to Cassa. “And, of course, him.”
Vel cleared her throat and broke into the heated exchange. “So, for clarity, you weren’t married to Cassian Andor or in any way, um, involved with him?” Bix gasped and sniffed.
Jyn looked at them both blankly for a moment and then, as realization spread across her face, she laughed quietly, so as not to claim Cassa’s attention from the Wookiees. “I knew Cassian for one week and hated him for most of that time. He lied to me and almost killed my father. We came together for the mission to Scariff but, no, we weren’t involved.”
“So,” Bix interjected, “if he survived the mission to Scariff, he would have found me. He would have returned to me and Cassa.”
“Sure. I guess.” Jyn looked at Bix and suddenly realized how desperately the other woman needed to be assured. She resisted telling her that, clearly she and Cassian weren’t confidantes, and she had no way of knowing his mind on anything. “Yes, of course he would have returned to you. Absolutely. I mean, you knew him, right? You knew what he’d do better than me. He was your husband, not mine.” Bix’s face cleared a bit and she nodded. Jyn glanced over at Cassa again, still enthralled by Wookiees and ignoring the adults. “If I could’ve saved him, I would have of course. I would have brought him back to Yavin, even if it meant being imprisoned there, even if he were gravely injured.”
“But you took his name.” Kleya said, with a challenge.
“I explained why I did that.” Jyn sighed and shrugged. “I didn’t want to be Erso anymore. I didn’t want the Empire to find me. Cassian said he had nothing, no one. I didn’t think anyone would mind if I used his name. His file didn’t mention that he already had a wife, by the way. I could have just as easily used ‘Rook’ but Bodhi didn’t have a personnel file on Yavin and Jedha was destroyed, so I couldn’t try his home planet anyway. So, I forged some scandocs and, well, here I am a little over five standard years later. People here know me as Jyn Andor. They like me and I have a successful business, so I didn’t see any need to change it after the war ended and the Empire fell.”
“The New Republic has a pension for war widows and widowers,” Kleya began but Jyn waived her off.
“Obviously that’s going to them,” Jyn motioned towards Bix and Cassa. “It’s nothing to do with me. Cassian Andor was nothing to me but a colleague on a mission.” She turned to Bix. “I’m sorry he’s dead. I’m sorry that I couldn’t do anything to save him. I’m sorry he even came to Scariff when he had so much to live for. He should have made that decision with all the information available. All of us who went, we understood the risk but none of us had anyone waiting on our return or, if some did, they knew what they were potentially sacrificing. Cassian didn’t know and I think that’s tragic in its own way.” She shrugged and looked back at the table. “I did what he would’ve done in my place and what I’m sure he must have done before I met him; after he fell, I completed the mission and I lived. I don’t apologize for that. Do you need me to sign a release or something? I’d rather not change my name, given the business and all.”
“Of course, that’s fine. There’s no need to change your name. We don’t need you to sign anything either. If you’re not making a claim, that’s fine.” Vel smiled.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said that the more the New Republic leaves me alone, the happier I’ll be. In fact, just leave Fest alone. They hated the Old Republic here. They don’t have much reason to like the new one. It’s all the same bureaucrats from the old Imperial government, so we’re not seeing any difference.” Jyn sighed.
“The current governor is a local and not a loyal Imperial. I understand that they replaced a particularly cruel governor here, until about 2 years ago, just after Endor. Didn’t he die or something?” Vel asked.
“Yes.” Jyn answered flatly. “It was a tragic accident.”
“Did you kill him yourself,” Kleya asked, mimicking Jyn’s flat delivery, “or just help the people that did make it look like an accident?”
“I killed him myself.” Jyn looked at Kleya, directly. “You know, Cassian and I fought as we were leaving Eadu, after the Rebellion killed my father. He wouldn’t take responsibility for or apologize for my father’s murder. He said I didn’t understand what it meant to be committed to the Rebellion. He implied that he was better than me because of his lifelong commitment. But I grew up in Saw Gerera’s partisans. Since I was 8 yrs old, I trained to be a soldier in the fight against the Empire in particular and tyranny in general. And I’ve always been very good at it. I will keep being good at it until the day I die. Saw abandoned me but you can’t take unlearn some skills, some ways of being. You know what I mean?” Kleya nodded and Jyn knew she understood. The theme song announcing the end of the Wookiee Whomp episode started. “Should I start another episode, or have I answered all your questions?”
“No, I think that’s everything. Do you have any questions for us?” Vel asked, pulling out her comm to contact the driver.
“Nah, I’m good.” Jyn leaned back again and watched as Bix got up to collect Cassa and took him to the fresher to get cleaned up. “I’m sorry for the boy. I’m sorry he won’t get to know his father. I don’t know that he was a good man, but I think Cassian should have had the chance to be a good father.”
“Yes,” Vel sighed, looking after Bix. “It’s hard to get people to do the right thing, once they’ve got something in their mind. I may have influenced her to leave Yavin. I wasn’t in a good place myself at the time as I had lost someone dear to me. I advised her not to get in Cassian’s way with the Rebellion. I meant she needed to find a place for herself in the Rebellion. She had fallen into this dependent housewife role, and it was distracting Cassian, worrying about her happiness all the time and rushing back from missions instead of seeing them through properly. She didn’t tell me that she was pregnant at the time. After she left, I tried to get Cassian to go to Bix before he left for that final mission, but he decided to stay in the Rebellion for her.”
“He was in the Rebellion because his wife left him? And that motherfucker had the gall to lecture me on commitment? Son of a bitch.” Jyn laughed and shook her head as she gathered the cups from the table. Profanity notwithstanding, there was no anger or malice in her voice. She seemed amused.
“Did we chase off your partner when we arrived?” Kleya asked as they brought up the rear going down to the shop and to the door to wait for the speeder. She had noticed signs that a man lived in the apartment upstairs with her. Once a spy, always a spy. Jyn smiled.
“He’s very suspicious of the New Republic. If I knew anything about Fest before I came here, I would’ve known Cassian’s story was fake. No Festian would be part of the Rebel Alliance to Restore the Old Republic. Everyone here hated the Old Republic as much as they hated the Empire.”
“Maybe the New Republic will surprise you.” Kleya said. She hesitated, lingering by the counter, and then added, “Did you know Ruescott Melshi?”
Jyn laughed. “Did I? I smashed him in the face with a shovel when he tried to rescue me on Wobani. Nothing a little bacta didn’t heal. He helped Sefla lead the ground forces on Scariff. Did he get off the planet?”
“No,” Kleya answered, looking around to make sure that Vel wasn’t too close. “I just wondered … That is, how did he seem? On the way to Scariff. Or anything.”
“Quiet. Preoccupied. As we all were. He teased me about the shovel on Wobani but mostly he was pensive, I guess.” Jyn looked at her. “Was he something to you?”
Kleya seemed startled by the question, even though she’d raised the topic of Melshi. “I don’t know. Maybe? We had only met, only had a very little time together. I didn’t really get to know him.” Jyn nodded in understanding.
“I used to think the same sort of thing about Cassian. We didn’t have time to get to know each other, but we worked together so well. We were in sync throughout our missions to Jedha and Scariff. There was time when I thought there might have been a connection and, maybe, if things had gone differently…” Jyn trailed off and shrugged. “But he was married with a child, so I guess there was nothing to wonder about. And I’m happy with Jeron. He’s good man. We work well together too, in the shop and out of it.”
“Jeron? Is that your partner’s name?” Kleya asked.
“Yes.”
“Curious.”
“It’s a pretty common name on Fest.” Jyn said.
“No, I mean, it’s curious because that was Cassian’s middle name.”
“Was it?”
Vel called from the door, as the driver appeared. They said their goodbyes politely but no one suggested that they would or should ever meet or speak again. Cassa thanked Jyn for her delicious cookies.
“I’ll tell my friend who made them that you like them. They’re his specialty. And, here, I’ve wrapped up a couple for you on the trip.” Jyn smiled at the boy and mused that she wouldn’t mind meeting him again someday. She still wasn’t sure about his mother though.
…….
Jeron came home an hour later, after spending time at the pub down the road.
“So,” he asked, as he came in, hung up his hat, and reached for the cookie canister on the counter, “what did the New Republic people want? To tell us how they’re going to be different?”
“No, they were looking for information about Cassian Andor, the operative that I went to Scariff with. How he died, stuff like that.” Jyn shrugged. “The woman with the child was his widow. The child was his son.” Jyn noticed he was rummaging through the canister. “And his son got your cookies.”
“I’ll have to bake more tomorrow. You never said he had a family.” Jeron walked over and sat on the sofa with her. He drew her feet onto his lap and began rubbing. Jyn’s eyes rolled back and she settled in.
“I didn’t know. They wanted to make sure that I wasn’t going to claim the widow’s pension. As if. I told them I wouldn’t but on the child’s account, not on hers. She seems like a nasty piece of work.” Jyn sat up to look at Jeron. “You know, she lied to Cassian about the kid. I told you that I didn’t know about his family, right, but he didn’t know he was a father either.” Jyn saw that Jeron was about to launch into a bunch of follow up questions and forestalled him.
“No, no, no! You abandoned me for the pub as soon as they pulled up, so you don’t get to ask a bunch of questions now.”
“Hey! We watched from Bree’s shop until they left. Then I went for one drink with Bree and Fenn. We both know that you don’t need my protection.”
“No, I guess I didn’t. Although I may have been in trouble with one of them. The truth is, I didn’t ask a bunch of questions and I’m kind of sorry I didn’t because I've been wondering ever since they left. All I know is that she thought he needed to stay in the Rebellion and that he would leave if he knew about the baby, so she left him and had the kid in secret. She'd gotten some Force healer's vision that he had to stay with the Rebellion. My immediate reaction wasn’t positive but she really thought she did the right thing. I can't figure out why she'd think that.” Jyn sighed and got reflective. “Maybe I’m being unfair. She seemed to really believe that Cassian was special, and it was necessary that she not distract him from his greater purpose in the Rebellion.”
“Was he that special?”
“I don’t know? Maybe? To her he was.” Jyn was thoughtful. “He was supposed to do something with a message or something. But he didn’t. We got to the data vault together and he shot those troopers. But I suppose Melshi or Sefla or Chirrut or Baze could’ve helped me get to the data vault instead of him. Kay was more valuable than Cassian, really but they were a match set.”
“Did you tell her that?” Jeron asked, with a concerned look on his face.
“What? Force, no! That woman needed to believe he was special. That she didn’t condemn him to his death for no real reason. I’m not going to tell her that battles aren’t won or lost on one person. It was all of us, coming together to resist, that carried the day. Cassian played a role but not the only role, not an indispensable one. Also, I didn't say that Force visions are mostly nonsense and certainly nothing to plan your life around.”
“Look at you! Growing empathy and kindness.” Jeron smiled. “I’m so proud of my little feral beast. A few years ago, you would’ve gone for the jugular.”
“Well, there’s nothing to be gained by that. She is already carrying the weight of her decision and she always will. If the delusion that Cassian was integral to the mission lightens that load a little bit, I guess it’s for the best. Although, I'd be happier if people stopped with the whole Force thing. It's going to screw us over again, mark my words.” Jyn smiled and crawled into Jeron’s lap, straddling his thighs. “She also needed assurance that Cassian was still in love with her and, you’ll be proud to know that I reassured her. I basically told her that we never slept together. Does it excite you that the New Republic sent envoys all this way to make sure I wasn't a man-stealing harlot?”
“As impossible as it would have seemed just five minutes ago, it does make you a little sexier. Not just a mankiller but a man stealer too.”
“I feel bad for the kid, though. He seemed sweet. Really liked your cookies.”
“He probably has the same last name as you. He might look you up again someday.”
“Well, then,” Jyn wiggled in his lap a little, brushed long brown bangs out of his beautiful eyes and whispered, “then you better stay here and keep baking them.”
Jeron smiled, dimples appearing. “As you wish.”