3.1k words; edit by sondercoyfish

Your eyes shot open and you were submerged. In the murkiness of the water, you saw the open viewport, facing upward into a strange looking pattern above you. It took a second to comprehend what it was: waves along the top of the water, dancing across the surface. Your lungs ached for the air that swirled above them.

And the Captain---

The Captain! You turned your head to look at the side, but he was gone. You looked around, panicked, only to realize with a start that you were in too much danger to worry about anyone but yourself. Your lungs hurt.

Your fingers went to work on your restraint. You tried to feel for the release, but your fingers were numb. Everything was too murky. Your vision was fading as your lungs grew tighter. Furiously you yanked on the strap, desperate to get to the surface. But the transport was sinking more and you couldn't bend your fingers anymore, and your lungs felt like they were folding in.

You didn't want to die.

That was your last thought as you gave your restraint one last yank. Nothing happened and you looked back to the surface, hoping to get one last glance at the surface. One last glance of your last hope.

Instead you saw Captain Cassian, cutting through the water with ease. He swam through the viewport and stopped in front of you. The two of you looked at one another as he undid your restraint, grabbed your arm, and tugged you out of the transport.

One last hope.

Your eyes rolled in the back of your head as your body was pulled forward.

Cassian swam back to the surface. When he popped out of the water, he pulled you up and gripped you tightly, holding your face over the water.

"Breathe!" he gasped. "Come on, breathe!"

You heard him but he was very faint, as if you were still under and he was above the water. Your head rolled around and leaned against his temple. He let out a grunt of frustration as he started to swim with one arm. His legs furiously kicked out behind him.

You weren't aware of when your skin touched the rocky sand. Cassian flipped you over on your back. The waves rushed over the two of you, nearly submerging your face in water again. Cassian lifted your head out of it.

"Come on! Do you hear me? Hey!"

You did, but you couldn't respond. You felt three solid beats of pressure against your chest, as if your heartbeat had moved to the outside of you. One, two, three. A rush of fresh air down your throat, racing across the scratchiness of saltwater. One, two, three. Warmth rising out of you, your eyes popping open, water sputtering out of your mouth.

And you could see him, leaning over you, hair dripping wet, face bruised. He disappeared from your line of view and you could see the cloudy grey sky above you. You coughed and turned on your side, pebbles sharp against your elbow. Glancing down at them, you saw that the ground you were on were gritty little chunks of rock that were black in color. You gripped handfuls of them in your fists as you shakily moved to sit up.

He reached over and put his hand on your shoulder. "Are you all right?"

You nodded. You could breathe, you could feel the weight of your father's lightsaber that was still attached to your belt, and you were fine. "You saved my life. Thank you." 

"Consider us even," he said, leaning back on his heels as you coughed and sputtered. 

Wiping saltwater from your lips, you hoarsely asked, "What planet is this?"

"It's not a planet," he said. You noticed how nervous he was as he spoke. "It's a moon. And a dangerous one at that. We are on the moon called Mordu. It is in no orbit of any planet. It's completely alone and we are currently in the open without any source of cover. If they come searching for us, if they have any doubt that the crash finished us off, then they'll find us. Easily."

You glanced around. There seemed to be nothing but rocky ground surrounded by grey water. The entire sky matched the waves that rolled. Clouds covered you like a safety blanket, but it still didn't feel enough. Cassian was right. This place was vast and open, without any shelter of canyons or dunes like you were used to on Tatooine.

You got up on your feet. Your entire body was drenched with salt water and it made your clothes so heavy. You had your knapsack on your back and your lightsaber on your belt still, and other than the uncomfortable feeling of being wet and cold and the soreness of your throat, you were unharmed from the crash. Cassian walked along the edges of the water. You watched him pick up both of the blasters you'd stolen off the dead stormtroopers from the sand. He glanced over them, stopping in front of you.

"They should still work." He passed one to you.

"Thanks," you mumbled, glancing over it in your hands. You'd never practiced with a blaster before. "What will we do? We don't have a ship." 

"I'm not familiar with this side of the moon, but there should be a settlement just up north. I've passed through it my fair share of times. We'll go find a man that I know and he should be able to get us a ship that'll take me back to Yavin 4 and you back to Tatooine." 

"Yavin 4?"

"Yes," he said, and he glanced around, checking for anyone listening nearby. "It's one of the moons surrounding Yavin."

"And that's the Rebel base?" you guessed, your voice a low whisper.

"Yes." He started to move forward. Each heavy step crunched against the pebbles. "Everyone there probably assumes I am dead. It'll be a sure surprise when I show up in one piece."

You imagined the reunion he would have on base. All of his friends would be grateful to see his face. You could picture what the base must look like --- hidden away beneath some trees, sounds of machines whirring, ships soaring above, and hope. So much hope. Hope that you knew your father longed to see again in his lifetime.

Force, you wanted him to see it.

The words slipped out from your lips before you could think twice. "You know, Captain, it would be an even bigger surprise if you showed up with a Jedi at your side."

He stopped and looked at you, waiting for you to speak more. You could tell this wasn't going to be easy to convince him. He was cold and distant, with no move whatsoever to recruit you. But you weren't asking to be recruited. You were asking to be given a chance. You wanted this so badly.

"I'm not ready," you said, shaking your head. "I'm not ready to stop fighting. I just got into this fight. I don't want to stop until I see hope restored in this galaxy."

He laughed bitterly. "Look, if what you are telling me is true, and you've been living on Tatooine all of your life, then you aren't prepared for what is out there. What you've seen today --- the attempts on your life and mine? That's nothing. Nothing compared to what lies ahead of you if you choose this life."

"I know---" 

"You don't know," he said, "and that is the problem with you. You risk your life to save mine without a plan. You don't even know how to use that blaster. Other than that lightsaber, which only makes a bigger target on your back and mine, what have you got? You're just a girl from Tatooine."

"I'm a girl from Tatooine that saved your life," you said, voice as rigid as your body was. 

"How many times do I have to say the same thing to you?"

Your teeth ground together as you finally fumed. "Until you realize they words you're saying are ridiculous!"

A beat of tenseness filled the chilly air. The two of you never stopped glaring at one another. He stepped back and shook his head, turning away to walk on without you. "I don't have time for this." 

"You don't have time for this?" you asked, scoffing. "I dropped everything to save your life, Captain. I didn't have to do that. I didn't have to listen to what I heard, but I did and it is because of that that you're standing here now!" 

His steps slowed until he stopped, a few feet away from you. He kept his back towards you and that was fine, because you were too angry to look at him as you spoke. You didn't want to hate this man that you risked so much to save, but he was so difficult and cold and careless---

But he was important to the Rebellion, you reminded yourself. If they needed him, then you needed to keep him safe. 

"I...I know I'm hardly anything worthwhile," you said, your lips twisting upward with your own dark amusement. "I did live a life hidden away from the horror of the galaxy. But in my safety, I learned. My father taught me everything I need to know."

He laughed bitterly and turned to face you again. "Everything?"

"Yes," you said.

"And what exactly do you know about any of this?" He shook his head and took steps ahead of you, moving on without you.

You stared at the back of his head and clenched your hands into fists. "I'm a fighter. I think I've proven that much to you. But I'm also smart and I do have usefull information. I know that you are a Fulcrum, Captain. I know that you are a Rebel spy. And I know that they captured you to execute you, but they planned on showing you the future of the Empire before they did it. They were going to show you what they were building so you would die knowing they were going to win. They're building a super weapon. A Death Star. I don't know much about it, but I know that it will be a weapon that will end many lives."

He turned and looked at you with a gaze of uncertainty but fear. "You said a super weapon?"

You nodded. 

"And how do you know all of this exactly? You said you didn't have to listen but you did. Who told you to save me?"

"A woman in my vision," you said. 

"Do you know this woman?" 

"No, I'd never heard her before," you admitted. "But I knew I had to listen to her. She said you were in grave danger and you were of great importance to the Rebellion and I trusted that and believed her. I know that this whole thing is hard to believe and I know it sounds crazy, but it's the truth. I can't make you believe me, Captain. But you have to at least trust that I know what I'm doing." His jaw was clenched tight as you spoke to him. The air was still so tense but you were positive --- probably foolishly so --- that he would believe you. You understood why he didn't. But you hoped he would. "Trust goes both ways."

Something in his face changed when you said that. He glanced down at the ground, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Fine. I'll take you to Yavin 4. You'll relay this information on base. And we'll figure out where to put you from there."

A smile grew across your face. He believed you. He believed you at least enough to give you a chance, and that was all that you needed. As much as you longed to see your father again, you knew that there was something greater than your wants. The galaxy needed this hope. You had to see to it that the galaxy received that hope.

"But you listen to what I say, do you understand? If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to hide, you hide. Got it?" 

"Yes, Captain," you said. 

He nodded, at first in response, then in thought. He waited until you were right beside him to start walking again.

The air was so chilly and wet that your clothes never dried. The sea breeze was always present, no matter how far from the water you were. This moon was so full of vast flatness that it was easy to see the settlement in the distance. But it was merely a speck across the horizon. Your feet hurt.

"Make sure no one can see your lightsaber," Cassian advised as you neared the settlement. "They may be mostly Rebel sympathizers here, but Jedi are still hunted and killed by anyone willing to turn in a body for some fast credits."

You nodded and made sure the front of your poncho concealed it. This wasn't anything new to you. "I've seen many attempts on my life and my father's before. Even in our solitude, they found us and attacked us. Jedi have been in danger for as long as I can remember. I was two when my father found me shortly after he came to Tatooine."

Cassian's eyes were on you. You could feel the stare as he connected his own story with yours. "I was seven during the fall of the Republic. I witnessed a lot of horror in my days. I've never seen a Jedi myself, but I heard the stories of what happened to them. That is why I assumed all the Jedi were dead. The executions never stopped. The hunting never stopped."

His words made your stomach ache. You swallowed hard and focused on the horizon as you changed the subject slightly. "Am I really the first Jedi you've ever met?"

"Yes."

"I suppose I'm hardly a Jedi. I'm a daughter of one." A daughter of a famous one, you thought. "I never had the proper training a Jedi usually does have. But the Jedi Order fell long ago now, and things are different. That's what my father told me, anyway. He said that I'm a Jedi by his standards, so I suppose that's as good as I can be nowadays."

Cassian didn't respond, but you could see the slight lift of his lips into a smile. You found that you admired him for his quiet nature. He was dedicated to the Rebellion. Every part of him showed that much. But he was so silent, hiding every personal emotion he had ever felt before under a face of exhaustion, of dedication, of hurt. You wondered what all he had seen. You wondered when the last time he really smiled was.

"Captain?"

"Yes?" His brown eyes were on you again.

You picked up speed slightly to walk right next to him. "You know, you're the first Rebel I've ever met."

And for some reason, that made him really smile. "What's your name, Jedi?"

"___. My name is ___ Kenobi." He looked at you so fast that it startled you. You pressed your lips together in a tight line and nodded slowly. "I suppose you know that name."

He laughed lightly. "I-I truly don't believe there's a person alive that doesn't know that name. You're really the daughter of Obi-Wan Kenobi? General Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

"I am," you said.

"I always heard he was killed during the fall of the Republic. Everyone thought he was dead."

"That's what he wanted everyone to think," you said. "On that night, when the Empire rose to power, his padawan fell from the light and betrayed him. My father hid away on Tatooine in order to protect himself and to keep a promise to someone. He always told me that one day the time would be right and it would be safe to leave."

"But you decided to leave before it was safe," he said.

"Yes," you replied. It felt like a lifetime ago you had left, but in reality it had only been slightly over a day. Your voice faded into a soft sound as you thought about your vision, about everything you saw, about saving the Captain. "I gave up so much to save you. But I just knew that it would be wrong if I continued to hide and that if I chose not to listen to my vision, then you would die. I'm not sure why exactly, but every part of me knew that I just had to save your life. Not for you or for me or for the Rebellion... but for him, too. My father deserves to see peace restored in this galaxy he fought so hard to protect."

"I never thought about the Force that way," he said. "I've never known... I've never known the extent of its power. Or, like it said, that it ever gave any care about me."

"It does," you said, and you thought about the woman that told you to save him. "Someone out there does, too."

"I guess so."

"Well," you said, "I care." 

Only silence followed, but he glanced at you with a look of soft surprise that melted into the same look he'd given you when you stepped inside of that cell. You could only smile gently at him, unsure of what else to say. He nodded in understanding, but you wondered if he really accepted that he was cared about.

"Captain?" 

"Yes?" 

"Is it too soon for me to ask, or are you really starting to believe me?" 

"For some reason, I am having a difficult reason not to believe you," he said, smiling. There were a lot of parts to your story that boggled his mind. In fact, you boggled his mind. A Jedi had shown up to his rescue, a lightsaber in hand, a drive inside of her, a desire to do something right. You didn't know anything about the Rebellion, that much was true, but you were eager to find out.

And if what you said was true, about the super weapon...

The Rebellion needed to know this. 

"If we can make it there alive, then I will be sure they all hear your story and that you are given a place in the Rebellion," he said. "You have my word." 

You smiled. "We'll make it there, Captain. You lead the way and I won't allow a single Imperial trooper near you. You have my word as well."

He believed that, too. 

"Call me Cassian," he said.