AN: That Andor show sneak peak kills me every time I think about it. In like, the best way though! I'm bouncing all over the place and can't help but smile when I think about it. It got me excited enough to finish this chapter I've been sitting on for a while!

"Do you really think we can find her?"

Cassian took a moment to himself, unable to tear his eyes off of the scene below them. His mind worked through the steps of the plan until he threw them completely out the window. No plan could counter this. They were supposed to get in, ask some questions, and get out. It was supposed to be a nice starter mission since they had been laying low for what felt like forever. Instead, a battle raged below full of blaster fire and screaming. Dust and smoke mingled in the air, hanging over the battlefield like a veil. The putrid aroma of charred skin hung around, causing Cassian to gag a little. The battle had cut a huge hole in the green forest around them. Giant tree stumps covered the ground, providing cover to soldiers in need.

Ord Gimmel had been at war since the Empire took over all those years ago. Rebellion strongholds have helped build up the civilians of the major city Geharr into soldiers, but with so few far between, it was not much. General Draven had mentioned that the planet had been used to export a lot of huge technology and he had been trying to get his hands on a deal for years. With the Queen missing, Ord Gimmel, along with the smaller planets nearby, would not be of assistance to the Rebellion while it focused on its own independence.

The mystery message Fulcrum sent to Draven only had a picture of a tower and a theory that the main computer system had information of crucial Imperial documents. Strongholds, defenses, supply run times, and correspondence with the fleets nearby. Cassian's stare drifted upwards on the battlefield, right passed enemy lines until he reached the tower from the picture. Geharran soldiers had pushed up to it, but could not get through the front entrance. Nothing is ever easy.

He turned to Talia, who awaited his answer. She stood with her arms folded, creasing the green puffy jacket she wore. Her head was cocked to the side as her brown eyes locked onto his. Her brown hair had been braided into a bun, and the loose parts framed her cute face. Cute? Ugh, stop it and focus. Cassian shrugged. "I can only hope."

"So, what's the plan, Captain?" Talia questioned, a bit of teasing slicing her tone.

"Sounds to me like you have an idea."

She dropped her arms to her sides. "I do, but I know you don't like my ideas."

Cassian's eyes widened and he blurted out, "For good reason!"

Talia shrugged his comment off. "Which is why I was asking you if you had one."

Cassian looked at her for the longest moment, digesting the possibilities. A frown settled over his lips before said in defeat, "No. What's your plan?"

"You see that over there?" She handed him the macrobinoculars and pointed in the far right direction.

He guided his line of sight to where she had been pointing. He tensed up immediately. Numerous large Imperial vehicles made their way through the debris and slowly headed towards the battle. "They don't see the Empire flanking them."

"Exactly. That's where we come in. We help them with a part of the battle, they help us with information."

"I'm impressed. This idea is a lot more tame than I thought," Cassian nearly laughed, but held his composure. Talia's idea tame? He'd never see that again. He set down the macrobinocs before he motioned Kay-Tuesso over.

Talia huffed, "You're lucky it's the only possible one. All the others would surely get us killed."

Cassian flinched, his memory tugging at the nightmare he recently had. Without a second thought on that dreadful subject, he started moving down the sloped hill. "Let's get started."

Tents had been pitched right at the base of the hill, overshadowed by some trees and greenery. The sick and injured groaned as the trio passed by. Cassian forced himself to stare straight forward and kept going. Soldiers ate while sitting on the ground and others were staring at the battle, either transfixed by anger or fear. There was no hope here. How could they go on? How could they fight? Cassian spotted soldiers receiving orders on the other side and made a path to them. When he got closer, he questioned, "Excuse me, who is in charge here?"

A tall humanoid turned around and looked at the trio for a long moment. It looked almost exactly human, except its limbs were long and spindly. Its skin was a sickly yellow hue. If Cassian remembered correctly, it was one of the native species of Ord Gimmel. Deaeons weren't treated with respect and were usually slaves, though they make up a huge population on the planet. The Deaeon spoke up, his tone mournful, "She was killed in an ambush earlier. So, I guess that would be me, General Lerga."

Talia glanced around at all the surrounding soldiers. Too many ears, and stirring the already boiling pot was not something she wanted to do. "Can we talk somewhere private for a moment?"

General Lerga moved to a bit more secluded area in the open. He nodded towards them after scanning them over. "You two don't look like civs."

Cassian wanted to roll his eyes, but held himself back. Civilians wouldn't want to drag themselves onto a hot battlefield. His go-to was always being straight and to the point, "We received a transmission that your Queen is missing. Was she taken by the Empire?"

General Lerga's eyes narrowed immediately. "I thought the Rebellion didn't want to be a part of this."

Cassian raised his hands in defense and stepped a bit closer. His voice was low, yet soft enough to feel friendly, "I don't know specifics about that, but we can offer you useful information in exchange."

The General looked over the battle. He carried the world on his soldiers. Cassian could see the way it strained his muscles and made the Deaon slouch. After a long moment, the General answered, "I'll take your information and assistance in reclaiming the labs."

The words of declining almost spilled out of Cassian's mouth until Talia put a hand on his arm. He glanced down, then up at her. It was written all over her face that they should help them no matter what. These people were losing hope. No Queen. The Empire was attacking. Soldiers were dying. It's a lot to take on, especially for the new General. Cassian nodded to her, then put his attention back to General Lerga. "What do you need us to do?"

"Our objective right now is to reclaim that tower long enough to blow it to the sky. There is a lot of technology in there that the Empire cannot gain access to. Even though they're all still prototypes, we do not want them used against us."

"What's the catch?" Cassian asked without thinking. Talia nudged him, causing him to glance at her for a split second. What else was he supposed to say? There's always a catch, and that is what he hated. Kay-Tuesso glanced between the pair, for once not knowing what to say.

The General chewed on his lip for a moment. He weighed his options in his head, and seemed to bob his head back and forth as he decided. "In order to gain access to the labs, we have to lift the lockdown through a computer in that tower." He pointed to the tower where the soldiers have yet to push through the front entrance. "Thank the Queen we had a backup security protocol in place to keep the lab safe."

Coincidentally, if there were any coincidences, the second tower was the one they needed to get information from anyway. Getting access to the lab tower was going to be tricky. Cassian's eyes flickered to Talia, who nodded in return. Kaytoo would have to follow whatever they did, so dragging him along was the best shot they had at securing the documents. Cassian turned back to the General. "How can we help?"

"You two have guns?" Both spies unsheathed their blasters from their holsters and held them up for the General to see. General Lerga chuckled to himself. "Shouldn't have asked. Follow me." With that, he walked right into battle.

Cassian stood by while Kaytoo and Talia passed him. He started walking behind Talia, watchful of their surroundings. TIE fighters fought above them against a fleet of ships that he couldn't name. Bombs dropped ahead, causing soldiers to fly up in pieces. Cassian shook off the chills attempting to crawl up his spine and surged forward. AT-ATs and other large vehicles protected two of the other towers on the other side of the field. Whatever was in those towers had to be important. What else was Ord Gimmel hiding in terms of technology? Why did the Empire want it so bad? Or was it just so the Gimmellians wouldn't be able to have it?

After ducking behind some cover to avoid some blaster fire, they had finally made it to the outside of the first tower. Gimmellians struggled to get passed the door without dying. A few bodies littered the entrance, and they were all not storm troopers. General Lerga set his hand on a soldier's shoulder.

Cassian searched the area over from where he stood. The storm troopers inside could be positioned anywhere. Who knows what weapons they have at their disposal. A machine turret could be in there, which would prove really bad if they pushed in. All they had around them were some thermal detonators and boxes of extra blasters. No vehicles were nearby. No turrets. No serious firepower. The building itself appeared sturdy and clean, despite the scorch marks about halfway up. The serious protection was sent to the other towers, so chances of numerous soldiers were thankfully slim.

Talia's brown eyes flickered to Cassian while the General talked up some soldiers. "I can hear the gears turning in your head."

Cassian lifted one corner of his lips. "It's not because I have a plan." Even Kaytoo glanced over at him before Cassian finally retracted his statement, "Okay, I might have a plan." He held his blaster close to him, and motioned to the General. When he got closer, Cassian questioned, "Is there a side entrance into the building?"

"Not that I know of."

"There has to be a fire escape route. A ladder escape. A vent. A back entrance," Cassian listed. A building without any of those? Easily a good way to get a lot of people killed in an accident.

The General thought about it for a long moment. "There might be. I'm not sure. All of us are just fighting to destroy the labs. None of us have ever been inside."

"Then how do you know what to do?" Talia butted in. She set her hand on Cassian's arm as he speechlessly stared directly at the General.

"That's why I asked for your help. Your droid should be able to navigate through the system and help us get to where we need to be."

Cassian focused on his breathing. Nothing is ever easy. Talia's hand gripped his arm a bit tighter in a comforting way. He couldn't figure out what the whole plan was, or why the General had dragged them along if he just wanted to use Kay-Tuesso. Either way, they had to get inside of the building for the information. Cassian's hold on his blaster made his knuckles turn white. "Follow me."

"Cassian, maybe we should-"

He interrupted Kaytoo quickly, "This is the best chance we have." Without saying another word, Cassian rushed through the front entrance and dove for cover straight ahead. Talia gasped and Kaytoo tried to rush in behind him, but she quickly held him back before blaster fire could get him.

Both directions. Stormtroopers were on either side of the entrance, and that's why no one could get a clear shot on them. Aim at one, get fired at by another. It was smart to start a bottleneck right at the entrance. Ensure no one would make it far into the building. Cassian pointed in the left direction with his blaster. Talia understood him and leaned against the door in preparation. He took a few breaths, then nodded towards her. Both of them leaned out of their spots and shot a few times.

The storm troopers shot back, but both sides missed their targets completely. Cassian took a few thermal detonators out of his pocket and tossed one to Talia. She caught it and waited a moment for Cassian to gather himself before throwing it to the left. Cassian threw his in the opposite direction and followed it up with blaster shots. One stormtrooper fell, and a few more exploded. They crashed into the wall behind them, armor scorched and bodies limp.

When the smoke cleared and it was safe to go in, General Lerga led the way to a room a couple stories up. Consoles scattered on the floor, shining altogether with a green interface. The mainframe builds lined the walls, the buttons lighting up in sequences as it worked. General Lerga nodded towards Cassian. "Can your droid lift the lockdown for us?"

"I have a name, you know," Kay-Tuesso answered without hesitation.

"He can." Cassian looked over at Kaytoo and nodded. "Kaytoo is very capable."

Kaytoo glanced at him for a moment before focusing on the console in front of him. He stepped forward and used the console insert for droids. Kaytoo's white eyes flickered as he dove through the numerous files in the system. The screen flashed over thousands of different codes. "I am able to lift the lockdown."

A frown formed on Cassian's lips. "There's a 'but', isn't there?"

"Correct. I have to stay here longer to get the lab itself open."

General Lerga sighed. He slumped his shoulders and set his long hands on the console in front of him. "The lab turned to safety protocols as soon as the lockdown hit. A two person activation trigger is needed to open the lab itself. One at each tower."

And you didn't think to mention this before? Cassian thought. A sour taste caught onto his taste buds as bile rose in his throat. The last time they went up against something dangerous, they almost died. Splitting up and going into a battle? No. No, the possibilities were too great.

Talia stepped forward and spoke up, "I'll go." She locked eyes with Cassian and didn't budge. "I'll take a small unit to get into the tower and lift the lockdown from there."

Cassian almost declined out loud until a thought hit him. Someone needed to stay with Kay-Tuesso. If both him and Talia were to go to the other tower, who knows what would happen to Kaytoo. He chose to activate him, so he had to protect him. If the Empire got a hold of Kaytoo... A chill ran up Cassian's spine. Splitting up was the only choice, and he trusted no one else more than Talia to run an operation like this. Against his own mind, he nodded to her.

A look of bewilderment took over Talia's features as she took a second to process his action. A small smile then tugged at the edge of her lips. She walked over to Cassian and kissed him on the cheek. "For good luck."

He clenched his jaw before he could say anything he'd regret. I'm not the one who needs it.

"Before you go, you'll need this." General Lerga handed Talia some thermal detonators and a small tech device she could wear on her wrist. It was the same device he had used to get into the first tower. "Blow it to high hell."

Talia nodded and peered at Cassian. Her brown eyes studied him, and hesitated. Could she sense his second thoughts? Could she read him at all? Talia used her free hand to wave. He threw her a small smile before she left.

Cassian didn't tear his eyes off of Talia, and lingered on the doorway after she had disappeared. The smile had faded and all that was left was Cassian's signature stern expression. "How long do you think it'll take to get her to the tower?"

General Lerga shrugged. Cassian could nearly see the turbines in his mind turn as he contemplated. Finally, Lerga spoke with uncertainty clear in his voice, "Shouldn't take long. Ten minutes tops. Five if they make a dash for it."

Kay chimed in subconsciously, "And the chances of this whole scenario are incredibly low." Cassian looked at him. Not in horror or disgust. Pure worry filled his eyes, and Kay had only seen that look once before. "Cassian, it is a death trap out there."

Cassian's voice lowered. "I know."

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

Kay-Tuesso's eyes diverted to the lit console in front of him. The droid couldn't tell if it was his choice to say stuff on the fly or some weird wiring in his system that made him. It always happened at the worst times. "Upsetting you."

A warm feeling flooded into Cassian's chest, allowing his nerves to be soothed slightly. He set a hand on Kaytoo's free arm and looked into his unblinking white eyes. "You didn't upset me."

Cassian moved to the window and watched the battle rage below. He caught sight of Talia as she left the building and watched as they made their way through the edge of the battle. He didn't tear his eyes off of her until he had lost sight altogether when they stepped behind a mountain of rocks and debris.

Minutes in the room seemed to pass by slower than an Eopie on a hot day. It almost seemed like time never stopped on the battlefield, bombs and gunfire shooting at lightning speeds. Land exploded, soldiers dropped on both sides, and still, no one reached out on comms. He started to pace, mind working as his eyes never left the war below. Cassian's hand clenched around his small communications device.

"Why don't you call her on comms?" Kaytoo spoke up. His arm was still hooked up to the console, awaiting Talia's success.

"I don't want to draw attention to her." The guilt that would follow if he was the reason for Talia's death would not sit well. It would eat him alive.

"Do you think she is okay?"

Cassian stopped pacing and peered over at his companion for a long moment. His words were soft and somber, "I hope so." If there would be no answer for a good amount of time, he'd have to go after the group to make sure she's alive. He'd find her. He always will. He has to.

A scratchy voice rose up on comms, "-ssian? He-llo?"

Cassian's hand snapped to hover by his face as he rapidly responded, "Talia? I'm here."

"I did it. Kay can help me lift the lockdown."

Relief spread throughout his system. Talia didn't sound hurt. Distressed, but her journey was no walk in the park. Cassian nodded to Kaytoo, who in turn began to pull the network switch and go through the database. "Did it work?"

"Yeah. I'm goin-"

Talia immediately cut off. Cassian's attention snapped to the tower on the opposite side of the battlefield, causing his eyes to widen. His whole body stopped for a brief second, taking in the situation before him. A standard model TIE Fighter flew directly towards the tower and fired its weapons. A scream left Cassian's throat.