The gru’uls’ smoking bodies hadn’t even hit the floor yet before Jyn rushed towards Reya and Ava. “Are you alright?” he asked. Both women looked horrified and in shock over what had just happened. Jyn quickly scanned both of them for any injuries and heaved a sigh of relief when he saw they were unharmed.

  “I’m fine,” Ava responded shakily. By the tone of her voice, Jyn could easily tell that she was not as well off as she claimed to be. Ava tried to pass it off but couldn’t hide her trembling hands. Android or not, she was keenly aware of how easily any of them could have died during the encounter.

  Jyn looked towards Reya. “And you?” he asked.

  Tears welled in Reya’s eyes as she held back her sobs. “Adrian’s gone!” she yelled, her voice breaking. “They came in and took him while you did nothing,” she accused. “I don’t know where he is or if he’s okay. How am I supposed to be alright?”

  Jyn didn’t take the jab personally. He’d done his best to avoid casualties, and he’d succeeded. “We’re alive,” he said. “So is Adrian. We’ll save him once we save ourselves. The others are still fending off the remaining gru’ul in the bunker. Stay here while I go help them,” he ordered. “Use your comms if anything happens.”

  Reya sniffled but didn’t protest as Jyn ran out of the room to help the others. He wasn’t even out the door yet and was already communicating with the rest of the team, though the contents of the messages and their responses went unheard by Reya or Ava.

  The others had assumed defensive positions at vital chokepoints leading to the final room in the bunker where Reya was located and were bravely defending it with their lives. Just as Jyn arrived, he spotted a gru’ul that the others hadn’t noticed take aim at Tassie. He screamed at her to duck, which she did without a moment’s hesitation, and he fired two shots towards the enemy.

  The first one hit the gru’ul in the shoulder, vaporizing the part if clipped and causing what was left of the arm holding the weapon aimed at his teammate to fall to the ground helplessly. The second one hit dead center and destroyed whatever vital organs were there.

  Still though, the gru’ul wasn’t dead yet. Sensing its time was near, it rushed the others, providing space for its brethren to advance and further encroach the team’s defensive position. Swift though their reactions were, Jyn saw the danger maintaining their current positions held and ordered them to fall back to the nearest chokepoint.

  Beor was the first to abandon his location and dove around the corner while Rann and Eimir provided cove fire. He dashed towards safety and immediately turned around to cover for Rann and Eimir as they joined him. Tassie and Kell were already further back and soon the team occupied a new defensive formation.

  “What do we do, Jyn?” Beor yelled over the comms. “They’re going to overrun us at this rate!”

  Jyn’s mind raced furiously to find a solution. “Continue to hold them off while I check something,” he ordered. Immediately after, he opened a communications channel with Reya. “Reya,” Jyn said, “the tunnel that the gru’ul dug to breach the room you’re in, does it go straight up or is it on an angle?”

  Reya’s response was punctured by sobs as she struggled to hold it together after losing Adrian. “It’s on an angle,” she responded after a moment.

  “Would we be able to climb it or is it too steep?” Jyn prodded.

  “It’s steep, but manageable. We won’t be able to climb very fast,” Reya said after further studying the hole. “The only problem is that the breach is on the ceiling.”

  “That doesn’t matter,” Jyn replied. “There’s enough furniture and shelving units that we can use to climb up into it. Leaving through it is our only chance at escaping. I want you and Ava to start moving things around so that when we fall back we can immediately start climbing.”

  “Understood,” Reya replied. Her sobs were gone, replaced by a hard tone that sought survival over all else. She would never have the chance to find Adrian if she died here. Then, he would truly be all alone.

  The comms cut abruptly, and Jyn focused his attention back to the fighting. He advanced and came up to the corner where the last defensible choke point was. “Listen up everybody,” he announced through his comms, “we’re going to fall back and escape through the breach in the final room. We need to hold them off here while Reya sets things up for us. If we fail, she dies too.” He received a chorus of affirmatives.

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  Peeking around the corner to take a shot, Jyn barely had the time to register the barrel of the gun pointed right at him before he jerked back under cover. A split second later, a bolt of energy slammed into the wall behind where his head had been and left sizzling, molten stone where it landed.

  Taking advantage of the brief lull in the fight, Jyn lowered himself and took a quick shot around the corner, using the enemy’s shot to estimate their position. He was back to safety the moment he pulled the trigger, not waiting to find out if he hit his target. A harsh shriek told him he was successful.

  The team exchanged volleys with the gru’ul, narrowly avoiding getting hit each time. After what felt like an eternity, Reya contacted Jyn and informed him that everything was ready back in the room. Jyn wasted no time ordering the others to retreat, him and Beor providing cover fire for them while they did so. Once the others were close enough to the room, Jyn ordered Beor to fall back and followed after him.

  Sprinting back down the corridor as fast as he could, Jyn raced to safety. He crossed the threshold and slammed the door shut. Most of the team had successfully climbed up into the tunnel and it was just him, Rann, and Beor left to cover.

  “Rann, Beor,” Jyn said. “Go. I’ll cover you while you escape to safety.”

  “What about you, Jyn?” Beor asked. “How will you make it out if we leave you alone?” Jyn’s silence was a damning answer and Beor teared up. He turned and hauled Rann along and together they ascended towards safety.

  Jyn braced himself to defend the last of his team as they retreated, well-aware that it would be his sacrifice that would allow the rest of them to live. He lamented that he wouldn’t be able to help them in the coming battles, but knew his life was best used at giving them the chance to escape, no matter how small it might be.

  Several tense moments passed, but the barricaded door to the room was never shot down nor opened. After a long minute holing his position, Jyn lowered his weapon and chanced climbing up into the aperture. He didn’t understand why the gru’ul weren’t storming their location, but he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to escape either.

  He scaled the furniture and shelves in record time and hauled himself into the tunnel. He noticed the others hadn’t wasted any time and were quickly ascending without him. He holstered his gun and used his hands and feet to propel himself up the steep slope. It was tough to make good time, but he found himself slowly catching up to Beor and Rann.

  He found himself glad he hadn’t skipped on physical training while guarding Adrian and Reya at the safe house. His muscles burned as he pushed them to their limits, expecting to be shot in the back at any moment.

  The climb was interminable, and Jyn realized just how far underground the bunker was the more time passed without the light at the end of the tunnel growing any closer. He pushed his worries aside and focused on his task. He didn’t know how many gru’ul occupied the surface and needed to get to the others as quickly as possible. Finally, he broke through to the surface and was helped up by Beor and Rann, who were waiting for him.

  Jyn looked around, taking in the utter destruction of the base. He spotted an intact hangar further away that had miraculously not been shot down. “Tassie, did our ship get destroyed as well?” he asked, panting from his prior exertion.

  “I’m able to connect to our systems remotely through my helmet,” Tassie responded. “There’s a chance it’s at least somewhat intact.”

  “We need to ensure that the ship is unharmed,” Jyn said. “Our next move will be to secure. Everybody, enter a defensive formation,” he barked. The others immediately grouped up around Reya and Ava, who were the only ones without weapons. “Move out,” he ordered. “Keep your eyes peeled for any hostiles.”

  The team made their way to the hangar, each of them hypervigilant, searching for any movement. To their surprise, they saw none. No gru’ul ships remained onsite, much to everyone’s confusion. “I don’t understand,” Rann said eventually. “Where did they all go?” she asked, voicing the question everybody had on their mind. “We were getting overwhelmed down in the bunker. How come there aren’t any gru’ul here on the surface?”

  “They got what they came for,” Tassie said grimly. “There was probably no need risk more deaths once their objective was met.”

  The team finally arrived at the hangar Jyn had spotted. Much to his relief, it was the same one they’d docked in when upon arriving. His hope soared that they might have a way to escape and return back to the main base.

  Not one to take any chances, Jyn ordered everybody to keep their guards up as they approached the open hangar. He let loose the breath he’d been holding in when Tassie confirmed that their ship had somehow been untouched by the gru’ul’s bombardment. Jyn ordered everybody to board and for everybody to assemble on the bridge. Once systems were online, Jyn took a moment to contact General Nessah.

  She answered after a moment. “What’s the situation, Captain?” Nessah demanded. Upon hearing Jyn’s report, she swore. “Did anybody else survive?” she asked. When Jyn responded that he didn’t think anybody else did, she thought furiously for the team’s next steps. “Reya and Ava are still with you, right?” she asked. Jyn nodded. “Good,” Nessah said. “Return to the main base where Reya and Ava can be put back under protection. I’ll have your new orders ready for you when you arrive.”

  Jyn saluted his General and ended the call. “Tassie,” he said,” bring us home.”

  Reya excused herself once the ship sped off towards the main base. It would still be a while yet until they arrived, and she needed a moment alone. Curled up on her cot in her old room, she let out the sobs she’d held in during their escape.