Cassian's side of this scene, a requested. Thank you for your interest! (Just don't ask me for the whole squad ;))

I tried to make it both parallel to Jyn's and unique to Cassian, let me know how this worked out. (By the way, from the movie I'd never tell Cassian was only 26).

Ten

They run unsteadily, fainting limbs hitting the wet sand, away from the place where they fulfilled their last mission.

(The closeness of death has finally settled into his mind with all the comfort of inescapability.)

There is commotion around them – the frantic, pointless commotion of the world ending; and yet Cassian only notes it in abstract terms, as if he and Jyn are separated from the surrounding turmoil, alone in their shared space, in these last moments.

After a life of fighting, Cassian is grateful even for this semblance of peace at the time of his death.

Nine

He has known it for a while; a part of him has expected no other outcome from the moment he offered to follow Jyn on this venture; and with this prospect at the back of his head, he committed himself fully to the task.

Now, the truth looms in Cassian's mind with the unmistakable presence of the Death Star above his head; it is here and now, within mere seconds, that the death he has eluded for so long will claim him.

Not a bad timing all together, he muses.

Eight

He doesn't even know if the Alliance received the plans.

He has to trust they did – what would Rebellion be without trust? – the way he trusted his fellow Rebels to play their part so many times before, just as Cassian played his – his efforts were ever only a part of the greater plan, falling neatly into their place in the great machine of opposition.

The final outcome outweighs his input.

(He is used to this, really.)

(Not that worrying about it would make any difference at this point.)

Seven

Jyn and Cassian collapse on the shore, and it is as if either one is at once falling over and trying to steady the other; Cassian fumbles his grip on her, which suddenly is desperate, and feels her arms wrap around him tightly; it is like fighting to keep their heads above the water for a few more seconds before the great wave engulfs them, as it unmistakably will.

(She is there, with him; Cassian unwinds, ever so slightly.)

(In truth, if he has any regrets, they are for Jyn.)

Six

Cassian doesn't know, but he strives to convince himself.

He pays no mind to the Force, as the Force has never made itself apparent to him; but deep down, a small part of him believes, or wants to believe, that there is something resembling an order in the universe; and for this reason he cannot let himself think the thought that all this death, all this sacrifice could be in vain.

That this unauthorised mission, a defiance of orders, which was supposed to make worthwhile all the atrocities he committed in his service to the Alliance, redeem all the orders he followed, that this mission will only weaken the Rebellion, perhaps irreparably.

That he encouraged Jyn to embark on a suicide mission that failed.

Five

Maybe Jyn was right about him after all.

Maybe the only differences between him and a Stormtrooper are the cause, the understanding, and the soothing words he had uttered before he shot the informant.

(Why didn't he shoot Galen Erso?)

(Was it because he knew he couldn't look in Jyn's eyes if he did?)

Four

He thinks back to his childhood, to a hazy memory of his father and a much more vivid one of fighting; it feels like he has always been fighting, even though there must have been a time when he didn't.

(Now, at last, it comes to an end.)

For years, the Rebellion has been the family Cassian would do anything for; briefly, he wonders whether there would ever be a chance of any other family.

Three

There is a type of exhaustion that carries the blissful knowledge that you have done all that you could, and whatever happens now, you can meet it in peace, with your head raised high.

Had he the strength, Cassian would perhaps be resentful; perhaps he would be angry at the conflict that has dominated his young life and would take it so soon; perhaps he would show his anger at the world that allowed him to meet Jyn yet denied him the chance of expressing how much she already means to him.

Since he doesn't have the strength, all he can do is hold her as they watch, mutely, the shockwave approaching them.

Two

Cassian turns to look at Jyn, the blooming explosion reflected in her dark eyes.

(A familiar thought crosses his mind, she's beautiful.)

One

The explosion swallows them in a blinding cloud of dust, and there is nothing.