A/N: The problem with time in Rogue One is that what is written, what is shown on maps and what we see in the movie doesn't all sync. There are likely factors for which we don't have details, so figuring things out in a 'real time' timeframe is difficult. What we see clearly suggests that all of the events we see in the movie are taking place very quickly, and some fans have indicated that the total elapsed time is about a week. I have worked out one possible version of the timing, though admittedly some of it really stretches to make it match things. The trickiest part was dealing with Jedha. What we see onscreen all takes place in daylight, but the novelization references them going to Saw's hideout "late at night". In order to make my proposed timing more reasonable, I am figuring Jedha to have a shorter day (as some planets/moons do, due to their rotations and orbits). That will make darkness and daylight more compressed over fewer hours and it will feel more realistic to what we saw. In general, though, I'm taking the movie as 'canon' over other sources.

Altered Perspective

Chapter 1

Jyn Erso. Cassian stared at the file for a few seconds before opening it. He knew the name, of course. Well, moreso her father, but the Alliance had known that Galen Erso had a daughter. But it was unknown where exactly either of them were. The wife, Jyn's mother, Lyra Erso, had been found dead at their homestead on Lah'mu some fifteen years ago. It didn't require an Intelligence Officer to figure out who had fired the blaster that killed her.

They had long suspected that Galen Erso was back working for the Empire. They knew he had for a time, but then disappeared. The dead wife and destroyed home suggested the Empire had 'requested' he rejoin their ranks. But what had become of the daughter? He thumbed through the file and began to read. Reports indicated that a girl child had been spotted in the company of Saw Gerrera's Partisans. The Alliance had believed Gerrera and Erso were acquainted, and if that were true then it also seemed reasonable he might have the child. The Empire wouldn't have had much interest in keeping the family together, unless it served their purpose. How she got from the homestead to Saw Gerrera they likely would never know for certain.

He continued deeper into the file, coming to more recent years. Rumor had it that Gerrera had set the girl adrift for some reason, left her to fend for herself. She would only have been about sixteen years old when that was believed to have happened. He could almost feel a twinge of sympathy for her situation, until he remembered what her father did with his scientific knowledge.

The last update in the file indicated the girl had been picked up for various crimes, and was now serving her sentence in an Imperial labor camp on Wobani. Which meant she'd soon be dead. No one lasted long in those labor camps. Underfed, abused, the prisoners gave up, killed each other or attempted escapes that gave the stormtroopers an opportunity for target practice.

Assuming she was still alive, that wouldn't be her fate. Draven had sent K-2 with Extraction Team Bravo to collect her. Cassian wasn't sure that was a good idea. They knew very little about her or her political leanings. They hoped to use her to get to Saw Gerrera, and then to Galen Erso. That was a disaster just waiting to happen. And he was the one who would be most at risk. If Draven had him reading this file, it was a sure bet that was his next assignment – infiltrating Gerrera's camp to find out what the defecting Imperial pilot knew. Yes, maybe the girl could get them in the door, but what then? In exchange for her help they were going to offer her freedom, the chance to disappear with a new identity. But what was to say she wouldn't simply hand him over to Gerrera and walk away. They didn't know the details of why she and Gerrera's rebels parted company. If they believed them still cordial enough to manage this introduction, didn't that also allow for her turning against her Alliance captors? Certainly she wasn't going to feel more allegiance to him and the Alliance than she felt for an old friend who had raised her. It was very likely he'd never even get eyes on this defecting pilot before Gerrera had him killed.

This was a bad idea, as K-2 had pointed out before departing with Team Bravo. He wasn't sure how the droid even knew what their intent was in rescuing Jyn Erso, but he obviously realized Cassian would be tasked with the mission to Jedha once she was recovered from the Empire's clutches.

He rubbed wearily at his face. He was getting too old for this. And how was that even possible when he was just twenty-six? Still, his twenty years with the rebellion amounted to about forty years of hard labor. He shut the file and tossed it to the back of the desk. He needed some fresh air. Bravo Team would return soon and they'd want him in on the interrogation.

xxx

Cassian hovered in the shadows, close enough to watch and listen, but mostly out of view. Even so, he thought Erso had noticed him there. Draven was as aggressive and no-nonsense as usual; Mon Mothma was striving for diplomacy, trying to win Erso's cooperation.

The girl was a puzzle; certainly not what he had expected from reading her file. She had an impressive list of crimes attributed to her for someone so young, but if Saw Gerrera had raised her then he supposed that wasn't too surprising. She also wasn't particularly intimidated by them. They had 'rescued' her from the labor camp, but the cuffs on her wrists made it clear she was still a prisoner. She had to have expected that considering how she attacked Team Bravo when they freed her.

The question was, where did she stand. Her father was known to be an Imperial scientist. She had been raised by Gerrera, a known rebel…of sorts. Where did her allegiance lie? With either of them or neither? There were those he had met who tried to keep themselves politically neutral, as though they thought that might somehow protect them from harm from either side. They were fools, but this girl didn't strike him as being a fool. Belligerent, smart, wary, but not a fool.

Mon Mothma gestured to him and said, "This is Captain Cassian Andor, Rebel Intelligence." That was his signal to step in. Time to press the girl on specifics and see how she reacted.

After all these years, Cassian had engaged in so many interrogations that he almost didn't even need to think about how to proceed. So long as he prepared in advance to know what questions to include, he knew how to dig up the nuggets they needed.

"When was the last time you were in contact with your father?"

Simple enough question though there was mild surprise on her face. She was uncertain why they were asking about him.

"Fifteen years ago." Short, and to the point. She was being cautious, feeling them out as much as they were her.

"Any idea where he's been all that time?"

Erso's expression became almost wistful. "I like to think he's dead. Makes things easier."

"Easier than what? That he's been a tool of the Imperial war machine?" He couldn't prevent the disdain in his tone.

"I've never had the luxury of political opinions," she replied coolly.

"Really? When was your last contact with Saw Gerrera?"

That did catch her off guard, but she reined in her reaction. "It's been a long time."

"But he'll remember you, though. Wouldn't he? He might agree to meet you, if you came as a friend." Despite their being questions, he spoke the words as if they were fact. She wouldn't be here if the Alliance didn't fully believe she could do this.

When she hesitated in giving a response, Draven stepped in. Leave it to him to throw some weight around. "We're up against the clock here, girl, so if there's nothing to talk about, we'll just put you back where we found you."

She retorted, "I was a child. Saw Gerrera saved my life. He raised me. But I have no idea where he is. I haven't seen him in years."

"We know how to find him," Cassian assured her. "That's not our problem. What we need is someone who gets us through the door without being killed."

There was reluctance in her bearing, but also confusion about why she was involved. "You're all rebels, aren't you?"

Mon Mothma answered the question before Cassian could. "Yes, but Saw Gerrera is an extremist. He's been fighting on his own since he broke with the Rebellion. His militancy has caused the Alliance a great many problems. We have no choice now but to try and mend that broken trust."

Now the girl's eyes turned speculative. "What does this have to do with my father?"

She was paying attention; Cassian could appreciate that. They weren't going to slip anything past her. He glanced at the others to see what they wanted him to do. Draven considered briefly, then turned to Mon Mothma for the decision. She gave Cassian a tiny nod for him to proceed and tell the girl the full truth.

"There's an Imperial defector in Jedha. A pilot. He's being held by Saw Gerrera. He's claiming the Emperor is creating a weapon with the power to destroy entire planets. The pilot says he was sent by your father."

Her eyes widened at this news. Before she could speak, however, the others provided a few more details.

"We need to stop this weapon before it is finished," Mothma told her.

"Captain Andor's mission is to authenticate the pilot's story. And then, if possible, find your father," Draven added.

"It appears that he is critical to the development of this super weapon. Given the gravity of the situation and your history with Saw, we're hoping that he will help us locate your father and return him to the Senate for testimony." Certainly Mothma didn't look very hopeful, not in Cassian's eyes anyway.

Still, this information had gotten past the girl's defenses. What was it he saw in her eyes? Hope? Did she really not know her father lived, where he was and what he was doing? Was that even remotely possible?

She came to a decision quickly. "And if I do it?"

They didn't have much to offer that would interest her, but there was one thing. "We'll make sure you go free," Mothma told her.

xxx

The Alliance had given Jyn Erso a few things since she had only what she wore when they pulled her off the prisoner transport. Deemed inadequate, they had provided a jacket and scarf, and a pack to carry a few miscellaneous items for the trip. Somewhere between the interrogation room and his U-wing she had acquired a blaster holster. Since they weren't giving her a blaster, he didn't see the point to it, but he had chosen not to inquire where it had come from. Then he noticed a truncheon on her belt as well. Thief, indeed. He was sure that had not been given to her either. Still, he had supposed she ought to have some means of defense and had let that slip.

Cassian wasn't surprised when Draven called him back. A great many of his missions started with 'alternative' orders to those he received in the general meeting. Draven played the good soldier in there, but afterwards, he did what he felt necessary. Not all of Draven's orders would be approved by members of the council, by Mothma. Draven was hard core and didn't mind making tough decisions; Mothma was always looking for a way to compromise. Often those differing viewpoints made Cassian's work even more difficult, such as now.

But he had expected this. Bring Galen Erso back to testify before the Senate? What good would that do? When the Empire lost their lead scientist on this project they would either try to recover him, or kill him. And if the man supported the Empire, he wasn't going to tell the Alliance anything useful. Maybe Erso did send the pilot to deliver a message, and maybe it did indicate some rebel leanings, but Cassian wasn't one for taking things at face value. He well knew the subtle tricks that were used to gain information – he used them himself.

He tried not to look at Erso after Draven released him. The only way this would work well was to keep a very cool distance between them. He couldn't give her any reason to suspect his true purpose on this mission.

"You met K-2?" he asked, going over to a panel and pretending it was necessary to check the inputs. He was sure K had everything squared away, but it provided an excuse to avoid speaking directly to her.

"Charming." From her tone, he surmised K had been giving voice to his every thought, without restriction, as usual.

"He tends to say whatever comes into his circuits. It's a by-product of the reprogram."

Speak of the devil, K-2 piped up, "Why does she get a blaster and I don't?"

"What?" That was not what he had expected to hear. She had a blaster, too?

"I know how to use it."

From her bearing and the way she handled it, he didn't doubt the truth of her statement, but it didn't make him feel any better about this discovery. "That's what I'm afraid of. Give it to me."

"We're going to Jedha. That's a war zone."

He shouldn't have been surprised when she balked. "That's not the point. Where did you get that?" It looked suspiciously like the spare one he carried in his pack, which would mean…

"I found it."

K-2 volunteered, "I find that answer vague and unconvincing." Cassian couldn't argue with that assessment, and it confirmed his suspicion of where she had obtained it.

"Trust goes both ways." Her gaze was challenging. If they wanted her to trust them and help them out, she was going to insist on the same in return.

Cassian looked at her, flicked his eyes to the blaster and back to her. This was a mistake, and he was sure K would make certain he knew it, but she did have a point. He'd just have to keep a very close eye on her, and preferably keep her in front of him at all times. Without saying anything further, he moved into the cockpit.

"You're letting her keep it?" Yep, there was the expected outburst. "Would you like to know the probability of her using it against you?" Cassian just silently looked at him, unwilling to discuss it. "It's high."

"Let's get going." Cassian adjusted his instruments and put on his headset, trying to ignore his own and K's misgivings.

K-2 wasn't ready to give up. "It's very high."

xxx

Over the years, Cassian and K had developed such a smooth routine, that conversation was rarely needed. He wasn't the talkative sort, so that suited him just fine. In this instance, there was an additional advantage to it. He knew Erso was watching them, and listening to anything she could manage to overhear. Once they were in hyperspace, she had gotten up and walked around, ostensibly to take a look at the ship, but it also gave her an excuse to reseat herself closer to the cockpit. Putting her in a spot where she could see and hear more. He wasn't fooled. It was something he would have done in similar circumstances. She was going to be disappointed, though. There was no need to discuss the particulars of the mission with K, nor would he be likely to tell the droid anything that he might let slip in her presence. K did not always comprehend the merit of censoring one's words.

Unfortunately, the trip to Jedha was going to take a couple of hours, and he had not slept in over twenty-four hours. If he wanted to sleep anywhere near comfortably, he would have to go into the back of the ship. At need, he had slept in the pilot's seat, but he usually awoke stiff and not feeling very rested. Finally, he couldn't think of a way to avoid being in her presence. "Take controls. I'm going to try to sleep for a while."

"Understood."

Her head was tipped back against the wall behind her, eyes closed, but she either heard him or sensed his presence – her eyes blinked open immediately. "You should try to sleep. You have a couple of hours before we are there, even at lightspeed. After that, another chance might not come very soon."

She didn't respond, just studied him with those cool green eyes, making him slightly uncomfortable. Cassian was very good at disguises, at not letting anyone see anything he did not want them to see about himself. He got the impression she was seeing more than he wished, and that was not a pleasant sensation.

"How does the Alliance know about my father?"

Not the first question he had expected her to ask. "We make it a point to know who our enemies are?"

Her jaw tightened at his answer, and he hoped it would end the conversation. Unfortunately, it didn't.

"How did you know about me? I've given the Alliance no reason to consider me an enemy."

He glanced at her, mulling over what he should tell her. "You are the daughter of an Imperial scientist. That is enough for us to keep our eyes on you."

"Even considering my connection to Saw Gerrera, a rebel even if not necessarily your friend?"

As he had already determined, she was smart. Too smart. But at least he appreciated intelligent questions. Too often he dealt with fanatics who mostly spouted nonsense. "Between your father and Saw Gerrera, we couldn't know where your allegiance was. It was safer to assume the worse."

Oddly enough, that seemed to satisfy her, as though she would have made the same call if it were her. He had a sense that her life had been no more normal than his had. But he'd had the support of the Alliance, to watch over him and help him. What had she had? Raised by a rebel extremist, likely in the midst of a band of extremists, would not be the healthiest environment for a child or even a youth. Then on her own from about sixteen on. It was tough enough surviving on your own as a male; that difficulty would be nearly tripled if you were a female.

He pulled out some bedrolls, handing one to her and gesturing to an area of the floor she could use. He set up his own spot near the cockpit in case K-2 needed him for something. She was already down, before he finished, and he gazed at her momentarily. He couldn't quite make out her expression, what she might be thinking. He supposed it wasn't terribly surprising that she knew how to adjust to whatever was happening around her. That would be a vital skill while on her own, before her activities landed her in an Imperial prison. He turned away and laid down. He needed sleep more than he needed to try to figure her out.

xxx

When K-2 awakened him shortly before they came out of hyperspace near Jedha, Erso had wakened also. Or at least opened her eyes. He didn't know if she had not slept, or had but slept lightly enough to hear K-2 summoning him. When he had risen and started gathering his bedding, she did the same and then took a seat across from a window.

After he handed over ship control to K-2 once they were entering orbit, he had gone into the back to gather whatever they needed to take with them. She was blinking slightly, looking a little confused, and staring at a necklace that she hastily tucked out of sight under her clothes. Idly he wondered what that was about.

As he made his way deeper into the ship toward her, she had turned to look out the window but glanced up at his approach.

"That's Jedha. Or what's left of it." He wasn't able to disquise the contempt in his voice, though he wasn't entirely sure it was justified aiming it at her. He walked away rather than discuss it. "We find Saw, we find your father."

Behind him, he heard her get up to have a better view of the moon they were approaching. It didn't take long to enter the atmosphere and set down at the spot he had chosen, some distance from the city. He led Erso to a ridge with a good vantage of the city on the top of a mesa.

"What's with the Destroyer?" she asked, settling down beside him.

"It's because of your old friend, Saw Gerrera. He's been attacking the cargo shipments."

"What are they bringing in?" He handed her the binoculars so she could take a closer look.

"It's 'what are they taking out?'. Kyber crystals. All they can get. We wondered why they were stripping the temple. Now we know. It's the fuel for the weapon." He shifted to his knees while she studied the city from this distance.

K-2 arrived just then, and didn't mince words. "The weapon your father's building?"

Like him, Erso was removing anything from her pack that she wanted to take with her. He was similarly rearranging what was in his pack and on his person, in preparation.

She looked up at the droid and suggested, "Maybe we should leave target practice behind."

He had planned to leave K with the ship anyway, though not for that particular reason. K, however, was not happy about the comment.

"Are you talking about me?"

He could see this escalating into an argument and intervened. "She's right. We need to blend in. Stay with the ship."

Huffily, K replied, "I can blend in. I'm an Imperial droid. The city is under Imperial occupation."

Before Cassian could say anything, Erso retorted, "Half the people here wanna reprogram you. The other half wanna put a hole in your head."

"I'm surprised you're so concerned with my safety," K responded acerbically.

Erso rose and strode toward him. "I'm not. I'm just worried they might miss you...and hit me." She shoved her pack into his arms as she moved past him.

Cassian followed her, but gave the droid a consoling pat as he went by. He wasn't sure whether Erso heard the droid's muttered reply, "Doesn't sound so bad to me." A thunk told him K had dropped her pack to show his annoyance.

It was a several hour walk to the city, but Cassian preferred not having the ship closer where it might draw Imperial attention. To his relief, Erso didn't insist on much conversation for the trip. After spending so much time alone, he found chitchat to be completely irksome. He did have to give her credit that the few times she spoke she asked intelligent, pertinent questions. If he hadn't known differently, he might almost have thought he was on a mission with a fellow rebel. He put that thought forcefully aside. No point in getting comfortable with her company.

She was in good shape and easily kept up with him, so they made good time. It was slower going in the city. The streets were crowded and the Imperial presence made a circuitous route necessary. When Erso and another person collided, Cassian had to intervene; the man was looking for trouble but he wasn't going to accommodate him. They had more pressing business than some local trying to pick a fight.

While they walked, he explained the plan to her. "I had a contact. One of Saw's rebels. But he's just gone missing. His sister will be looking for him. The temple's been destroyed, but she'll be there waiting. We'll give her your name and hope that gets us a meeting with Saw."

"Hope?" she asked with evident amusement. She came to a stop, forcing him to stop and look back.

"Yeah. Rebellions are built on hope."

Her eyes narrowed at his words, as though surprised to hear such from him. She had no idea how many things they had to merely hope for in this rebellion. Too much was uncertain; without hope, they all would have given up a long time ago.

They continued on, but even more than usual the stormtroopers were harrassing citizens, demanding identification. Between that and announcements offering credits for the missing pilot, things just became a whole lot more complicated.

"Is this all because of your pilot?" she asked quietly.

He didn't bother to answer, just pressed on. The sooner they were done, the sooner they could get out of here. Hopefully without having to fight. When they got near the temple, he instructed her, "Wait for me." He made his way through the crowd leaving her there.

When he returned a couple of minutes later, he found her talking to one of the guardians. Catching her elbow to gain her attention, he told her, "Jyn, come on. Let's go."

The guardian called after them, something about kyber and she hesitated again. He didn't have time for this distraction. Cassian reiterated, "Let's go." Once she started moving again, he added, "We're not here to make friends."

"Who are they?" she asked as he guided her through the crowd.

"The Guardians of the Whills. Protectors of the Kyber Temple. But there's nothing left to protect, so now they're just causing trouble for everybody."

"You seem awfully tense all of a sudden."

Tense didn't even begin to describe it. He knew when a job was about to go bad, and this was one of them. "We have to hurry. This town is ready to blow."

Between the stormtroopers and tanks moving through the city, broadcasting their propaganda, the air was rife with fear and anger. He glimpsed movement on rooftops and along alleyways; Jyn had seen it too, apparently. "Tell me you have a backup plan," she murmured to him.

Just then a grenade went off and hysteria broke out. Rebels stepped from cover and got in a firefight with the stormtroopers, while civilians rushed for cover anywhere they could find it. That included the two of them. The last thing they wanted was to get caught in the middle of this. There wasn't a great deal of cover but they both dove into alcoves along a breezeway, drawing their weapons. She glanced at him and noted wryly, "Looks like we found Saw's rebels."

Cassian was watching the fight play out, trying to determine the safest course to take when suddenly Jyn bolted from cover. "Jyn, no!"

It took him a moment to figure out what she was doing. When she blasted an approaching trooper and grabbed a child around its waist, he realized her reason. Some part of him had to admire and respect her taking the risk to aid the child. He shoved that part of him back into the deep dark hole he had dug for it many years ago. There was no room for sympathy in war. What she was doing was also risky and foolish. He'd been trying to keep them away from stormtrooper notice and she was practically waving a flag in front of them, begging them to shoot her. If she died, this entire venture was wasted. There would be no getting to Saw Gerrera without her, and thus no way to find out what that pilot knew.

Jyn started for cover with the little girl, being knocked to her knees by another explosion. The girl's mother appeared and claimed the child, but Jyn was still in a vulnerable spot. When the tank started raising its guns to fire at the rebels on a terrace above the plaza, he shouted, "Get out of there!" Not that there was much she could do. She knew it wasn't safe where she was, but it could be just as deadly moving. The tank blast brought down part of a building, and the tank commander was ordering them to take aim again. Before they could, Cassian got a bead and shot him. There wasn't a great deal he could do to help her, but at least he could remove some of the dangers while she tried to exit the plaza intact.

Jyn seized the opportunity he had given her and bolted for the nearest protection she could find – the treads of the shuttle the tank had been escorting. It wasn't optimal, but it was better than being in the open.

A rebel on the roof was preparing to throw another grenade. Jyn would be right in the line of fire if that happened. Without hesitation, he took his shot and the man fell into a group of people below, the explosion going off among them. Jyn had noticed, and turned to look at him. He gave her a nod that he had her back. The fighting had lulled momentarily, so she bolted from cover and Cassian followed. She shot drown a trooper moving to intercept and they headed out of the square, but another grenade blast knocked them to the ground before they were clear.

It took a moment to clear his head, and Jyn was stirring beside him. For some reason, her arm was flung across his back in a protective gesture, but he had no time to ponder it. They regained their feet and took off running again. He had moved to the lead, but when he rounded a corner he came face to face with a trooper. That one was quickly dispatched, but an instant later two more appeared and he doubled back the way he had come, wondering where Jyn had disappeared to. An instant later, he saw her in an alcove and as he went by yelled, "This way."

"Cassian!" she called, but he kept going. Only there was nowhere to run. Either stormtroopers or rebels were advancing on all sides. They both ended up back in alcoves preparing to take a stand.

He was vaguely aware that she holstered her blaster, and opened the truncheon. As he stepped out to face their pursuers, he glimpsed her stepping toward the stormtroopers in the other direction. They worked so smoothly together without discussing it, an outsider might have thought they'd been doing this for years.

There were about five stormtroopers facing him, and he handily dispatched them. When he turned to face Jyn, he found she was in the midst of far more than he had dealt with – most of them already on the ground and her working on making the rest of them join their companions there. All he could do was stare. He supposed knowing she was raised by Saw Gerrera he should have assumed she would know how to fight, but this was incredible. A hasty count put her victim toll at nine, almost doubling his number. Only as she concluded by dispatching a KX unit, did he come to his senses, astonished to find he had lowered his weapon while watching her fight. Hastily he holstered the blaster, to cover his lapse, noting K-2 standing nearby.

"Did you know that wasn't me?" the droid demanded accusingly of Jyn.

She gave a slight jerk of her head. "Of course." Somehow, Cassian seriously doubted that was true. She had just been fortunate not to hit K, much as she might have liked to do so.

"I thought I told you to wait on the ship." Cassian joined them.

Unfazed, K-2 replied, "You did, but I thought it was boring. And you were in trouble."

During the conversation, they didn't notice one of the felled stormtroopers behind Jyn wasn't down yet. He raised up and tossed a grenade, but K-2 calmly reached out and plucked it from the air. "There are a lot of explosions for two people blending in."

Jyn started backing away from K, gesturing meaningfully toward the grenade. "Um…"

Just as he was going to yell at the droid to act, K casually tossed the grenade over his shoulder. The four stormtroopers who had just arrived on the scene succumbed to the explosion. "You're right," K-2 said. "I should just wait on the ship."

Where had he lost control of this mission? Neither Jyn Erso nor K-2 seemed inclined to listen to him and follow his instructions. It was more than a little irritating. It wasn't as though he hadn't been doing this his entire adult life.

The three of them struck off back toward the square together, but suddenly found themselves facing a group of troopers inspecting a bombed site. A glance at the other two and they simultaneously turned and tried to walk nonchalantly, and silently, back the way they had come. It didn't work – they were noticed.

"Stop right there."

For the moment, there was no choice. He glanced at Jyn to make sure she wasn't on the verge of doing something foolish as they all turned back. Unexpectedly, the stormtrooper giving orders mistook K-2 for an Imperial droid. That was helpful, but K wasn't good at subterfuge.

"Where are you taking these prisoners?"

K-2 was slow to catch on. His response was almost more of a question than anything. "These are prisoners."

Cassian groaned inwardly as the conversation continued. K's cluelessness was only making matters worse, if that was possible.

It was risky, but he tried to assist with a cover story, only to have K slap him and tell him to keep quiet. He would have been upset by it if he hadn't realized it might prove the idea that K was acting on behalf of the Empire. Even so, he wasn't entirely surprised when the trooper directed two others to bind them and take them away, insisting K stay for a diagnostic check. It had been a good try on K's part; he'd have to remember to tell him so, if he ever got the chance. But if they got separated, that could make this very difficult. He could only hope the droid was able to get free and could find a way to act to recover them from their captors.

As they were being pulled away, suddenly a new voice entered the conversation. It almost sounded familiar, though he couldn't place it until he spotted the speaker. It was the temple guardian who had been talking to Jyn earlier.

"Let them pass in peace."

Everyone's attention was drawn to the man as he strolled with his cane into the midst of the stormtroopers. What a blind man could do other than get himself killed, Cassian didn't know, but he would use the distraction and hope it provided an opportunity he could exploit to effect their escape.

It turned out, a blind man could do a great deal more than he had expected. The man dodged blaster shots from a dozen stormtroopers that surrounded him, and took them down with kicks and strikes from his staff until all were felled. Unfortunately, just as he was victorious, half a dozen more appeared. Then came the next surprise – the man was not alone. Another was kneeling by the ruins and shot down the troopers with his repeating laser cannon. It was a miracle he didn't shoot his friend who stood between the gun and the targets.

"You almost shot me!" the blind man complained to his friend.

"You're welcome," the other man replied, handing him his weapon, and then putting another laser bolt into a stormtrooper that was still stirring. The blind man casually put a foot up on a downed trooper while he caught his breath.

K had taken cover near Cassian and Jyn, but now edged out into the open, announcing, "Clear of hostiles." At the sound of his voice, however, the big man whirled, blaster at the ready.

"One hostile," the droid amended, raising his hands.

Before Cassian could react, Jyn dove in front of K and said, "He's with us!" Luckily, it made the man hesitate.

"They're alright." It wasn't until the blind man vouched for them that the man uncertainly lowered his weapon.

Jyn raised her wrists for K-2 to remove her cuffs, while eyeing the two men who had come to their rescue. The blind one – Jyn had murmured that his name was Chirrut Imwe - turned and sat down on one of the troopers as if he did this every day.

While Cassian was having K remove his own handcuffs, the droid took the opportunity to apologize. "Cassian, I'm sorry about the slap."

Distractedly he instructed, "Go back to the ship. Wait for my call." The droid turned and trotted off.

"Is he a Jedi?" Cassian asked warily, slowly approaching the two men.

"There are no Jedi here anymore," the big man replied. "Only dreamers like this fool."

"The Force did protect me," the blind man asserted.

"I protected you," the other man retorted.

Cassian was trying to determine who these two were and why they had helped. Their job was protecting the temple, even in ruins, not assisting hapless folks who got captured by stormtroopers. Were they secretly rebels?

Apparently Jyn had that same thought, and asked, "Can you get us to Saw Gerrera?"

There was no chance for either man to answer, but it was a moot point as they were surrounded by rebels and bound. Jyn and Cassian were forced to their knees. Cassian was beginning to doubt his skills, considering the number of times he had been unintentionally captured in the past few minutes.

The man – Chirrut, he reminded himself – tried to reason with the rebels, which told Cassian the two were not acquainted. "Can't you see we are no friends of the Empire?"

The rebel leader wasn't impressed by this declaration. "Tell that to the one who killed our men." Which meant he had seen Cassian shoot the grenade-thrower on the roof. That wasn't good; not the way to make a favorable impression.

To his surprise, Jyn took the initiative. "Anyone who kills me or my friends will answer to Saw Gerrera."

The man was skeptical. "And why is that?"

"Because I'm the daughter of Galen Erso."

Cassian wasn't sure he would have made that known yet, but if it kept them alive long enough to get to Saw, he'd take it. Whatever the rebel leader's thoughts, he didn't voice them. He merely directed his men to take them, and bags were placed over everyone's heads, presumably to keep them from seeing where they were going.

They didn't travel far initially, and Cassian determined they were still in the city somewhere. He decided they must be waiting for the furor from the battle to die down before openly moving to their hideout. The building they were in was cold and smelled musty, so he presumed it was little used. The prisoners were shoved down onto the floor against one wall to wait. The bulk of the person on his right suggested it was the one Chirrut had called Baze. Somehow he could tell the one on his left was Jyn.

While their captors mingled in front of them, all four prisoners kept silent. Only when it appeared the rebels had moved away somewhat did Cassian risk a low whisper to Jyn. "Do you recognize any of them?"

After a moment, she replied, "No. But as I said, I haven't seen Saw in years. The turnover in personnel is high in his band."

Certainly he believed that. He had to give her credit – she was perfectly calm. Many women would have been hysterical by now. More of her training by Saw, no doubt. At least he didn't have to contend with that. Now he just had to hope Gerrera would welcome her, and not be eager to kill her companions. The two guardians might well come to regret their interference, though he could not be unappreciative of the help. The two of them were good to have beside you in a fight. He hoped this would end well and they would be freed unharmed. He did not like endangering anyone other than himself.

His stomach rumbled, but he paid it no mind. He doubted there would be anything to eat for some time. Their captors did not appear interested in their comfort.

Something nudged him from the left, and when he took it, he realized it was a ration bar. "Where did you get this?" he muttered.

"Found it."

That again. He opened it as quietly as possible and offered her half. When he tasted it, he could guess where she'd 'found it'. It happened to be exactly like the ones he carried on his ship. "Do you have another? For them?"

She shifted slightly, then he felt another nudge. Inobtrusively he passed it off to Baze, and received a grunt of thanks.

"That's all there is," Jyn told him. "It will have to do."

He could almost wish he hadn't handed off the second one, but that would be more than selfish after they had endangered themselves on his and Jyn's behalf. And it wasn't like he had never gone hungry before. The longest had been nine days, and the less he remembered of that mission, the better.

He wondered if Jyn had stolen the food for that very reason – she had known hunger, too, and wanted to be prepared. Jyn. When had he started thinking of her, and calling her, by her first name instead of just 'Erso'? It was easier to distance yourself from someone whose first name you didn't use. That was unfortunate that he had slipped in that regard. It would make later more difficult, assuming they managed to locate and get to her father. What he called her might have changed, but his orders hadn't. He laid his head back against the wall, determined to put his walls back up. She was Erso, just Erso.

Still, 'Erso' was proving even more puzzling than he had originally thought. Her intelligence didn't surprise him. And, though better than he expected, her fighting skills made sense. No, it was the person that was perplexing. She was tough and prickly, clearly comfortable as a thief, but then she rescued children and shared food with her 'captor'. She was too caring and giving for her own good. No doubt that had caused her problems before, but didn't seem to have hindered the tendency.

Somewhere in his musings, he drifted to sleep, though he couldn't tell how long he'd slept. He was very sure he needed the rest, all things considered, but he shouldn't have dropped his guard so much in an enemy camp. He suspected that his three companions had contributed to his feeling secure enough to do it. Cassian was convinced that any one of them would stand with him. Why exactly that was, he didn't know. They barely knew him. He didn't want them to know him. Yet, none of them hesitated to be there when he needed it.

He gave a silent mirthless snort. Maybe that's what it was like having friends. Not that he would know. He'd always avoided having any. In a rebellion, the people next to you disappeared far too quickly. It was easier to avoid relationships with them than to suffer the pain of loss repeatedly.

TBC

Rogue One: Altered Perspective

In his 26 years, Cassian has gone on many missions for the Alliance. But none of them changed him in the way this new one will. [Complete in 3 chapters, posting every other day.]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

End Note: In case you were wondering, yes, I do go overboard on the research and the calculations and all that just to write a story. Had to keep changing this when I'd rewatch the movie and notice something else that affected the numbers. The below isn't perfect, but it's about as close as I could come trying to make everything sync with what we saw on the screen. If anyone needs to, feel free to use my numbers/calculations:

I'm not totally satisfied with this, but it will have to do:

FYI, the 'days' things are happening are merely used as a convenient reference in timing things out, and figuring out when things happened on any given day.

1) Monday: Bodhi defects

2) Tuesday: Tivik tells Cassian about defector

3) Wednesday: Jyn rescued from Wobani (DAY); delay but eventually taken to Yavin

if trip to Jedha is going to take 1 day, they may not have eaten or slept, figuring to do that on the flight;

[maybe get her on Wobani early morning, make it back to Yavin by late afternoon, immediate interrogation,

eat, rest, supply them for trip and depart Thurs am (maybe 7 am)]

[distance between Wobani & Yavin unknown]

4) arr Jedha Thur abt 9 am Y time/1 pm J time [2 hr flight - fighter]; walk to city (3-4 hr walk) & arrive abt 4:30 pm J time

[if walk took 4 hrs, K-2 would have had to follow them shortly after they left to arrive when he did]

if assume takes twice as long to get to Jedha from Yavin as to get to Scarif from Yavin, then Y to J = 2 hr

captured in late afternoon/early evening J time (6-6:30 pm) on Thurs, maybe holed up in Jedha waiting for things to settle

down and cover of darkness to head for hideout – depart city abt 8:30-9 pm J time,

5) reach Saw's hideout very early Fri am (6 hr trip arr abt 4:30 am or so) [that would mean trip took abt hr]

Friday – in Saw's hideout only abt 30 min before DS strikes & they escape (abt 5 am J time);

go straight to Eadu ; [distance from Jedha to Eadu unknown, but less than time it took to reach Jedha from Yavin,

so maybe 1 hr 30 m][arr E abt 6:30 am J time = 5:25 am Y time, so still dark (very early am + storm)]

maybe arr Eadu very early Fri am (maybe 5:25 am Fri Y time) – only there abt 1 hr tops (dep abt 6:15-6:20 am Y time); return

to Yavin – short distance (abt 30 m, but shuttle takes longer so 1 hr) (arr Yavin abt 7:30 am Fri)

6) maybe takes til late Sat for other Council Members to arrive for meeting (held Sun am, maybe 9 am);

7) Rogue One departs right after Sun am meeting for Scarif (lv 10:30 am); arr Scarif 12:30 pm Sun

shuttle takes 2 hr for trip; fleet takes 1 hr ?

fleet comes to help – dep Y abt 1:00 pm, arr S abt 2:00 pm

If Jedha has a 20 hour day, an "hour" would be shorter (abt 50 mins)

.83 factor; 50 min hrs

(sorry, but I couldn't find a way to get ffn to let me line things up properly

Jed -xxxxx- Yav -xx- Jed/Yav

1 am 50 m 0:50 am dark

2 am 100m = 1h40m 1:40 dark

3 am 150m = 2h30m 2:30 dark

4 am 200m = 3h20m 3:20 dark

5 am 250m = 4h10m 4:10 light/dark

6 am 300m = 5h 5:00 light/dark

7 am 350m = 5h50m 5:50 am light/dark

8 am 400m = 6h40m 6:40 light/light

9 am 450m = 7h30m 7:30 light/light

10 noon 500m = 8h20m 8:20 light/light

1 pm 550m = 9h10m 9:10 light/light

2 pm 600m = 10h 10:00 light/light

3 pm 650m = 10h50m 10:50 light/light

4 pm 700m = 11h40m 11:40am light/light

5 pm 750m = 12h30m 12:30 pm light/light

6 pm 800m = 13h20m 1:20 pm light/light

7 pm 850m = 14h10m 2:10 dark

8 pm 900m = 15h 3 dark

9 pm 950m = 15h50m 3:50 dark

10 midnight 1000m = 16h40 4:40 dark