DRAW AND FIRE

Effie let out a brief chuckle at his comment, shaking her head. “I highly doubt it would be the cause, since I doubt all those people in quarantine came down here and were exposed to all this dust themselves.” From the looks of this place, it hadn’t looked like anyone had been down here in years, which was almost creepy. But there was just a lot of books and papers and folders, information that Effie truly could think of no use for, unless they somehow contained a mystical formula that would automatically heal all of the infected people. She had no idea what she was doing, and it was made clear as she sighed, setting down the pages in her own hands. His explanation brought a small smile to her lips, as she was relieved he seemed to not exactly know how to go about this whole thing either. Probably not a good sign in terms of finding a cure quicker, but good in terms of being able to relate. “No, you’re right. Why do they make it all so hard to understand? I’m pretty sure I’m of no use here,” Effie admitted with a frustrated sigh. But her attention turned up at the mention of being a pilot. Now he was the second one she’d encountered. “A pilot, huh? Do you know a dude by the name of Gael? He’s a pilot too, and a prideful one, at that.”

“yeah, but what if the dust in here is what it’s derived from or something? i don’t know how this works, by the way. i’m just bullshitting all the worst case scenarios so when one happens, i get to say i told you so in the seconds before i cough up an entire lung and die.” this is quite possibly the most dramatic thing to leave wedge’s mouth so far. it’s genuinely his motivation here, though. know all the worst case scenarios. either be pleasantly surprised when your expectations are outdone, or be validated when all the terrible things happen.

he’s just doing what he can (before the dust kills him).

he taps a stack of papers gently against the table, evening them out and making the mess look marginally neater. it’s a drop in an ocean, so to speak, but at some point he’s going to have to actually neaten all of this up. “the more people we have working at this, the better. maybe one of us will have a revelation.” he sounds skeptical even as he says it, but stranger things have happened.

“i haven’t killed…one yet,” jyn grits out, though that’s mainly because she hasn’t let one close enough to her to strangle them. the closest she’d gotten to murdering one had been when they’d tried to hook her up to an iv, but she had been so out of it that once she saw the needle, she had been too lost in her memories to do any harm. “they can…i promise i won’t kill them…as long as they don’t touch me.” it’s a compromise, at the very least, even though it’s not a great one.

“thank you, wedge,” she manages, offering him a weak smile. he doesn’t even know cassian, and yet he’s willing to tell him these things because she’d asked him too. guilt gnaws at her stomach. here wedge is, being so kind and accomidating, and he doesn’t even know her real name. “you know,” she starts, “i’m really…glad i got to know you…in this lifetime.” it was short, and would be over soon, but she is grateful for his friendship. “but i…haven’t been entirely…truthful. i…my name isn’t…liana hallik.”

“hey, that’s good. keep that up.” it’s half a joke and half a serious statement. please don’t kill a medic. wedge will defend her as far as he can, but once murder comes into play - well, he’s a pilot, not a miracle worker. he can only help her out so far. “.... they might have to touch you at some point to make sure you’re okay, you know. it’s bullshit and whatever they do will probably be uncomfortable, but it’s for the greater good in the long run.”

well-reasoned, but he’s not sure if that matters to her.

“don’t like medics,” jyn mumbled back, mouth twisting into a grimace. they’d tried to give her an iv a couple days ago, saying that she was dehydrated, and she had panicked, falling back into an old memory of her days as an addict. there was nothing they could do anyway except prolong the inevitable, and ever since cassian left, what was the point of that? “i do what i want…not gonna let ‘em…anywhere near me.” even though her words were separated with coughs and heavy breathing, there was still fire in her eyes. “you know that, anti––” a cough, “––antilles.”

there wasn’t much she could ask wedge to tell cassian without blowing her cover, but she had a few things in mind that were vague enough not to cause suspicion. “tell him m’sorry,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “that i didn’t mean…i thought he’d come back, but i…” she swallowed. “guess i don’t blame…him for leavin’.” it didn’t matter, however. he wasn’t coming back. if he were, he would have done it by now. she was angry with him, and hurt that he had abandoned her, but she…she had regrets. she wanted him back.

“come on. no one likes medics, but they’re necessary. especially now.” wedge is a terror in medical most of the time, but in an emergency like this, he’ll grit his teeth and bear whatever they tell him to do. he loathes being bedridden and ill, and it’s that knowledge which drives him back to visit the quarantine area again and again. it’s sympathy, really, in its purest form. “... i do know that. but you know i’m going to keep asking.”

all genuine concern.

“maybe once we figure out this whole cure thing, someone could get to work on figuring out why we’re all here and alive,” brynn said. the logical side of her knew that it would be near-impossible to find a pattern or explanation for everything, but she liked to hope, just in case. there were people she would have liked to say goodbye to, like her parents. there were also people she wished that she could have killed herself. that is, if the disease didn’t kill her first.

brynn chuckled. “personnel management, huh? that’s a new one. i never heard it put so nicely before.” it made sense, though. making sure everyone didn’t go insane was an important job, and not everyone could execute it to perfection.

“they could be worse.” that was the truth. so far, no one in quarantine had kicked the bucket yet, though some people were looking real close. “we’re holding on the best we can.”

wedge lets out a chuckle. “i’m sure people have tried. i don’t think it’ll make much sense. i’ve, uh, been friends with a jedi long enough to know that sometimes shit just happens with zero explanation, and you just have to roll with it.” he shrugs. “i mean, i’d love to know as much as the next guy, but i doubt that’s ever going to happen.” it’s a cynical view on the force, but wedge isn’t force-sensitive and has no concept of how it actually works besides what little he’s asked luke about.

it’s just not his place. he flies ships. that’s what he is and what he does and what he relies on for a sense of stability.

“yeah?”

wedge manages to make this into a question, though more like he’s questioning who’s asking this and why.

“adopt?”

“what, historically?” he can’t help but laugh about it. “uh, i knew him back when he was just some idiot who thought destroying an intergalactic planet destroying weapon was the same thing as shooting rats in a sand dune, and then we ended up running rogue squadron together until he decided to become an all-important jedi knight.”

“can’t say…that i do,” jyn muses with a sigh, watching as he taps on the glass and wishing that she could be on the other side of it. she’d be most useful helping cassian and the others try to find a cure for this thing, except she’s never going to see the other side of the glass again––unless a miracle happens. however, they both know that’s practically impossible, so she offers a weak smile. “always thought––i’d go down in a…you know, blaze of glory or somethin’.”

at his confirmation that he would look out for cassian, jyn closes her eyes and tilts her head back, resting it against the wall. all the strength ebbs out of her limbs along with the huff of air that escapes her lungs. “good,” she says softly, glad she has all of these people looking out for him. what’s to come won’t be easy on him, and he’s going to need all the support he can get in her absence. “thank you, wedge.”

“hey.” wedge’s tone turns even more gentle, all that genuine concern in his voice. he barely knows her, but he trusts his gut when it comes to people. “we’re working on it. just make sure to get plenty of rest. do whatever the medics tell you. all that boring shit.” he can guess, from what little he’s seen of her demeanor, that this is pretty much hell for her. he wishes he could smuggle in something to make it easier (as in liquor), but he really does not want to be the one responsible for somehow breaking quarantine and dooming an entire planet.

that’s the first order’s thing, after all. not his.

“i’m pretty sure most of us have stubbornness to spare. after all, some of us refused to die so much that the force had to give up and bring us all back to life.” it’s a joke, mostly. even during her first life, brynn had a habit of making jokes in dire situations. she’d been prone to make quips about tie fighters that were chasing her down as she was narrowly avoiding them. everyone had their own ways of dealing; smiling and faking was brynn’s.

“that’s better than nothing,” brynn reassures. “documents and computers are information, and information means cure.” that was something brynn had drilled into herself while running missions for the rebellion. more than once, she’d been task with retrieving something of value, but she hadn’t had enough clearance to learn what it was. she had to to trust the rebellion, and now she trusts the people around her.

“you can… provide moral support,” brynn proposes. “i was a pilot, and that’s what i always did. wasn’t usually much help, but i tried my best.”

“you know what - that’s a fair point. better theory for everyone coming back from the dead than i’ve heard before.” it’s true. wedge wasn’t one of the ones who came back from the dead specifically, but he knows people who have, and no one seems to know why they were picked. he’d also love to know, since he’s pretty sure there’s old members of rogue squadron and other pilots who are incredibly stubborn and ought to be standing on naboo’s verdant surface right now.

hopefully not infected, of course. that’s the new caveat.

wedge shrugs. “that’s basically me, yeah. moral support and - i guess you could call it personnel management. making sure everyone’s doing what they need to and people are actually getting sleep and whatever. wish it was more illustrious than that, but i guess not everyone’s cut out to synthesize cures out of thin air.”

she was about to fire back at him but once she actually took his words and processed them through her mind, she merely shrugged. the man had a point. still, orion was always stubborn so she would never let him know that she agreed with him after insulting him. “yeah, yeah,” she grumbled. 

“i only work well in groups with people that i actually like and there are some people on this team that i’m not particularly fond of,” orion mumbled, glaring at first order members who were in their vicinity. she wanted to give up, to throw in the towel and say ‘to hell with it’ but no, she refused to let herself do so when the people that she cared about were counting on this cure. “this is so… ugh.”

he sees the look on her face that fades after a second, and it takes a moment for wedge to not chuckle to himself. he knows how it is, after all. people love to argue with him until he fully admits that they don’t have to listen to him - it just might be a good idea, considering his age, experience, so on, and so forth. passive aggressive ideas, but they work, so he won’t fault himself for it.

If Finn was being honest, he didn’t have much faith in the teams. Enemies working together to save everyone? Not likely. But, he smiled faintly at Wedge anyway. “Uh, thanks. But, I’d settle for getting out of here, or at least food that isn’t bland.”

kriff, jyn’d missed this light and easy banter that the two of them shared; there’s really a lack of cheer on this side of the glass and she’s sick and tired of talking about how she feels. “you’re looking for a cure so i can die out there instead of in here?” she asks dryly, looking up at him with a small smirk. “my hero.”

truly, despite his words, she appreciates the effort. she’s a soldier––she doesn’t want to die in a place like this when she’s spent her whole life fighting against the empire. while someone like her doesn’t deserve to die in a blaze of glory, she wants it. “hey, antilles, could you do me a favor while i’m trapped in here? there’s a man––joreth sward. we’re partners,” she shrugs, not meeting his eyes, “could you look out for him for me?” he can protect himself, but she’d appreciate the extra eyes.

wedge can’t help much in terms of a cure, besides reading things through. he is better at morale, though, all things considered. “hey, which one would you prefer? you can’t tell me you like being stuck in here.” he raps his knuckles gently against the glass, a wry little grin on his face. it’s a cynical way to look at it (die here or die out there), but it feels realistic in a time like this. sometimes there’s not much to do except improve the end rather than everything else.

Even though Effie wasn’t obligated to search for a cure as she’d known others were, she took it upon herself to join the others, having little else to focus on while most of the people she’d interacted with were now in quarantine, suffering from the effects of that strange disease. So just as she’d explored the Supremacy before, she was now investigating the underground laboratory that had supposedly produced a similar virus many years ago, way before her own time. She found the documents and information she’d gathered so far somewhat interesting, losing track of the time that she spent there as she tried to put together any pieces that she could. When she came across the room with the various papers in it, she began to sort through them, looking for anything that could bring additional clues. But then she heard another voice in the room, and looked up at the sound of it. The unfamiliar man’s comment amused her, and she shook her head. “I highly doubt that, but I would be, too,” Effie added, setting down a stack of papers she’d gathered and looking back in his direction. She eyed the papers he’d been scanning through, wondering what information they held. “What have you got there?”

an unfamiliar presence hovers at the corner of wedge’s peripherals. he glances up after putting a few papers down in their appropriate places. definitely not someone who’s familiar to him, which almost makes him raise an eyebrow. still, not his place to judge anything here. if she is first order, then now’s really not the moment for her to try and kill him. so if that ends up being the result of all this, wedge will be well and truly surprised in the seconds before his death. “well, we’ll find out if i suddenly catch this virus and die, since i was the first one kicking up all the dust in here.”

there is a lot of dust. wedge has already been coughing a little, which is really not helping his nerves.

     A  CHUCKLE  at  wedge’s  words ,  and  luke  finds  comfort  in  the  joke  (  or  at  least ,  a  semi  attempt  at  the  joke  as  he  was  pretty  sure  the  other  at  least  half  meant  it  )  and  the  sound  of  his  voice ,  the  sense  of  familiarity  it  brought  feeling  a  bit  like  home .  ❛  i  don’t  know ,  bud  …  sounds  kinda  fun .  i  mean ,  an  eternity  with  you  by  my  side  ?  i  wouldn’t  expect  any  less .  ❜ 

         HE  REACHES  DOWN  to  rustle  through  some  of  the  papers  in  front  of  him ,  with  a  desire  to  help  get  through  what  he  can .  nothing ,  however ,  jumps  out  at  him  to  be  valuable  towards  the  topic  at  hand  and  yet ,  he  continues  leafing  through  them  with  half  a  conscious  mind  as  he  turns  most  of  his  attention  back  to  the  other .  a  grimace  sets  itself  upon  his  lips .  ❛  there’s  a  few  vials  missing  in  the  greenhouse ,  i  don’t  know  if  that  means  something  yet .  plus ,  there’s  something  going  on  with  the  technology  left  behind  here  but  the  others  are  tinkering  around  on  it …  but  so  far ,  nothing  concrete .  ❜  he  sighs ,  running  a  hand  through  his  hair .  ❛  i  hate  this .  ❜

really, wedge knows he’s useless for any of the deep scientific work. at some point he’s just going to be a runner, moving things from one end of the facility to the other because that’s about all he can do. he narrows his eyes a little over at luke. “you say that now, but you would start regretting it within a week. i’d ruin your whole life in forty-eight hours.” he sounds very certain of this fact. but wedge has nothing if not willpower, so maybe there’s more behind the threat than most might think.

he’s sort of hoping, since wedge knows very little about the force, that luke will miraculously pick up the correct paper and solve the whole problem. there. everything’s finished. he has a feeling that’s really not going to work out, though, so here they stand. “i’d say just about anything that looks tampered with seems suspicious, considering the state of this whole building.” he moves a few papers around, stacking them neatly.

“don’t tell me what to do, old man,” she grumbled as she plopped down on to an empty chair and rested her head. orion appreciated his concern but there were far bigger problems at hand. she didn’t have the time to rest, all she wanted to do was search for any possible thing that could cure these people of such a wretched disease. maybe all the dust was finally getting to her head. 

orion then gestured to the folder with a lazy hand. “there’s some papers about plants that don’t seem very threatening so, i think that’s gotta count for something,” she hoped. “can someone who was apart of all this just come back to life so we maybe get the cure out of them?” orion asked, mostly thinking out loud at this point. “because this is kriffing ridiculous.”

“i’m going to tell you what to do no matter what,” wedge points out. “you just don’t have to listen to me.” that is the wisdom of someone very much older than he looks. he watches as orion ends up taking a chair anyway, exhaustion obvious in every part of her. this disease wears down just about everyone, not just those infected with the disease itself.