Star Wars: Rebel Rising(33)

“I don’t want to take orders, and I don’t want to give them.” Saw heaved himself into a chair.

“Isn’t that what you did when you worked for Arane’s partisans?” Idryssa asked. “She gave the orders. You pulled the trigger.”

“That’s different.”

Idryssa didn’t respond as she looked over at Jyn.

“Are you bringing us a mission?” Jyn asked.

“Not exactly,” Idryssa said. Her eyes questioned Saw—could she talk in front of Jyn? Saw nodded curtly.

“This isn’t something my people have the means or”—her gaze flicked to Saw again—“the incentive to pursue.”

Saw straightened, and Jyn leaned forward. Her thoughts went immediately to her father. As much as she wanted to dismiss him, she couldn’t help hoping, somehow, that Idryssa had found him, that he really was a prisoner somewhere and that she and Saw could save him.

“This have to do with kyber crystals?” Saw asked.

Idryssa shook her head, and Jyn’s heart sank. “You sent me coordinates of mines for ore as well. Remember?”

“Doonium and dolovite,” Saw said. “Key components of Star Destroyers.”

“But there hasn’t been a marked increase of production for Star Destroyers,” Jyn added. “At least not that we have found.”

“Nor us,” Idryssa conceded. “But we have traced a large percentage of the ore being shipped to factories on the planet Tamsye Prime, near the Tion Hegemony. One in particular is being operated under extremely oppressive terms.”

Saw glowered. “The usual debt system?”

Idryssa nodded grimly.

“Debt system?” Jyn asked.

Idryssa turned her attention to Jyn. “Tamsye Prime has the manufacturing factories and laborers; the Empire wants them. The Empire offers to ‘loan’ equipment, resources, and so on. Seems like a great deal, but the credits add up, until everyone’s basically an indentured servant, working off the debt the Empire pressed upon them.”

“Slavery, more like,” Saw growled. Jyn could tell this system struck close to home for him, and she wondered what mission he’d had in the past that made Imperial indentured servitude such a sore point. “So what are we doing?” he asked Idryssa. “Blowing up the factory?”

Idryssa shook her head. “The Empire would just bill the planet for new and more expensive materials, adding to their debt.” She paused. “Besides, we both know that no deck sweep will ever clear out the Empire. Or,” she added, “at least I hope we both know that now.”

“Id.” Saw’s voice held a warning. “I have never done anything that the Empire didn’t do first.”

“That’s not a very high standard, Saw.”

“So then, how do we help the people of Tamsye Prime?” Jyn asked, interrupting what threatened to be the start of another fight.

Idryssa looked down at the table.

“We don’t,” Saw said. Jyn looked startled, but he shook his head, silencing her. “You said your people don’t have the means to fight this. That just means you want us to do the work, but you’re not going to pay us.”

“Saw—” Idryssa started, but he cut her off.

“You may not like Arane, but she pays well. And I can’t fight if I can’t get supplies, can’t feed my daughter.” He gestured to Jyn.

And you can’t outfit any of the other partisans, Jyn thought, thinking of all the soldiers that had been displaced to give them privacy in the command center. She imagined Codo and Staven and Reece and the others standing idly outside, tapping their feet impatiently.

“Saw, have you ever thought that we could do more if we worked together?” Idryssa said. Jyn narrowed her eyes, noting the smooth way Idryssa had shifted the conversation.

“You recruiting for that squadron of yours?” Saw sneered.

“It’s not that different from your outposts,” Idryssa insisted. “If you joined up with us…”

“I’ll think about it,” he said in a tone that Jyn knew meant he didn’t want to discuss it further. But she also could tell he was intrigued.

“I know you like to be in charge,” Idryssa pressed. “But something like this…it would be for the greater good.”

“Greater good?” Saw asked, his voice rising. “I’ve heard that excuse before. But it’s not for the greater good that you’re here today, is it?”

Idryssa cut her eyes away. “It’s not like that.”

“What do you mean?” Jyn asked.

Saw didn’t look away from Idryssa. “It’s those higher-ups you were talking about, isn’t it?”

“What is?” Jyn asked again.

“Idryssa’s squadron.” Saw smirked. “You went to them first, didn’t you? But they didn’t want to get their hands dirty on this.” Saw kept talking, even though Idryssa opened her mouth to protest. “You told me once you wanted to help. ‘A free galaxy,’ isn’t that what you said? You had such ideals. How’s that working now, when you see people who need help but the best thing you can do is just hope someone like me will pick up the slack.”

“It’s not like that!” Idryssa said, more powerfully this time. “I tried, Saw, is that what you want to hear? I pitched this plan to the generals. But there are other battles we have to fight first.”