JYN AND CASSIAN hauled the unconscious Imperial officer back out of the tube that led to the data vault. With the inner door open, thanks to the use of his hand, he would only be in the way.

As they deposited the man on the floor, K-2SO looked up at them. He was plugged into the console and was supposed to be monitoring Imperial communications to see if anyone was coming their way. When he started to speak, Jyn expected nothing but bad news from him.

Instead he said, “The rebel fleet has arrived.”

That stunned Jyn and Cassian both. “What?” she said, confused.

When they’d left Yavin 4, she’d been sure no one else would come after them—unless it might be to arrest them. If the rebel fleet had shown up, though, it hadn’t come just to offer moral support. It was joining the fight!

But K-2SO had more to tell them, and little of it was good. “There’s fighting on the beach. They’ve locked down the base. They’ve closed the shield gate.”

If Jyn’s heart had soared a moment before, it now came crashing down. “What does that mean?” She looked to Cassian. “We’re trapped?”

He nodded at her.

“We have to tell them we’re down here!” she said to K-2SO. “We’re close!”

“We haven’t much time,” K-2SO said. “We could transmit the plans to the rebel fleet. We’d have to get a signal out to tell them it’s coming. It’s the size of the data files. That’s the problem. They’ll never get through. Someone has to take that shield gate down.”

Cassian pulled out his comm and began talking into it. “Bodhi! Bodhi, can you hear me?”

No answer.

“Tell me you’re out there! Bodhi!”

The cargo pilot’s voice came back. He sounded a little shaken. “I’m here. We’re standing by. They’ve started fighting. The base is on lockdown!”

“I know,” Cassian said. “Listen to me. The rebel fleet is up there. You’ve got to tell them they’ve gotta blow a hole in the shield gate so we can transmit the plans—”

“I can’t,” Bodhi complained. “I’m not tied into the comm tower. We’re not tied in—”

Cassian didn’t want to hear it. “Find a way!” Then he turned to K-2SO. “Cover our backs.”

As Cassian headed for the tube, Jyn hesitated.

She took the blaster from the unconscious Imperial officer and offered it to K-2SO. “You’ll need this,” she said.

The droid just looked at it for a moment, unsure of what to do. She held the blaster up in front of him. “You wanted one, right?”

K-2SO reached out and took the blaster. He stared at it in his hands. “Your behavior, Jyn Erso, is continually unexpected.”

That brought a smile to her face.

Cassian had already made it into the tube that led into the vault. He turned back and called for her. “Jyn, come on.”

She turned to follow him, hoping she wouldn’t regret what she’d just done.