JYN HADN’T been sure she’d be able to make it onto the landing platform, but the sight of her father standing there above her had pushed her to take insane risks. When the stormtrooper had wandered over to peer over the edge of the platform, she’d thought he would have seen and shot her instantly, but she struck first, bold and fast. That’s why she was still breathing and he wasn’t.

She’d finally managed to work her way to a secluded edge of the platform and climbed up to hide behind a shipping crate someone had left there. From that new vantage point, she spotted her father once more, and she wanted nothing more than to race over to him and reveal that she was there. She knew, though, that Krennic would have her shot on the spot. She had to wait until she had her chance.

Then the X-wings appeared in the sky. Crazy as it was, she decided that was her time. If Krennic managed to survive the attack, he’d have her father executed for sure, just as he’d done with those innocent engineers. The confusion and terror—and smoke!—the attack produced gave her cover, and she meant to use it.

She vowed to herself that Krennic would not steal her father away again, as he had years before, back on Lah’mu. She called out to Galen, and their eyes met.

Then the torpedo hit the platform.

The blast sent Jyn flying. Stunned, she glanced up, convinced that the X-wings had come gunning for her. Then she spotted a flight of TIE fighters racing into the air to meet them. She’d never been so happy to see Imperial pilots doing their job in her life.

Anti-aircraft turrets joined in then, blasting away at the rebels in the sky. Normally, Jyn would have wanted to take down the stormtroopers manning them as fast as she could, but they were the only thing keeping another torpedo from blasting her and her father to bits.

Her ears rang with a high-pitched whine, and for a long while, it was all she could do to try to catch her breath. As her lungs struggled with that, she spied a pair of Imperial officers racing out of the smoke. They darted straight over to Krennic and began dragging him toward his shuttle.

Overhead, a turret found its target. A wounded X-wing spun out of control and crashed somewhere in the mountains. A boom marked its passing.

Jyn saw the distinctive bolt of a lightbow shoot out from another spot in the mountains and lance straight through a TIE fighter. The spacecraft spun like a runaway top and came smashing down into the turret. Everything flared white in a massive blast that shook the platform once more.

Jyn shook her head again and again, but it didn’t seem to want to start working. She could barely tell which way was up or down.

She spotted Krennic staggering up the ramp into his shuttle. He paused there for a moment, as if he wanted to go back and take on the rebel squadron himself. One of his officers grabbed him again and insisted he get on the ship.

“Director! We have to evacuate!”

Krennic glanced back toward Jyn’s father and saw that he lay there unmoving. Nodding at the officer’s suggestion, he turned and hustled onto the shuttle. The ramp closed behind him.

Jyn wanted to call out to her father again, but she could see he wouldn’t answer her. Somehow, she hoped that he was still alive.

She struggled to her feet and steadied herself to make her way toward her father. Just as she started moving, though, the wash from Krennic’s rising shuttle hit her hard.

It nearly swept her from the platform. She managed to stop herself at the last instant, and as the pressure faded, she clawed back toward where Galen lay sprawled across what was left of the platform.

He was barely alive and fading fast. She couldn’t believe she’d come all this way, fought through so many years on her own, only to find him like this, in his dying moments.

She cradled him in her arms the best she could, but he showed no recognition. The light in his eyes would soon go out.

“Papa,” she said. “It’s Jyn.”

“Jyn?” He looked up at her, trying to recognize her.

It had been so long. She’d been through so much.

She nodded down at him, tears welling in her eyes. A softness washed over his face then, and he opened his mouth to speak.

“Stardust…” he said. “It must be destroyed….”

“I know,” she said, trying to comfort him. “I’ve seen your message.”

He tried to say something else—anything else—but he couldn’t manage it. Instead, he reached up to brush the hair from her face and caress her cheek. Then his strength left him entirely, and he was gone.

Jyn stared at him, tears streaming down her face. Even though they hadn’t seen each other in years, he’d loomed so large in her life, every day. She couldn’t believe he was actually dead.

“Papa?” she said. “No, no! Papa…Papa! Come on!”

A stormtrooper emerged from the smoke then and trained his rifle on Jyn. She saw him, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop him. She couldn’t reach her blaster—not in time.

She would die there right next to her father. The fact that it was the last thing he would have wanted made the whole situation that much worse.

A shot lanced out from another direction, though, and the blast caught the stormtrooper in the chest. As the stormtrooper fell, Jyn glanced around to see who could have possibly saved her.

Cassian charged down the platform then, straight toward her, his blaster still in his hand. “Jyn,” he said as he tried to guide her away from Galen’s body. “We gotta go. Come on.”

She looked down at her father, and it hurt so much. “I can’t leave him.”

Cassian leaned in and spoke to her in short but caring words. “Listen to me. He’s gone. There’s nothing you can do. Come on.”

Much as she hated it, she knew he was right. She extended her hand toward him. “Help me.”

He hauled her to her feet and took off running back the way he’d come. She was still hurting, but she knew she had to keep up with him. Otherwise, the stormtroopers would kill them both.

“Come on!” he shouted as he dragged her along. “Move!”