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Jyn let out a whoop as her swoop bike settled onto Aerie’s landing platform, just beating the acid storm. Benthic, Enfys, and the Maxa sisters landed beside her, and if their smiles didn’t match hers that was probably because this was old hat for them, since they were members of the Cloud-Riders and not just a visitor like she was. She wasn’t sure what business Saw had with Llinos, but she didn’t care; it wasn’t her business, and the swoops were far more exciting than what Saw usually let her fly.
Carefully, because the Cloud-Riders would kill her—or tease her, at least, which wasn’t much better since even Enfys was two years older than her—if she messed up, Jyn powered down her swoop bike and started working to detach the net of supplies she’d found and carried out from the mostly-abandoned Imperial factory. There had mostly been technology that could be repurposed or rebuilt, but she’d found a few rifles that should work once they got new power cells.
“A good run,” Enfys said. She’d already finished, of course, and had her net slung over her shoulder as a bag now.
Jyn scowled at her. With Saw’s gang, she’d have at least matched the adults’ time, if not beaten them. They didn’t like being beaten by a fourteen-year-old, but at least they were used to it and had stopped making biting comments. Enfys just grinned back, and Jyn couldn’t help but notice how much she’d filled out since the last time they’d visited. She’d been trying not to notice, but now that the mission was done, it was a lot harder to distract herself. Grudgingly, Jyn said, “I had fun.”
“Fun isn’t the point, scrap, and you know that.”
“I don’t get to ride swoops much,” Jyn pointed out, pulling her supplies over her shoulder just like Enfys. She turned to follow the older girl, hearing the adult members of the gang following a little behind. “So the fun’s a nice bonus.”
Enfys just shrugged, and led her out of the hanger and into the storeroom.
Saw and Llinos were both waiting for them there. Saw’s arms were crossed, but Jyn could tell without even thinking about it that he was in a good mood; he wasn’t leaning too heavily on either the wall or any of his prosthetics. She didn’t know Llinos well enough to read her, but a glance at Enfys—who was relaxed, if not quite smiling—said that Llinos was in a good mood too, even if only because that her daughter had returned safely and without any injuries this time. They might be covered in soot, but at least nobody was hurt.
“Excellent work.” Llinos’ voice was a raspy monotone, something Enfys had told Jyn was because the Imperials had tried and failed to cut her throat. Jyn had never seen the scar, but she’d also never seen Llinos wear anything that didn’t cover her neck. “Enfys, report.”
Enfys straightened, and Jyn was pretty sure she heard Enfys’ voice pitch up slightly as she said, “As we’d thought from our scans, there weren’t any living people in the factory. Just some old programs and rusty turrets, which we took out from a distance with our swoops. The soot is from a trap that we disarmed by throwing a rock at it—” her pride turned sheepish as she added “—but we weren’t quite far enough away, I guess, and it didn’t seem important to clean up, since being sooty didn’t impact the mission.”
Llinos nodded once and turned to Saw. He shrugged. “Anything to add, Jyn?”
Jyn thought about it, and then said, “Benthic is a very good shot, and the sisters had the factory’s plans memorized. They were great members of the team. We found some Imperial rifles, which we weren’t expecting. Tayshin and I took a look at them, and we think that they’re in good shape; they just need to be cleaned properly and then charged.”
Saw smiled, just a little twitch of his lips, nothing that would’ve been noticeable if she hadn’t been living with him for years. Jyn did her best not to grin back at his display of pride; to do so would undercut it severely.
“Go get cleaned off, everyone,” Llinos said, and the dismissal was clear. “We’ll sort through the supplies.”
Everyone’s acknowledgement cluttered over each other. Jyn turned to follow the others; she still hadn’t memorized Aerie’s layout, because even if it mostly followed the design of an Imperial Light Carrier, the Cloud-Riders had modified it significantly.
Enfys’ hand came down hard on her shoulder. “Follow me.”
Jyn did, partially because she was being dragged along, but partially because how could she not follow Enfys? She moved through the ship with more determination than Jyn had ever seen in someone who wasn’t already an official leader, and also Jyn couldn’t stop looking at the lines of her neck, or stop thinking about how her hand felt.
Jyn breathed deeply, trying to not think about that, because it was a distraction, and Saw said that distractions like that cost lives. But we aren’t fighting, a little bit of her brain whispered. There’s nothing it could distract from here, now that we’ve finished our mission.
Enfys turned them away from wherever the adult members of the Cloud-Riders were going, and belatedly Jyn realised that they were walking towards where Llinos had given Saw and Jyn temporary quarters, which was near where Llinos and Enfys themselves had a room. The twists and turned clicked into clarity, and Jyn said, “I can find my way from here.”
“Hm.” Enfys stopped in the empty corridor, freckled face covered with soot, and removed her hand with a raised eyebrow.
Jyn felt her eyes flicker to that dropped hand. Felt the way her stomach twisted as Enfys’ expression changed, grew into something more pleased and focused. She didn’t move.
Enfys stepped forward, slowly, carefully, and tilted up Jyn’s chin. She could feel Enfys’ breath on her mouth, now, as Enfys said, “Do you want to follow me?”
Jyn nodded fast enough that her forehead banged into Enfys’ face, and she flushed, feeling heat rise through her face and also her stomach.
But Enfys just laughed, and carefully pressed her lips to the corner of Jyn’s mouth. “Come on, scrap. There’s more fun to be had, once we’re clean.” Then she turned away, clearly expecting Jyn would follow behind her, posture completely upright, no concern or confusion whatsoever.
“Oh,” Jyn said, faintly. Her hand was at her mouth. When had that happened? She didn’t move until Enfys paused at the corner and looked back, a look of disappointment on her face that hit Jyn hard enough to hurt. “I’m coming,” she said, and the first time it was barely a whisper. The second, as she started running to catch up, was louder, more confident, and that time, Enfys smiled too.