[Luthen Rael meets ISB Supervisor Lonni Jung, who warns him about Supervisor Meero's current work. He is not too pleased to see Jung have doubts about working for him]
Tell me why we're really here today, Lonni?
LJLonni Jung
I can't do this anymore. I'm a father now. I had no idea how it would feel.
JJung
I'm giving you Dedra Meero. I'm giving you Spellhaus. I'm warning you about Ferrix. I'm honoring my vow. I've been working my way through there for six years. Working my way up. Alone.
So, what was your plan? Gather a big basket of goodies for me as a farewell gift? What were you planning to tell the ISB?
JJung
My health. My wife's family has an import business.
Even as you say the words, you know it's impossible. We can't let you go, Lonni. We can't spare you. We've been grooming you for too long. And yes, you've been alone, but your career has profited greatly from information that we've provided. Information that cost me dearly. You love your daughter. Kreegyr's men will be dying to make sure she has a father. You're trapped, Lonni. There's no pleasure in saying it but you're going nowhere.
JJung
My sacrifice? It means nothing to you, does it?
I said I think of you constantly and I do. Your investment in the Rebellion is epic. A double life? Every day a performance? The stress of that? We need heroes, Lonni, and here you are.
JJung
And what do you sacrifice?
Calm. Kindness. Kinship. Love. I've given up all chance at inner peace. I've made my mind a sunless space. I share my dreams with ghosts. I wake up every day to an equation I wrote 15 years ago from which there's only one conclusion: I'm damned for what I do. My anger, my ego, my unwillingness to yield, my, my eagerness to fight, they've set me on a path from which there is no escape. I yearned to be a savior against injustice without contemplating the cost, and by the time I looked down…there was no longer any ground beneath my feet. What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. And the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? EVERYTHING! You'll stay with me, Lonni. I need all the heroes I can get.
[Mon Mothma talks to her cousin Vel while her daughter, Leida, takes up a Chandrilan spiritual chant class in another room]
I'm in so much trouble, Vel. Last year, I was pulling 100,000 credits every month from the family trust without a trace.
For Luthen? I had no idea it was that much.
It was so easy. I did it myself. Set up a stream of accounts. It was like water running downhill. I'd empty the bottom, and it would just flow. No one the wiser. [sighs] A few months ago, I was contacted by one of the bankers back home, I was warned that Imperial inspectors might be taking a close look at Chandrilan accounts. He said they were contacting clients to make sure everything was in order. I did what I could. I pulled everything I could access up the hill into the main account. There was one empty ledger at the end of the line that was off-balance. But it was so obscure and I just didn't know what else to do. I was nervous. I went to Luthen. I told him that I needed help from the outside, that I knew the risk...
Yes, I do. But then, Aldhani. Now, suddenly everything was frozen. I thought Tay could help me replace the credits and get me started again, but what he really did was discover just how much more trouble I was in. Here I am.
And they're looking into this when?
[At the Partisans hideout, Luthen asks Saw Gerrera not to provide air support for Anto Kreegyr's Spellhaus power station raid, knowing the Empire is waiting for them. He tricks Saw into believing Tubes is his mole]
What is this? What kind of game is this? [sees Luthen point Tubes' pistol at him] Oh. There's no way out alive. Of that you must be sure.
I'm doing this so you'll listen. So, listen. Kreegyr goes down, the ISB will feel invincible. They'll feel untouchable. We'll have a clear field to play. The alternative... Kreegyr pulls out, we wave him off. They'll know they'll have to wonder. They'll trust nothing. If I were ISB, Saw, why wouldn't I just send you out there with him? I didn't want you to have to make this choice.
[Cassian plays Nemik's audio diary]
KNKaris Nemik
There will be times when the struggle seems impossible. I know this already. Alone, unsure, dwarfed by the scale of the enemy. Remember this. Freedom is a pure idea. It occurs spontaneously and without instruction. Random acts of insurrection are occurring constantly throughout the galaxy. There are whole armies, battalions that have no idea that they've already enlisted in the cause. Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward. And then remember this. The Imperial need for control is so desperate because it is so unnatural. Tyranny requires constant effort. It breaks, it leaks. Authority is brittle. Oppression is the mask of fear. Remember that. And know this, the day will come when all these skirmishes and battles, these moments of defiance will have flooded the banks of the Empire's authority and then there will be one too many. One single thing will break the siege. Remember this. Try.
[Brasso meets Andor again, but when he sees Andor trying to blame himself for not truly insisting he leave Morlana One together with Maarva and B2EMO...]
BBrasso
Stop. She told me you'd say all this. [recites what Maarva told him] "Tell him, none of this is his fault. It was already burning. He's just the first spark of the fire. Tell him, he knows everything he needs to know and feels everything he needs to feel. And when the day comes, and those two pull together, he will be an unstoppable force for good. Tell him...I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong."
[at Maarva Andor's funeral service on Ferrix, Brasso and B2EMO step forward and the droid plays a holomessage: Maarva Andor herself]
MAMaarva Andor
My name is Maarva Carassi Andor. I'm honored to stand before you. I'm honored to be a Daughter of Ferrix, and honored to be worthy of the stone. Strange, I...feel as if I can see it. I was six, I think, first time I touched a funerary stone. Heard our music, felt our history. Holding my sister's hand as we walked all the way from Fountain Square. Where you stand now, I've been more times than I can remember. I always wanted to be lifted. I was always eager, always waiting to be inspired. I remember every time it happened, every time the dead lifted me...with their truth. And now I'm dead. And I yearn to lift you. Not because I want to shine or even be remembered. It's because I want you to go on. I want Ferrix to continue. In my waning hours, that's what comforts me most. But I fear for you. We've been sleeping. We've had each other, and Ferrix, our work, our days. We had each other, and they left us alone. We kept the trade lanes open, and they left us alone. We took their money and ignored them, we kept their engines churning, and the moment they pulled away, we forgot them. Because we had each other. We had Ferrix. But we were sleeping. I've been sleeping. And I've been turning away from the truth I wanted not to face. There is a wound that won't heal at the center of the galaxy. There is a darkness reaching like rust [holomessage glitches] into everything around us. We let it grow, and now it's here. It's here, and it's not visiting anymore. It wants to stay. The Empire is a disease that thrives in darkness, it is never more alive than when we sleep. It's easy for the dead to tell you to fight, and maybe it's true, maybe fighting is useless. Perhaps it's too late. But I'll tell you this. If I could do it again, I'd wake up early and be fighting [contemptuous as an Imperial officer walks forward] these bastards...
IImperial officer
Halt! [walks past Brasso to get to B2EMO]
MMaarva
[as the Imperial officer drapes his coat over B2EMO to disrupt the holofeed] ...from the start. [mourners are insulted at the move] Fight the Empire!
IImperial officer
ENOUGH! [flips over B2EMO and gets kicked by Brasso, instantly sparking a riot]
[Luthen Rael boards his haulcraft to get ready to leave, but Cassian is waiting for him]
You came here to kill me, didn't you?
[picks up Cassian's pistol] What game is this?
AAndor
No game. Kill me. Or take me in.
[at the Sienar Fleet Systems Testing Facility 73, Cassian sees Niya getting worried]
NNiya
If I die tonight, was it worth it? You've done this before. You must have thought about it.
This. This makes it worth it. Right now. Being with you. Being here at the moment you step into the circle. Look at me. You made this decision long ago. The Empire cannot win. You'll never feel right unless you're doing what you can to stop them. [softly] You're coming home to yourself. You've become more than your fear. Let that protect you.
[at the Maltheen Divide, Director Krennic convenes an off-the-books conference of Imperial officers and Ghorman government officials]'
No notes. No records. None of you were ever here. Nobody puts this in their calendar. All service and transport droids will be data-wiped once we're done. Your colleagues, superiors? If they're not in this room, they're not cleared for the project. Colonel Yularen, Governor Tarkin? All senior commanders will be notified by the Emperor at the time of his choosing. Now, the group in this room is, as of this moment, the tightest of closed circles. Any security violation will be brought to the Emperor's personal attention.
[A tourist film about Ghorman has been shown at Director Krennic's secret conference]
I doubt anyone here is unaware of the difficulties we've had making the Emperor's dream of energy independence a reality. Now, I hear the rumors. I know the stories. Delays. Setbacks. Groveling for Senate funding. I met with the Emperor yesterday. And he suggested, I remind you that the Energy Initiative remains the centerpiece of his agenda. Access to stable, unlimited power will transform the galactic economy and solidify Imperial authority. And it turns out, spiders are not the most unique thing in Ghorman. There's a mineral underground. Doctor?
ISImperial Science Officer
Deep substrate foliated Kalkite.
Kalkite! Synthetic Kalkite! Kalkite alternatives! Kalkite substitutes! I mean, the amount of time spent pondering this grubby little bit of rock is sadly astonishing. Now, we've promised delivery in three years. That delivery is dependent on some version of Ghorman Kalkite to coat the reactor lenses. Now... should we fail to find any alternatives, we will have to control Ghorman with a hand firm enough... to silence... any resistance, and you've been selected to help plan for that possibility.
[in Coruscant, Major Partagaz is not too keen of Dedra Meero backing out of Krennic's plans for Ghorman]
Humbling, isn't it? Both of us reminded of our place in the chain of command.
I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir.
Did Krennic offer you the job?
Then it's done. We're in it.
And what about Axis? That's where I belong. I can't do both.
Axis? You've invested almost two years. You've built the legend and delivered almost nothing.
We're getting closer all the time.
"He's here. He's there. He's everywhere." He's nowhere! Next time, catch them first, then make them famous! [Dedra looks away] This will appear to be a demotion. You'll have to play the part. It will heat up soon enough. [looks around for anyone watching them] This is good news, Dedra. Ghorman will be yours to run as you wish. You'll only answer to Krennic and he's got no time for anything but results. Ghorman is a gift. Take it, then win it. [walks away]
[at Stekan Sculdun and Leida Mothma's prewedding dinner, Perrin Fertha delivers his speech as father of the bride]
PFPerrin Fertha
Welcome! Welcome. Praise to the families and clans of Chandrila. Praise to those who have traveled to share in our most treasured tradition. As the, uh... As the father of the intended maiden, it is my Chandrilan duty to greet you, sagrona... To toast your health, sagrona teema, and in our very old ritualistic, and, well, insanely economic fashion, [guests laugh] it is also my duty to share just a single, truthful insight, sagrona teema solom. Leida. My sweet Leida. [to groom-to-be] Stekan... Pain will find you. Trouble and disagreement will arrive without summons. There's no choice in this. There's no effort required. You simply stand still and the galaxy will deliver a daily basket of fresh anxieties to your door without fail. [guests chuckle] But my solom... My solom seyna... The Elders know what I'm talking about, right? My hope... My hope... My hope is that you learn to reach past this constant cloud of sadness. Pleasure. Gaiety. Amusement. These are the hidden things. The music buried beneath all that noise... Joy. Joy! [guests laugh] Joy... But joy has no wind at its back. Joy will not announce its arrival. You need to listen for it, and be mindful of how fleeting and delicate it can be. But search out these treasures. A moment of, of pleasing sensation, the memory of laughter and good company, the comfort of a fine meal. And for me, [chuckles] For me, right now, it's the smile that I can't hide as I see these two young people sharing our greatest tradition. [toasts] Sagrona.
GGuests
Sagrona teema solom!!!
[just before the Sculdun-Mothma wedding, Mon Mothma has one last talk with her daughter Leida]
I need to tell you what my mother never told me. [Leida laughs] Look at me. Nothing on the other side of that door matters. Not the guests, not the gifts, not the... trouble that's gone into it, none of it matters. Money, embarrassment, pressure...
LMLeida Mothma
Wha... What are you saying?
We can walk out there right now, tell them all to have a lovely afternoon, but that it's not yet time for a marriage. We can put it off. [trembling breath] And it will be remembered as an act of great bravery, I promise you. You do not have to go through with this.
LLeida
I wish you were drunk.
[Syril and Dedra's dinner with his mother Eedy is not going too well, and Syril has just left the dining room]
EKEedy Karn
You'll toughen him up.
I have a different plan in mind. Mmm, but when I say the word "plan," that makes it sound optional, which is not the impression you should be taking away. This game ends now. You want Syril in your life? You will think before you speak. I'll make sure he visits twice a month. I'll make sure that he calls you. I will guarantee a level of engagement, but it will be inversely proportional to the volume of anxiety you generate in our lives.
I'm not done. You can spare me the Uncle Harlo testimonials. I've had a look at his ISB criminal files, and that is not a story you want to be advertising.
[Mon Mothma appeals to senators she can find to help her in a motion against the PORD]
All doubts aside, there is one glaring certainty. If we do not stand together, we will be crushed.
