Baze Malbus cradled the last true Guardian of the Whills in his arms and answered Chirrut’s dying words. “The Force is with me,” Baze said. “And I am one with the Force.”
A flare rose in the distance. Something was burning on landing pad nine. In all likelihood, Bodhi Rook, too, was gone.
Gone before he had ever sent his message? Gone, and rendering Chirrut’s sacrifice pointless?
Once again, the Empire had stolen meaning from Baze. He might have screamed if not for the man he held.
“The Force is with me,” he repeated. “And I am with the Force.”
Did he believe the words? Did it matter? Had it ever mattered?
—From the Rogue One: A Star Wars Story novelization by Alexander Freed
