Stranded rebels from the Maya Pei Brigade confront Cassian, believing that he really is an Imperial Pilot, despite his arguments otherwise. He tries to convince them that they’re on the same side, and that Luthen has been helping to fund them. But they won’t hear it.
Soon infighting among the Brigade begins as they’re all desperate to find a way off the planet. Just as they’re about to come to a potential truce, they’re all attacked by giant beasts that call the planet home. Cassian uses the chaos to escape in the TIE Avenger and we see the familiar pyramids of Yavin 4 as he heads off into space.
Before this moment, we don’t know that all of this is taking place on Yavin, but it makes sense that the moon began as a waypoint for various rebels. Both Luthen and the May Pei Brigade seemed to believe that Yavin was abandoned enough to use without drawing Imperial attention. Though it clearly would have helped for them to communicate that fact with each other.
However, the Rebel Alliance is still very much in its infancy at this point. It’s a collection of small cells rather than the more organized armada we see in A New Hope and Rogue One. The less each cell knows about each other, the better. If one cell goes down, the others don’t have to worry about being ratted out to the Empire.
It’s kind of cool that Andor has given us a peek at what Yavin was like before the Rebels turned the moon into their home. Just like much of the rest of the galaxy under the Empire’s rule, the moon is harsh and unforgiving in its own way. But that will inevitably work to the Rebels’ advantage whenever they decide to set up shop full time. It’s not like Yavin 4 is some kind of hot vacation destination. It doesn’t seem like anyone would go to Yavin 4 without a reason.
