"He lost the right to try and dictate the sort of life you had when he left you with someone else," Lincoln answers, looking at Jyn with a soft expression. He doesn't really believe any parents have the right to do so, but he also knows they try to raise their children in the manner they want most.

But whatever Galen wanted most for Jyn disappeared when he left. Even if he was trying to preserve it by going. Lincoln can't pretend to understand his motivations for leaving or what the story behind his decisions may have been. He won't presume to try. Galen may have done literally the only thing he could and Lincoln respects that, but he also wouldn't respect any judgment of his friend on the part of her father.

"You'll never know, though, will you?" he asks. "Unless you give him a chance."