A Girl, A Boy and the Stars - A FinnRey story

Ghosts

(credit to Matthew Dobrich for the image above) 

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Pantolomin - Azure Shores

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Coruscant - Golden Age

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She'd played both of those quite a few times already. Always something new to see in the Coruscant vid, but it invariably left her a little sad, nostalgic for times she'd never even experienced. Not what she was looking for right now. Something warmer...

Rey shifted and sank a little deeper into the soft, welcoming curves of the sofa, pulling her robes and towels around her, still wet and chilly from a much-needed shower. The ship was completely silent save for a muted orchestral arrangement that filled the cabin at a suitably soothing volume. Nothing to give away the fact that she was racing towards Ziost as fast as the ship's state of the art Girodyne drives could take her.

She waved her hand at the wall panel, scrolling through the list of vistas.

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Wroona - Endless Blue

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Tython - Hidden Temples

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She loved to watch the forests and peaks of Tython, but not today.

An automated platform rolled up, bearing a small bowl of a hot spiced drink she'd selected from the menus a minute earlier. Something to warm her up and wash down the excellent dinner. Ewok cutlets again, though not quite as delicious as last time. Was the temperature in here lower than usual? She'd had difficulty with the environment manager and... he'd fixed it. Well, whatever, if he could master it, so could she. Later.

She turned her attention back to the panel. Let's see. Something comforting...

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Thyferra - Lost Lands

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Tatooine - Jundland Dawn

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Sullust - Obsidian Beauty

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Gods, Sullust was amazing. So dramatic, but not what she wanted.

Wait, Tatooine? She barely contained a laugh. What was that doing in a list of the most scenic places in the galaxy? It was probably included because the planet had acquired a mythical quality in recent years due to its importance in the Skywalker legend. Even more so with Luke's passing. Her memories of the place were fond with a dash of sadness. Why not?

"Tatooine," she commanded and the panels of the living area shifted and faded into darkness, displaying a point of view inside the twisting sandstone canyons of Jundland, the first light of the dawn visible as a dim glow above the walls ahead. Memories of the cool, sharp nip of desert dawns and early starts in the dim half-light, shivered into her head.

She sipped at the drink. A bit like Chav, but not as sweet. Perfect.

"What are you doing here?" Luke said.

Rey started, barely managing to avoid a spillage. She had never got used to the sudden appearances, and it had been a while since the last one. What had she done to deserve this, she wondered as she collected herself.

"You mean Tatooine or on this shuttle?"

"Take your pick," he reclined on the chair opposite, wrapped in Jedi robes and glowing softly, observing her with a wry smile. The same old Luke, evoking the same old bittersweet memories but always a welcome sight, just the same.

"Umm, Tatooine's the closest thing this has to Jakku?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You really want to go back to Jakku?"

"Ok. Actually, it caught my eye, and I thought of you, and how it's another thing we had in common."

"Growing up on a desert world."

"Growing up an orphan on a desert world. Are you here to see me, or this?" she nodded towards the canyon, which was growing lighter, the silence punctuated by the distant chatter of insect life and smaller mammals emerging to meet the day.