BY-Universes: Star Wars - Book 1. The Kyber Surfaces

Chapter 5. Scavengers on Jakku

Cassie sat up, her palms sparkling with sand. She scrunched her curls, taking in her surroundings. 

Before her, some tents were set up. A creature with a head like a blobfish raised an eyebrow as Cassie stood up.

"Am I on Jakku?" she muttered, feeling something in the pocket of her blue jeans. She pulled the cyan Kyber crystal out, letting out a gasp.

If this was all really happening, she had to turn it into a story when she returned to Rexburg.

The blobfish-headed creature, who Cassie recognized as Unkar Plutt, talked to a young woman. The young woman turned around, and Cassie's blue-green eyes sparkled with excitement.

Rey. That was Rey!

"Hi, Rey!" Cassie said, shoving the crystal back into her pocket.

The scavenger looked at the curly-haired girl. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Cassie Seeley. I've heard quite a bit about you."

"Really? How? You appeared out of nowhere."

Cassie paused. "Fair point." Her gaze landed on a hooded figure, who was quickly approaching them. Her shoulders tensed, and Rey noticed.

"Relax, Cassie. That's just Laiken," Rey said with a smile.

Laiken stepped closer, pulling his hood away from his face. His black hair shone in the sunlight. He smiled at the girls. "You should hide, you know," he said.

"Why?" Cassie asked.

"People don't usually appear on Jakku in a flash of white light. The scavengers are talking up a storm."

"Oh." Cassie looked at Rey. "Well, could I stay with Rey?"

"What?" Rey asked. "I hardly know you!"

"Well, fun fact, no one knows her," Laiken said.

Rey let out a sigh. "Fine. I might have room for her. I don't have any food for her, though."

"It's a good thing that you encountered me, then," Laiken said, handing a packet of food to Cassie. "I hope you have extra clothes for her. She stands out, and that's not always a good thing."

"Thanks, Laiken," Rey said with a smile. "I'm sure that I can find something. Let's go, Cassie," Rey said.

Cassie waved a goodbye to Laiken before following Rey through the sand.

Laiken watched the duo leave. His face fell.

Cassie was here. The plan had worked.

Because of that, she and her friends were in danger.

- ♆ -

"So, let me get this straight: you are from a completely different galaxy, but you traveled here through Kyber crystals with a bunch of friends?"

"That's what it seems like," Cassie said, taking another bite of the loaf of bread.

"Wow," Rey said, looking at her newfound friend through the old Resistance pilot helmet. She swallowed her last mouthful of bread.

Wild beeping noises and a low voice startled the duo. Rey took off her helmet and grabbed her staff, gesturing for Cassie to follow.

Cassie knew what Rey was going to find, and she smiled before racing after her.

BB-8 looked at the girls as they approached. Rey told the scavenger to let the droid go. He did, and Rey fixed the droid's antenna.

Cassie's eyes widened as she realized that she was able to understand the droid's little beeps. 

"I'm Cassie. Have you seen any of my friends?"

Someone who looked similar to you was here recently. Straight hair, brown eyes. I think she met my master, the droid beeped.

Cassie laughed. "Of course she got to meet Poe Dameron."

You know him?!

"Heard of him. He'll be okay, don't worry."

Rey, Cassie, and BB-8 went back to the AT-AT, talking like old friends.

- ♆ -

"The curly-haired girl appeared, just like you said."

Unkar Plutt waited for the response from his receiver.

"Perfect. That's the last of them. See if Rey will let you take her and the droid. If not, you know what to do."

"Yes. I'll do just that," he said.

The person on the other end grinned, their magenta lightsabers lighting up the room they were in.

"Good. You'll be compensated well for your service."

- ♆ -

Cameron woke up. He closed his eyes, trying to process what had happened in his dreams.

Jordan Paul awoke a few seconds later. He looked at Cameron.

"I dreamed about these girls named Wednesday and Mina. They were in Maz Kanata's bar. I also dreamed about someone named Hayley, who's on Starkiller Base," Jordan Paul said.

"I dreamed about Drew meeting Luke, Cassie meeting Rey, and a guy named Ethan meeting Leia," Cameron said.

Their phones vibrated. Cameron grabbed his, seeing a text from Kayla. "I guess we're not alone with our dreams," he said. "Kayla had more dreams about Becca, Elena, and Jordan."

A few minutes later, the trio met up in a study room.

"They're all in different locations. Sure, a few of them are together, but most of them are spread out across the galaxy," Cameron said.

"They might come back to Rexburg after the events of The Force Awakens. If we keep getting these dreams, we'll be able to keep track of where they are and when they'll return," Kayla said.

"Yeah. They could be reunited by the end, and they'd come back afterward!" Jordan Paul exclaimed.

"That magenta saber person was talking to Unkar Plutt, though. I hope the group stays safe," Cameron sighed. Kayla and Jordan Paul nodded in agreement.

However, the question remained: What if the magenta saber wielder found their friends?

- ♆ -