broken [1]- a Star Wars story

I

"Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering."

Sand. Harsh. Coarse. Rough. Everywhere as far as the eye can see. Beating hot sun ravaging everything in its path, blinding the eyes of anyone who looks up for too long.

Behind it, a cool blue sky, tinted with the glowing yellow of the sun. From it's depth came a crisp wind, kicking up the sand, tiny whirlwinds of glass shards driving over the ground.

Thieves, scavengers and outlaws prevail the dusty dunes of the planet, no one wanting to come into contact with each other for fear of losing what they have fought for. Or in some cases, killed for.

Jakku, the planet in which the thieves prevail, sun blinds and sand irritates, one which outsiders would leave in an instant. Nobody wants to be here for too long. There's nothing here.

Apart from sand, scavengers, more sand, and her.

The toughest scavenger on the planet. The toughest female on the planet. Abandoned by her own family as a child and left to fend for herself under the laws of scavengers in Jakku.

Alone and afraid, she made a living, she built a reputation, and she doused everyone in fear and respect.

Aayla.

Behind the grey cloak and clothes she made for herself lies a face of pain, of hatred, and a thirst for adventure. And with it, a thirst for answers. Of why she was abandoned. Why no one came back for her. And why she has no memory of whoever they are.

All she can focus on is her life as a scavenger. A thief. And the hunger that comes with it. Physical, and emotional.

Under her hood, she scans the desert. Rations are low, scavenging for parts has become close to unbearable. There's nothing left on this planet, there's only a certain amount of distance she is willing to go to make a living.

Aayla turns to face her home, a cave covered in scavenger parts, cloth and less food than a droid would need. Nothing. The entrance being a door made from the scrapped metal of a pod racer. You make do with what you have.

She sighs. This isn't a home. Yes, it's the place she's grown up in and the only place she could ever call home. But a home needs family. It needs love. This has neither.

Shaking her head at the ludicrous thought of family, Aayla grabs the blaster she stole from a bounty hunter months ago and attaches it to her belt. No one would ever think of stealing it from her.

She takes her satchel and throws it over her shoulder. Perhaps it's worth double checking the sand caves a mile away in case there's anything missed out. Even a jumper cable could get her some bread at a time like this.

Aayla makes sure her hood is securely fastened over her ponytail, and makes her way out of the cave. One hand on her blaster, the other on her hood, she leaves the safety of her home and enters the barren desert ahead of her.

"Where you off to now?"

The blaster situated on her belt is in her hand within a second of the words leaving their mouth. She aims directly between their eyes. His hands go up in defence.

"Chill, it's just me." He tells her. She doesn't lower the weapon. Instead, she stares into the brown eyes of the only person she knows on the planet.