The Girl and the Traitor

Chapter 1: Rey

Sweat is running down my face as lightsabers clash and spark in front of my face.   I block, parry and sidestep the attacks from the man in dark robes.  Swinging again and again, I push him back.  Exhaustion takes over, and he advances, regaining the ground I fought so hard for.  I nearly give up, falling back again and again, not able to get a hit in.   I grind my teeth together.  I'm not letting him win.   I run as fast as I can to the top of a rock. He chases after me, and he moves quickly despite his age.  Catching me off guard, he disarms me and my lightsaber flies through the air.  He aims a kick at my legs, and I fall down on my knees, cowering from the figure. A beam of atom-splitting power hums next to my neck.  This is the end.

Turning off his lightsaber, he walks to where my weapon lies useless in the grass.  He picks it up and hands me my saber.   Or his old one, technically.  Pulling off his hood, he speaks to me kindly.

"Nice job, Rey! You almost had me until the end!" Luke Skywalker exclaims.  He passes me a canteen of water, and I drink like a child dying of thirst.  Thanks to spending fourteen years of my life on a desert planet, I certainly never have taken water or food for granted.  After smacking my lips several times, we continue my training.

Jedi training is not easy.  Day after day I work, honing my skills through lightsaber practice, lifting huge rocks, balance, training remotes for lightsabers, meditation and exercise.   I don't have to give Master Luke piggy back rides, though.  He says he had to give his master rides on a muddy planet, and that he was going easy on me by not doing so.   I actually believed him and thanked him frequently, until Leia informed me that his master was only two feet tall.

I sit in front of a rock, reaching out with my mind and body to lift it.  This is my last test of the day, judging by the position of the sun.  It's nearly sunset, which is when I'm free to go rest in my cottage, explore the island, or anything I want to do.  My body longs for rest, and I work my hardest to lift the boulder the size of a rathtar.  And yes, I know how big they are.  All too well.   I finally achieve pure peace with my mind and manage to lift it for a few seconds.

"That's all for today. See you soon!" Luke smiles.

I collapse onto my hammock in my temporary home.  As nice as it is here, I'm not satisfied. My true home is the Resistance, where I can fight for an important cause.  Plus, I'm with Finn... No. I think furiously.  We're not going to this subject yet.  Luke can sense thoughts, and I like to play it safe and wait for him to fall asleep.  I glance out the window.  His light is on in his house. It could be a while. I count the number of waves that crash into the shore.  When I think it's been long enough, I quickly glance outside.  His light is off. Luke has gone to bed.   I smile and take a deep breath.

I silently open my door and smell the sweet dew and the flowers that have just begun to bloom. It's dark out, except for millions of pinpricks sparkling across the ribbon of the night sky.  I check that Luke doesn't know I'm out here, and let down my hair.  I undo my bindings and remove my shoes.  I run freely among the grass, touching all of the flowers as I go.  My nightgown flows in the soft breeze.  Something happens to my mind at nighttime.  All traces of a hardened scavenger disappear.  It takes me back, without me even realizing it.

"One quarter portion." Unkar Plutt drawls.

"But sir!" I protest. "These pieces surely are worth more than-"

"Take it or leave it, girl." His eyes bore into mine.  I try to protest again, my stomach screaming for more food.  I haven't had enough food for my entire existence of ten years.  Despite my body yelling at me, I turn away with the small packet in my hand.   An entire day was spent trying to find those pieces.  Then I had to haul them here, and clean them with a broken brush, only to receive a tiny scrap of food to barely sustain me for the night.  It isn't fair. Nothing is fair on Jakku.

I brush tears away from my eyes as I pilot my speeder to my "home".  Most kids my age have a family, maybe even a few siblings.  But I have nothing, and no one.  I'm alone.  It's been that way my whole life.  I want to be cared for and loved.  I could fly away from Jakku easily, and make a better life for myself.  But I risk the chance of recieving that love and care that I so desperately need.  The tears will dry.  I'll become numb to my solitude.  But right now, I'm crying out of sheer desperation.

I'm almost there, but my speeder sputters to a halt. The gas is empty.   Again.  I'll have to sacrifice eating for two days to get more.  My small arms wrap around the front of the speeder, and I slowly pull it forward, my feet digging in the hot sand dunes.  The only cold thing on this entire planet is reality.

A sandstorm is brewing, and I'm still not home.  The brown cloud over the horizon approaches. It hits, and I reach to pull my goggles over my face, only to realize that I had sold them a few days ago for a very small amount of food.  I stumble blindly through the storm, the sand smacking my face like tiny shards of sharp metal.  I have no idea if I'm going the right way.  I see a black spot ahead of me, and I push my speeder in front of what I believe is my house.

I open the door to my AT-AT, and slam it quickly behind me, sand piling up on the floor.   I rip off my boots and all of my clothing which I'll have to take care of later.   I grab my canteen, and do the best I can to shower off.  I sigh.  It was worth wasting a bottle of water to feel cleaner.  I shake my clothes vigorously, attempting to get rid of the endless amount of sand nestled inside.  Once dressed, I prepare my small amount of food.  It's always the same.  Green veggie meat and Polystarch, which is basically cheap, fake bread.  I would pay so much for a chance to eat something else.  I snarf down almost all of it, smacking my lips and not bothering to chew with my mouth closed.  I take my remaining piece of veggie meat and hold it in front of the face of my pilot doll.

"Would you like some, Raeh? I'm sure you're very hungry." I ask my pilot.   She shakes her head no.

"Okay, then. More for me!" I shove it in my mouth. "So how was your day?" I ask.

"Same as usual. I sat on your shelf and looked for your parents!" Raeh whispered.

My eyes widen. "Did you see them?"

"No, but they're coming. I know they are." Raeh says with confidence.

"I want them to come back." I sigh. "I'm so alone."

"That's why you made me, your pilot doll." I mumble out of the corner of my mouth, acting as Raeh.

"But you're not real." I sigh in my own voice.   I'm sick of playing pretend with my doll.   I want a real parent, or friend, or anything!  My family would be ideal.  I'm stuck on this rock for now, but they will come back. I have to believe that.  That's my only reason for living.  But my hope is being slowly ripped apart, day after day. 

The storm settles down, and I tiptoe out of my house.  I look up at the stars, and suddenly I'm not alone anymore. They wink down upon me, and I can imagine that I'm flying with them.  One look, and I feel that I have a future.  A chance.  My family is in one of those dots.  And they could be looking up at the very same stars, and thinking of me.  We remain in the same Galaxy, no matter how far apart we may be.   And who knows?  Maybe a boyfriend exists on one of those planets too. The stars give me hope.  And hope is the only luxury I can afford.