The Scavenger

Gone

Rey woke with a start when the ship shuttered slightly. They had landed, and blinding light soon flooded the entrance as the door opened into the new world below. It was so bright, in fact, that the small girl couldn't help but pull her garments over her eyes to block it out. Looking at the clothes that covered her, she again noted how strange they were. They were thin and simple and dusty brown. Nothing like the the robes or play clothes she was used to or the soft cloaks her mother and father wore now. She wondered for the umpteenth time why she had to wear them. She had heard her mother whispering about "desert apparel" and "blending in with locals" but couldn't make any sense of it.

Another thing Rey couldn't make sense of was her parents' fear. They never talked like they were afraid, especially not around her, but she knew. She could feel it, somehow. She felt their sadness, too, and their guilt, ever since they got on the ship with her. But she didn't know why. She had brushed it off every time, however. The child didn't know what else to do, and the holovids her father always put on for her were more interesting anyways. They always had something to do with pilots and ships and that was all Rey needed to forget about her parents' strange emotions.

She blinked rapidly as her little eyes adjusted to the light. A figure walked towards her, soft and kind and radiating love. It was her mother, something told her, and when she fully regained sight her senses were confirmed. "Mama," Rey chirped, full of curiosity. "Are we here? What planet is this?"

Her mother reached down and softly pulled her into her arms. "We're on Jakku, my sweet Rey. You need to get up now, I know you've had a long journey here but we must go out to your father." Rey nodded and wrapped her arms around her, letting herself be carried into the strange world outside of the ship.

The first thing she noticed was the blast of heat that hit her as she was taken outside. She was suddenly very grateful for her thin, cool clothes. Her mother already seemed slightly feverish from the heat in her long dark cloak. Rey didn't resist when her mother stopped to set her down and instead took her hand and walked. The second thing Rey noticed was that there was sand - everywhere. In fact, there were very few things that she could see that weren't sand. A very small village in the distance was one. Another were the two figures that she and her mother were approaching as they trudged through the sand.

One figure, Rey noted, was her father. As she got closer she could hear that he was talking to the creature that stood next to him. The stranger was large and gruesome looking, and by no means seemed friendly. He had more skin pouring off of him than Rey had ever seen, and his face wore a scowl that looked permanent. He seemed less than pleased to be talking to Rey's father as well, or perhaps it was just his manner.

Even as Rey and her mother approached, the pair kept talking. "This arrangement truly won't be for long Unkar, we just need to keep her hidden until everything is sorted out. I just want her to be safe," Rey's father said urgently.

"She'll be as safe as the rest of the people I employ. You want her to blend in? I'm blending her in. No special treatment, I don't care how much you pay. I don't do special." The creature, by the name of Unkar, sneered. "She'll work for me until she can work for herself. Then she's on her own. You drop her here? Fine. But I will not sit around babysitting until you take her back."

Rey clutched her mother's side, deciding that she already had a disliking for the blobbish beast before her. Her mother stepped in now, pulling away from the child's grasp. "Please Unkar just promise you'll keep her alive. We just want what's best for our daughter," she begged, desperation flooding her words.

"I may control Niima, but the nature of the desert is nothing I can stop. I'm not promising anything," Unkar growled. "Now are you leaving her here or not?"