It had been another successful, but long, day at the Ravager. Unkar's salvage crew hurried across the desert as the sun dipped below the horizon. The landspeeder pulled a repulsor sled filled with heavy equipment very slowly.
Rey sat in the middle of the repulsor sled on top of the metal housing that they had removed from the star destroyer. Her staff was slung across her back.
After an hour of travelling at a slow pace, the sun dipped beyond the horizon, leaving the desert lit only by the two moons of Jakku. The temperature dropped quickly. A few more kilometers across the desert, and everyone in the landspeeder was dozing, except for the pilot. Rey dozed against the cargo on the repulsor sled, hungry and exhausted after a long day on the spacecraft.
She awoke to the whine of speeder engines of all types. She felt her vehicle halt. She rubbed the sand from her eyes as she scanned the area.
They were surrounded by free-lance scavengers on a variety of craft. Weapons were trained on Unkar's scavengers. The free-lancers took their adversary's weapons and ordered them out of the speeder. They did not see Rey yet.
The little girl crouched behind the salvage, waiting for her chance to pounce, staff in hand. As one of the free-lancers approached the repulsor sled, Rey jumped from her hiding place toward him, swinging her staff at his head. She landed on the edge of the repulsor lift, maintaining a slight height advantage. She swung left, then right, and then kicked the man in the nose, blood spurting everywhere.
The man reached for Rey's legs, but she smacked her staff down on his arm, cracking it. She jumped back, right into the arms of another free-lancer who had landed on the sled behind her. He grabbed her from behind, but she slammed her foot down on the inside of his foot and then elbowed the man in the gut. Rey whipped around, bringing her staff under the man's chin and kicking him off the sled.
She ran quickly over the sled toward the rear, jumping into the sand dune with a soft thud. She sped across the sand dunes, racing toward the star destroyer.
Once she was over a sand dune, she hunched down in the sand, which was finally cooling off. She took a small drink of water from her nearly empty water canteen. And then it hit her—she had no idea which way to go. If she headed toward Unkar's, she would have to deal with the free-lancers. If she headed any other direction, she could end up being lost on the dunes forever.
She heard the lonesome cry of a gnaw-jaw. These six-legged, carnivorous predators roamed the desert in the cool of the night, looking for meals.
As Rey was about to give up and cry, she heard Ani's voice. "Rey," he spoke with an echo.
"Where are you, Granddad?"
"Come to me," Ani said without revealing himself. "Look to the stars. Follow the bright one over those dunes to your right. You'll find me there."
Rey stood wearily, using her staff for balance, and started her trek across the dunes. In this one night, Rey learned exactly how tiring it was to walk in deep sand for long periods of time.
As she moved through the desert, the gnaw-jaws picked up her trail. Their howls came closer. Rey picked up her speed to evade the beasts.
She topped on the next dune and looked over a vast valley to see an Imperial AT-AT Walker lying on its side. She slid down the sand dune quickly, leaving the gnaw-jaws at the top of the dune. They whined while they looked for a safe passage down.
When Rey reached the walker, Ani apparated in front of her. "You found me, my little one." He waved his hand and the gnaw-jaws scattered, yapping in pain. "Now let's get inside, before the gnaw-jaws return. They are easily frightened, but they'll soon be back, and in greater numbers."
Rey scowled at him. "You couldn't have helped me?"
"I was busy. And you were fine. Now come inside. This is your new home."
Rey opened the troop evacuation port on the underside of the walker and crawled into the tube. She stopped in the troop staging area, an open space in the bottom half of the walker.
"When I saw the raid, I hurried to Unkar's to grab some food and your things. Eat and then sleep, my little one," Ani said.
"Yes, Granddad." Rey looked around in her new home, feeling suddenly alone.
Ani sat down with his back against the bulkhead of the walker and beckoned Rey to him. She settled down and fell asleep in her granddad's arms, just like she used to do when she was younger.