It took a month, but Unkar finally paid up on the portions. Rey took the rest of the water allowances in portions, too, to trade as needed for more water. Something told her not to trust Unkar to hold up his end of the deal for that long. Also, she hoped she could get off the planet with the extra portions. All she was waiting for now was a ship that would take her. She wished the Wookiees would return, but she had not seen them in years.
She had counted up her portions twice, stored them carefully in the cockpit of the walker. 7,482 portions as of today. Twenty gallons of water, which would last a week or two, depending on how much scavenging she did. The more she worked, the more water she consumed in the grueling desert.
Today, the 6,016 day after she had arrived (or there about), 11 years since that fateful day when she was 5, she was headed into town. Two ships were due in today. She was hoping they would take her portions and her off this rock. She just had no idea where to go.
Rey pulled her speeder up to the outpost, parking it near the beat-up Corellian freighter. The netting continued to flap in the breeze. Rey noticed the ramp was down again on the ship, meaning someone was working on it. She could not believe that anyone would waste his time on that bucket of bolts. That thing would never fly again.
Rey spent her time looking at the different items at the bazaar. She had never had any money or portions before except to survive. The only things she usually bought from the bazaar were her supplies—occasionally a new water container, sometimes a new tool. Nothing really interested her, not enough for her to give up one more portion that might be needed for her to get off this rock.
The first freighter landed an hour later. Two crew came off, an enormous Besalisk pilot and a lithe Togruta male, whom Rey assumed was the first mate. She could see other crew working in the hold beyond the open ramp. As the crew approached Unkar's booth, Rey intercepted the Togruta and asked, "Got room for a passenger?"
The Togruta looked her up and down and then answered, "Depends. How much do you have?"
"Over 7,000 portions," answered Rey, a little nervous.
The Togruta looked at her and laughed in her face. "Seven thousand portions? That would only get you off the planet. What do you expect us to do? Drop you back to the surface once we blast off? Go away, little girl, and don't bother until you have at least 20,000."
Rey pressed on, "I'm willing to work for the rest of the passage."
"Doing what?"
"I'm a pretty good pilot myself," boasted Rey.
"Without your own ship. I doubt that," debated the Togruta.
"I had my own fighter. I sold it to Unkar. How else do you think I got the 7,000 portions?" argued Rey.
"Silly girl. You should have sold it to us. It was worth a lot more than 7,000 portions. Unkar cheated you. That's if you ever owned it," chided the Togruta.
"I'm strong. I could be one of your laborers," begged Rey.
"No. We have no more room for another crew member, nor the need," answered the Togruta. "Sorry." He walked away to Unkar's booth to join his mate.
____________________________
Later that afternoon, while Rey's stomach grumbled for lack of a midday meal, the other ship due in landed. It was run by a gang called Kanjiklub. Tasu Leach strode down the ramp of the rectangular freighter. The ship looked in no better shape than the old freighter tethered on the landing strip. He wore a black under tunic and trousers covered with Bantha-hide armor, with multiple gas cartridges slotted into grooves in the armor for his weapons. He was short for a human with dark, straight hair and a wispy beard. His mate came with him, a man slightly taller, but dressed similarly and just as mean.
Rey shrunk back. She had heard rumors of this gang, and she was afraid to even approach them. However, she could not afford for even one more day to pass, as her supplies would dwindle even more. She boldly stepped up to Tasu Leach.
"What, Girl?" he asked in Jablogian.
Rey did not understand him but boldly stated her question anyway, "I have 7,000 portions. Can I buy passage on your ship?"
Tasu Leach asked in Jablogian, "7,000? How far?"
"I don't understand you," stated Rey.
Tasu Leach repeated his question in Huttese, "7,000? How far?"
Rey understood those words and responded in Huttese, "Anywhere. Whatever your next port is. I'm willing to work, too."
Tasu Leach leered, "Really? What do you do?"
"I can pilot, heavy labor, whatever," answered Rey, desperate but scared.
"Whatever? I have one opening on this crew," remarked Tasu, running his hand down her cheek, turning it to see her profile. "But you'll have to clean yourself—"
Out of nowhere, Tasu fell to the ground, his head jerking back as if he had been punched. His first mate leaned forward, clutching himself as he took a kick to the groin.
Then Rey's speeder started all by itself. Rey turned, afraid someone was stealing it from her. She ran after it as it flew by itself toward the watering hole in the center of the outpost. As it reached the hole, it stopped perfectly in front of her, waiting for her to mount. Rey was bewildered but knew that someone was guiding her. She jumped on her speeder and headed back to her walker.
When she arrived back at her walker, she found her datapad by the entry, turned on, with a message on it, "Never trust Kanjiklub! They are ruthless pirates!"
It scared Rey! Who had been in here? Who knew where she hid her datapad? Who knew about her run-in with Kanjiklub? She sat down on her bunk, took a sip of water from her canteen, and spoke out into the empty air, "Show yourself! If you're still in here, show yourself!"
After a few minutes, tears poured down her face. She really wanted to talk to . . . to that man she had seen in her dreams recently, the one with the dark blonde hair and the piercing blue eyes, the one who always seemed to be guiding her in her dreams. But now, she just felt alone.