"Rey?" an urgent voice said.
Rey was deep in a slumber at that moment until someone started violently shaking her shoulder.
"Hey, you alive?"
"Unfortunately" Rey groaned as the world around her got louder. Cracking open an eyelid, she was relieved to see Finn kneeling next to her with a concerned look on his face.
"Uh, why are you sleeping on the floor?" he asked, gesturing to her bed against the other wall.
As she began to move, aching soreness awoke in her limbs from the durasteel floor, and she wondered how long she'd slept there in the night.
"I guess I must have sleep-walked over here. I had bad dreams. " As she spoke the words, all the memories of the night before came flooding back to her, and she reached out to grab Finn's arm.
"Finn, have you heard anything from the base? About Leia?"
Finn shook his head. "Comm silence, remember? We can't keep in touch with them so it can't be tracked."
Rey didn't let go of his arm. "In my dreams, Leia came to say goodbye to me. She was in a bed on the base. I think....she died last night."
He covered her hand lightly with his and reassured her. "It was probably just a dream."
Rey wanted to argue and start crying all over again. She was frustrated by not only the bond that was opening more frequently, but by the circumstances where they could not confirm with the base or Maz. There was no point in arguing with no proof anyways, so she let it go and pushed it far away from her mind for the time being.
She felt as thought she was ninety-years-old standing up from the cold floor wrapped in her blanket. Feigning a smile, she quietly said "Ok, are we here already?"
"You bet we are," Poe's voice called from outside her room, "along with a whole lot of other ships. It must be a transaction day, because the port here on Tatooine is packed."
Finn studied Rey before he started backing away toward the door. "Everything is going to be fine...I'll let you get dressed to we can have one more meeting before you head out with Poe this morning." He ducked out of the room and shut the door after exiting.
She stared at the spot she had slept while clutching the blanket and wondered how long the link stayed on last night. Mental shields could be summoned during her conscious periods, but could she protect her thoughts in her dreams?
*
Poe's heavy steps banged down the metal ramp out of the freighter. When he reached the sand, he stopped to look back up the ramp.
The visor of the helmet Rey wore was already starting to fog up with the moisture of her sweat. The heat of Tatooine was nauseating compared to Jakku, and it took all her will not to strip off one of the layers she wore to hide her figure in the ensemble.
Poe's face was covered by a linen draped from one side of his cargo hat to the other, leaving his eyes bare. He pulled at the collar of his jacket to signal that he was feeling the heat as well. It was a small price to pay to hide any recognition from First Order allies.
Staff in hand, Rey made her way down the ramp, taking in the dizzying scene of humans and other species bustling back and forth. Some carried shipping containers to similar freighters, others hustled their 'live purchases' in chains aboard other vessels, and there was an abundance of chatter in the air.
Poe nudged her to keep walking. "Focus now, this is a major port. Make it look like we're here for business."
A slight wave of annoyance passed through Rey, but she knew he was right. Poe marched with purpose through the endless mass of standing bodies in the direction of the inner city. She glanced back at the ship, its ramp still planted and empty.
I hope Finn will be ok, she worried.
Setting out into the crowd, Rey followed after Poe as best she could with her limited visibility. It felt like an eternity before they were out of the port and in the open desert space that separated it from the city.
Poe was slowing down ahead of her as the bodies thinned out, giving them some room to talk. She jogged to get up beside him, and regretted it instantly as the heat skyrocketed inside her clothes.
He pulled his linen down from his mouth, revealing a face glazed with sweat. "Maz said there was a cantina here where a small group connects. They were overheard discussing digust with the First Order destroying whole cities."
"A young group, correct?" Rey confirmed.
"Young enough I guess," He looked at her from the corner of his eye before continuing, "and if they are a bunch of...young men, I think you'll be our best bet for recruiting them."
"What's that supposed to mean!" she tried not to raise her voice in embarrassment.
Poe plucked his linen from under his chin back onto his face as they neared the open gate of the city. "Uh, you know what I mean," he stated smoothly.
Rey shot her arm out against his chest. "No. Actually, I don't know what you mean."
His eyes crinkled in the corners, clearly amused at her reaction. "Rey, you're a very attractive young lady."
Heat rose up in her cheeks, fogging out her visor just a little bit more. "I....I'm" she stuttered in an attempt to reply, "I'm not going to lure them to our cause if that's what you mean!"
Poe gave an abrupt laugh. "I don't think I've ever seen you get this riled up before. I just meant that you're attractive, and men notice it."
He winked at her, and she suddenly felt uncomfortable with herself. Poe Dameron was certainly good-looking all on his own, but she never thought that he or anyone else for that matter would find her attractive. She didn't have long, flowing trusses or a voluptuous figure, but rather focused all her energy on hating those who abused their power. There never was a moment before to worry about attracting another person.
After walking through a few of the streets, they came across the popular Mos Eisley cantinas. It was overflowing with patrons, and they stopped in the entry line-up.
Rey put her hands on her hips and dipped forward to give her back a stretch. Poe wiped away perspiration under his eyes.
"Tell you what," he said non-chalantly, "why don't you look around while I wait to get in. It might be pretty obvious that we are trying to stick together while moving around in there. If I go solo, I might be able to make contact with the group we are looking for just by going unnoticed."
Rey agreed after some thought. "I'll comm you if I run into trouble."
"And I'll comm you if I make contact." He saluted her before stepping forward again in the line.
She walked back through the streets they had travelled, taking a closer look at what was available. The open market was very interesting, and many similar elements of the population and culture existed here like Jakku.
Turning a corner, she stumbled upon some street younglings, playing a game amongst themselves.
Seeing them drudged up old familiar feelings she experienced as an orphan on Jakku. Did these children have slave owners? Did they have parents that cared about them?
The expression on their faces was her only answer. Some looked lonely, sad, afraid...but one little girl with a single ponytail waved at her, which was surprising. She could be a bounty hunter in her ensemble, yet that didnt seem to strike any fear in the small girl.
Rey continued walking past, and thought the girl had the faintest smile on her lips.
She continued on her observational journey, but stumbled when a familiar, almost magnetic pull in her chest slowed her to a stop in front of a shop. Her heart was pounding, but she hadn't felt this specific pull before. Ducking inside the shop on her left, the hard beads that were strung in the entrance frame made loud clacking against the helmet on the way in. The store was incredibly dim and dusty, with only four small windows on each of the walls. It took several moments for Rey's eyes to adjust behind the visor before she could see clearly.
"Can I help ya?" a gravelly, aged voice inquired from the corner.
Rey could barely make out a broad figure sitting on the far side, but she'd had enough with the helmet. Reaching behind her ears, she stretched apart the springy fabric molding and ripped it off desperately. She gasped in relief as the cooler air filled her lungs; the breeze wafting her moist skin and drenched hair.
As her eyes adjusted to the dimness of the shop she observed an older, heavier Drovian perched on a stool, spinning an amber object in its palm.
"I'm just...looking around" she breathed, and then shivered as a trickle of perspiration traveled down behind her ear.
The aged eyes of the Drovian studied her for a moment, a flicker of worry passing over them in a single blink, before dipping his large head forward in a gesture of allowance. The amber object continued to rotate.
With the helmet in the crook of her arm, she took two slow steps to her left to start on the opposite side of the room from him, listening intently to the noises outside the door.
The Force is stronger in here, she mused.
Tables and shelves displayed an assortment of unique objects in various conditions. Some appeared to be ancient objects retrieved from old temples, and antique weapons laid out to catch the eye of a collector. Gray, dusty curtains hung at the back of the room in one corner, and as Rey gingerly took steps near that corner, she halted when the Force thrummed loudly.
There's something right in this shelf.
She bent over to get a better look in the dimly lit area, examining a shelf filled with small figurines composed of a glossy, black rock. The vibrations in the force seemed to be coming from this location.
A dull glint of silver caught her eye behind the figurines and she carefully moved them aside one by one.
She inhaled sharply.
A lightsaber, showing age on every part of its surface, had been hidden behind. Stretching her hand out to take it, she hesitated momentarily, conscious of the alarming vision that rocked her the last time she touched a strange lightsaber.
Closing her eyes, she put her palm against it quickly and met with the cool metal but nothing more. The ground didnt shake, there were no voices, nor was her name echoed.
She was almost disappointed.
As she examined it in her grasp, the sound of the stool sliding on the floor nearly made her jump. She had forgotten she was not alone.
The owner made his way over to Rey, slow in his steps, and stopped to see what Rey had in her hands.
"It's from an ancient war, that one," he began, "a jedi owned it long ago."
She turned it over, and noted that it too had a cross guard akin to Kylo Ren's.
"In the ancient wars, they built lightsabers out of what kyber crystals they could scavenge, no matter how fragmented their state was. The blades that have been recovered from that generation are often of this cross vented version, due to the use of imperfect and unstable stones."
Rey nodded in response to him, noticing his eyes wet with a sheen of pity. She wondered if it was for her.
"Does it work?" she politely inquired instead of simply turning it on and scaring him right into the afterlife.
He shook his large head very slowly. "The kyber crystal died in it long ago, it's only an old relic now."
A few moments passed as Rey considered the lightsaber, turning it over in further examination of its state of repair.
"What's the price you're asking for this?"
He leaned back on a long inhale, his eyes staring down at her, and proceeded with an equally lengthy exhale that ended with a peculiar noise.
"It's worth nothing here." He shrugged. "If you like it so much, it's yours."
Rey lit up with a smile. She put her hand lightly on his shoulder to thank him, but he flinched and turned away quickly.
"Thank you..." her words trailed off, but he hurriedly exited through the shop entrance, the beads clicking together wildly.
She held up the lightsaber one more time.
If the crystal is dead, then why is the feeling so strong in here?
The Force filled her body instantaneously as she completed her thought, but it wormed it's way through her body, working against her muscles and limbs. Invisible restraints closed tightly around every joint, locking them in their present position; her mouth was frozen partially open in the beginning of a surprised gasp. Only her eyes were free, blinking in rapid succession as she searched the room from her locked cervical spine.
The rustle of the curtain behind her, and then footsteps drawing near caused goosebumps to rise on her neck.
It approached slowly from the left, the sound of a boot heel scraping the hard, sandy floor with every step.
Her heart froze for an instant when a tall figure in black appeared in her peripherals, donning a helmet similar to Kylo's.
"Oh, no my dear," a synthetic voice lightly spoke, "I'm afraid I'm not him."
Shield yourself, she commanded from within, and the Force wall went up.
The figure faced her, and she was able to see the detail of his helmet; a vertical slit divided the face, and a black hood shrouded the rest. An ebony chest plate peaked out from the robe, followed by black linens lashed tightly around the torso.
"You are infinitely more fascinating than I anticipated. An untrained Jedi at face value, but willful and defiant beneath. Snoke must have been caught off guard by you."
She let out a faltering breath in her frozen state.
"Unfortunately," the voice hummed, "The Supreme Leader has requested you be dealt with."
Darkness washed over her, covering her from head to toe, suffocating her along with the panic and despair of being caught by the First Order.