Hermana nibbled at her bread and stared out at the sky, knowing somewhere out there was the place her father and sister had gone after Mama had kicked them out. Hermana wasn't really sure why Mama had made Papa leave – she had been a baby at the time. All she knew was that Papa had left for some strange land and taken Hermana's big sister with him. Someday, Hermana would find her father and bring him home.

But first, she had to find her sister. She didn't know her sister's name, only that Hermana looked exactly like her, and that she had probably moved out of wherever her father had been living. It wasn't much of a lead, but a lead nonetheless. Today she was boarding a ship to a planet she had visited often. She wasn't sure if it had a name, because everyone just said "Maz's place." Everyone knew Maz Kanata, and Hermana had the privilege of being one of her close friends.

She weaved through the foot traffic to Baji Jettster's ship and boarded. It was the fastest passenger ship in the galaxy – it had made the Kessel run in fourteen parsecs! – so she always took it. Besides, she liked Baji.

She waved at a camera as she boarded, knowing there was a video screen in the cockpit. After shoving a couple smuggled boxes of who-knows-what, she sat down and waited. Normally, in a situation like this, she'd make small talk with her friend Rey. Rey was a scavenger, though, and was dependent on Jakku for a living. She never left the planet. Rey hadn't been seen for weeks, anyway. Some said she had been killed by the First Order, others said she escaped to another planet. The only thing the rumors could agree on was that she had found a droid with something important that the First Order wanted. Better not to get involved with the First Order, Hermana thought. You live your life, and they'll live theirs.

Rey had been one of Hermana's only friends. Sometimes Hermana thought Rey might even be her sister. She certainly looked the part. Rey seemed too sad to be Hermana's sister, though. Mama had always said her "big girl" was happy and didn't have a care in the world. Hermana thought that might have changed when she was taken to a strange planet, but you didn't argue with Mama. No, sir.

The speaker in the corner crackled. "Departin' from Jakku. Thanks to my patented hyperdrive system, we'll be arrivin' in just a few minutes. Don' open any boxes that don' belong to ya. We have children aboard today, so refrain from swearin'," Baji said. At this, the . . . whatever it was sitting across from Hermana said something Mama wouldn't like. In return, Hermana made a rude gesture and left for the cockpit, stopping halfway there to hold onto a box as the ship lifted off. Baji wasn't the best at smooth takeoffs.

Baji, as usual, was driving, but the seat next to him was empty. Hermana dropped into it and started pressing buttons. If the copilot, Demba, wasn't in her seat, she wasn't on board.

"Thanks, Herm," Baji said. "Demba got her own ship – she's quit the job. I could use a new copilot."

Hermana smiled. "Maybe once I find my sister. And don't call me Herm."

"Ya got it, Herm. Speakin' o' which, I saw a girl a few weeks ago. Looks just like ya, few years older. Been meanin' to tell ya, but I never got around to it."

"Really? Where was she going? And what was she wearing?" Hermana asked.

"Was runnin' from the First Order with a BB droid and a dark-skinned boy her age. Flew the same way we're goin' in the old hunk o' junk that Unkar Plutt stole from . . . uh . . . whoever. That thing's been stolen so many times, I forget who stole it from who. She was wearin' typical scavenger outfit, beige, cutoff sleeves, arm wraps," Baji replied.

"Oh, you mean Rey? Rumor has it that BB droid had something important and Rey helped him escape. I hadn't heard the part about the boy. Rey and I were friends. Well, I think. I'd know if she was my sister."

Baji just agreed. Most people did. Hermana liked to talk. A lot. She often overwhelmed people with her chattering.

As they came out of lightspeed, Baji pulled the microphone to his mouth and said, "We've arrived. Get off without breakin' anythin'. Don' take anythin' that ain't yers. Have a nice day."

Hermana got up, but Baji put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "Not yer stop, Herm," he said in a forced voice quite unlike his usual light tone.

"Yes, it is. This is Maz's place," Hermana said, oblivious to the heap of rubble just peeking out from behind the watering hole. They always landed in the back, so if something had changed out front, you couldn't see it until you walked around.

"No, it ain't," Baji said in the same tone as before.

Hermana tried to push Baji's arm away to no avail. "Baji, stop!" she protested.

Baji looked sad for a brief moment before answering. "I was forced to do this, you know. I'm sorry."

He hit her on the head and everything was black.