Emperor Kylo Ren exited his personal ship on the desert planet called Jakku, muttering about the abomination that was the sand that covered every surface of the planet. He clenched his jaw and continued on.

His negotiators were in the middle of a large purchase of multiple slaves and his presence was required. Kylo used to leave his people to handle such things, but on previous occasions, they had been taken advantage of and had not received the number of slaves they had paid for. The intimidating presence of the Emperor during these transactions prevented such incidents from taking place. Sometimes the slave traders needed a reminder of just who they were dealing with. When they saw him, it was instantly instilled in them that Emperor Kylo Ren does not take transgressions against him and his people lightly.

The negotiations were set to take place in a foul junkyard settlement called Niima Outpost. This was the place where people came to trade salvaged materials from the wreckage of old Empire ships, long abandoned following the Battle of Jakku.

Kylo followed his negotiators through the wretched outpost, composed of rusted metal beams holding up faded tarps that provided minimal shade to the various creatures he saw scrubbing salvaged parts as he walked through the area. He noticed that they kept their heads down as he passed them, trying desperately to avoid attracting his attention. He briefly wondered how many stories these scavengers had heard about him, but the thought vanished as he followed his men into a worn and dilapidated tent.

Pushing back the tattered cloth covering the entrance, Kylo came face to face with what was probably the most disgusting creature he had ever laid his eyes on. It was a male Crolute that went by the name Unkar Plutt, his face deformed and grotesque, his gelatinous body doing no favors to Kylo's eyes nor his nose.

"Emperor Ren," the creature rasped at him.

Kylo sneered at the worthless life form before stepping past him to fully enter the tent and see the slaves inside that were waiting for him. His face was impassive as he examined them, but he noted there was a good variety this time, which pleased him immensely. As he peered across the tent he could see among them a few humans, two Bandies, and an Altiri. There looked to be an equal ratio of males to females, ranging from children to elderly. As he stepped further into the room, the group of slaves instinctively took a step back from him. They must be well aware of his reputation, Kylo Ren the Conqueror who eventually claimed the galaxy as his own and became Emperor Ren.

His negotiators eyed him, waiting for his command to either accept or reject the entire lot of slaves. Kylo nodded at them and his men moved towards the group to usher the newly purchased slaves onto the cargo ship to transport back to his empire.

Kylo's new acquisitions followed his men obediently, heads down, their faces full of fear and sorrow. He could feel their emotions as they walked past him, most were frightened while some were numb. However, one woman, the Altiri, whose hair was long and white and skin was somewhere between deep blue and purple, was frantic. As she passed him she grabbed desperately onto his robes with long indigo fingers, crying out hysterically in her native tongue.

Kylo looked down at the woman with an aloof expression and forced his way into her mind to see the cause of her distress. He saw a small Altiri child, a slave just like her mother, who was pleading for his help to find her. Kylo turned to the line of slaves and counted them, one of them was missing. He said nothing to the Altiri as one of his men pulled her off of him and dragged her kicking and screaming from the tent.

Kylo closed his eyes and tried to calm himself. Between feeling the raw emotions of the Altiri woman over her lost child and the incompetence of his men, he was livid. No wonder his negotiators were constantly being taken advantage of, he thought, the fools could not even count to make sure they had the correct number of slaves they paid for.

"I purchased thirty slaves and yet I only count twenty-nine headed to my ship," Kylo said. His words were clipped and his expression dangerously blank.

The vile creature's eyes bulged slightly before contorting back into his usually menacing form. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could get a word out he was cut off by Kylo.

"I already know Unkar Plutt, that you have a preference for children to slave away in the sands as scavengers. After all, they are small and can fit into corners of ships your older scavengers cannot reach," Kylo said disdainfully.

"And what do you need with a child?" Plutt questioned scornfully, forgetting his place.

Kylo reached down for his lightsaber at his hip, intending to remind the filthy lifeform that dared question his authority just who he was dealing with. He pulled his weapon from his belt and ignited it. Plutt's pale flesh now glowed a fierce red in its light.

"Go get that child from whatever abandoned shipwreck you have it crawling around in and bring it to my ship now," he told him in an eerily calm tone.

Plutt did not need to be told twice, as quickly as he could manage with his blubbery body, he made his way out of the tent to obtain the child in question.

Kylo glared at the opening in the tent Plutt had just barged through, he could hear him ordering his henchmen to go retrieve the child and bring it the ship. He continued to look through the opening as he extinguished his weapon. He was so incensed by Plutt's attempted deception and the incompetence of his negotiators that he almost missed the young woman walking by.

As she made her way past, Kylo could feel a change in the air around him. The Force. He knew it as soon as he felt it, the girl was Force-sensitive, he could feel the power radiating from her. Her essence called to him and Kylo discreetly exited the tent and began to follow her through the outpost.

He made sure to keep his distance as he silently trailed her, eyeing her up and down to take in all of her features. She was petite compared to him, her body slender and strong despite being somewhat malnourished. Her brunette hair was pulled into three knots at the back of her head and he briefly wondered what it looked like hanging freely down her back. When she turned to look over her shoulder, his breath hitched slightly.

She was beautiful, her youthful face held expressive eyes and her skin was a golden honey color, glowing brightly in the sun. Between her beauty and her aura, Kylo felt a connection with her like one he had never experienced before. She was perfect and he wanted her. He vowed that he would have her no matter what the cost.

She turned her attention forward again and walked with purpose, her head held high and a staff strapped to her back. Her tattered makeshift clothing and the sack she carried of salvaged materials told him that she was one of Plutt's scavengers.

Confusion set into his mind, he could not understand why someone who was Force-sensitive would spend their days slaving away in the horrid conditions on Jakku in order to obtain parts to trade for supplies. He watched as she walked up to Plutt's concession stand and placed the materials in her sack on the counter for him to examine.

The loathsome blobfish looked over the offered materials and said, "Hmmm...what you have brought me today is worth...one-quarter portion."

Kylo seethed as he watched her numbly place her hand on the offered portion. He could feel her frustration and despair, she spent all day looking for those materials only to be offered so little in return for them.

It made sense to him now, this girl, whoever she was, had no idea the great power she held within her. He would have to change that, he would show her the great things she was capable of and more. She did not belong on this sand infested nightmare of a planet, she belonged at his side.

An image flashed in his mind, courtesy of Unkar Plutt. He saw a young girl standing on her tiptoes to take an offered portion from the counter, her hands shaking and her face panicked as Unkar Plutt yelled at her to bring him better materials if she wanted more food.

This vile creature, he had been doing this to her for years. Basically starving her, forcing her to slave away in the sands in order to survive. Kylo saw it all clearly, felt Plutt's disgusting desires for her, manipulating her in hopes that she would one day be desperate enough to offer him her body in exchange for more portions.

Kylo's face twisted with rage and he grabbed onto a nearby table, breathing heavily as he attempted to control his anger. He would make Plutt pay soon enough but for the time being Kylo needed him alive to learn more about the Force-sensitive scavenger that had caught his attention. Before he could do something he would regret, Kylo walked towards his ship and approached one of his men to assess the situation with the Altiri child.

"Emperor Ren, the child was found and brought to the ship. We are ready to leave on your command," he was informed.

"You see that girl over there? You are to follow her discreetly and report back to me her every move, do you understand? You will make sure no harm comes to her," Kylo ordered.

The man bowed slightly and left to fulfill his commands without question.

"Bring the cargo ship of slaves back to the palace and tell Brea to be available when I arrive later on. Preparations need to begin for a guest who will be arriving in the near future," Kylo instructed his men. "Right now, I have further business with Unkar Plutt."

He walked away to go speak to the vile Crolute, who would soon come to regret the day he had heard of Emperor Kylo Ren.

When Kylo approached the concession stand where Unkar Plutt did his trading, the scavenger girl was already gone. She had taken the measly quarter portion that the despicable creature had offered her and had left Niima Outpost with one of his men discreetly tracking her.

"We have business to attend to. Show me some place private where we can speak," Kylo ordered.

Unkar Plutt grumbled at the young emperor, but otherwise did as he was told. He exited the concession stand in the center of the outpost.

"This way," Plutt grunted and led Kylo to a secluded tent on the outskirts of the junkyard.

Kylo made sure that they were truly alone before he spoke.

"The girl-" he started, but was interrupted by the junkyard boss.

"Was returned to you as ordered," Plutt said, clearly referring to the Altiri child that he had tried to keep from Kylo earlier.

Kylo's jaw clenched, wanting to punish this creature for his disrespectful demeanor. He breathed in a shallow breath and continued.

"Not that one," Kylo replied, stressing each syllable as he spoke them.

A thoughtful pause took ahold of Unkar as he contemplated which girl Kylo could be referring to. Realization of who the Emperor was talking about flashed briefly in his mind before he recovered and spoke to Kylo with feigned ignorance.

"I have no idea-"

"The scavenger girl," Kylo interrupted, his tone short.

"What about her?"

"Tell me about her," he ordered.

"She's none of your concern," Plutt snarled, forgetting once again just who he was dealing with.

Kylo Ren was done trying to obtain information from Unkar Plutt through conversation. He held up his hand and focused, using the Force to push into the Crolute's mind to take the information he wanted. Images flashed through his mind of the scavenger, starting from when she was a young child and leading up to her becoming a woman. He kept searching, wanting answers to her origin and how she ended up on Jakku, who left her there, and why.

Rey.

He finally had her name, it was Rey. Kylo huffed in annoyance, he needed to know more, but was not finding it in the mind of Plutt. In the only memory he could find of her being left in the care of Plutt, the faces of whoever left her were obscured.

"Rey will be coming with me," Kylo informed him, not leaving room for a rebuttal.

"I don't care if you are the Emperor. She's mine," Plutt yelled, images of prior fantasies about Rey creeping into his mind and leaking in turn into Kylo's, who had not yet retreated from Plutt's thoughts.

Plutt had a particularly crude fantasy, one of a desperate and starving Rey allowing him to do whatever he sexually desired to her body in order to survive. The images were vile.

Kylo couldn't restrain himself any further.

"You have outlived your usefulness to me," Kylo told Plutt and pulled his lightsaber from his belt.

Before Plutt could make a move to try to stop him, he ignited the red weapon and drove it through Plutt's chest. A gurgling sound passed through the junkyard boss's mouth before he fell to the ground at Kylo's feet with a loud thump.

Kylo extinguished his lightsaber and clipped it back onto his belt. He glanced at the lifeless body of Plutt before exiting the tent and walking back through Niima Outpost to his ship.

"Go dispose of the body of that creature in the tent on the outskirts," he ordered one of his men who nodded and left to complete the order he had just been given.

"Emperor Ren, we are prepared to leave when you are," the pilot of his personal ship informed him.

Kylo hesitated briefly, not wanting to leave the scavenger girl named Rey on Jakku a moment longer. He released a heavy sigh, resigned to the fact that if he wished for things to be perfect for her arrival that he would need to leave her there a few days longer. He looked out one last time at the harsh sands of the planet before boarding his ship to go back to Naboo and make preparations for her arrival in three cycles.