"A long time ago, many things happened."
She couldn't be too sure if that's the right way to start, it'd been too long since someone had told her a proper bedtime story, but she thought that was the way she remembered. Anyway, the little sand lizard before her didn't seem to mind, he looked like he was listening. Or maybe he was hoping for some scraps of food from her. Well, he was out of luck on that one tonight. She promptly ignored the groaning of her own stomach and continued.
"They say it all started with someone called The Sky-Walker. A mysterious person who wandered the stars and discovered the galaxy. Some people say he even created the galaxy! That's just wizard, don't you think?"
The lizard blinked its glowing red eyes slowly. She took that as confirmation.
"He was the first Jedi. At least, that's what Lee told me when I was little. He traveled all around, discovering new planets and teaching every culture how to fly and wander the stars like him, so he wouldn't be lonely anymore!"
She couldn't remember if that was part of the original story her friends told her, but it made sense to her. She knew a lot about loneliness. She'd grown familiar with it.
"And of course, he taught them how to be Jedi like him. He created the Jedi Order and together they kept the galaxy safe. Soon, it was all united into one big Republic and everyone lived in peace and happiness."
She undid her hair as she spoke and let the curly, chocolate locks pool down her shoulders; combing her fingers through in search of leftover tangles. It was necessary to keep her hair up during the day, but at night when the desert heat cooled to something more bearable, she could let it out free. The night air was silent, save for the clunky but steady hum of her patched-together moisture vaporator nearby. She glanced back down to the sand, checking that her attentive audience hadn't scurried away. He hadn't.
"Centuries later, after the Sky-Walker's death, some of the Jedi started to turn bad and left the Order to make their own. Nobody knows why. Some people say there was political disagreement between the Jedi Council, other people say an outside, evil force slithered into their minds and twisted their souls."
She made sure to dramatically wiggle her fingers appropriately. The lizard before her didn't seem that impressed. She decided she was going to name him Craz. He looked like a Craz.
"There was a huge war between the Jedi and the Dark Jedi, one that nearly tore the galaxy apart! A lot of people thought that the war would never end! Many Jedi died, but in the end, they won the battle and defeated the Dark Jedi.
"The Jedi never did recover from the war. Not really. Too many of their own died. They tried to rebuild and they still protected the Republic as best they could, but the glory days were gone and a lot of the Sky-Walker's teachings were lost. Eventually, the Jedi Order broke apart and faded away. Some say that there's still small groups of them out there, still trying to pass on their knowledge. Maybe one day, they'll rise again to become the protectors of the galaxy once more! The End!"
She finished with a flourish, gazing down at her audience expectantly. He simply blinked at her.
"What?" she pouted. "Didn't like that story?"
Craz flicked his forked tongue at her. She shrugged back at him.
"Yeah, it's not really a happy one. So. I'm gonna tell you another one!" She exclaimed, picking the lizard up out of the sand. "No getting out of it, little buddy!"
He squirmed for a few seconds but soon quieted when she placed him atop her hair, running a soothing finger down his spine.
"A long time ago -well actually, not that long ago- there was a little girl named Mabel. She had an amazing, loving family who traveled the stars. She loved them all very much, but her favorite person in the galaxy was her brother! They were twins, you know.
"One day, they were flying out on an adventure -their first one!- when their ship was caught by bad men. People who wanted to take the twins away from their family. I guess they kinda did. The twins were put in an escape pod, but Mabel's brother ran back onto the ship before the pod could take off. You see, he wanted to help fight the bad men…"
"No! Don't leave me!"
"We'll come back for you, Mabel! I promise!"
She shook her head, coming back to herself. She winced as Craz dug his claws into her scalp at the motion, but she didn't mind that much. It helped her from getting too lost in those memories.
"Mabel drifted through space for a little while before landing on a desert planet called Jakku." Grinning, she tilted her gaze up in the direction of the reptile currently occupying her hair. "I have a feeling you've heard of it."
Craz blinked back.
"She was found by a group of older kids, but not much older than her. Lee, Nate, Robbie, and Tambry. They were scavengers and they didn't have much food or water, but they still took her in and treated her like their own. And they only complained a little about it." She paused before shrugging her shoulders.
"Well, okay, Robbie did most of the complaining." She amended. "Anyway, Mabel really didn't like the desert and she missed her brother terribly. But it wasn't all bad. She had new friends that gave her a home inside an old walker, and clothes and food. They taught her how to work a moisture vaporator, how to scavenge, and told her stories like the one you just heard…"
Her voice trailed off. Her eyes burned and her vision blurred, but she forced herself to keep the tears at bay.
Hey, kid, don't get all weepy on us, Robbie had told her once. You can't afford to lose that water.
"You're probably wondering why Mabel's all alone now, huh? Well, the others had the chance to leave Jakku. They had the chance to fly away, to work on a cargo ship or fight in the war, or whatever else they wanted. They tried to take Mabel with them, but…she said no. She…she couldn't just leave."
"We'll come back for you…"
She wiped at her face and put on a watery smile for her captive audience. "It'll all be okay!" she reassured Craz. "Her family promised they'd come back for her. All she has to do is wait for them and they'll take her home."
Her gut gurgled unhappily again, and she clutched at her too-thin stomach as she gazed back up at the night sky. Her eyes scanned the heavens hopefully.
"They'll be back," she insisted, more to herself than to her little friend. "One day."
Many miles away in that same desert, another young woman trudged across the sand as swiftly as her feet could carry her, her faithful droid rolling by her side. Not a sound passed between them, save for the gentle hum of the droid's servos, as they made their way towards the small settlement.
Far up in the skies above the planet, a man clad in black smiled darkly to himself behind his mask as his transport full of soldiers prepared for combat on the planet's surface.
And many lightyears away, another man gazed out at the starscape himself, occasionally flickering his gaze back to his young charge who was sleeping fitfully in the co-pilot seat next to him. He sighed heavily into the quiet air of the cockpit, his many failures weighing down his aging shoulders. Slowly, he reached for the control panel and prepared the ship for hyperspace.
The very stars themselves seemed to hum with the promise of change.