On the desert world of Jakku, hopeful excitement was scarcer than water. Yet that exact emotion fluttered in Rey's stomach as she brought her speeder to a gentle stop, gazing upwards at the crashed ship.
Its teardrop-shaped hull gleamed in the bright sun: a design unlike any she'd seen before. She assumed the craft was some sort of primitive rocket; the odd fins located on its aft seemed more appropriate for ballistic flight than true space flight.
Its uniqueness intrigued her, of course, but it was the ship's newness and completeness that excited her. For a scavenger like herself, nothing could compare with finding a ship whole, intact, and fresh off the assembly line. The ship's intact state was all the more remarkable for having crashed onto the planet, a mystery that piqued her interest further.
Rey hopped off her speeder, grimacing as her boots sank into the ubiquitous sand. Staff strapped to her back and pack hanging from her hip, she trudged determinedly forward. Practically salivating at the sight of the looming shiny rocket craft, she stared through her protective goggles at what might be the biggest find of her life.
Slowly circling the ship, she smiled at the mismatched grooves in its hull plating, a sign of manual, sentient labor. Her fingers traced the bumps and grooves of the manufacturer tag tucked away near the ship's aft. Thruster engines jutted from the rear of the spacecraft like fat lumps, the sight of which caused her to shake her head in amusement at this ship's oddly unique design.
Rey's mouth continued to stretch in a hungry grin until she saw it: On the ship's port side, a tiny, sand-smeared window revealed a cramped cockpit nestled near the middle of the ship, and inside that cockpit was the slumped form of an unmoving woman.
Rey's entire countenance transformed. She could feel the grim lines of resolve and tenacity settling into her face. Pulse increasing, her hands flexed and her calf muscles tensed in readiness.
'I should have known better,' she thought, 'an unguarded ship this new must either have been abandoned, or still occupied.'
Uttering several curse words as dry and hostile as the barren wastes of this desert world, she began searching for a way into the ship's cockpit.
Her fingertips grazed the hot metal of the ship's hull for a seemingly endless amount of time before Rey found what she was looking for: A deep, narrow groove bisecting the front half of the ship.
As she suspected, this ship used a primitive, almost homespun design more likely to be found on the edges of Wild Space rather than the Inner Rim. Rough atmospheric reentry could easily break the ship's external seals and few of the other identifiable components looked to be in any better shape. Luckily for the pilot still inside the thing, this meant the cockpit could be forced open if enough leverage and pressure were applied.
Well, luckily for the pilot if she's even still alive, Rey thought darkly.
Wedging her staff into the groove, Rey placed a boot against the lower half of the ship's front and pushed down on her staff. She gritted her teeth and pushed harder, fingers gripping the weapon tightly in her hands. Rey knew she could easily crack the polearm by using it in such a way. But she didn't stop. The female pilot inside might still be alive.
Her staff didn't break, and at last the cockpit roof separated from the ship's lower half, grinding slowly open like a happabore's lazy yawn.
Tossing her staff onto the ground, Rey climbed into the cockpit.
Cramped walls enclosed a chair big enough for only one person, and in the chair sat the young woman. She appeared young, perhaps no older than Rey, herself. Her eyes were closed, the rest of her face frozen in a rictus of pain. A nasty gash curved along her forehead, where dried blood painted the skin and stained her hairline.
Rey's hand hastily reached out and pressed onto the woman's neck, searching for a pulse. She soon found one beating steadily beneath her fingertips and exhaled in momentary relief. Still, the desert wasn't the place for an unconscious, injured female.
She took a moment to study the girl further. Her long blond hair hung from a simple ponytail that ran just past her shoulders. Her head currently tilted at an awkward angle, exposing a scrape surrounded by an ugly, darkening bruise that ran down the length of her neck. She wore a green tank top, black shorts, and high black boots.
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Rey found herself staring at the young woman's face. Sharp features and delicate curves, a petite nose and soft-appearing lips, and the fairest skin Rey had ever seen gave the girl an aura of innocence Rey never imagined finding on Jakku. It fascinated her, she fascinated her, and she had to shake herself out of her entrancement and remind herself that this woman needed her help.
Rey had just begun fumbling with the girl's harness when the woman suddenly jerked and began coughing, startling Rey. Taking a step back, she watched, holding her breath as the other woman's eyes fluttered open.
"Wh-where, where..." the young woman asked, voice dry and rasping.
"Shh, shh, it's okay," Rey murmured reassuringly, uncertain what else to say. Worry squeezed her gut tightly as the woman struggled to move. "I'm here to help you. What's your name?"
"J-Jenny," the young woman croaked hoarsely. "Name's Jenny... I..."
Then her eyes slid shut again and her chin dropped onto her chest as she fell back into unconsciousness.
'I need to move faster,' Rey thought.
While searching for a way to loosen the girl's safety harness, Rey caught sight of the interior of the ship. An internal component or system of some kind must've overloaded, the resulting exploding having driven shrapnel into the walls and floor. One of those thick shrapnel chunks planted itself between the cockpit and the rest of the ship, probably saving the woman's life. Now that she'd begun to examine the ship with a closer eye, the acrid scent of chemicals and the growing pools of mechanical fluids added a new sense of urgency to her task.
'Best not stay here any longer than I have to,' she told herself.
Hands quickly returning to their task, Rey finally succeeded in unfastening the safety harness.
She slid her arms beneath Jenny's back and knees and used her strong legs to heave the woman out of her seat. The task might've been far more difficult had the woman not been so short and slender. Teeth clenched with the exertion of lifting her burden, Rey carried the woman several steps from the ship and laid her on the ground.
Anxiously, Rey examined the woman for any other injuries, hands deftly running up and down Jenny's form. Aside from the long, red cut on the side of the woman's head, and the subsequently red-stained hairline, Rey found only a collection of purpling bruises and a few minor cuts. As far as she could tell, the woman had no broken bones. The head wound worried her, however; it was possible she may have suffered a serious concussion.
After placing her staff on her back, she hauled the young woman into her arms again and carried her to her speeder. Her muscles strained to carry the woman's weight, but a few minutes and minor struggles later, Rey managed to seat Jenny behind her on the speeder. She strapped the woman's body to her own.
'Maybe I can stay a little longer and salvage something,' Rey mused. But even as she thought it, she knew it couldn't be. Rey had to get the young woman back to shelter, food and water. Out in the open desert, she wouldn't last long; either the heat or the hunters of Jakku, animals and people alike, would claim her.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Rey powered her speeder to life and zoomed across the sea of blazing hot sand, leaving the greatest salvage of her life untouched behind her.