Elle took the evening to sift through and explore every nook and cranny of that ship. And since it was a rather large ship it took her most of the night. She had found a pencil and a notebook and began to inventory all she could find. BB-8 stayed by her side the entire night, rattling on about this and that, telling her what somethings did that she had never seen before. Elle found the old droid rather amusing and quite intelligent, she considered herself lucky to have landed here in such good company.

The ship had a kitchen and a rather large living quarters, as well as a line of bunks on the far end near the cargo bay, which was considerably smaller than she was accustom to. There was a lavish amount of basic needs supplies, oxygen tanks, non-perishable food packets, boots, coats, you name it. Elle took extensive notes and organized all she could find. She did not know how long she would be here, but with conditions such as these, she thought herself incapable of foreseeing the day she would leave. Voluntarily that is.

Toward the end of the evening as the non-existent sun set and the storm clouds cleared Elle flicked the light on to the armory, the last stop in her search through the ship. Her breath caught in her throat and she quickly shut the door. Not today, she told herself. BB-8 beeped curiously at her feet.

"Hopefully we won't need any of that." She said softly. BB-8 whirred in agreement.

After much effort Elle considered her triumph of complete inventory less of scavenging more of...opportunism. This ship was here, abandoned in the tundra like BB-8–like her. No one else was around to use it, but if there were other inhabitants she'd gladly share the wealth. There was more than enough supplies and food to last several years on one single person, let a lone a group of people.

Elle felt satisfied, and comfortable. Waking up in the middle of no where actually led her off to a better life, for the time being. Though she would have preferred a different climate, she wasn't one to complain. And besides, the extreme climate would ultimately ward off most troublesome visitors to the planet.

As BB-8 began to power down Elle let herself into the living quarters and settled herself into the large bed. It was warm and soft, like nothing she had ever felt before. Suddenly an electric fire place kicked on and began to warm the room. For a moment she began to question how the ship still had power for the non-necessity items, but she did notice a few stray solar panels on the roof, perhaps there were more than she saw.

Tomorrow, she decided, she would investigate and create a more comfortable home for her and the little droid to occupy.

Over the next several days Elle started a routine. She would wake up very early, as she was never a heavy nor excessive sleeper. Then she would make herself something to eat so her energy levels were up for daily treks into the mountains to survey the land.

Armed with her pencil and notebook, a heavy coat, some jackrabbit jerky, her lightsaber, and trusty BB-8 Elle stepped out into the cold, her skin and muscles immediately stiffened, reacting instantly to the drop in temperature.

It was snowing softly, though it was always snowing. The muted pats of the thick snowflakes compacting into the thick blankets of snow, built a dusty layer that would get picked up and twirled around by the wind every so often --the wind that whistled through the trees.

The numbing coldness and constant snow made for a difficult transition from her previous location, but it was beginning to settle into her. Elle was no stranger to extreme weather conditions, and her body temperature was starting to regulate to 5 or below degrees in just a few days. She liked to pretend this was how cold open space was, but she knew that it was much, much colder.

As she heaved her steps up through the trees on the slope of the mountain she took notes of how many steps, the number of trees -- pinning the trunks with either blue or purple based on its placement and distance from the ship and the trees to follow for a safer, more shallow snow path up the mountain.

After a few hours BB-8 suddenly beeped wildly and rolled in front Elle, preventing her from stepping forward.

"BB-8, what is i--"

A deep growl could be heard behind the bushes. Elle then wondered what other ridiculous creature was lurking around in this expansive arctic she had yet to discover. Slowly though, the animal stepped out, baring large fangs and a pelt of thick and fluffy white and black fur.

By god it had been ages since she'd seen one of these. A dog! It was a real dog!

Elle tried to hide her excitement as she held her hands up and cooed, "Hey, it's alright, we aren't going to hurt you..." BB-8 kept his position, ready to protect Elle if need be. But the dog was unmatched, still baring its jowls, snapping and stomping closer, bit by bit. And for a moment Elle saw fear in it's eyes, it was scared of her and the droid.

Slowly Elle stepped over BB-8 and reached into her pocket for the jackrabbit jerky. She laid it gently in front of the dog and backed away.

Cautiously the dog took a couple sniffs before taking the jerky in it's mouth and gnawed down happily, and quickly. Elle took out another piece but this time held it out to the dog, kneeling down. Slowly it stepped forward, no longer growling or snapping. The dog licked her fingers at first and whined before gently taking the jerky out of her hand, as if it understood the significance of a softer touch with the mouth. After it chewed and swallowed it stepped closer to Elle and began licking her face.

Elle erupted in laughter and rubbed it's head affectionately. After the dog settled down Elle took that moment to look for an identification number on the tuft of it's neck between its fur. Luckily she found one.

019987PAX.

"Hello there 019987PAX, it's a pleasure to meet you." The dog lifted it's paw and pressed it against her shoulder, right above her heart. "I think I'll call you Pax." The dog barked and she smiled brightly. She looked down at BB-8 who seemed to give a reluctant beep in response. Jealously even in a droid is still jealously, programed or not. "Come on BB-8, let's show Pax the ship."

That evening Elle sat by her fire with Pax, who's head laid lazily in her lap. She read through her notes from the day, nodded and humming to herself every now and then. The planet was not very big, yet she had yet to explore every part of it. That was her goal, it was a simple goal but it was hers.

BB-8 whirred behind her and rolled up to her. Elle smiled at the droid who beep at her. He noticed signs of a slight fever within her and was growing worried.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine." BB-8 beep again and she sighed, "But you're right, I better program an S.O.S. message for you to send out just in case."

After programing a voice message for BB-8 to send out on the off-chance something were to happen to her; sickness, death, or otherwise. She let out a long sigh and rolled on her back. She stared at the ceiling and began to feel a pounding in her head, a pressure she'd never really felt before on her right temple. It made her sluggish and sensitive to the light of the fire.

It pulsed mildly for several minutes and Elle thought that maybe BB-8 was right, maybe she was getting sick. But after a little while the pain subsided and her energy level went up. She settled back onto her make shift pallet and sighed. The fire crackled and BB-8 buzzed out of the room, Pax stood and twisted himself on a pillow around and around until he got fully comfortable. Elle glanced around the dark room and was suddenly overcome with a sense of peace, and silence.

She began to think of something her father once told her about peace. That peace, as ambiguous of a concept it may be, is from within. Externalized forces do not cause peace, of course there are physical threats to the concept--but ultimately fighting for it will not achieve it. Just because an obstacle is averted, life does not revert back to the way it once was, no matter how much it may seem so.

Elle was haunted by the acts she had taken part of in her past. But she knew there was no way to take them back. She could only continue to separate herself from that person she once was, the Jedi title she once held. But she must also remember those things and learn from them. Fighting with the resistance hardened her shell and she knew should would never be rid of that, and she was cold, calculated out of necessity -- like the snow that fell from the sky.

"Lest you forget who you are." Where some of the last words she heard from her mentor, who insisted she keep her lightsaber after severing ties with the resistance. At first she refused, but keeping it felt only right. Throwing away her past was not the way to learn from it. "Forgiveness is not easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness."

She had to forgive herself. No matter how difficult. She must forgive herself and the choices she made. No use in blaming anyone else.

Elle closed her eyes when suddenly the headache returned. She struggled to open her eyes again, this time the pain more severe. It felt as though someone was digging into her head, into her mind. Like someone was trying to get in.

She remembered this feeling, when someone in the Force tried to get information out of her. But it never worked on her, her mind was like a steel trap and not even a single iota of a thought was forced out of her. But this time, right this moment, this felt different.

There was so much pain, a blinding white pain but before she knew it, it was over. The pain lifted off her skull like a breeze, like the clouds clearing for the evening. She breathed out heavily and opened her eyes.

For the briefest moment the floor in which she once lay on was no longer cushioned by the pillows and blankets, but was a hard and freezing cold metal. Then in the quickest instant, a single blink and she was back on her pillows. She had not moved, she was not dreaming.

Elle sat up slowly and scratched behind Pax's ear. The blaze of the fire dwindled down, giving the illusion of a real fire. And she stared at it, her brow crinkled as she struggled to understand what had just happened. It was obviously something involving the Force. But why? And how? As far as she knew she was the only person on this planet, or this system. Only someone with an incredible connection to the Force could conjure up such a remote connection.

Who could have done it?