Another day. Another ration pack. Or two. Rey's haul that day hadn't been big, but it would be enough for a meal, however small. She stopped her speeder just outside the limits of Niima Outpost, the sun low in the sky, and carried her load to the cleaning station. As she did so, she noticed three unique shapes off to the south, where visiting ships usually landed. She stopped and stared. X-Wings?

She had seen X-Wing fighters before, on the rare occasion some mercenary or outrider who happened to have one stopped on Jakku. However, it was obvious those models were old junkers, damaged during battle and disposed of by their owners as not being worth the money to fix, and then being taken on by someone who had the time to repair them enough to be travel worthy if not battle ready. These three ships were far from junkers. Sleek, well-cared for, and ready for combat, they had no insignia on them to identify who they belonged to, but there was only one group in the galaxy that used X-Wings effectively these days: The Resistance. Two of the ships were steel grey with blue and red marks on them to individualize them. The third was painted a very distinctive black with orange marks.

Rey continued on to the cleaning station. While she hadn't found much in today's scavenging, what she had was unique enough to warrant decent 'pay,' and after cleaning the old compressor engine, she was pleased to have earned one full portion for it. Putting the ration packs in her bag, she headed for her speeder, but a small group of humans caught her eye. There were three of them, and though they were dressed casually, she knew immediately they were the pilots of the three X-Wings she had seen. They stood out like a sore thumb amongst the rag-tag throng of Niima.

There were two men and one woman. The woman was young, less than a decade older than Rey herself, and though she was attractive, Rey recognized a hardness in the woman's attitude; she was no pushover. Which made sense, since flying an X-Wing was not for the faint of heart. The man she was talking to was older, a bit thick around the middle, with a beard and a jovial expression. He did not look like a fighter pilot at first glance, but the way he looked about him with wariness spoke of someone who had been there and done that in his lifetime.

The third member of the group, who was talking to one of the merchants, was probably a bit younger than the other male pilot, shorter but fit, and his demeanor spoke of confidence and leadership. Something told her the black X-Wing belonged to this man. As she watched, the vendor said something that apparently amused the pilot and he laughed. Something inside Rey clenched, and she was immediately confused. Why did this stranger affect her this way? Suddenly, she realized the dealer was pointing at her, and all three pilots turned to look at her.

Panicked, Rey turned and started walking away, trying to be casual about it. She had no clue what they wanted with her or why the merchant had pointed her out to them; she had never had dealings with the man. She turned her head a bit and was dismayed to see the woman and the bearded man following her in her peripheral. They seemed to be in no rush, but their focus was undeniably on her. She was so intent on them she didn't see the third pilot until she almost ran smack into him. Somehow, he had gotten in front of her and was now blocking her way.

He gave her a disarming smile, his brown eyes warm. "Hey, it's okay," he told her. "We just want to ask you a question." When she stopped and gave him a brief nod, he held out his hand. "I'm Poe," he told her. "Poe Dameron."

She looked down at his hand and then back up at him, taking it cautiously. People rarely shook hands here on Jakku. His hand was warm and callused, and his touch was comforting. She bit her lip and pulled her hand back, more than a little confused by her reaction.

She saw his gaze drop to her lips, then he looked up and behind her, motioning to his companions. "This is Snap and Jess," he told her.

Rey glanced back at them as they nodded, then she faced Dameron again. "Rey," she said softly.

"I know."

For some reason, his simple response made her heart beat harder and faster. Why did he seem so familiar? And why was she acting this way around him? Plenty of hot-shot pilots had come and gone from Niima outpost, and several of them had been handsome as sin. None had affected her like this man.

"We're here looking for pilots to draft into the Resistance," he continued. "More than one person pointed out you as the best pilot in Niima, maybe even all of Jakku." The corner of his mouth tilted up. "Do you have any interest in learning to fly combat spacecraft?"

Rey was stunned. Who had told him she was a pilot? It wasn't something she broadcasted, and she sure as heck never thought anyone in Niima cared anyway. "Fly combat? Like an X-Wing?" she asked.

"Yep," Dameron said with a smile. "X-Wings. A-Wings. Bombers. Whatever your talents fit with best."

Rey was starting to get excited. To be able to travel around the galaxy and fly those amazing ships would be a dream come true. "That would be wonderful!" she exclaimed, but then reality hit her.

Poe had grinned at her reaction, but when her face fell, his did too. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She blinked and looked at him. "I'm flattered by your offer, but I… I can't leave Jakku."

"Seriously?" he said, his expression disbelieving. "Why can't you leave this dustball?"

Rey hesitated. How to explain something she had a hard time explaining to herself? "I'm waiting for someone," she said, keeping it simple.

Poe looked disconcerted. "That's too bad," he told her. "We really need good pilots." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Whoever you're waiting for is very fortunate to have someone so loyal on their side."

Rey felt her face heat.

He held out his hand again and she took hold of it more willingly this time. "If you change your mind," he told her softly, "look me up." He held onto her hand much longer than a simple handshake warranted, and she didn't mind at all. With a sad nod, he let her go and turned away. Rey was barely aware of the other two pilots passing her and following him. Slowly, she made her way out of town and toward her speeder. She had mounted it and was getting ready to start it when the roar of engines caught her attention. She looked up to see the three X-Wings lifting off and heading upward toward space. She watched them until they disappeared in the dusky sky, then put her head down on the steering column and cried.

SUNRISE

"Take the offer, stupid! Let him show you how to really fly! In more ways than one!" Rey wished she could have yelled at her dream self. She hadn't liked the ending at all. She much preferred the dreams that ended in her and Poe making love. She sighed as she sat up, wondering what this day would bring now that the night and her weird dreams were done.

She took out a ration pack. Only two more left after this one was gone, she thought. She needed to start hunting. She had seen several small rodent-like creatures throughout her journey, but how to catch and kill one? She did not have a blaster; she had been going to a peaceful meeting on Naboo and had no need of such a weapon. Her lightsaber, a symbol of the Jedi, was always with her, but she couldn't see how to use it to kill a small rodent that ran as fast as these guys did. She sighed. She would figure it out.

As the sun rose higher, she and Sal headed into the strange new area, Rey on foot next to him. At first, she was worried that Sal would have no grass to graze on here, but it wasn't long before she realized there were still pockets of prairie here and there, and Sal seemed fairly comfortable with what grass he could find there. Eventually, she mounted him again, assured he could handle the rocky surfaces on his nimble hooves. It seemed hotter in this area, probably because the surrounding rock seemed to absorb the sunlight and heated the ground more than it had the grassy surface on the plains. She also began to worry they wouldn't run into any of the little streams that were so common on those plains.

When the sun had reached its highest point, Rey though she heard a ship, just like the one she had seen a few days earlier. She searched the skies, but the sun was blindingly bright and it was almost impossible to see anything. She dismounted and sent Sal off to graze; if he was seen, he wouldn't be suspect, and she could hide much easier by herself. She heard an engine whine, and she followed the sound toward a small canyon. Carefully, she climbed up the rocky wall to look down on the ravine. She ducked down immediately when she realized there was a Theta-class T-2c Imperial shuttle parked right beneath her. Damn. She knew it had been Imperial when she heard it before.

She peeked over the edge again as she heard angry voices. A man in civilian clothing was arguing with two other men in old Imperial uniforms, with four stormtroopers in classic armor standing watch. It was like watching a holo-movie, she thought, one that took place 35 years ago. This wasn't the First Order. These guys were hard core Imperial Army.

Suddenly, she realized she recognized the man in the civilian clothing. Waitley Calandra. She had just met him on Naboo. He was the aide to the Senator from Chandrila, Jorini Ketterly. Ketterly had been one of the few people Rey had met on Naboo that she had taken an immediate disliking to, but she couldn't have told anyone why if asked. She focused her Force energy toward her sense of hearing so she could find out what exactly her aid and the Imps were arguing about.

"I can't understand why she hasn't been found, yet!" Calandra was saying.

"Do you not understand that our resources are limited and that this is big planet?" The Imperial Lieutenant was obviously being sarcastic. Rey didn't know that was possible.

"A planet devoid of human life!" Calandra shouted. "She should be easy to find, being the only human."

The officer just stared at him, then shook his head and looked at his companion. "Halpern? Did we ever get those human-only sensors we ordered last week?"

The Ensign looked a bit discomfited. "Uh, not that I know of, sir."

"Well, darn," the Lieutenant groused. "Looks like we're SOL, Mr. Calandra."

Rey had to admit, she kinda liked this guy. Too bad he chose the wrong side.

Calandra fumed. "Ketterly will know your name, Lieutenant," he growled.

"She already does, Mr. Calandra," the Imp replied with a smirk. "She's even screamed it a couple of times."

Rey bit her lip to keep from laughing at Calandra's expression, but she soon sobered and pulled herself back down into a crouch behind the rocky hill. While the argument had been entertaining, it also told her something she really didn't like. This whole 'adventure' had been a set up. Her shuttle had obviously been sabotaged by Imperial spies on Naboo and had 'broken down' at this specific planet in the middle of nowhere, and those TIEs had been waiting to destroy it. And Senator Ketterly, who represented the same planet that the famous leader of the Rebel Alliance, Mon Mothma, had come from, had instigated it all.

The new Republic government had just gotten started, again, and it already had Imperial spies.

Rey decided to slip back down the way she had come and go around. She had done a good job so far of avoiding detection, so she might as well keep on moving. No sense in confirming she was still alive and kicking. That thought sobered her. If they were seriously looking for her, that meant they had found the wreck of her shuttle. And Stevie's body.

"What is that?!" she heard suddenly from over the rise. She straightened up and peeked over again, her eyes widening when she saw Sal wander into the ravine. "Oh, no," she whispered.

"It's just a native grazer. A dumb animal," the Imp was saying. "Nothing to worry about."

"Well keep it away from the ship," Calandra said.

"It's not going to do the ship any harm," the Lieutenant told him with exasperation.

Calandra just glared at him, pulled his blaster, and headed for Sal.

"No!" Rey thought, directing her energy to Sal. "Sal! Run! He means to hurt you!"

Sal turned his head to look in her direction, then turned wide eyes toward the man coming toward him. The stormtroopers were watching with interest; Force knew they would be happy to shoot at anything that moved, too. Sal finally turned and started running, but Calandra lifted his blaster and aimed.

"Stop!" Rey shouted, jumping out from her hiding place. They all turned startled eyes toward her. "I'm the one you want! Right?" She spread out her hands, enjoying the look of pure shock on the faces of the men. The non-helmeted ones, anyway.

"Shoot her!" Calandra was almost frothing at the mouth.

The stormtroopers immediately took aim and fired. Rey's lightsaber flew from her belt into her hand already activated and she blocked them in quick succession. Two troopers immediately went down from their own deflected bolts. She saw the smart-ass Lieutenant and the Ensign run for the ship while the two troopers left continued firing like the good, brain-washed soldiers they were. Calandra seemed to realize he was being left behind, but the firing troopers were between him and the ship.

Rey continued blocking the bolts sent her way, carefully making her way down the short, steep hill to the ravine, finally taking out the last two troopers as the shuttle engines roared. As Calandra screamed at the ship, another figure appeared off to Rey's right. She looked over to see one of the giant cats she had run into before. It was watching the ship and Calandra with a combination of fear and anger. As the shuttle lifted off the ground, Calandra running after it, she decided to test her newfound 'dumb animal' communication skills. Using the Force, she learned the cat was a female who had nursing young in a cave nearby and was getting quite fed up with all the commotion out here. Rey casually coaxed the cat into believing her kittens needed some fresh meat and that Calandra looked very tasty, then she redirected the Force to pull the blaster out of Calandra's hand. She watched as the cat began to stalk the now weaponless man, whose shocked eyes were going back and forth between her and the creature. Rey turned and walked away. When the screams came, she felt no satisfaction, but she did feel that justice had been served.

The Imps would be back, she knew, but not until they reevaluated the situation. She found Sal just around the corner of one of the sandstone pillars, his eyes still wide as he listened to the commotion in the ravine; Calandra's screams had stopped, but the cat was still shrieking. She put her hand on his neck. "Don't do stupid shit like that again, okay?" He almost looked embarrassed. With a soft smile, she put the blaster she had stolen from Calandra in her bag, then moved around to hop on Sal's back, but once there, she just sat.

She had no idea where to go. Her Force sense was not telling her anything. And the fact that Sal just stood there indicated he did not have a clue, either. The Force had led her here. For this. To learn the how and the who. But what difference did it make if she couldn't tell anyone? If she couldn't warn the senate and Chancellor Berreth of the spy? And where did she go now?

Devoid. Calandra had said the planet was devoid of human life. That didn't mean there weren't other sentient species. Imperials (and their successors the First Order) had been notoriously Human-biased, considering other species inferior. So, Rey wasn't about to give up on finding help, yet.

"Okay, Sal," she said softly to her friend. "It looks like it's just us, now." She looked off to her right. "Let's head east this time. We haven't gone east, yet."

Sal obediently turned and headed east.

XXXXXX