Author's Note: I've just realized it'll soon be two months that I haven't posted a new chapter. I've had to wrinkle out a few story knots, some of which affected this chapter. Now those problems have been resolved, I can finally share with you one of the longest (and hardest) chapters I have written for this story. I'm getting the feeling this rewrite is going to take me a lot longer to write and finish than I thought ^^.

Enjoy!

34 ABY
Jakku, The Western Reaches, Inner Rim
Goazon Badlands

BB-8 was in trouble.

He had known that the moment the blaster bolts had hit the X-Wing. Despite his best efforts, he had not been able to maintain the small craft as long as he had hoped. The fires had spread, causing more and more damage to the engines and shutting down system after system. Eventually, BB-8 had stopped trying to save the X-Wing and focused on using what little manoeuvrability it still had to land. Not even the little droid's sensors could have identified what he had done as a 'landing'. The desert sand had proven effective in lessening the damage to the fighter as it crashed to the ground.

But that had only been the beginning of BB-8's problems. Releasing himself from the droid slot at the top of the X-Wing, he had tried to reach the desert bed by rolling down the fighter. But the angle at which it was stuck had worked against him and BB-8 had slipped off the side, hitting the fighter's wing and landing in a cloud of sand on the ground. He might have landed on his head had he not had the ability to rotate it on his spherical body.

Now, the little droid looked around him, his receptors taking in the desert around him. The endless dunes were teaming with small lifeforms that no human would have detected but that could not hide from advanced sensors like BB-8's. But none of them would be any use to him in his current situation.

He looked back to the crashed X-Wing. The cockpit was still exposed, which was optimal. But BB-8 had no way to break it open without restoring the systems of the little fighter. And no way to gain access to the unresponsive cargo located in the cockpit.

BB-8's head turned several times, taking all parts of the problem into account… and his head drooped as he whined. Poe had trusted him to get the cargo to safety but he had failed. His master had no doubt been taken prisoner by the First Order. BB-8 knew what that meant for organics and it made his processors heat up in reaction. His programming told him that he needed to help his master, as only when they were together in an X-Wing together could their system work appropriately. But he was also programmed to obey orders and Poe had given orders to get the cargo to safety.

BB-8 could not yet figure out how to get the cargo out of the cockpit. He had several appendages that could allow him to break through the transparisteel. But it would take time, time he wasn't sure he had. His sensors had picked up larger organic lifeforms in the sands; it wouldn't be long before they would notice him and come closer to appraise him. The heat of the day might not affect him in the same way as it affected organics, but it took its toll as it forced his cooling system to work harder to maintain his operational status. Sand was already starting to lodge in his circuits, complicating even simple operations. And, the most worrying aspect for a military-graded astromech, he knew that he would soon become a target. First Order protocol were clear: engagements with New Republic forces were strictly prohibited. And if they happened, none could be left to report it.

TIE fighters would undoubtedly be sent to find and destroy the X-Wing that had escaped from Kelvin Ridge. It would not take them long to find the crash site and ensure that nothing remained. Poe Dameron would be added to the list of Missing In Action personnel. Military officials in the New Republic might wonder about what had happened to him and they may even suspect First Order involvement. But they would not act. The rules of engagement had been made clear and any breach would be severely reprimanded.

Knowing he needed to move fast, BB-8 prepared to work on the cockpit. He didn't include in his calculations how he would move the cargo when he got it out. But he would have to find a way.

However, as he prepared for the long work, an alert went up in his receptors.

Turning his head around once again, he scanned the desert. Something was out there. Something dangerous.

At first, nothing registered, save the lifeforms he had already identified. He scanned for anything that might be dangerous or anything different. And he eventually found it. He first identified a solid and organic mass moving at surprising speed through the sand. Then he registered the head that had been raised into the air, a T-shaped form with bright red eyes…

…and it was heading straight for BB-8.

-0-

Rey's speeder shot over the dunes of the Goazon. She knew that she needed to be quick if she wanted to find the wrecked fighter first. But that depended on whether she would find it at all.

The young woman had been living on Jakku for nearly five galactic standard years now. She knew this world better than many others she had visited in the galaxy and she had managed to go without getting lost for a long time.

But the Goazon was dangerous even for those who knew the desert well. When one put aside the predatory species such as the razorwolves, the junk-eating worms, the ripper-raptors and others from both sand and sky, the greatest threat was succumbing to the heat or, worse, simply getting lost. If one grew up or learnt to survive on Jakku, they would find their way by the light of the sun. They learnt that the Goazon was between Niima Outpost and Kelvin Ravine, or between Carbon Ridge and the Sinking Fields. If you were in none of those places, you were in the Goazon. There was a reason that this place was called the Badlands.

Rey used the sun's location as it began to set to find her way towards Kelvin Ravine. Once there, the hard part would begin. She would have to find a way to locate the downed fighter and assess it before the sun set completely. She knew that she was taking a risk. If she found the fighter, she wouldn't have a lot of time to analyse it before the sun set. Working at night was impossible on Jakku, the lack of light, the cold and the predators' hunting habits made sure of that. Even if she didn't find it, she would have to return home before she lost the light.

But she knew what benefits the fighter's parts could bring, so she was determine that she would find it before nightfall, even if it meant she would return the next day to continue the work. It wasn't so much about starting to work on scavenging parts from the craft. It was more about making sure that she could find it and that no one else had. Fighting over junk was not unheard of and Rey generally stayed away from such fights, but she might have to for this one.

She smiled as she thought of what Kieron would say when he learnt about this. He would once again worry far too much. He knew that what she did was dangerous and most of his protests were only half-hearted because he knew of no other way to feed everyone. But he was still concerned and she loved him all the more for it.
Rey stopped her speeder on a larger dune which would give her a good view of her surroundings. She knew she was close to Kelvin Ravine and that she might get lucky. If the fighter was damaged, it would have left a trail, one Rey could follow.

She was in luck: against the still-clear blue of the sky, she spotted a trail of smoke. It could only be the downed fighter. Rey smiled to herself, as she prepared to head in that direction.

But before she could, she noticed something else, the very thing that she had feared. In the distance, a rapidly-moving shape was distinguishable along the hot sands. Heading straight for the rising smoke of the crash.

Rey fired up her speeder. The race was on.

-0-

BB-8 could only squeal as the massive creature raced straight for him.

It moved fast, almost faster than the little droid could process. Soon, it was on his position and emerged from the sand to reveal itself in its entirety. Its body resembled that of a large worm, with a large mouth beneath its slim neck and T-shaped head. Its back was covered by a shell that protected its weak spot from attack and most likely allowed it to bear the important weight of the sand it swam in. It dwarfed BB-8 with its length nearing twenty meters and the little droid watched almost hopelessly as its massive maw closed around the nose of the fighter.

It wouldn't take long for it to feed on the whole thing, and the cargo would be lost forever. The odds were not in his favour, but that did not stop BB-8 from charging the creature and using his arch welder to shock it.

The electricity did not hurt the massive beast but it did draw its attention. Its head turned with its mouth still closed around the fighter's nose, taking in this inconvenience. For a while, the droid and the predator remained in place, looking at each other. BB-8 moved first, turning around and rolling as fast he could away from this dangerous foe. The worm practically spat out the fighter he had been eating and, after diving back into the sand, took up the chase.

Although BB-8's spherical shape allowed him to move incredibly fast, he was still hampered by the sand, a terrain he wasn't used to navigating. This was a problem the worm did not have and, although the droid had gained an important lead on it, it would not last. Gradually, the worm was closing the distance, its head and the ripples it caused in the sand the only signs of the threat BB-8 was under.

The droid's only concern was completing its mission, and it meant preserving the cargo in the fighter at all costs. It was a simple calculation and, as long as the worm's attention was on BB-8, it wasn't on the crashed ship. But further calculations gave the little droid only data that he had already processed. Even drawing the worm's attention away from the fighter would not be enough. There was nowhere to hide. And no one would come to his aid.

The worm overtook BB-8, its entire body having dived under the sand, and emerged straight in his path. The little sphere stopped spinning and beeped in alarm. Nothing would save him now. The worm opened its large mouth, its meal unable to escape him.

The shots that rang out hit the predator in its side, their potency greater than BB-8's arch welder. The creature screamed, though whether in pain or in anger was unclear, and turned to face this new threat.

BB-8's head turned and his receptor focused on the source of the blaster fire. Three figures were approaching fast, mounted on rusty speeder bikes, and firing continuously at the worm. This distraction seemed to anger the creature and it dove back under the sands, which provided some cover, and allowed him to get closer to his attackers.

The little droid saw his chance, turning around and rolling as fast as he could towards the wreck of the fighter. He had one more chance to get the cargo out of here. The solution had come to him but his calculations didn't give him a good assurance of success. But he had no other choice. No other solution could work. And this one might.

His sensors told him that the worm had re-emerged from the sands and attacked the figures on the speeders. Their shots continued to echo through the silence of the desert. As BB-8 reached the fighter, another sound reached him, one of metal breaking under strain and an organic cry of pain. He turned to see the creature had seized one of the bikes in its massive mouth, the speeder practically disappearing into it. The other speeder had overtaken the bulk of the creature, but turned around and continued shooting at the worm, each of its shots meeting its mark.

BB-8 was about to turn around to recover the cargo when his circuits identifying what was wrong with what he had been processing.

One of the speeders was missing.

The net fell over BB-8 before he could register where the third speeder had gone. Another organic cry, this time of triumph, was what he heard as he tried to roll away.

-0-

Rey pushed her speeder as hard as she could to the place where she had seen the trail heading. Only speeders or another sort of hovering vehicle could have left such a trail and moved as fast over the sand. And there weren't many scavengers on Jakku with such material. She knew who she was dealing with.

What she caught sight off when she reached the ridge confirmed her fears. The Teedo and his band of scavengers had found the wreck before she did… and were confronting a nightwatcher worm. The massive creature had emerged from the sand and was being shot at by one of the scavengers, still on his speeder. Another speeder showed through the mouth of the worm.

Rey knew what the worm would do to her speeder if she tried to get close. Besides, there was no telling whether the scavenger would attack her too. The wisest thing to do, she knew, was to turn around and leave. If a nightwatcher had gotten its sights on the wreck of the X-Wing, there was no chance she could check it out. Most of the massive cruisers in the Graveyard had already fallen prey to them, but their size had made sure that not even decades of feeding had been able to reduce them to nothing. Crashed fighters were easier prey. She would try again soon, hoping against hope that something worth salvaging had survived the onslaught.

But, as she turned to leave, she heard a sound that made her reconsider. It was faint, so faint that she was surprised that she could even heard over the snarls of the worm and the sounds of blaster and speeder engine. Maybe she had just imagined it, but for some reason she couldn't explain, she remained where she was and followed the sound.

Her gaze fell on the wreck of the fighter and found the Teedo… and the origin of the sound: an active droid, whining against the net that had been thrown over it. Teedo was struggling against it, cursing constantly in its strange language. Rey could understand it and, for some reason she could not explain, she suddenly feared for the little droid's life.

Her hands found the controls of the speeder and she headed towards the struggling pair. Her focus was fully trained on the two and her purpose. The idea that had come into her mind was foolish to say the least, and unfeasible to be practical. But Rey knew that it would work.

As she was about to reach them, both still unaware of her approach, she grabbed her staff. It would be close.

The distance closed.

Teedo turned his eyes briefly away from the struggling droid, and saw Rey heading straight for him.

But it was too late.

Rey thrust her staff forward, hooking the net to it and pulling it along with her as she turned and turned in a tight circle before heading off the way she had come.
Teedo hadn't had time to grasp what was happening. When Rey's staff had taken hold of the net, the alien had still been gripping it… and he continued to grip it as Rey sped away. But the force of her momentum did not allow him to either hold on to his prize or remain on his bike. The small scavenger was thrown by its force across the desert sand, his sight turning into a blur and leaving him with a mere confused image of a young woman heading towards him and stealing his prize.
When he managed to overcome the spin that the throw had sent him into, he sat up and looked around for the thief. She was nowhere to be seen. Only a trail of swept sand made it clear to Teedo that she had been here.

-0-

Rey raced across the Goazon as fast as she could, with her heavy bundle still hanging from the staff that she held in hand. She knew it wouldn't take Teedo long to recover from the shock of her theft and that, when it happened, he would start chasing her to recover the little droid.

She needed to put as much distance between them as possible.

Or so Teedo would think.

Unlike the alien scavenger, Rey knew these parts quite well and she also knew that she would soon be arriving on a completely submerged ship that most scavengers had forgotten about. It had been stripped of its valuable parts long ago and none believed that it could be useful anymore.

But Rey knew better. She had used it more than once, taking refuge from Jakku's dangerous storms. And now from unwanted trackers like Teedo and his crew. Not even the trail that she left would give away her location. The winds of Jakku would cover it up quickly and, even if Teedo had picked up her trail, he would assume that she had continued forward. By the time he realized he had lost her trail, he would be unable to identify where she had gone.

Reaching the hidden entrance wish she was sure she was the only one to know of, Rey slowed the speeder and allowed into to slip into the opening, which was almost completely covered by a small ridge of sand. Coming from the opposite direction as he was, Teedo would never notice the small opening. Even if he rode over the ridge, his speeder would take him far away before he could even register what he had just come across.

The heat abated as soon as she entered the carcass of the ship. Rey shut down the speeder's engines so that they would not give away her position and to keep the confined metallic place from heating up too much…

…and for the first time since her great rescue of the little droid actually felt its weight at the other end of her staff.

She dropped the staff and the net fell to the metal floor, causing the droid to squeal. Spinning its head around its metal body as quickly as the net allowed it to, it fixed its black receptor on her and unleashed a flurry of angry beeps. Rey understood them all, having made herself fluent in binary from an early age.

'Shush,' she told it.

To her surprise, it obeyed. Looking up at her, she had the impression of being under the scrutiny of an adorable feline creature. It almost made her smile.

'I'll get you out of there," she said, coming down from her speeder and reaching for her knife.

She made short work of the net and freed the little droid from its prison.

"Your antenna's bent," she noticed.

With a quick movement, it bent its head to allow her to remove it. As Rey straightened it out, she looked at him with questions running through her mind. What was a fully functional, state-of-the art BB unit doing on a world like Jakku? It seemed unlike that he belonged to any smuggler. All they could afford to maintain were second hand versions of older models. And even if they could get their hands on one like the one she had in front of her, they would have to be paid a pretty sum to keep in such a state.

'Who are you?' She asked.

He gave her a series of beeps.

'BB-8. And where do you come from?'

Another series of beeps.

'Classified, really? Well, whoever your classified is, he won't be coming to get you soon. You can stay with me tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take you to Niima Outpost and pass you on.'

BB-8 moved back as she tried to put his antenna back onto his head. The beeps that came from him were negative and insistent.

'Go back to the X-Wing,' Rey repeated in Basic with incredulity. 'No way. Whatever that ship holds will be gone by the time either Teedo or the worm are done with it. It's not worth risking anyone's life over.'

BB-8 beeped at her again in what seemed like anger.

'Something precious?' Rey repeated, mildly interested as he told her that he needed to recover something from the wreckage.

More beeps.

'Galaxy-defining,' she repeated, with renewed incredulity.

This droid's circuits were most likely cross-wired, or so filled with sand that he couldn't process affectively anymore.

'We will return to my home in a few hours, once Teedo is no longer likely to find us and, tomorrow, I will take you to Niima to make the most of losing any valuable pieces from the fighter.'

She got to her feet again, turning her back on BB-8. She meant to check her speeder for any damage or even start cleaning it to pass the time when she heard a new sound come from the little droid: a mechanical whine.

Something in that heart-wrenching sound tore at Rey's sympathy and, frustrated though it made her, she looked back at him and nodded.

'OK, we'll go back to check out the wreckage,' she said.

BB-8's beeps were now celebratory as he rolled to her.

"But don't get your hopes up. Between the nightwatcher worm and Teedo's scavengers, nothing might remain of the wreck."

But something might have. If she could recover anything from it, in addition to BB-8, Rey would make sure of it. Unkar would pay a good price for new pieces.
BB-8 beeped something else to her.

Rey couldn't help but smile down at the little droid.

'You're welcome.'

-0-

On the Finalizer,
In orbit over Jakku

The massive cruiser's hangar was filled by active First Order officers, technicians, pilots and stormtroopers, all busy conducting various activities. The AALs that had been used for the assault on the excavation site at Kelvin Ridge needed to be cleaned of the sand that they had accumulated during the brief operation, as commands from the bridge ordered that all craft be prepared in the event of unexpected circumstances.

None of those charged with overseeing or conducting this effort noticed the small droid who had boarded the Finalizer attached to the hull of one of the transports.
None had noticed it levitating away from the position it had secured itself into for the trip through the atmosphere back into orbit.

And none had seen it before it disappeared into the ventilation shafts of the battlecruiser.

The probe droid had been given its instructions and followed them to the letter, as it had been programmed to do. First, it travelled into the bowls of the ship where the detention cells remained. It needed to find the exact location of the prisoners the First Order had brought on board and calculate the quickest way to get to them.
It didn't take long for the probe to locate both prisoners. Its receivers picked up on them as the only two captives on board the Finalizer and headed for them. They were being kept in two different, but close, cells. One's vital signs were showing erratic signs consistent with an organic undergoing physical interrogation. The other was calm, despite his captivity.

With the information safely stored in its processors, the probe left to its primary target: the battlecruiser's bridge. Once again, it didn't take it long to reach it.
Placed in the ventilation shafts above the bridge, the probe transmitted its information and the success of its mission to the controller, which was close by.

-0-

In orbit above Jakku

The shuttle had been waiting for several hours until the probe reported on its success. Now that its mission was a success, they could begin.

The hold of the transport held a team of men and women from different known species. All were armed to the teeth with blaster rifles, holstered handheld blasters, and a variety of other weapons ranging from sniper rifles for some to vibroblades for others. Some went bare-headed, others wore helmets. But all had the expression of people who had been in combat before; the expression of people who had killed.

All had their weapons primed for the fight ahead. They had been briefed that they would be attacking a First Order battlecruiser. If any of them felt anxious at the idea, they did not show it. Their commander had chosen them for the operation because he had faith that they would not falter when the time came to act.
He sat on one of the benches with them, closer to the command centre where the pilots were busy maintain the ship's course and cloaking device until the time came to launch the attack.

The commander was a Human male, the survivor of many battles all of which showed in his cold expression and the scars on his face. He was anxious to get going, and he could feel a similar impatience in his men. Impatience coupled with fear.

Not fear of the upcoming confrontation; some of them had waited for such an opportunity for a long time. Nor was it a fear of death that they felt; they had all stared death in the face more than once and had learned not to fear it.

Their fear originated with the 'Wraith', the being leading them, the one who stood silently with the pilots in the cockpit. A tall figure, dressed in dark robes, and with a face hidden by a mask. None had seen him in combat or knew if he could fight. But all felt the subtle menace of the man, the surety that he could kill them all if he wanted to. Such a surety that made sure any order he gave would be obeyed. This was a figure that the commander had never come across, not in the many wars he had waged, not even in the darkest parts of the underworld he had lived in for years. He could understand his men's fears. And he had taken up the nickname that they had given him; none of them had been made privy to his name, but 'wraith' was the most appropriate term that anyone could apply to such a being.

The long overdue communication finally came in from the probe droid and the commander headed to the cockpit to hear what this would mean.

The probe's controller was attached to the Wraith's wrist. A holographic projection was being emitted from it, providing them with all the information that they would need for the attack.

'Commander,' came the voice from behind the mask. To his ears, it sounded terrifying. Not because of its metallic timber, but because of how young it seemed. No doubt a distortion created by the mask.

'Sir,' he said. There was no point asking how he had know that he was there, this was something that he found he had to get used to. Just as he had to get used to taking orders from this being.

'We are almost ready,' he continued. 'I will speak to your men. They will follow my orders to the letter. You shall see to it.'

The menace made clear the meaning of his words. 'Yes, sir. My men are professionals; they will not disappoint. We will recover the prisoner for you.'

The figure turned to face him, his mask hiding his expression.

'No, Commander. They will not. I will recover the prisoners myself. Yours will be a different mission entirely. I will only require the services of two of your…mercenaries.'

The commander heard the disdain in the Wraith's voice. It made him cringe with anger and, emboldened by the strong emotion, he did nothing to hide it. 'As you wish…sir. My men will be more than up to any task you set for them.'

'I expect nothing less.'

He turned to the pilots. 'Wait for my word. We shall soon begin our approach, but keep us out of the ship's range until I give the command.'

'As you command, Venerable,' the pilot said. The commander did not know him or his co-pilot, but both were as mysterious to him as the one who now had command over him and his men. Dressed in black robes similar to the ones he sported, they spoke to him with almost religious deference. It unnerved the commander as much as the imperceptible aura coming off the Wraith.

But this was a job like any other. He would carry it out.

The Wraith turned to him again. 'Come, Commander. Let us brief your troops.'