A quick heads up. I don't know what took place, during the Battle of Jakku. I'm changing a bit of Jakku's history, to make it a bit more interesting and, also, a sort of thought what could've actually caused Jakku to change and how the battle could've been the true cause.
Okay? Good. Enjoy the story!
Seven year-old Rey stood before the bonfire, with Mariya next to her. All around them, other slaves that even bother to come and watches as another slave, found dead in the afternoon and surrounded by a flock of Steelpeckers fighting over her haul she fought to the end to save.
Unfortunately, she was only able to escape the Nightwatcher Worm, before she finally succumbed to her wounds.
"She's lucky."
Rey looked up at Mariya, who glared at the body being burnt and becoming like ash.
"Big Sister?" She questioned, grasping her hand to gain her attention.
Mariya looked down at the child, a look for the lack of empathy or any sign of mourning for the dead scavenger seen clearly on her face.
"She didn't die, because she failed to escape and make it out alive, Rey." She hissed, her words like acid but not towards her charge. "She died, because she succeeded to have another to finish her off and not risk becoming a Curse of the Two Suns."
The little girl cocked her head to the side.
The twenty-one year-old woman, seeing that the child doesn't understand what she meant, gave her a serious look.
"Rey, when we get home, I'm gonna tell you a story. And, when it's over, you'll understand why we scavengers follow that one rule."
Rey stared down at the glass in her hand, staring into her own tired, defeated reflection. Now, more than ever, she wished Mariya was with her. That she was still on Jakku, scrapping and scavenging whatever she can get her hands on, lost to complete ignorance and living off of a lie that kept her going before finding Beebee-Ate.
It wasn't perfect and, if Mariya had lived, she had no doubt she and Mariya would eventually die off in the sand, forgotten and lost. But, they'd be together when they die and dream of rain and trees before the darkness would take them.
"...On Jakku, we scavengers are taught to live selfish, in order to survive the constant struggle of hunger, thirst, war and death." She started, as she slowly raised her head to stare up at the person wearing reptilian-like armor. "But, in reality, we all live by one rule and one rule, alone: When the heat of the sun finally blinds you in its wrath, the wind doesn't bless you with nothing but scornful resentment of the sand of the past, and you know, in your heart, that you're weak and can no longer continue the journey, then know that your freedom is ready to greet you... And awaits, with open arms, to take you away. After all. -She flashed him a sad-smile. A tear came down her cheek.- A slave's only freedom, is death."
It felt like an eternity that they'd been running from the Meeting Room, and heading for the Emergency Room of Medbay. Kylo Pushed himself to run a fast as he his body could move.
Ap'lek remained ahead, taking the lead and leading the two to where, to Kylo's surprise, the monitor room of the Bacta tank Area.
"Why-?" He started, but was cut off by the younger-male.
"Of she sees you come in, she'll take that moment to kill herself." He explained, walking through the metal-door and staring through the glass. "Even if Vicrul does succeed to stop her, we can't put risk putting any more strain to her heart and mind. So, if she does attempt to take her life for a third time, you can stop her from within here and put her to sleep before she sees it coming."
Kylo couldn't argue with his deduction and quick thinking, though he'd rather be in the same room with Rey than hiding over her, where the windows within the Bacta tank are tinted.
Staring down below them, he sees her, standing almost nude, trembling from the cold and a few feet away from Vicrul. Seeing the shard being held in her hand, he almost instinctively used the Force to pry it out of her hand but had to use every ounce of control to not tap into his power.
Though, when she spoke about the rule she and the other scavengers on Jakku follow... And, hearing the very similar phrase his grandfather said to him, almost had him using the Force to break the glass and jump down and get to her. Thankfully, Ap'lek placing a hand on his shoulder kept him grounded.
"Wait, and listen." He whispered, looking down at the girl. "What she will tell us, may aid you to understand her continuous desperation to sever the Bond she has with you."
The thirty year-old didn't reply to his suggestion, but stayed quiet and listens to what his beloved has to say.
"I believe many in the galaxy have heard how, without warning, Jakku, once a planet full of oceans and greeneries, turned into a barren wasteland for some unexplainable climate change. Many believed the planet changed, Eons ago... But, we on Jakku know the actual truth. Just as we knew how the Battle of Jakku had truly ended."
Flashback: Twelve Years Ago; Jakku...
Rey stared up at the sky, staring up at the stars. Along with it, the two moons rising together, one taking the lead of the two.
Mariya, sitting beside the girl, gently stroked Rey's hair, ridding away the tangles of the day.
"Once upon a time, Jakku was like many other planets. Full of green vegetations, oceans that swallow up the sand and, even in Dry Season, there was rain." The twenty-one year-old started, as if telling her charge/sister-figure a bedtime story. "There was life, order and politics. It wasn't full of enough resources that many would consider to be highly important, but Jakku was considered to being very popular and, at one point, was once known for holding sacred treasure."
The seven year-old gasped out a sigh, amazed by what she was hearing. She never thought she would hear wonderful things about this dustball she's been living on that makes her struggle for survival.
She was very curious to know how this planet just turned into something so ugly and scornful.
"What happened?" She whispered, looking over to the adult. "What happened to the greens? To the oceans? And did it, also, destroy the treasure?"
Mariya continued to stroke the girl's hair. Her blue-eyes, a sky-blue color, held a blank, numb look. Then, she looked back up at the sky.
A deep breath of a sigh left her... And, a tear trickled down her cheek.
"Many believe the planet, so envious of the other planets for their beauty, decided to destroy its own beauty and become what it believe it should always be known for: Empty... But, the truth is, Rey, the planet didn't do this to itself. The war did."
Rey cocked her to the side.
"'War'?"
Mariya nodded her head.
"A little over seventeen years ago, there was a brutal battle, a massive fight between the New Republic and the remnants of the Galactic Empire. Those outside of Jakku claimed that the New Republic pulled off a miracle, being outnumbered by their enemy, and won the war... But, in truth, Little Sister, that was a lie."
Mariya turned back to the quiet girl, who kept staring at her.
"The New Republic didn't win, because they got lucky. They won... Because, they committed to causing a massacre that ended up getting their enemy, and themselves, killed... By using one of Jakku's two suns, by damaging it, in hoping to cause a supernova and destroying the planet.
"What?!" Dr. Skid cried out, stunned from what he, his colleagues and the Knight of Ren was hearing. "Are you serious?! How can it be?!"
Lo, just as taken back by what he patient was telling them, stayed silent.
Rey gave the doctors a numbing, blank look.
"The very few soldiers of the New Republic that survived, told everyone a completely different story. Making it sound like they're heroes, when they were ashamed and guilt-ridden by their own men for attempting to kill everyone off, and being the true cause of the planet's climate to change." Rey informed them. "Very few ships survived the war and climate change, but we scavengers found those ships. And, inside of them, the true story on how our planet is what it is, to this very day. I wouldn't be surprised if Snoke know the truth and, in secrecy, had his men make certain nobody knew or even remembered what Jakku was before the battle took place. He could've founded those men, before they even reached the New Republic, and used the Force to make up an elaborate description how the battle went and its history, or killed them and replaced them with spies to conceal the truth."
"But if he did knew how it ended, why hide it?" A nurse asked, baffled by the girl's logic.
"Possibly, to use in the future, to inflict political damage and the image of the New Republic, when the time is right." XLR-8 concluded. "Even if Leia Organa or any other high-ranked officer weren't involved in the war, just by knowing members of a group many look up to had committed such a heinous act they expect an enemy to do, is very much damaging, that could have them second guessing who they support and turn on them."
"If that were to be true. But, getting off topic, here." Vicrul stated, keeping his eyes on the girl and the shard in her hand. "What does the Battle of Jakku have anything to do with your plight? Also... How was it that Jakku had two suns, when we only seen one and no evidence of the second, in spite learning that it was damaged?"
Rey turned to him, curling her right-arm over her chest, out of shyness of any to see her near-nakedness.
"You know of the Storm God, R'iia? The Deity Jakku worships?" She asked, earning confused but nods from everybody. "The Teedos believe she's the reason to had brought the war to Jakku. I, myself, don't believe that sort of theory... However, she's the one to have blessed us with the Curse of the Two Suns, after the New Republic chose to damage that caused the great drought... And, after it nearly died out and thrown off its course, got turned into a moon."
Lo, very much astonished by the news, couldn't help but ask her a question.
"One of Jakku's suns, turned into a moon? By the Maker, that's incredible."
Rey shook her head.
"What you find incredible, resulted thousands of lives to perish, the trees to disintegrate and the ocean to melt into steams."
She bowed her head, as if mourning for those who died that day.
"Out of the entire New Republic, only two were able to escape. The rest, along with whatever few Galactic Empire soldiers were left, got caught in the literal crossfire and were left stranded on Jakku. Some had died, from the fire that consumed the sand and couldn't get away from the roaring blazes. Those who had survived, were only able to get through the chaos because of the sinking holes that pulled them in. The flames lasted for an entire week, even when the rain finally came down and poured over the planet, never stopping for a moment rest."
Rey stared back up at the stars, trying to imagine water pouring from the sky.
"But, sadly, the rain couldn't put the fire out and by the eighth day, all the plants turned into ashes and the sand hardened to bring mistaken for natural earth, becoming like the mountains." Mariya continued, also staring up at the sky. "When the survivors were finally able to find a way out of the sinking holes, the rain and the clouds died out and parted. And, since then, there hadn't been rain, since."
Rey's eyes widened.
"But, if there was no more water and their ships were damaged or broken, how did they survived Jakku?" She asked, slightly shivering when the wind blew.
Mariya gave her a blank expression.
"...They didn't survive Jakku, Rey."
Her answer, honest and straightforward, while it did made the seven year-old sad, didn't bothered her.
"As soon as the soldiers from both the New Republic and Galactic Empire came out, a massive sandstorm came without warning, and trapped them in its wrath. It was there and then, with the surviving sun shining down at them, that a figure appeared before them."
The girl cocked her head to the side.
"...R'iia?"
The twenty-one year-old woman stroked the girl's hair.
"Honestly, none know for certain... But, we, of Jakku, like to believe it was R'iia, herself. Appearing before them, to inflict punishment for the sins of their own members and exact revenge for the sun that lost its kin... However, if anything, R'iia chose a different route and, instead, gave them a sentence that, if they complete the punishment, she would spare them."
"'Remain in the chaos your own had caused. Suffer, as the sun, Sunce, had, as your instrument of destruction. May Lite, Sunce's brother, shine down his wrath and make you walk the Path of Fire. And when you all have repented and begged for the suns for forgiveness, in a years time, you'll be free of Jakku's plight. Fail to do so, and the suffering will be far greater than you can imagine'."
Rey recited the very words Mariya told her on what R'iia told those who were involved in the great calamity of Jakku. Sounding more like a mantra she had to memorize.
Everyone remained silent. Her words left them feeling uncomfortable, and unease to know what happened to both sides that were left stranded.
Ap'lek and Kylo, also in silence in their own space, wondered why he would want nobody to know the truth about the war, let alone the planet, and not just simply destroy it and use the information to immediately bring down the New Republic. Thus, the Resistance to be unable to rise.
"...Did any of them fulfilled the trial of their punishment?" Vicrul questioned, wanting to know how it went and hope it doesn't have anything to do with her attempting to commit suicide.
...And, to his great disappointment, Rey slowly shook her head.
"As soon as she told them what they needed to do, some of them tried to kill the other." She started, growling low. "They only called for a temporary truce, when they were trying to get back to the surface world when some ended up taken and returned by the Nightwatcher Worms, but swore to continue to being enemies as soon as they were free. So, some tried to keep hold of their promise, rather than put aside their differences and figure out how to survive the year on Jakku, together. -Her hand, the one not holding the shard, clenched into a tight fist.- It wasn't until a few days on Jakku, that some had chosen to take the easy way out from their punishment and leave the others to suffer on their own. and, not too surprisingly, the first to give up was those from the New Republic."
"And soon, one by one, both groups were dwindling, as the days and nights past. Those from the New Republic couldn't handle the wrath of Jakku's heat and lost their faith to keep living, if they hadn't became victims to the sinking sands or Nightwatcher Worms. Those from the Galactic Empire, facing death in the eyes, died from their failure to be cautious at night when searching for easy prey, water and shelter from the predators or the few traps that survived the flames. Within three months, seven New Republic and twelve Galactic Empire soldiers remained. When they crossed paths, both saw how weak the other group was and believe one could dominate the other to submit whatever provisions they had left... But, after staring at one another until the sun had set, both decided, in silence, to a truce."
Rey scrunched her face, feeling that what they did had been a terrible mistake.
"But don't they still view each other as enemies? And, with more people, means less food and water for everyone."
Mariya leaned down and kissed Rey on the head.
"That's right, Little Sister." She whispered, pulling the girl to lay her head against her chest. "They doomed themselves since they landed on Jakku, and all were now two steps closer to an early grave when they joined together. Of course, unknown to them, while she intends for them to suffer, R'iia does whatever she can to make it fair, no matter how little her help may seem to be. Yet, even after lending them her hand, when seven months passed, three New Republic and six Galactic Empire remained. -Mariya's arms slightly tightened around Rey, but not too much to make her uncomfortable.- Two of the New Republic wondered off in the middle of the night, and killed themselves... The other two, losing hope and driven by fear, went mad and attempted to kill one of their own and the Galactic Empire, two nights later."
The child's eyes widened, but not because of fear.
Because she knew, when one gives in to take the life of others, they automatically becomes an Dead-Ender and throws away every shred of possession that was once their identity. She happened to had witnessed it happening before her eyes, when she and Mariya were going to Plutt to give their haul in exchange for portions, a slave attempting to kill her own master in front of everybody at Niima Outpost. And it was all because he tossed her three portions of food right in her face, and stated on how she'd be of more use as a bed-warmer at the Pleasure Tents.
"The last three New Republic, believing they'll be next to die by the hands of the Galactic Empire soldiers, lost all hope. Then, four days later, one of them fell very ill and was suffering from hunger and dehydration. She pleaded for them to end her life, not wanting to suffer any longer than she already was... And, to no surprise, one the Galactic Empire soldier gave her a swift and painless death. And, as soon as she died, the last two New Republic plotted to die that very night."
Rey pouted.
"They just gave up? Just like that? Even though it's their group's fault they damaged Sunce, and were told to repent for their mistakes? Those cowards!"
Mariya doesn't make any attempt to excuse what the New Republic chose to do, after she and the older-scavengers saw and listened to the videos that survived all this years ago.
"They chose to take the cowards way out, because they weren't strong enough to face the consequences of their actions... But, yes, they should've heeded R'iia's words and had bothered to at least apologize to Sunce and Lite. -She let out a deep sigh.- That very night, they left the group, like the two before them did, and took out the only blaster they had left since they crashed on Jakku. The second soldier assured him that he'll be with him, before he killed his friend. And then, he turned the blaster to himself, right to his chest, and pulled the trigger."
The seven year-old looked down at the sand beneath their AT-AT.
"And he died, and the Galactic Empire were left on Jakku?" She deducted, not feeling sad or upset how the story was heading.
...Then, she received the answer.
"...Actually... He survived. And, when he woke up, he found himself bandaged up and surrounded by the remaining six Galactic Empire soldiers. They saved his life."
"He survived?! After taking a blaster to the chest?!" The head nurse exclaimed.
Rey chuckled lowly, then cough into her hand.
"I found it just as startling to hear he lived after that, but I was more shocked that his enemies saved him." She said. "Though, honestly, they should've let him die, instead of wasting what little medical supplies they had left on a Cursed One. Even R'iia, who came to him that night in his dreams, told him that he will be cursed of misfortune towards himself and will be punished, again, if he makes a second attempt on his life."
Almost immediately, Vicrul realized what was going on.
"...It was his actions, of taking his own life, twice, that left the People of Jakku to believe in the Curse of the Two Suns. Wasn't it?"
Rey smirked darkly at the Knight of Ren.
"We don't believe in it... We know the curse exist, because we've seen it cause misfortune to themselves. And, those who were around longer than I, had witnessed and endured misfortune happen to them and others from those who failed to take their lives away, twice."
She turned both of her wrists, showing off her past cuts she inflicted on herself when she needed to feel something or had to take drastic measures to ensure her survival... And, the very cut that was suppose to be the fatal wound to end her misery.
She still wonders, to this very days, why she even bothered to keep fighting to live, when she's better off dead.
"I, myself, had experienced misfortune upon me, when I failed to take my own life away, at the age of thirteen. -She looked back up at Vicrul.- And now, I shall bring misfortune to others. And though I shouldn't care what happens to those that had wronged me and are hunting my friends and the Resistance, I don't want to risk having anyone to suffer or die, just by me being here."
She then slowly walked towards the twenty-nine year-old Savarian and reached for one of his hands, placing the shard in gloved-hand.
"There's still time to save yourselves, thus the entire galaxy... And him, most of all. -A sad-smile spread on her face, followed by a tear running down the right-side of her face.- ...Please... Kill me."
Ap'lek's eyes widened. Then, he turned to Kylo... Who, seemingly calm, despite wearing a helmet, he knew that he's close to breaking through the glass and dropping down to his Sonellia's side.
"Vicrul will handle this, Kylo." He whispered, laying a hand on his right-shoulder. "He understands her plight. If he can't reach her, he'll prevent her from making any attempt to take her life."
Kylo didn't want to stand by any longer, but knew his knights can be trusted with Rey and must allow them to get close to her. Not just physically, so that they can prevent her from harming self, but also emotionally when he isn't around to be there for her.
Since they're his brothers in all but blood and is going to marry her, they'll be her brothers, too.
He only hope that she'll listen to reason and be compliant to allow them to help her, and not stress herself before the surgeons are ready to detox her from the Silicosis and proceed with surgery.
Vicrul stared down at the shard placed in his hand, then back at the weak, tired, shivering girl before him.
The twenty-nine year-old Savarian knows that he's caught in the middle. Of course, he could easily toss aside the shard and so easily use brute force, to an extent, to force her to submit. But, while it's much more effective to prevent her from making any more attempt on her life and helping the doctors to put her back under sedatives, he knows that it would damage whatever form of trust and bond he would make with her and, possibly, push her to make another attempt on her life when nobody is around.
And that's not even including when she'll learn that they found her friends, and are held captive within the First Order's detention cells.
He stared at the small-cut on her neck, where her voice-box was at, the small-trail of blood that glided down to her chest and coating her temporary breast-band. It made his blood boil that she didn't hesitated to impale herself, to damage her voice. And, if the wound she gave herself on Ahch-To said otherwise, made him even more closer to giving in to his rage and reaching for his phrik-scythe, which he left in his quarters until he finished taking some of his belongings to Bazine's ship.
Speaking of his beloved, he winced that he's keeping her held up. Though, keeping her up is now the least of his worries.
He can feel her small-hands slightly trembling through his gloved-hand that now held the glass, her hazel-eyes trying to pierce through his eyes that remains hidden behind his helmet, pleading for him to give her the death she so desperately desires and believes she deserves.
Which he knows, body, mind and soul, that's far from the truth.
He firmly, but as gently as he could, pulled his right-hand from her grasp. Then, with his left, grasped for her right-shoulder.
"...Tell me how it ends," he requested. "Your answer told us that he tried attempt to take his own life, twice, but you haven't finished the story. And, honestly, I wish to hear how the Deity of Jakku, R'iia, would enforce the belief of the 'Curse of the Two Suns' unto her people."
Rey can tell he's stalling. But, in his voice, she can tell that he, indeed, wants to hear how the story and history of Jakku became how it is in the present.
She let out a tiring sigh, and continued where she left off.
"He asked why they would save him, when it's clear that he is all that remains of the New Republic and that, even if they all lived for an entire year, he'd be their prisoner and would rather die a free man than an imprisoned soul survival of his own squad. Though, the answer he gotten was very shocking: It wasn't because they pitied him, or cared about him in the least. It was because, even if he's all that remains of his own group and is an enemy, he has just as much reason to live on, for his fallen comrades and himself, and has to finish the harsh punishment for them. To this day, many of us still wondered why they even bother to save the last of their enemy, let alone care if the last remainder New Republic should continue to live out the punishment for him and his fallen comrades."
Rey let out a small, gentle hum, also puzzled as to why the Galactic Empire would do that. Very much uncertain on who's the enemy of Jakku, and who's the true hero. Yet, at the same time, feeling neither side would be considered the hero or enemy of their planet.
"What happened after that?" She whispered.
Mariya leaned the both of them back, so they're now laying on their backs, with Rey resting on top of the older-girl.
"Two days after that, a miracle happened: They found one of the two Galactic Empire's Imperial II-class Star Destroyers. For the first time ever, that one New Republic and the six Galactic Empire soldiers, found safety and comfort on Jakku. -She took in a deep breath, as she stroked Rey's hair.- But, as soon as they went in, they found that most of the supplies had been damaged or destroyed. And, when the Galactic Empire soldiers tried to gain in contact with their group, their signal was very weak and could only send in an emergency beacon. It wasn't until they saw the destruction of the ship's generator and the severe melting of metal joining into the sand and earth, that they were in the very ship that some of the New Republic snuck on to and used to nearly destroyed Sunce in the war. So, once again, they find themselves in the mercy of R'iia's Judgement and decided to stay put within the Star Destroyer... Unknown to them, that the leaking fuel that dried up still lingered within the ship, from the radiation traces and was slowly poisoning them."
"For over four months, they remained in that ship. They ate the contaminated food they rationed, drank the water that barely was passable to drink and slept on the harsh metal. But, during that time, they grew sick and died off. They tried to hunt at night for fresher prey, but their bodies weakened them and had little success on hunting. And when theiir water supply almost ran out, they couldn't find any trace of area that would show signs of water until one dug into the dirt and found a couple holes full of dirt-water. When they were four days away from a year passing, the single New Republic soldier and two Galactic Empire soldiers remained alive, but barely able to cling to life. On the fourth, the second to last Galactic Empire passed away in his sleep, leaving only one soldier from both group alive."
"Is that when the New Republic soldier tried to kill himself, again?" Vicrul asked.
Rey shook her head.
"No... It was after the last Galactic Empire soldier, one of the last who was once an enemy became his friend, died on the second to last day of the year, that he made the second attempt on his life. Unable to handle being the sole survivor of both group, and being left all alone on Jakku. -She stared down at her bare-feet, feeling cold and her toenails turning purple from low-blood circulation.- He was the only one I, actually, mourned for... But, he's also the one I despised the most, too, for being such a coward and giving up when he almost lived the whole year of his punishment. And, when he almost faded, R'iia came before him and scolded him for his actions."
"R'iia didn't hold anything back when she berated him over his selfish desire. She, also, scolded him and the New Republic soldiers that died before him, for not repenting to Sunce and Lite for breaking the two siblings apart since the beginning of the punishment and for even deciding to leave the remaining Galactic Empire soldiers to carry on with the trial of their punishment when they were just as much in the wrong as they were for bringing war and conflict on Jakku. But, most of all, R'iia told him off, for even giving up on the final day of punishment, when he's all that remains to set his group and the Galactic Empire free from their punishment. -The wind blew against the two girls, resulting them to shiver from the cold night, but not enough to get them to head back inside in their AT-AT.- And so, she summoned the wind to lift the Star Destroyer from the ground and broke it in two. Then, with the soldier left quivering on the sand, she made a proclamation. Underneath Sunce, who hovered over her head and went black."
"'For the peace you've denied on Jakku, to Sunce and Lite, and to your own men and the Galactic Empire that you've come to know as friends, all souls on Jakku shall know no peace on my planet. Not in this life, from the moment their own heart beat for the first time within their mothers' wombs, or the next. Those born on Jakku shall be marred with suffering, to the point they seek death as their only escape for freedom. Those who failed to take their lives, shall bring misfortune upon themselves. And, should they failed a second time, shall bring the curse and undoing onto others. The death bringers. So says R'iia, The Deity of Jakku. And, as punishment for damning the souls of those who died before you, you shall be privileged to be forced to live with the burden, unable to kill yourself until your very body can no longer continue the journey and all you will see in your final moment is the blinding rage of Lite's wrath. May you suffer a thousand times in this life, and the next... Adde Re'End... Now, known as the title: 'Dead-Ender'. The death bringer, who brought upon the Curse of the Two Suns, to be parted from each other'."
The room remained quiet as she finished the ending of the tale. Of the truth that took place in the Battle of Jakku, and to the Curse of the Two Suns.
Rey now had her head raised up to the light, but her eyes are closed. Reciting word-for-word that Mariya told her over twelve years ago remained implanted in her mind, as if she was told only yesterday.
As a Savarian, Vicrul had come to believe in the gods from all parts of the galaxy at a very young age, in spite living on a planet that's one of the few to not have either a god or deity*. He had been told many stories from many of them, but there are stories that remained hidden on those he gained very little explanation from. R'iia happened to be one of those gods that he didn't know much about, but hearing many speak of her name gave him all he needed to know that she does exist.
Though, no matter how many times he prayed for at least one of them to come help him and his people, none of them helped prevented the Crimson Dawn to hunt his people down and cut out their tongues.
His parents, part of a small-village before the Crimson Dawn came, had chosen to take him to a nearby ocean, promising them that they'd be back for him. But, four days later, they never returned for him and, by the next day, he was founded by other Savarians that had taken refuge at a Bis Refinery that the Crimson Dawn had damaged and had lived as a worker for four years until Luke found him.
In the first year, he did assumed they ended up being killed for standing up to the Crimson Dawn, even when they had their tongues cut out. But, when he and another Savarian went to find buyers from neighboring villages to sell some of their brandy, he found his parents both alive and appearing under the influence of alcohol. And, when he approached them and believing they'd take him back, they pulled out knives underneath their turbans and, only capable to make growling sounds, threatened to kill him if he dare follow them home. It was then and there, that he learned that they purposely chose to abandon him and had no intention on taking him back when the Crimson Dawn raided the village and cut out their tongues.
Vicrul understood what it's like to be abandoned for something that's so significant in life, but was treated to being much more important than anything else in life. And, when he learned that Rey was abandoned by her parents at around the same age as he was, he felt a kinship with the woman that captured Kylo's heart.
His left-hand, that remained on her shoulder, tightened a bit, being mindful of her fragile state and feeling her shoulder-bone sticking out a bit.
"...You have so much of a burden on your shoulder, Sister." He sighed out, getting her to look at him. This time, she didn't show any sign of distaste towards the title he called her by. "How did your sister know on how it went?"
"Some of the soldiers had their helmets with them for the whole experience, recording their progress on Jakku, while hoping and waiting that somebody within their base would get in contact with them. And when they would die, another would take over in their place to record their struggles on Jakku until they'd reached the Star Destroyer." She revealed, as if that was the simplest answer to a very easy question. "Of course, the older-scavengers were the ones to had found the helmets and the recordings. The recordings ended up being damaged and lost, but those who saw the videos remained true to telling us the whole story on what they'd discovered to take place during the Battle of Jakku. Mariya heard this since she was a preteen, on the very year she was bought and became Unkar's slave by smugglers that went to Corellia and abducted children, and I ended up rehearing it, a few nights later and for twelve years."
Some of the doctors, even Vicrul was a bit surprised when she revealed about Mariya's origin.
"She wasn't born on Jakku?" Dr. Skid asked.
Rey lowered her head.
"No; children are very rare to have on Jakku, and that's only if their parents chose to not abort them by inducing miscarriages and let them live past their second year after birth if they're even worth keeping around for extra portions or future debt exchanges. -Her hands clenched into fists.- ...Like me."
She didn't have to see the doctors giving her sympathy looks, when she can feel their gazes fall upon her. And, really, it makes her very angry that they dare feel sad for her, as if pitying her of her misfortune, when they don't even know her personally and see that she isn't helpless as she was brought to them.
"Don't feel sorry about me." She hissed, glaring at them. "I was a lucky accident to my parents, who were given a Sith of a deal from the man who owns me for over fourteen years if they allow me to live and keep me healthy enough to work for him when I reach five. So, really, the decent thing you could be thinking right now, is wished that my own parents had enough common sense to have a miscarriage and spared me from my miserable existence when they never even wanted a child to begin with."
Some of the nurses gasped at her words, completely at a loss that she would say such a thing.
Lo, a bit more offended than saddened, dared take a step forward.
"How could you say such a thing, when your life is just a precious anybody else's?" She argued, pointing a long-finger at the girl. "And don't you dare say it's because of the curse, or the fact that you're dying."
Rey glared at the Kaminoan; already tired of them to chastise for not being appreciative of being alive and feeling her emotions growing and rising.
And so, she pushed Vicrul aside, who didn't even needed her to use physical force to have him move out of her way, and took a few steps forward to be at the Kaminoan's face, since her neck extended a bit forward.
They stared into each other's eyes for what felt like hours, but was seconds... Then, while her rage towards the doctor/scientist died down, her self-loathing remained written and clear in her iris.
"...Because, all my life, I wasn't viewed as a blessing to be loved." She answered, calm and slow. "Since the moment others learned of my existence, I've been nothing more than a vessel to be used and sacrificed in exchange for other people's benefits and achievements to a goal they desire so greatly, they didn't need to think twice on how much the expense would effect me and how I feel. My own parents, alcoholics, didn't see me as their kid. They never even bothered to call me by my name, the only gift that makes me who I am. They saw me as an excuse to use extra freebee portions Unkar would pay them every week for expensive liquor, adding more taps to their debts for me to deal with when I would be put to work in their place, while they earn themselves a one-way ticket to getting off of Jakku. Then, almost immediately, as soon as I was offered away like livestock, Unkar passed me on to another slave of his, who would be the first person to cared and love me as her own sister, and began to be put into work that left me going to bed hungry, kicked around by the other slaves that would steal my haul, or beaten by my owner until I was black and blue."
Her breathing started to get a bit heavy, as her emotions started to spill.
"I hated Jakku with a passion, just like all the other slaves, but I also grew to love the little things it has left to remind me the beauty of life and how precious it is. But then, at the age of thirteen, after being raised to be selfish in order to survive Jakku and being so caught up in my childish fantasy that my dead-beat parents, who ended up getting double-crossed and killed by the man that bought me the very day they gave me away, loved me and were coming back for me, I told the woman I grew to love as my big sister to leave me alone and die. And, on the very next day, I went to Niima Outpost to end up finding her and had done what I had asked of her to do, by committing suicide!"
Her chest burned, feeling her lungs are getting sore and on fire, just as her eyes are stinging and tears formed and lost their anger towards the doctors and Vicrul.
Lo lifted her head up a bit, her white-pupils grew wide and even taking a step backwards to keep herself right when she realizes the beginning part of the burden the girl carries heavily on her shoulder.
"I pushed Mariya away and she killed herself, thinking that I hated her. And Plutt..." She hissed underneath her breath, as she paused to cough before she continued. "He made it clear to me, and everybody who came, that it was my fault that she died. That she set for the final time, like Sunce's light as a sun and becoming a weak moon. -She lowered her gaze, breathing in heavily.- I believed him back then... And, still, to this very day, know that I did caused my only family on Jakku to take her life... I found myself unable to live with such a burden and knew that there was only one way to make it right, so she wouldn't have to suffer from R'iia's judgement. And so, that very day, I sang goodbye to the setting of Lite and then I-..."
She closed her eyes, reliving the moment she felt herself slipping into the cold, empty dark and the calmness it brought to her, as she bled out from the cut to her wrist and awaited to be greeted by R'iia to be forever lost in the darkness of the Force.
Vicrul slightly shuddered at the calm expression on her face, seeing before him a person who truly cherished the moment she was going to cease from life. Lo, also, felt very unease that her patient was on board with dying and hadn't found any reason to keep living for her deceased friend.
Then, the calm and peace on Rey's face left her and an anguished, mournful look came out.
"Clearly, I failed. For the one we call The Sitter, the one who the Teedos turned to for protection and luck, revived me and kept me alive. For reason why, I still don't know, to this very day. But since then, I became a Cursed-Self. The six years without my sister were tough, stressful and unbearable. Unkar made certain that every deal he makes with me would show how much worth my life truly was for anybody to even give two Bantha-shits about me. The other scavengers had seen me as easy game and made many attempts to take my territory, only to find themselves becoming one of the many bones in the sands and their carcasses nothing more than tempting bait for the predators to come for my home. And, without Mariya there to help me, my physical beatings and solitary confinements became more severe to endure, to the point that I knew I was a single step away from bleeding out, starving or too weak to being one with the Force. -A low chuckle left her. A sad, low chuckle.- I still wonder, to this very day, why I still kept going. Let alone why, for every time I lay my knife to my wrists, don't I try and end it, knowing that I had a better chance to ending up dead the second time... And, honestly... I think I would've done so, that very day I met and saved Beebee-Ate from Teedo. Probably because I overheard the other scavengers saying that Unkar was finally going to 'Pop my Zherry' and sell me off as new 'piece of freshly riped meat' for the Pleasure Tent."
Almost instantly, Vicrul clenched his hand and shattered the shard in his hand, ignoring some of the pieces of glass that were able to dig through his gloves and leave some cuts in his hand. Though, to the doctors' horror, the bacta tank caved in on itself and became a metal-ball, right before their eyes.
Vicrul knew that it was Kylo's doing.
As if she didn't hear it and that it didn't break at all, Rey continued her story.
"The next day, after giving me a portion and a half of my few extra hauls, when each were two and a half portions, Unkar offered me sixty portions for Beebee-Ate. Besides eating my first meal in three days, the portion I ate barely hold me over that night and was feeling weak from hunger. My first instinct was to grab all of the portions he laid out to me... Only, for some odd reason, something inside me, the same feeling that continued to lure me away from going through my second attempt, told me not to. And, like a fool many came to view me as, I refused and took the one-half portion. Even when he offered me a hundred portions, which would've lasted me for almost two months without having to ration them out*, I still refused his offer. And my reward for keeping Beebee-Ate, is having some random stranger come running into my life, hiding from a life he was kidnapped and brainwashed into, and dragging me into a war that I had no personal reasons to be part of. And, through him, I encountered the legendary smuggler and his Wookiee companion... But, that didn't mean my life had gotten anywhere near better, let alone easier. And, frankly, I feel more like the Force wants me to keep suffering and remind me of the only truth that I have to live with."
The Kaminoan's eyes never left the girl. There was no tear or sniffling coming from her, like some of her colleagues had already done.
"And what truth may that be?" Lo asked, slightly turning her head.
...What she answered with, was the final straw that broke the Eopie's back.
"Those who weren't supposed to exist, are destined to never have any chance of a happy, loving life. And when they see everyone and everything are better off without mistakes walking amongst them, their best chances of having anything in their lives is to suffer alone. To be cast into the void, where they never have to bring their shame, their imperfection to those who are far more important than themselves... For death to being the only gracious gift anybody could give them, especially when they aren't meant to be alive, in any lifetime."
She turned to Vicrul, who stayed quiet.
"Being a nobody from Jakku, a Nothing incarnate, that's become a Cursed One, carrying the Curse of the Two Suns, who holds no beauty that not even the wind will caress, a waste of space of damage good that should be moved aside to being scrapped, no name for any to have no second of a thought to hold any kindness to claim... That is my curse. And, if Kylo Ren has any sense of recollection that isn't blinded by the Bond that connects is, he would've rid me away. To search for another that has a better chance to love him as he should, and not as a broken tool that his own mother wishes to salvage for her desperate attempt to reconnect with her own child that she will never stop loving with all her heart. And if you truly care and see that this is the only way to save him from the disappointment and unnecessary weight that'll be his downfall... Kill me... Before he comes in, and stops you."
TBC
*: I looked through gods/deities on the Wookie and, so far as I looked up, I can't find any gods/deities that Savarian and/or Savareen worship. I'm guessing, with them being spiritual people, they're one of the few that don't have a god/deity of their own? Either that, or I just misread on those that said they're the god/goddess/deity of Savareen. If any of you know who, do let me know and I'll fix it. Otherwise or until then, I'm gonna just have Savarian not having a god/deity of their own.
*: On YouTube, according to Star Wars Explained on the "Life on Jakku - 30 Facts From Rey's Survival Guide" video, sixty portions would've lasted Rey an entire month, allowing her two meals a day. You can find the video on here: watch?v=NG3kydvRzlU (Go on the story on AO3, and you'll find the full link).
R&R