Halo

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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Fifty-Five-A Shocking Truth

Rey became overwhelmed with emotion when she saw the hologram of her mother. She wished the deep hood wasn't obscuring so much of the woman's face, only her eyes and a glimpse of pale skin were visible. Rey focused her gaze on those remarkable eyes, marvelling at how similar they were to her own. They were a mixture of hazel and honey. They shone like sunlight on polished stone and hid a wealth of secrets that Rey would never know. She found herself reaching out to the static image, but when her fingers touched it, the hologram broke apart like a mirage in the desert.

"Mom! Come back! Please, come back!" Rey cried hoarsely when the image shattered just like her heart. She pleaded with BB-8 to get it back but the poor little astromech couldn't fulfil her wish. As soon as he had broken the code the data on the pad began to quickly degrade-a failsafe built in by the owner to hide sensitive information.

Rey was five years old again, crying desperately for her parents not to leave her behind. It was like she was being abandoned all over again. Tears leaked out of her eyes, it was more than crying, it was the kind of desolate sobbing that comes from someone drained of all hope. The pain that flowed from her was as palpable as the dry heat beating down from Jakku's cruel sun. Ben remained at her side, struggling to keep his tears silent, wishing that he could take on the burden of her pain and emotional torment so she wouldn't have to suffer the awful memories anymore.

Each new wave was a hot trail of agony as Rey's slim, bare shoulders shook in each rake of emotion through her slim frame. Han and Chewie were struggling seeing Rey so distraught. Her breakdown was just too much to bear. It had clearly been a long time coming. The two of them were forced to walk away, leaving Ben to bear the emotional weight of Rey's collapse alone.

"That crook Plutt knows more then he's told us, Chewie." Han said gruffly when they were out of earshot of young couple. "There has to be more to it. I can't believe her parents would be so cruel as to just dump her in this wasteland. Why leave that box behind? It was like they were expecting to come back."

Chewie was in total agreement. He believed that the brutish Crolute had given up the box so easily as a way to get rid of them and distract them from digging deeper in the part he'd played in her parent's disappearance. "Do you think he might have killed them?" He growled in Shyriiwook.

"Not directly, but he might have given up their location to someone who wished them harm for a huge fee. Its obvious they were keeping on the down low for a reason." Han ran his fingers through his greying hair and met his Wookie companion's eyes. "If direct threats aren't enough to get Plutt to talk then maybe taking away what he loves the most will get him to spill the truth."

"His wealth and power." Chewie's eyes darkened as he met Han's fiery gaze. They both turned at the same time to stare at Unkar Plutt's stall in the concession stand. The Crolute never left the stand because the harsh environment of Jakku disagreed with his aquatic nature. It was widely believed that most of his resources were stored there. "Maybe its time to share the wealth with the people."

"I like your thinking." Hans familiar lopsided grin took over his face as he pulled his blaster out of its holster and took the lead.

Since they had been gone, Plutt had gathered his hired thugs around him. He stood amongst them, feeling emboldened now he had protection. He mocked Han and Chewie from his position of safety, making it clear they were getting nothing further from him. It only took one loud roar from Chewbacca before Plutt's men abandoned the junk boss, leaving him exposed. They knew better than to mess with an enraged Wookie.

Unkar couldn't believe it. He looked more like a bloated blo-fish then ever as he was suddenly confronted by Han's blaster and Chewie's bowcaster. "Come on now. I'm sure we can come do some kind of negotiation." He said hastily.

"The time for negotiation is over." Han smirked as he motioned for Chewie to start pulling the concession stand apart.

"What are you doing? Stop!" Plutt cried, emitting a stale fishy odour in his panic. "That's my property."

Han grimaced as he tried not to breathe in the stagnant aroma coming off the disgusting Crolute. "Not anymore. This now belongs to the people."

In the grip of silent panic, wild eyes bulging, pupils dilated, and heart racing-Unkar Plutt fell to his knees and begged Han not to give his wealth away. Han just shrugged in response while watching Chewie dole out food, weaponry and supplies to the half starved but ecstatic scavengers outside the stand.

"Alright! Enough! I'll tell you everything I know." Plutt pleaded with Han as he watched the wealth, he had built up from a lifetime spent swindling and praying on others less fortunate, dwindle away in a matter of minutes.

"Chewie." Han called to his friend. "It's time to shut up shop for the day."

Chewbacca let out a loud roar as he chased off the last few remaining scavengers and watched them run off with their haul. He closed the stand and joined Han and Plutt. "Start talking." He commanded in Shyriiwook.

Unkar began to sweat which only added to the foul fragrance wafting off his tough hide. Han and Chewie tried not to gag at the appalling smell and remained irresolute. "You see it was too good of a deal to pass up." Unkar implored as he tried to defend himself.

"What was?" Han scowled.

Unkar Plutt swallowed thickly as he hurriedly tried to explain himself. "When I came across the couple and the kid, their ship was in bad shape. They were battle-scarred and weary, obviously on the run from someone or something. The little girl-Rey-she was just a scrap of a thing, too skinny and clearly underfed. They all were. The woman was in the worst shape of all. It was clear she was dying. They desperately needed parts to fix their ship. For a fee I let them scour the junkyard for what they needed…. even sent some of my best scavengers to the ships graveyard to get the parts we didn't have here."

"And?" Han prompted when Unkar descended into silence.

"They were not my responsibility." Plutt continued defensively. "But suddenly I was saddled with a dying woman who needed medical attention and a man who was barely holding it together for the sake of the child."

"What did you do?" Chewie growled menacingly as he jabbed Unkar roughly.

"I did the bare minimum and more than I was obliged to. I gave them food and shelter while they waited for the other scavengers to come back with the parts they needed."

"And in the meantime, bled them dry of everything they had left, I bet." Han cut in bitingly.

"I am not a charity. Everything comes at a price." Unkar retorted.

"You bastard." Han's trigger finger was getting itchy. It was with huge restraint that he didn't just put the selfish Crolute out of his misery once and for all.

Plutt's mouth drew into a thin line. "I had a living to make. Only the strongest survive. Twenty-four hours after I first encountered them, the woman was dead."

"Gods!" Han's face paled in shock as his eyes met Chewie's.

"The man she was with was a blubbering wreck. The kid-Rey-was the one trying to console him. I couldn't leave a dead body lying exposed, not in the desert heat. So as an act of mercy I got some of my men to take the woman's corpse and bury it somewhere in the desert." Unkar said callously.

Han was so grateful that Rey wasn't the one being forced to listen to this heartless monster's confession about her parents. He felt sickened, he couldn't imagine what it would do to her. She was distressed enough.

Plutt, oblivious to what Han or Chewie were thinking, blundered on. "The scavengers finally came back with the parts, but when I demanded payment, the man revealed he didn't have it. He'd lied to me, treating me like some kind of idiot, probably assuming I would be an easy touch. But I am not a sentimental fool. Their dire circumstances were nothing to do with me. He owed me. If he wanted the parts for his ship, he had to give me something in return."

"And you took Rey as payment." Han drawled sarcastically.

"Not as payment but as security if he didn't come back. We struck a bargain. He could have the parts to fix his damn ship, he would leave his daughter with me until he managed to accumulate enough credits to pay me the rest of my fee, with a percentage on top for my trouble." Plutt continued. "I told him I didn't believe that he'd come back, but he was adamant that he would. He was leaving to meet up with someone who he said would easily be able to pay my fee. When I expressed my disbelief, he got angry and told me that if their ship hadn't broken down, they would have already met up with this man. They had been searching for him for a long time in order to hand their daughter over to him for safekeeping."

"What man?" Chewie demanded sharply in Shyriiwook. "Give us a name."

A cruel smile twisted Unkar Plutt's features into something ugly. "Skywalker. Jedi master Luke Skywalker."

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.