Hello my lovelies ~ Thank you all so much for your fab reviews. I'm going to catch up with some today, but before I do that, I just wanted to let you guys know something. I want to write this story as much as you want to read it. I have so many great ideas floating about my distracted brain, itching to get down on paper. I am, however, a full-time Master's student at a very hectic uni in London and my main focus is academic work. So, although we're all very eager to see what happens to Poe and Mara, I will likely have to restrict my updates to once a week! I hope that's okay with everyone, but fear not because I shall continue regardless. I hope you can understand!

Alice42: Don't cry, haha! Or cry because it's a good kind of cry? Haha! And thank you for passing the story along to your sister; I really hope both of you can continue to enjoy it (also - why isn't my sister that cool to read fanfics with me?!)

Guest: I LOVE YOU TOO. Whoever you are. Mysterious. Oo-la-la.

Disneysidegirl: Thank you so much for following this story for forever! I really appreciate you sticking around with me, Mara and Poe! *takes family photo together*

Alice-Ann Wonderland: So glad that you enjoyed my Finn banter. Finn banter everything

thedragonhorse: UMMM Where's my invite to Mexico? Jk, jk. I hope you're having a seriously fabulous time! If you spot Diego Luna in Mexico City, will you kidnap him for me? Kthnxbai.

gotmoreissuesthanvogue: Oh, don't you worry. There will be plenty of Poe/Mara to come. :) (Is the devil emoji too suggestive?)

LadyGe92: I hope you're feeling better, *in gollum voice* my precious!

PHEW. OKAY. ENOUGH FOR NOW. ON WITH THE SHOW!

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Mara flickered her eyelids shut until the reflection of the setting sun off of silver Coruscant seemed far away. The scene before her was beautiful, but on that day she wanted to be elsewhere. She wanted to be a twelve year old girl on the beach with her fists dug into the warm sand like a clam. She wanted to hear the sound of crashing waves so loudly that the noise would drown out her mother's call back to shore. It was a fantasy, but it was an awfully good one.

Mara let the memory within a memory dance around her brain. Beneath her aching body was something warm and soft. Had she not been in such a thick uniform, it may have even burnt. But she enjoyed the moment. She relished in the chance to simply be. Wherever she had landed, be it dead or alive, Mara was content with staying there a little while longer.

It did not take long for her to realize that she was alive. The sun's rays were far too powerful and as they came crashing down on her without protection, the slumber was forced to come to an end. Hauling herself up with the little strength she had left, Mara opened her eyes.

Orange.

Orange was spilling everywhere.

There were full waves of it, the hills of Jakku sand far less impressive than the beaches of her dreams. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the blinding light. It took a few winks and a solid slapping of her warm face to adjust to the new surroundings.

Mara glanced behind her at the broken TIE-fighter. It was certainly in a worse condition than she was. The broken wings echoed of the cuts on her forearms. The front of the glass was smashed, very much like the blood dried onto her neck. Mara moved her feet slightly, thankful that she had not injured her back in the landing.

After all, Mara had been in far worse conditions before.

Grateful for once in her life that she was not dead, Mara brought herself onto her own two feet. The first thing to be shed was her Trooper uniform. This was not particularly due to the discomfort of it in the heat, but because of the symbol that it stood for. The wrong side of the fight. She rather enjoyed seeing the mask half buried in the sand, its sparkly white exterior unfitting with the rough planet floor. It was a reminder that some things could truly be hidden from history.

The ship was of little concern. With her head wound re-opening slightly, Mara understood that her only option would be to walk. In the distance, there was a small trading town. The name of it? She did not yet know. If she could manage to find work there, perhaps a caring soul would give her a ship back to Yavin 4.

But then again, Mara was on Jakku. She knew that had to be the planet, as the First Order would have been stationed nearby. It was where Poe was going, after all. Any history of a caring soul on Jakku was likely far, far buried into the sand.

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"Excuse me…"

Mara's voice was weak from the lack of hydration. Even if there had been a cantina, she had no change on her whatsoever. Without a powerful presence, nobody in the small market seemed to take notice of her. "Excuse me." Her fingers tapped the shoulder of an elderly woman. She brushed the girl off without a glance. "What charming people... Leave it to Jakku to pile up a bunk of junk and leave it there to rot." She kicked a bucket of screws in annoyance. "And I'm not talking about the ship parts."

From behind her, a throaty chuckle burst out in the thin air. Mara had hoped it was one inciting friendliness, or at least an explanation of where she was. She turned on her heels quickly, her eyes glancing downwards to fall upon a male Blarina. "You're funny." He poked his finger in her direction. "Something tells me you're in desperate need of something."

Mara's eyes instinctively flickered towards his cup of water. Without hesitation, the man offered it to her. "Takes like dirt. Probably is dirt, but it will do the trick. You seem to need it more than I do." She finished it all in one chug, her shaking hands managing to regain some steadiness. "What is it that you need? You look like you've been through hell and back."

Mara glanced down at her entirely black ensemble. She did not want to know of the bruises that lay underneath. "It's not easy walking around in the heat when you're dressed like a Tusken Raider. The worst part is that I don't even know where I am."

"You're in Blowback Town." The Blarina looked suspicious, or as suspicious as the species could manage. "My name is Ohn Gos and I'm a merchant around these parts. You're lucky that you ran into me; I'm the nicest fella here."

"I can see that." She took a step closer to his stall, her eyes trailing over his used starfighter parts. "I want to thank you for actually taking the time to listen to me."

He shrugged. "It gets boring here."

"What if I can offer you something?" Mara pressed her palms into the table, her lips spreading out into a chapped smile. "In return, I'd like you to do something for me. Consider it a future partnership."

He audibly winced. "No thanks, kid. I'm already happily married."

Mara replayed the words back in her mind, the sound of it suddenly appalling. "No, no! I don't mean anything like that. I'm talking about a business deal."

Ohn Gos shook his fat head. "I can do business by myself just fine. I've been running this stall for twenty years and I'm able to live a comfortable life. I've never had any problems because I've never gotten into work with anyone else. I'd like to keep things that way."

Feeling as if she was losing her strength as well as his attention, Mara was forced to think quickly. Her eyes scanned the components scattered out onto his rickety wooden table. There were running lights, gyroscopic stabilizers, circuit manipulators, speakers, log recorders, and nearly everything else that a starfighter required. There was only one problem. "Over half of your parts are broken." Ohn Gos turned back around to face her after pouring himself another cup of makeshift water. This time, he did not look so pleased. "How are you going to increase your profits if sixty percent of your parts, which are needed to repair broken ships, are broken themselves?"

"So suddenly the girl with blood running down her neck and bruises up her arms is an expert mechanic? What makes you think I'm going to believe you?"

"I can fix them." She was aware of how desperate her voice sounded. "I can fix them, clean them up, and you can raise the price by four. It won't be difficult; I could finish this entire table in a couple of days with the right workspace and a couple of warm meals."

"Every meal on Jakku is warm."

"Please," she urged. "I just need one thing in return, and you have my promise that I'll listen to you directly. I'll follow your every order and fix every piece that you need me to."

Ohn Gos was wiping his hands with a rag, the gesture somewhat intimidating despite his size. "What exactly is it that you need?"

Mara took a firm intake of breath. Her vision was appearing blotched, the blood loss and heat finally catching up to her as a blaster had to Leo. "I need a ship. Or rather, I need to get back home. I'm not supposed to be here-"

"I can see that."

"-but I'm not a bad person. My name is Mara Crescent." She outstretched her hand. Ohn Gos did not take it, perhaps due to the dried blood beneath her fingertips. "I can help you, and I think that you can help me." There was a silence lingering between them. Mara's former boss had once told her that silence was golden. It meant they were thinking. "Do we have a deal?"

Ohn Gos was a strange man. A merchant Blarina on Jakku had little inclination to trust a Human female. However, that was exactly what he did. Without taking her injured hand, he nodded his acceptance. The smile that broke out onto the poor girl's face was worth his uncertainty. She didn't have to say that she was good at heart; he could feel it. Strange things had been happening around Jakku on that day, and Ohn had noticed them without fail. He was a man of superstitions and trust in the unnatural. And so when a couple of hours earlier a Human male had been reported to come into town, followed shortly by a female, he suspected that it was a sign that something interesting was happening in the stars.

Whether it was good or bad, he was not yet sure.

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There were no words that could express Mara's gratitude to the Gos family. Ohn's wife, also a Blarina, was a simple and kind soul. She said very little and served Mara equally as little food. Of course, Mara was eternally grateful. In no way did she include food and a place for rest into her deal with Ohn, but he had graciously given them both.

As a way of repayment, Mara had gotten started on the parts after every crumb was licked from her plate. She was sleeping in a small shed nearby the Gos home, the soft sand providing enough comfort to replace a bed on D'Qar. Her wound was doing seemingly well, although she had been unable to have it checked. Well, Mara thought glumly. If I haven't fainted yet, it must be better than nothing.

She worked until the late hours of the night, already fixing one-third of the pile. Her fingers were stained black from the oil and dust, but there was a newfound sense of pride in her heart. Being able to do what she loved, albeit for someone else's gain, could still manage to bring her comfort.

Before allowing herself a few hours of rest, Mara made her way outside. The town was eerily quiet, despite Gos living in the centre. Jakku had shifted dramatically from a red cesspool of crime to a sea of blue forgiveness. The light of the moon put everything into perspective. Although things could at once seem difficult, there was always the possibility of understanding and change. Perhaps she was thinking of Leo or her place in the Resistance, or simply the situation she was in at that moment.

Mara shut her eyes against the oncoming wind. Grains of sand hit her face like the small fists of a cruel creature, a reminder that she was very much alive and very much alone. Her fingers opened themselves against the powerful gusts, the sensation like another hand grasping hers. But there was only one hand she wanted, and Poe Dameron was already gone.

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On the other side of Blowback Town was a pilot. He was resting in the care of a Blarina scavenger he had met earlier in the hills. The creature had generously agreed to listen to the pilot's story over a cup of Bloodsour. After he had finished talking about his training, the crash and his desperate need for a ship, a strange look passed over the Blarina's face.

"You're a really skilled kid, ain't you?"

The pilot pressed the strong drink to his lips once again. It was helping to numb the pain coursing throughout his body. "Skilled, but not naturally. You've got to work for everything in life, or so my parents so vehemently told me."

Naka clapped his stubby fingers together. "That's exactly right. I completely understand where you're coming from, though I struggle to believe that such an expert pilot could crash his ship into Jakku sand."

"Accidents happen."

"I've been working as a scavenger for thirty years and I get no respect around here."

The pilot narrowed his brows. "Does anyone?"

Naka laughed, his voice somewhat high-pitched and childish. "Fair point. Unfortunately after assessing your situation, I'd say that you're in a bit of a bind."

"Don't I know it."

"I'm not much of a man for flying myself." He shrugged his square shoulders, the alcohol thankfully loosening him up. Of course, the strange duo attracted some unwarranted attention, but it was nothing the pilot couldn't handle. Rumours were constantly spreading about him, and not merely in this part of the galaxy. "Unfortunately, I've only got one ship and it's not going to make it as far as Yavin 4."

The pilot's head fell slightly. All he could think about was a soft bed, but not without the woman he was tragically beginning to fall in love with beside him. It seemed that neither of those things would ever come.

"That being said…"

The man's head rose in hope. Could he really be striking a deal on Jakku?

"... I do know someone who has a way with ships. He's a kind Blarina too; goes by the name of Ohn Gos. I can take you to him tomorrow evening after my scavenge, but he may need some time to sort things out-"

"That's fine! That's more than fine!" The pilot raised his hands in excitement. His tanned face broke out into a smile, and if Naka heard correctly, he thought the boy had hummed a chipper note. "Sounds like a plan to me. Even if I'm here for five days, ten days, or more… so long as your friend can promise me a ship, I'd be the happiest man on this godforsaken planet." He generously poured the rest of his drink into Naka's cup. "As for tomorrow, don't worry about me; your work is more important. You come first."

"Spoken like a true gentleman." Naka raised his glass before polishing off the bitter alcohol. "But, kid... I'm not gonna lie to you. I've already forgotten your name, and if we're going to be sorting this out together, I think you ought to remind me."

His smile could be seen from the other side of the bar. His arms, although cut and bruised, folded back neatly behind his curly head of hair. "It's Poe Dameron." The words were like a song. "Just the one of me."

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Mara was unsure if the weather had actually increased by ten degrees, or if it was because she had been working tirelessly since the early hours of the morning. The back of her shirt was soaked through, but it would be far too much to ask Ohn Gos for a dip in his tub. In fact, she wasn't even sure if he had a bath. Part of her didn't wish to find out.

She was placed prematurely in charge of the market stall while Ohn Gos went to collect some items from a nearby wreckage. She suspected it was her TIE, but made sure not to take interest when he mentioned it. Judging by the slight flicker of his eyes, he had likely already guessed.

Her fingers continued to pick away at broken cables, attaching them with new wires and sturdier clips. A few curious customers had stopped by, but they all seemed to take more of an interest in her presence than the objects before them. She waved them off with an awkward grunt, not particularly caring to haggle. All of the parts would need to be fixed before she could strike a higher deal, and she wasn't about to lose money on behalf of her temporary boss.

Perhaps the day would have continued like that. Perhaps Mara would have finished two-thirds of the pile by the end of the evening, and gone to bed peacefully as she had the night before. That was all presumptive of course, but the words of a nearby merchant unceremoniously flooded through the sheets of her stall and captured her undivided attention.

"It's a bit strange, isn't it? Starkiller Base is just outside of the atmosphere and a pilot crash lands without so much as an explanation?" Mara dropped the floodlight she was holding. "Not that I take sides with the First Order. I couldn't give a hoot about anyone, so long as they both stay out of my business."

"I hear that guy's an expert pilot, though. Naka Iit was saying this morning on the way to the junkyard that he's really bigged himself up. The trouble is that I think that idiot Blarina believes him."

"So, what's Naka planning on doing? Helping the guy? Chances are that pilot is wanted. There's a possibility we could get some crash by turning him in."

Mara's hands fell over her mouth to suppress the gasp slipping through. A male pilot had crashed onto Jakku only the day before. It was very likely that the pilot was the same who she had been 'chasing' as a Trooper. Judging by the lack of description, Mara could not be certain that it was Poe. And yet her head needed to confirm it. Like a curious puppy, she stuck her face from behind the curtain and into the rear stall.

"I'm sorry," she laughed awkwardly. "I couldn't help but overhear you two talking." The men stared at her blankly, one a human and the other a Teedo. "Did you say a pilot crash landed here? I might be able to help you with catching his reward."

The Teedo snorted at her, his language still a struggle for Mara to fully comprehend. "We don't need you. We can find him ourselves."

"It just sounds interesting, is all. I'd be curious to see him."

"What? Haven't you seen a human male for quite some time?" The Teedo mocked, nudging his partner forward. "Feeling lonely, little girl? Maybe my friend could help you out there."

Mara realized her mistake in thinking that the citizens of Jakku could actually be helpful. Ohn Gos had been an exception, one that she would now never forget. "No, thank you. I'm sorry that I asked." She turned back behind the curtain with a heavy sigh. Her back slumped in disappointment, although there was still a flame of hope flickering in the pit of her stomach. It warmed her more than the Jakku sun. Whoever the pilot was, be it Poe Dameron or not, her curiosity was reaching new heights. It made her fingers scrub harder at the rusted parts. It made her speed increase in tying loose cords and reattaching old ones, as if her life was at stake. But with the dreary souls of Jakku surrounding her like a fortress, perhaps it truly was.

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Pretty pretty please review! I'd love to know your thoughts! A new chapter will be headed your way soon!

xoxo

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