AN: I realize I may be playing kinda loose with the geography, but that's how I imagined the land around the Observatory and well, I couldn't really imgaine hidden base just on a plateau. Also, I may not have known what a plateau was until a few months ago, despite reading two separate books with plateaus as vital locations.
14 years after the Battle of Jakku- near the Plaintive Hand Plateau, Jakku
"Cut the power here," Malarus ordered as she and Casper sped across the sands. They were on a heavily modified anti-grav pallet salvaged from a star destroyer. Attached to the back was a haphazard collection of controls and wires attached to some engines taken from a speeder. The engines were capable of allowing the anti-grav pallet to reach speeds close to that of the broken speeder they were designed for. Although it looked incredibly silly, it was effective for traveling across Jakku. Being dragged behind them was a net containing the supplies necessary for the full day of travel from Niima and the duo's U-wing home to their current location.
The pallet abruptly skidded to a halt, still floating a few inches above the sand after Casper cut the power. In the near decade and a half since Casper had Malarus had been stranded on Jakku, the ex-stormtrooper had taught himself a lot of technical skills while Malarus was still good at intimidation and haggling.
Malarus pulled her cracked binocs out from the folds of her clothes. Both scavengers wore the light colored long cotton outfits of desert dwellers, only weighed down with their gear. Every item they'd brought from the escape pod, barring the firestarter, lightsticks, and their original blasters had been traded, used up, or incorporated into something. Even Casper's blaster had an improvised bayonet attached to it so they didn't have to waste precious charges. Malarus' weapon had been welded from scrap metal, creating spear with an ax head on it.
The only memory of their old life was Malarus' rank insignia. She claimed she kept it because it was small and they might still find someone to buy it, but deep down she knew it was sentimentality.
She scanned the edge of the valley that formed next to the plateau. There was their quarry, a large blast door built into the wall of the plateau on the other side of the valley. It was some imperial research facility or personal vault of the Emperor. Niima the Hutt had been tasked with guarding it before the retreat, and no one wanted to risk her wrath to attempt to plunder it, in case the old deal still stood. But with the Hutt killed by some bounty hunter, the other Jakku born scavengers still refused to come near it. Claimed it was haunted or cursed or something. All that meant to Malarus was that its wealth was still there for the taking.
"Frag," Malarus swore. Nestled in the wall of the plateau where it flanked the valley was the gun of a turbolaser. A quick scan found other cannons, different levels of buried in the sand. From where they were positioned, any attempt to reach the vault through the valley would be suicide.
"What it is?" Casper asked from the back of the pallet, having finished properly shutting down the engines.
"Turbolasers, lining the walkway in," she replied before handing him the 'nocs to look for himself.
He took them and got off the pallet to get a good view. "I see them alright," Casper said as Carva got off on the other side. "But turbolasers are ground-to-air, and typically maned."
"You know the Empire didn't follow rules like that when they were here," Malarus retorted as she stretched her cramped legs.
"Good point," Casper agreed. Versio had kept a tight hold on his own ship, but after long trips planetside, a lot of troopers returned- changed.
"I say we check out one of them. See if it's automated or disabled. You could figure that out?"
"Should be able to," Casper tossed the 'nocs back to Malarus and she caught them, putting it away. "Of course if it's damaged, I can't be sure. Or even if damage to one would mean damage to the rest."
The two ex-imperials headed towards the neared turbolaser they could see. The short distance would make their grav-pallet too unwieldy, so they just properly disabled the grav feature to prevent theft and made sure to keep an eye on it.
On the way there, Casper tripped flat on his face over the buried tip of another turbo-laser. Malarus actually laughed. Back in the Empire, such a display would earn scorn and glances from both subordinates and superiors. Jakku had changed her, but not by much.
Using a flat shard of destroyer hull, Casper managed to pry open the back panel of the laser, confirming it was automated. There was no signal being received, meaning either the on/off switch had degraded, or it was disabled before the imperial retreat, for whatever reason.
The two of them then reactivated their ride and rode down the valley, eventually stopping at the end of the valley, where two large blast door stood half open. The pallet was then left deactivated hidden between some tall rocks.
The doors were halfway open, revealing a vault that was built into the side of the plateau. Sand had been blown in, but Casper could still see hints of intricate carvings on the doors. "I've got a bad feeling about this," he told Malarus as they were dwarfed by the doors.
"Don't tell me you believe the local superstitions too? The only thing in there is untouched loot- a good thing."
Casper swallowed his protests. She was right. She was being logical. And Malarus' pragmatism might get them off this planet.
They stepped into the vault and it almost immediately got cooler. A sloped hallway stretched out. Casper followed Malarus' lead, a position he was in frequently. It opened into a main room, with a hallway, a bit wider and still sloping downward.
The main attraction of the room was a series of computers. It wasn't in any style Casper recognized, from the Empire or earlier ships the sands sometimes uncovered. But it was a type of technology. Still followed the basic system. Had valuable parts. Above the computers projected a starmap. Casper didn't recognize the formations, but he never was quite good at navigation.
"All this protection for a computer bank?" Malarus scoffed.
"There are still more rooms in the vault. There might even be a manifest on the system. And a still functioning bank this large is still a good find."
"Fine," Malarus' voice was edged with steel. She normally wasn't this cold, but this wasn't part of the routine they'd come to expect. Maybe Malarus was expecting him to turn tail and run. He certainly wouldn't now.
Casper headed over to the nearest bank which had a small screen. Thankfully it was in Basic. The banks could have been much older relics for all he knew. "All it says is Finality- zero percent- canceled"
"What?" Malarus barked.
Casper clicked around on the system. "There's some other stuff on here, I'm not sure what any of it means. It all looks to be a bunch of different progress reports. The Finality has its own program, there's another for a bunch of different processes- that might be the closest to a manifest we got- but it's all in code names. And the last one is a bunch of coordinates. Like a really complicated navicomputer. I think that might go with the map. The records do say 'Defenses- disabled' which is good. I just don't want to start pressing random things in case we turn them back on."
"Alright. We'll just do things how we normally do. Check out what treasure is stored here, and barring that we can always loot the computers," Malarus responded. Casper was expecting her to snap at him, like she was back in the navy, but that burst of aggression seemed gone. They were back to how they normally did things.
Malarus walked towards the hallway. She knew she had pushed too hard. She believed Casper about the computer. He was more skilled with hardware and tech than programs because he'd learned everything off of what they found. It's just the chance to leave this hellhole was within reach, and Casper was backing down.
The hallway was barely wide enough to fit both of them. Each side had a row of pedestals, with a red-robed droid standing between each, deactivated and holding an electro-staff. There were six on one side, but only five on the right. Red lines, like veins, streaked through the black stone here as well. It was a macabre beauty so rarely seen on a planet that typically only held the former. No sand infused the titles of the floor this deep in.
Four items were missing from their pedestals, seemingly taken at random. Malarus reached for an item to her right, a tube of smooth metal. As her hand touched it, she braced, worrying something might response. Nothing did. Casper was right, there were no defenses.
She quickly found a button on the side. Sensing it might be a weapon, she pointed it towards the other end of the hallway, in case some blast of energy might shoot out.
A deep orange blade appeared, as if it was pulled from an invisible sheath. This was a lightsaber, the weapon of the ancient Jedi. That made sense, Palpatine had exposed those weak-minded traitors and his own enforcer carried a red-bladed one.
"Woah," Casper let out, just as mesmerized as she had allowed herself to be. "What is that?"
"A lightsaber," Malarus replied as she turned it off, stowing it in her belt. "An ancient weapon, extremely rare and valuable. Even Unkar would be able to see the value in it."
Casper picked up the artifact closest to him. It was an orb made of different copper rings. A dull crystal floated in the middle "Any idea what this is?"
"No clue, but I'd take it. Some collector will want it, even if Unkar won't. I'm going to check the other rooms. You fill your pack with all these relics. Hopefully, the Emperor also kept a big box of credits in the other rooms."
Casper nodded. He was so weak-willed, Malarus didn't have to worry about him grabbing the loot, taking the pallet and ditching her. They'd probably end up spending the night in the Observatory as to not travel during the incredibly cold and dangerous night. They'd anticipated this, bringing their heater, blankets, and tent.
Gods be damned. This was the last room and the only thing in it was a giant pit! Tentatively leaning over the edge, there seemed to be no bottom. This super secret well-protected vault just had some obscure treasures, some computer, and a kriffing hole!
Oh, there was the skeleton, wearing a tattered red cape and white admiral's uniform. Wait, wasn't that Councilor Rax? Well, that made sense. News of his death had probably been what triggered the sudden retreat of most of the remaining capital ships. The question was, who killed him? Malarus didn't care enough to find out.
"Hey Malarus," Casper called down, more uncertain than normal, "You should probably see this."
Realizing this weird circular room had nothing to provide her, Malarus headed back up to the relic hallway to see what Casper was making a big deal about.
She found Casper standing in a room that branched off from the hallway. The secret door he found must have been why there were only 5 pillars on the left side of the corridor.
Malarus joined Casper in the room, expecting a vault of much more valuable items, maybe more lightsabers or even just credits. Instead, it was a sterile white medical facility. On the far side was a block of carbonite holding- a small human girl.
"Well, this certainly is- something," Malarus replied as the two of them stepped fully into the room. Rather than the kinda gloomy ambient lighting in the rest of the vault, the lights here were harsh and white, as if they'd stepped into a hospital on a core world.
Scanning the room, Malarus also saw what looked like an empty bacta pod, too small for a full grown human, connected to an excessive amount of medical equipment. A deactivated caretaker droid, the kind core-worlders would own to tend to their infants stood in the other corner.
"We should probably let her out," Casper said, although his tone implied it was a question.
"What? Oh, the girl. Yeah, we should probably do that."
She had known nothing before now. Scraps of memory floated up, warmth then cold, then pain and cold. Pain was the first thing she had known. Rage, anger, and hate had sculpted her. Formed her from nothingness. But she didn't understand that. Words and meaning had come to her, implanted in her mind, she could not say how. Nor did she understand how little she had experienced.
And now a new experience had occurred. A hiss and warmth. Not the warmth of what she had first known, but warmer than the cold-pain that had trapped her. She was restrained by nothing and collapsed. But this was different. Someone was there. She could not see, she never could, but shortly would be able to.
Yet she could feel them. Like a beacon blazing in a dark world, one that offers safety and kindness. And there is another presence. One that is like a pillar of ice, that burns with their own cold fire.
So she clutched the friendly one, desperate for another, as all sentients were.
Casper stared down at the girl who had tumbled from the carbonite slab. He'd managed to catch her before she hit the floor and now she clutched at his sleeves. She wore a rough cotton dress like a hospital gown and her brown hair cascaded down her shoulders. She looked to be about four.
He positioned the girl so that she was seated with her back up against the now open chamber as he attempted to crouch and reach her height. Her eyes were watering, from pain, fear, or a long-term effect of the freezing process, Casper didn't know.
"Do you know how you ended up in there?" Casper asked, trying to sound parental.
The girl shook her head. She seemed to have some understanding of language.
"Do you remember anything before you ended up in there?"
"A little."
"Like what?"
"Feelings. Like warmth….anger." Well, that didn't help.
"Can you see?"
A nod. "More now. At first, I could just see you two. Now I can see the room."
"Can you walk?"
Tentatively the girl stood up, holding her hands out for balance. It was wobbly and Casper was ready to catch her if she fell, but she managed to walk forward a few steps.
Malarus had stood motionless in the corner of the room the entire time, her arms folded and watching with her usual cynical eye. "So what are we going to do now?" she asked.
Casper doubted Malarus was actually asking his advice. Maybe she was still considering things, but this part was most likely a test. "Well, this child here seems to be the true treasure- not sure what her deal is. But we still have the computers and the droids to scavenge. Not to mention the artifacts. I say we spend the rest of the day and night here taking everything apart."
"Sounds reasonable," Malarus said, nodding.
And so they got to work. This was what they were used to. There were no fights, just taking the items apart. Casper couldn't recognize the models of the parts on either the red-robed droids or the computers, but he could tell what they were.
The child was also helpful. Her tiny hands could separate parts with less fear of damaging them. And she was eager to learn. So as he handed each piece to the girl, Casper explained what it was and what purpose it served. Every now and then he'd use a word she didn't understand, but a quick definition smoothed everything out.
After cutting the thick semi-armored cloth off the droids, the scavengers found it was also made of parts as enigmatic as the computers. But they were disassembled for everything beyond the frame. Casper also took what he could understand from the machines in the girl's room and after failing to activate the caretaker droid, unassembled that as well.
When they finished and the chill of night began to reach them, both Casper's and Malarus' packs were filled to the brim with carefully organized and undamaged parts. They had even brought in the net that went with the pallet and filled that as well.
So they made camp. The heater was brought out and activated, and the tent was set up. Although at first Malarus resisted, Casper managed to convince her to prepare one of their extra portions for the girl.
The three of them sat around the heater as if it was a campfire. Malarus was watching the portions activate, while Casper braided the child's hair with spare pieces of rope and wire. After her hair had been caught in a calculation matrix, he promised the girl he'd braid her hair after they finished working. He'd also used a scrap of leather to tie her gown at the waist, allowing for more movement.
"That's an interesting style," Malarus said, suddenly breaking the silence.
"Huh?" Casper replied.
"The braids," she motioned to what he was doing with the empty portion pack she was holding.
"Oh yeah. They're traditional Vardosan braids. People don't really wear them anymore, but my family was there before the Empire, so I grew up learning it. There's a different version some people use that follow imperial regulations, but this is the one I'd used to do for my younger sister."
"You have a sister?" Malarus seemed legitimately surprised which made sense. They'd known each other for over a decade, but their pasts had never been discussed before. Casper didn't think he even knew Malarus' home planet.
"Yeah, back on Vardos. She was five when I left for the academy." He did some quick math in his head. "Oh, she's 23 now. Wow." He didn't know what to do with that information.
"You get along with your family?"
"Yeah pretty well. My parents were a bit more resistant to Versio and the Empire than most, but never enough to bother anyone. I suppose being human helped. Our shop got seized by the Empire, so I had to go to the academy to send home some money." Casper didn't want to think of what happened after he was stranded on Jakku. Or even after Endor, when personal holos were banned for anyone less than a captain.
"That's nice." An unusual melancholy settled over the two adults. They'd rarely thought of their lives before Jakku and never before the navy.
"What are parents?" The girl asked, breaking the heavy silence.
Casper got back to work on the finishing touches of her braids as he answered. "Well, I suppose they're the people who made you and raise you. Usually, it's a mom- that's a parent who's a woman- and a dad- that's a parent who's a man. But if you're non-human, it might be different. Or if your parents die, you might be adopted by adults who aren't related to you, but love you. Or you could be raised by another family member. A sibling- like a brother or a sister, are people who your parents also raised."
"Do you know who my parents are?"
"Sorry, no."
"Could you be my parents? You're a man and Malarus is a woman."
Casper could see Malarus glare. "Well no- it's complicated."
"Okay," the girl replied, seemingly satisfied with such an answer, and dropping the subject.
After finishing the girl's braids, Malarus handed the other two their portions and the child got off Casper's lap so they both could eat. Casper made sure to show the child how to make sure to leave barely any crumbs and get the most out of food, especially how to eat slowly and not upset your mostly empty stomach. Afterwards, the child complained that she was tired, so Casper got her set up in the corner their tent on top of the pile of thick blankets they used as bedding. Explaining that adults need less sleep than children, he went back to Malarus. They needed to talk.
Casper put his face in his hands. "What are we going to do with her?"
"What do you mean?" Malarus said, unconcerned as she dropped the packets into the heater.
"Jakku's no place to raise a child and-"
"We're not staying on Jakku. We have enough loot to get a ship off-planet."
"And the girl?"
"She can come with. Some extra hands would be nice. And two spacers with a child can attract more charity than without."
Casper brought his head up. Something about that answer did sound right, but he couldn't say what. And he still couldn't comprehend that getting off Jakku was within arms reach.
"Do you think she's like the Emperor's daughter or something?" Casper asked.
"If that's the case, not sure why he'd keep her all locked up like that." Malarus fidgeted with something in her hand Casper couldn't see. "She clearly didn't age while she was in there. And if he had an heir, why not flaunt them? That would give their rule legitimacy and keep the Empire live for more than a generation."
Malarus paused for a moment, before slipping the thing in her hand back into her clothes and continuing. "Although I did see what looked like Counselor Rax's skeleton in the other room. Maybe he was trying to get her- no that wouldn't add up. We'd been on Jakku for months before the battle. None of that really matters anyway."
"Yeah, I guess. It's just- it feels like we're messing with something big. Something we shouldn't."
"You're not making any sense. It's late and you're tired. Toss me a blanket out here when you go in. I'm worried I'll roll over and crush the kid."
Casper nodded and went over to the tent, leaving his gun and heavier equipment outside. He did toss out one of their blankets. The tent was pretty small, and when they had to share it early on, it was pretty intimate. Not that there had ever been any ideas of romantic involvement between them. In some way, Malarus was still his commanding officer. Back in the U-Wing, the tent was used to block the door and they slept on the blankets.
When he entered the tent, the girl was already sleeping curled up in a corner. It was very peaceful. Doing his best not to disturb her, he laid down on the other side. He could believe this could be his last night on Jakku.
Casper, Malarus, and the girl set off as the first beams of harsh sunlight shown through the vault's doors. They gathered their supplies and stopped first at their U-Wing home.
During the ride, the child marveled at everything they passed. It had been a long time since the half-sunken corpse of the Ravager was nothing more than a mundane landmark. As they rode, Casper gave the quickest, most child-friendly version of how the ships ended up there he could. Malarus rode in silence, her permanent scowl slightly angrier than usual.
Once they stopped at their home, Casper and Malarus gathered everything small enough to transport. Items like the lightsticks that they needed on Jakku could now be traded. They also packed all their remaining portions. Trading for more would work against affording a ship. They also organized their salvage to be more presentable. Thankfully no cleaning was necessary. If they (Malarus) played their cards right, they wouldn't need to trade the artifacts, things that would sell for more money- real credits- off world with a collector.
Their entrance into Niima Outpost turned heads. That would have been the case if it had just been them and the girl. No one under ten was ever seen outside of the anchorites' orphanage. But they came laden with salvage, more than any scavenge had ever brought in during a single haul. Casper simply drawing his rifle and Malarus' reputation scared the other scavengers away from the table they approached. Malarus placed the folded up blanket on the table, and it unfurled, exposing the droid and computer parts they had.
"Tell Unkar I have a proposition for him," Malarus ordered. She had adopted a more typical core world imperial accent. Different from the half-core half-outer rim accent she'd developed on Jakku. After a few minutes of some onlookers, presumably muscle for Unkar, heading towards the shop, the lumbering non-human emerged. This would be their normal routine. Malarus would haggle while Casper stood guard, holding his rifle as if he was still a trooper.
"Want do you want?" Unkar demanded, but the greed in his eyes was obvious when he saw their haul.
"A ship, with a working hyperdrive, navicomputer, and enough fuel to get us out of the sector."
Without saying anything, Unkar looked closer at their haul. Malarus permitted him to pick up a few and inspect them.
"No," The gasps from the onlookers were audible. This was a spectacle to them, and one of the best they'd ever seen.
"You bring me non-standard computer and droid parts and expected a ship?" Unkar laughed tauntingly.
"These pieces are in perfect condition. They would be worth more than we're asking if we weren't on Jakku."
"But you're here. I can give you two thousand portions." That would keep them fed for almost two years, even accounting for the extra mouth to feed. And make them the biggest target in all of Jakku.
Luckily they still had another card up their sleeve. Malarus moved down the table and started to unload the relics from her pack. All seven items were there, except for the lightsaber.
"Some trinkets?" Unkar asked, looking over the relics.
"These 'trinkets' were taken from the imperial vault near the Plaintive Hand. The one Niima the Hutt was guarding, remember?"
"All I see is a weird orb, a red triangle, some figurines, and a stone with a pretty picture on it. No one would want to buy that."
"What about this?" Malarus retorted as she pulled the lightsaber from her belt, activating it and holding it up high for all to see. For show, she moved it around to produce the satisfying swish-swish noise.
"Still not good enough. I can give you five hundred portions for the laser-sword, but you're going to have to throw something else in to get a ship," Unkar's arms were folded across his chest.
Malarus deactivated the lightsaber, placing it on the table. This wasn't good. They'd included all the possessions they could spare with the first batch of items.
"That's extortion! This is ridiclous. Has anyone else ever brought you a lightsaber?" Casper was all fired up now.
"Listen here kid-" Unkar threatened.
"Would the child be enough?" Malarus asked, still seeming calm.
Unkar looked back, and then near Casper's leg, as if he'd just noticed the girl. "I suppose so. I do need someone to keep track of my inventory."
"Carva, you can't do this!" Using Malarus' first name was a sign this was serious. Casper had only ever called her that once before, which is another story involving Teedos, a Mirilan, and a rope.
In as fast as humanly possible, Malarus was right in front of Casper, her height advantage plain. The deactivated lightsaber was pointing at his gut. All she had to do was turn it on and he'd be dead.
"This is my- our chance to get off this hellhole," Malarus snarled, "I will not allow you to ruin it. Will you really sacrifice yourself for a moral high ground and a girl you just met? You dying won't save her. I'll still sell her off and have one less mouth to feed."
Casper was scared. But Malarus' points, as always, were pragmatic and logical. He didn't want to consign the child to slavery, but in all truth, he was a coward. Later Casper would realize that yielding here was the biggest mistake of his life.
"I understand." That was all he could say.
"Good," Malarus turned back to Unkar, "So you'll give us a ship with the parameters I outlined? Functional hyperdrive, navicomputer, and the fuel to get us out of this sector?"
"Yes," Unkar was already greedily scooping up the blanket with the parts on it. Knowing scamming Plutt was impossible, Malarus placed the lightsaber with the rest of the relics.
"What's the girl's name?"
"Rae," Malarus answered, as if she already had this part planned. Rae Sloane was the former Grand Admiral Veriso served under until her capture and death at the hands of the New Republic. It was an odd name to choose, but it could easily have just been the first one that popped into her head.
"Second ship on the right is yours now," Unkar said, roughly grabbing the girl- Casper supposed her name was Rae now, by her arm. Instantly she started struggling, trying to get back to Casper. He couldn't bring himself to do anything.
As Rae cried for them to stop or come back, Malarus stalked over to their new ship, her head held high. She was actually smiling. Casper followed, shoving all his guilt and regret into a small box in his heart. He was empty, but that was what allowed him to follow Malarus to the ship without even looking back.
The girl, her name now Rae, though she would grow up believing it was Rey, had seen much in what was her first proper day. As she looked across the sands, she knew that was she saw was a desert, a place called Jakku. And it was a bad place, somewhere that people named Casper and Malarus wanted to leave. She had only the vaguest concept that there were other lands in the stars. And no idea there was anywhere that wasn't covered in sand.
When they met the large being, Unkar, she could see that he was an abyss that would suck in everything around him and still not be satisfied. She hated him before he said a word. And as he denied them the ship, and scoffed and items anyone should be able to see the value of, her hate only grew.
But when the conversation turned to her, she could feel the turning point approach. She understood she would be a pawn sacrificed for Malarus' designs.
She was no pawn.
When Malarus threatened Casper, Rey imagined striking down both Malarus and Unkar. She felt she could do it, but she didn't know how. And that failing allowed Unkar to grab her and those who had freed her to leave.
But as Casper left, she knew something. It was a clear as if he spoke it. The same way she knew that two beings greeted her when she emerged. He would come back.
And as Rey grew up and forgot this day, she remembered that. It became what kept her on Jakku, kept her alive, gave her hope.
He would come back.
They would come back.
Her parents would come back.
AN: So, this chapter hints at a few ideas that wouldn't make sense in the POV or slow down the story (like the contents of the vault, Malarus' backstory, or the exact mechanisms that created Rey) that I have a few ideas about. If you're intrigued by those things, I'll be happy to expand on them in the comments.