It was approximately 2pm on a wintery Saturday afternoon at the rebel D'Qar base. Outside of the collection of ramshackle hangars and buildings, it was starting to snow. A thin layer of white powder was already starting to settle on the tarmac of the X-Wing landing bays. The canopy of the forest surrounding the site was also starting to turn white, looking eerily beautiful.
However inside the base, within a room belonging to a young Jedi Knight, there was a less than pretty vision…
Rey vaguely became aware she was awake… and she was freezing. "Am I in my bunk?" she thought, "Where's my blanket?" She grabbed around weakly, before realising her duvet must be on the floor.
Her head was throbbing with pain and she buried her face in her pillow, which was damp with drool. "Mwehhhhhar!" she groaned in a Wookie-like tone… "Why am I hurting so bad? What have I been doing?" She tried to open one eyelid and then shut it again quickly as the crisp sunshine hit her bloodshot eyeball.
She rolled her tongue in her mouth; she could taste alcohol between her teeth and around her gums, and suddenly remembered she'd been on a bit of a bender last night.
"Not again," she lamented. She had sworn to herself after her last piss-up with the girls about a month ago, that she would never get hammered again. Yet here she was once more; hungover and stinking like a seedy cantina.
It must have been Endorian wine she'd been drinking and Rey inwardly chastised herself on her weakness for that particular beverage. When would she ever learn not to overstretch her limit? It was such un-Jedi like behaviour and she knew Master Luke Skywalker would have not been pleased if he could have seen the state she was in.
Rey used the Force to fully pull down the shade at her window, thus allowing her eyes to open unhindered by natural light. She sat up and gasped sharply, something was cutting into her leg. She felt down her side and found a jagged piece of plastic from a broken datapad.
"Yes, that's right she had been reading last night," she thought sluggishly. She'd been peaceful and content until Jessika Pava had whisked her away to the kitchens. Rey found it difficult to recall exactly what happened after that. The memories were blurry at best.
Rey tried to focus on her digital clock and then moaned dejectedly as she realised that she had wasted half her Saturday already. She was feeling so ill that she considered just staying in bed for the entire day to recover, but unfortunately her bladder would not let her.
She moaned as she groggily got out of her bunk and dragged her body over to the fresher cubicle in the corner of her quarters. She was feeling dizzy, but managed to pull her pyjama bottoms and her cotton knickers down her legs and around her ankles. She sat down on the toilet just in time before the previous evening's liquids expunged themselves.
As she urinated, she let her head drop back and smiled, "Ahhhhhhhh, thank the maker" she exhaled. She knew that she must have been holding it in for some time while she slept and the release felt heavenly. Even after she'd finished peeing, Rey stayed sat on the chrome toilet seat; it was comfortable and felt like a safe haven. "Nothing quite like your own loo," she thought.
She noted that her Yoda pyjama top had booze spilled down the front of it. Her brown hair was stuck out in all directions like a scarecrow. "I must look and smell so gross right now," she thought miserably. She needed to get changed and washed at the very least.
There was loud knocking on her door, which in her fragile state felt and sounded like a round of ion cannon blasts hitting her temples. "I'm hungover, please go away," was what she wanted to say, but she knew it could be important. Also she had learnt that her stubborn friends would not rest until they had poked their noses into her business at least once a day. It was futile to prolong the fight against their interference.
"I-I'm c-coming," she rasped weakly. Rey lifted her bum off the commode and pulled her clothing back up to her waist. She walked unsteadily on her bare feet to the entrance of her room. She pushed the switch to slide the door open and discovered that the visitor was Finn.
The good-looking dark-skinned former stormtrooper had a big grin on his face which abruptly started to fade as he beheld the drunken-wreck that was named Rey.
"Oh Rey You look terrible! Are you feeling alright? Nobody has seen you all day and I'm starting to understand why!"
"Well you see…, " she began in a croaking voice, but could not seem to finish her sentence. She could feel the tell-tale turning in her stomach which served as a familiar warning that she was going to throw-up at some point in the near future.
Finn let himself in, but then screwed up his nose and wafted his left hand around.
"Pew, it's whiffy in here girl, you should open a window." He did not wait for a response from her before he proceeded to re-raise the shade on the window and open the oval pane a crack, letting a biting draft come in. Rey hissed at the light and shivered at the cold, however she remained quiet. She was too weak to challenge or argue much on anything at the moment. All she wanted to do was lie down and die, perhaps then the room would stop spinning.
Finn started chatting away to her in his normal cheery mode. "You look just like Jessika did, when I saw her this morning," he laughed. "I know what you ladies were up to last night… making valentine's cards and treats whilst getting royally drunk! By the way the kitchen staff are absolutely livid at the mess you made down there. They're making a formal complaint to General Organa."
Rey sighed. There was a good chance she was going to be assigned to cleaning the Taun-Taun stables this week, she predicted.
Finn continued on, seemingly oblivious to her need to be alone right now. "Most of the guys in the barracks are just itching to know if they've been sent gifts this year, but it seems like some of you girls were just as eager because the postal droids have already delivered quite a few items this morning."
He grinned at Rey and suddenly wrapped his arms around her torso and hugged her.
It took her by surprise and she involuntarily hiccupped and then gulped down within her throat, she was managing to hold back the vomit… just.
Finn clasped his hands together behind her waist and rested his head on her shoulder before gently saying. "Thanks for the valentine's card and present Rey, I really liked them."
Rey went stiff and felt awkward to say the least, not knowing quite how to respond. She patted Finn on the back and carefully untangled herself from his embrace.
"Had she made valentine's gifts for Finn last night?!"
There were flashes of memory coming back to her. She'd been cooking something on a dirty stove and visions of tacky cards were floating around in her subconscious. "Oh God, what have I done?" she thought despairingly. Rey liked and valued Finn as a friend and felt guilty that she might have sent him a pity gift which could raise his hopes (and the hopes of all those who shipped them at the base) that they might become a romantic couple.
"Listen Finn, I'm not sure I…" she began, but he did not let her finish.
"I knew you'd try to play coy with me Rey, but don't think just because you didn't sign the card; that I don't know it was from you," exclaimed Finn, his face beaming. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small card, handing it over to her. She was still having problems with her vision and squinted while she viewed it.
The card had a picture of a cute black and silver astromech droid sitting in an X-wing. The pilot of the plane could be seen in the cockpit and he was winking suggestively. She opened the card and read the phrase inside:
'I've found the droid I've been looking for'
Rey could not understand why she would have sent such a card. Last night 'drunk-Rey' must have thought it was humorous for some reason. However the joke was lost on 'hungover-Rey'. She handed it back to Finn uncertainly and gave him a forced smile. "Glad you liked it," she said wearily.
"I've not eaten any of the cake yet, I'm going to share it with the rest of the gang later at dinnertime." Finn said, "I must admit Rey, you've kept your skills at catering well-hidden, it's almost too beautiful to eat."
Alarm bells now rang in Rey's mind. She could just about believe she might have made a valentine card for Finn while under the influence, but to bake a delicious cake!? She would not have been able to do even when she was stone-cold sober.
There was no time to ponder this mystery further though, as the bile that had been steadily moving up from her stomach; started to win its war with her gag reflexes.
"I'm going to be sick, Finn, you had better go; you don't want to see this…"
"Oh poor girl! Let me help you out Rey." He took her hand and pulled her to the fresher cubicle. "Let go of my hand Finn, I know how to vomit," she stated tiredly. However he did not listen and accompanied her inside. She had no time to be angry with him though as she instantly lost her control and heaved up a mixture of cake, sweets and red-white coloured liquid into the toilet-bowl. Finn was holding her hair back from her face like a true gentleman.
"You really should flush the toilet after each use." she heard Finn say while she emptied her stomach. "You're not alone on Jakku anymore, you need to start being a bit more lady-like." he laughed. She felt her face flush hotly as she spat out the remaining chunks of last night's debacle. "I'm not an animal Finn," she thought angrily. She did normally flush the toilet but she'd been distracted by the knock on the door. That was his fault, not hers.
As if to stress that he perceived her incapable of doing such a simple task. Finn reached over and pulled the cord to flush the mix of urine and vomit down into the D'Qar drains on her behalf. The cistern started to fill with a loud droning noise that made Rey's head buzz uncomfortably.
She managed to stand upright and look Finn in the eyes. "Please Finn, I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself, I um… have some things I need to do now, but I'll see you later at dinner OK?"
Finn looked a little crestfallen, but nodded. "Yes, I understand, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you." He gave her an affectionate kiss on the cheek. "Keep a lookout for the postal droid tomorrow Rey, there might be a surprise for you." he said slyly as he left her side and exited her quarters.
Rey collapsed back on her bunk in relief. "Sorry Finn," she thought. The truth was that she had been slightly humiliated to have him witness the worst excesses of her hangover, but due to the fact that she saw him as a friend rather than a potential lover, it had not been mortifyingly embarrassing.
She was also pretty sure now that she'd not sent that card or cake to Finn; but was at a loss on how to tell him this.
Also if it had not been her, then just who had given them to him?
Rey concluded that she'd not been in any fit state to produce valentine cards or treats for anyone last night... It was probably for the best. There was nobody at the base whom she felt she could properly connect with when it came to love and relationships. None of the guys were force-sensitive and would probably be intimidated by her powers and independent spirit.
Closing her eyes, Rey unwittingly thought about the only person whom she had ever felt an attraction to, a crazy megalomaniac who was one of the most evil men in the Galaxy, Kylo Ren. She felt like a deviant and a traitor as she imagined what his body might look like under all those black robes. "Stop thinking about him you silly bitch," she firmly told herself.
Her mind then wandered to her own physique. She realised that she was starting to let herself go a bit. Cake and wine were not conducive to a trim figure. She really needed to get her arse down to the D'Qar gym and work out, especially on her abdominal muscles; otherwise she would start to fill out like a Hutt.
Rey was starting to fall back asleep, but the thoughts of Kylo Ren, abdominal workouts at the gym and the pounding background music of her alcohol-riddled head, caused everything to jumble up into a strange and warped half-dream…
/4pE0Ija0s74
The digital clock beeped. Rey jerked upright. It was 5pm! "Dammit," she gasped. It was almost time for dinner to be served!
She touched her forehead with the back of her hand. She actually felt a lot better now after having slept a few more hours, despite the hallucinogenic dreams. It reminded her of the time the medics had given her some gas to treat a blaster injury, it had caused her to see some crazy shit and the same thoughts had repeated over and over in her mind… Weird.
Rey made her way into her small shower in the fresher and finally stripped off her soiled pyjamas. She let the water fall into her mouth and scrubbed herself hard with the rough edged loofah and some cleansing gel that smelled of Bespin oranges.
After drying herself with a towel she pulled out a basic grey rebel uniform and boots from her wardrobe and rapidly got dressed. Fixing her hair into her trademark triple-bun style, she looked at herself in her mirror. She was a bit too pale, but her eyes looked brighter than before, this was as good as she was going to look today she decided.
With that, she hurriedly left her quarters and made her way once more to the base's canteen.
She noted that someone had decorated the corridors of the base with pink and red paper hearts ready for the big day tomorrow. It made her smile; even in war it was nice to try and keep up the old traditions. She might be single and alone, but it made her happy to think that others might find their one true pairing this weekend.
When she reached the canteen, most of the tables were already full with various pilots, technicians and resistance officers. They were tucking into the roast bantha burgers and TIE-fries that always seemed to be the Saturday special.
As she went to the serving area and held out a tray, she received some sharp and disapproving looks from the kitchen staff as they plopped her food onto her plate. She looked down apologetically, but said nothing.
Rey could see Jessika sitting with Finn at a table in the corner and walked over to them. She placed her tray down and sat in one of the metal folding chairs, trying not to make eye contact with Finn. "Well look who decided to show her face?" laughed Jessika. Rey smiled sheepishly and started to nibble on her TIE-fries.
"Don't feel bad Rey, I was just as bad; if not worse than you last night," said Jessika lightly. "I've discovered that I've managed to send cards to six different guys and two of them I don't even know! I've had to break a few hearts today and it's been tough." She said these words with an air of mock-sadness whilst nudging her face sideways, silently gesturing towards Finn.
Rey noticed that Finn had held true to his earlier promise and brought his valentine cake with him to dinner to share. Her jaw dropped in wonder. It was truly a marvellous cake!
It was in the shape of a jacket. It had brown and red icing and was almost an exact replica of the one Finn always wore, right down to the piping and insignia. "Definitely not one of my creations!" she thought.
Finn had his attention focused on a table full of X-Wing pilots and was beckoning for one of them to come over and look at the cake.
"Hey Poe! Come and have a slice of this cake bro!"
The handsome, charismatic Poe Dameron was the most skilled pilot in the resistance and the popular leader of black squadron. He waved to them and confidently strutted over to their table. He sat down opposite Finn.
"Look Poe, I received this cake for Valentine's Day, it looks just like the jacket you gave me, isn't it amazing?"
Poe's soft brown eyes twinkled as he saw Finn's excited visage. He pushed a lock of his wavy brown hair behind his ear and placed his elbows together on the surface of the table while lazily resting his chin in his hands. "You're a lucky man," responded Poe, seemingly transfixed by Finn's face. "Have you tried any yet?"
"I'm not sure I want to slice it up, but I am desperate to try it," said Finn, sounding conflicted.
"I'm pretty psyched to try it too buddy," Poe said in return, with a dreamy look on his chiselled features.
Poe picked up a spoon from the table. "Here I'll help you get started." The pilot dug the spoon into the side of the tasty jacket-shaped dessert and swirled it around to fill it with sponge and icing. He then raised the spoon and reached over the table, letting it hover at the edge of Finn's lips.
Finn stared back over at Poe uncertainly and then slowly opened his mouth to let Poe push the sweet cake past his teeth and onto his tongue. He had taken only half of the spoon's contents before Poe snatched it back and slowly licked the rest of the serving off the spoon with his own tongue, appearing to savour the taste.
"Mmmm… chocolatey and sweet, it's delicious," said Poe, biting his lower lip reflectively. He raised his eyebrows at Finn, before giving him a roguish smile.
Rey blushed and Jessika smirked as they witnessed this exchange. Rey thought she could literally hear the metallic sound of a penny dropping in her head. She hoped Finn was not too deaf to hear it as well.
Finn looked a bit confused, but seemed to shrug it off. "Yeah, you're right bro, it tastes as good as it looks. Since you like it so much, I'll save you a slice and drop it off at your quarters tonight."
"I look forward to it buddy," Poe said as he stood up and gave Finn a brotherly slap on the shoulder. The pilot then went back to sit with his fellow X-Wing pilots.
Jessika giggled, "I think there are going to be a lot of disappointed girls tomorrow." Finn who was now shovelling cake into his mouth turned to her and gave her a quizzical look. "What are you on about Jess?" he asked around a mouthful of icing. "Never mind," Jessika responded with a sigh. "Give me a slice of that would you? Do you want some Rey?"
Rey declined the offer as she was still too delicate to handle such heavy food. She'd eaten most of her bantha burger and that was more than enough to fill her for now.
The three of them spent Saturday evening in the recreation room. They watched a documentary on the life of the famed bounty hunter Boba Fett, before settling down to play a few rounds of galactic blackjack. As usual there were complaints that Rey was probably cheating. "She uses the Force to see what the cards are!" Jessika wailed. Rey laughed, "That's not how the Force works Jess."
Time ticked on and it suddenly became late.
Finn stated he needed to see Poe before he went to bed and made his goodbyes. Both Jessika and Rey smartly decided to retire to their quarters as well.
Rey felt that her room had aired out a little by having the window open all day. However it was frigid in temperature when she walked in. There was a small pile of slush on the window ledge where some snow had blown in. She wiped it up with the cloth from the shade and closed the pane. She used the Force to heat up the air in the room slightly. There was no central heating in this part of the base, so she was glad that Master Luke had shown her this useful Jedi technique.
Her digital clock now showed that it was past midnight. It was officially Valentine's Day. "Yay," she thought half-heartedly.
Rey was sure it would be just another dull Sunday on D'Qar, as she climbed into her cot yet again.
She remembered it had been snowing. "Maybe I'll build a snowman," she thought before drifting into peaceful slumber