(A/N: I apologize for the LOOOONG hiatus but fret not, that newest chapter is finally out! It wasn't until a few days ago that I remembered I had written this story and decided to continue it. Never expected for it to be this long. Anyways, please do enjoy because I had fun writting this chapter. And just an fyi, I'm following Force Awakens events, skipping a couple of small points and trying to keep it in Jade's pov)
"Hey. Hey! Wake up...it's not safe out here." A voice called out to the young Solo which woke her up almost immediately, despite the rays from the burning hot sun hitting against her face. She held up a hand to block them out and at the same time to see the face of who that voice was coming from. It was a young scavenger girl, who looked around a couple of years not much younger than Jade. Besides her, was a droid - a spherical white and orange astromech droid. "What do you think you're doing out in the open out here? I take it you are new to this place because you'd have known better."
Jade stared at the girl while fixing herself up, gathering all belongings which were all still in their place. After her freighter had crashed down onto this dessert planet, she traveled all through the night which eventually tired her out and decided on this spot to rest until morning. "I..I crashed here, last night. There was no form of life or anything for miles. I didn't want to keep on walking through the dessert, especially during the night. What of it?" She asked the other, whiling dusting some of the sand off her clothes. "I hate the sand."
"Listen. This place, especially around this particular area and at night, is extremely dangerous. There are thieves and thugs out here who scavenge around stealing from anyone and everyone they see in their sights - men, woman, children. It doesn't matter to them." The scavenger explained to the brunette, looking down towards the droid for a moment. "Take my little companion here. I had to rescue him from being scavenged himself earlier.."
The droid beeped in a response, remaining behind the girl. "Oh, well, I appreciate the concern but I can handle myself in any situation. I've dealt worse than thugs, believe me. They're nothing compared to the kind of people, or person, that I have come across by. So thanks." Jade said while placing her blaster pistol in it's holster, while picking up her knapsack that contained small amounts of food, water, a change of clothes, and the most important of all - a lightsaber. But for now, all she needed was that blaster to protect herself from danger. "My dad taught me how to use a blaster, so I would have been able to fend off any thug trying to steal from me. I have to ask though...What planet is this?"
"You're on Jakku - it's nothing but a wasteland. I've been here since I was a very little girl and had to provide and learn how to defend myself. No parents, or a family. Just been me for 15 years." She explained her story, despite not being asked to. There was a sense of hurt in her tone, which Jade picked up on. "Sorry, I didn't mean to let you know that. I don't like telling that to people, especially someone I just met - a stranger."
"Well, maybe we don't have to be strangers anymore. I'm Jade. Nice to meet you, er-"
"Rey. That's BB-8."
"Rey. BB-8 That's an interesting name. And I'm sorry to hear about, well, you know. I don't know how you've managed by yourself for this long - it must have been very difficult. But at least you're alive and healthy. That's all that matters, right?" Jade asked, a sincere smile formed upon her lips. She couldn't imagine being 15 years without parents. Hers, even though they were always busy leading the Rebellion to ensure peace continued years after the Battle of Endor, made time for their family no matter how short or long the time was spent. How could parents just abandon their child, especially on a plant such as this one? It's dangerous for a small child to live on and fend for themselves. "Listen, I don't want to take up more of your time. You probably have something to do. Can you direct me to the nearest outpost? Particularly one where I can find a flight out of here?"
Rey nodded softly in response, turning around and pointing straight ahead over a hill of sand. "Just over that hill, is Niima Outpost. There are only a few pilots that I know will fly you out of here, but I can't guarantee it. They're all horrible and nasty beings. I'll take you there, if you want. I don't mind, Jade." She returned the smile - it was nice to have another friendly face around. "Come on."
"Thanks, Rey. I'd really appreciate that. I didn't think I would find anyone for miles. Lead the way then." Jade motioned for the scavenger to proceed towards Niima Outpost, which she hoped wouldn't be far from here. She wanted to get a sip of water and whatever food is available there - those two resources were of scarce at the moment for her. The weather wasn't really helping with the thirst either. "How do you deal with the warm weather? I'm used to a much different environment. The closest I have come by like this place is Tatooine. Ever hear of it?"
"No, not really. I don't know much about other planets outside of Jakku. Like I said before, I've been here pretty much my entire life since dropped off by my parents. But I know that one day they'll return. I count the days as they pass by." Rey spoke as they began to make their way towards the outpost, BB-8 following closely behind them.
"Well, I suppose my next question shouldn't even be brought up then. I'm from Coruscant - the whole planet is one big city. Very beautiful and full of life. There are tall buildings literally everywhere you go, and speeders racing through the air. I really hope one day you'll be able to see other planets, too. No one should have to be isolated anywhere." Jade said truthfully, wishing that Rey could get off this planet and go out to explore others. But when Rey mentioned about how she'd would wait for her parents to return, that seemed highly unlikely now. Seeing as that many years have passed, it didn't look like they would be returning any time soon.
Looking over her shoulder for a swift second, Rey bore a small smile upon her face. Listening to how Jade described her home planet and it sounded wonderful, much better than this place. However, she had no way to get off this planet - plus, she promised to herself to wait the return of her parents as long as it took. No matter what and how long it'd take. "Maybe, one day. I am needed here for now. Starting with getting you and my buddy here to Niima Outpost so you'll be on your way. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be on this planet much longer." The two shared a laugh. Their walk to the outpost seemed rather shorter than Jade expected, probably due to passing the time talking about different topics. Upon arrival, Jade could see what Rey meant when she said everyone here was nasty - people wouldn't apologize when passing by, especially if bumping shoulders. They'd just go on without regret or inconsiderate of others feelings. At least Jade didn't have to spend much here, so it didn't really bother her. Like she said, she'd dealt with worse people than these. Nothing here bothered her. "Hey, Jade. Do you mind if I turn in these scraps first? It's the only way I can provide food for myself."
Understanding, Jade could only nod at her request. "Yeah, of course. That's no problem. I am in no rush to get out of here, not really." She chuckled softly. "Here, I'll help you carry those. It's the least I can do to help and repay the favor that you're doing for me. But also, I'll help with BB-8. Do you know what or where he needs to be?" She asked.
"I'm not exactly sure. When I asked, he didn't want to tell me anything except that he's confidential. I will figure out what to do with him. C'mon." Rey motioned towards the droid, as well as Jade, and led them towards a trading structure where a short line awaited. The wait wasn't long and soon found themselves at the front of the line, where an ugly blobfish stood on the other side of a screened window. He seemed to be a horrible being just by the look of him, according to Jade. But Rey knew him as her boss. "I've gathered some more scraps and ship parts. How much are these worth, Unkar?" She asked, placing a few of the items on the counter.
Unkar rubbed his chin, taking a moment on deciding what the parts brought today would be worth. "For these 5 pieces? Let me see here...One half portion." He stated with an unamused and ugly tone, slamming a sealed packet onto the counter, prepared to see her off before she retorted his offer.
"One half portion? Last week they were worth half a portion each!"
"What about the droid?"
"What about him?"
"I'll pay for him."
BB-8 beeps almost in shock at what that blobfish had said. Jade was also surprised, looking at Rey immediately. She is sure Rey wouldn't trade him in, and instead get him to where he belongs. "Rey, you aren't thinking of actually selling BB-8, are you? That'd be mental!" Sure, she understood the scavenger would most likely do anything for food but to give away the poor droid like that? It's helpless, scared, alone.
"60 portions!" This time, he slams a handful of packets onto the counter. The look on Rey's face changed completely, like she was close to taking him up on the offer. She even reached out and scooped up almost the whole pile towards her. But something seemed to stop her, and not just because of BB-8's furious beeping.
"Rey!"
Rey glanced from Unkar, back down towards the droid. She looked at him as if saying 'forgive me.' "Actually, the droid's not for sell. Come on, Jade. Let's get going." She races past the woman, not saying another word. BB-8 rolls closely behind them, beeping in glee at not being traded away to that..that monster. If anything, he'd have been scrapped for parts. Regardless of Rey's choice a few moments ago, he decided to stick with her and Jade - he was safer with them anyways.
Jade caught up to her in an instant, reaching out with a hand to turn her around. "Rey, wait. I can't believe you were almost thinking of doing that, but I'm just really glad you didn't. You made the right choice." She said with a big smile spreading from the corner of her lips. "I know it must've been hard to turn away that much food, but look. You've helped me, and I wanna help you too. Once I get my ship fixed, I want to take you off this planet. You said you're waiting for your parents, and I hate to say it, but..." She sighed heavily, "I seriously don't think they are coming back. They would've by now, don't you-"
"I appreciate that, but I can't, Jade. They are, and they will. Let's just find a mechanic and get you out of here. And I think BB-8 should go with you because-"
"Hey!"
Two thugs had approached and stopped them in their spot. A third came out from behind, throwing a sack over BB-8. The other two restrained both Rey and Jade, holding both girls by their arms to restrain them. However, the three didn't know who they were dealing with. 'No. I musn't rely on my Force powers to escape this. But I can't reach for my lightsaber or my blaster, what should I-' It came to her surprise when Rey managed to fight off the one thug holding her back - kicking, biting, hitting. On the other hand, Jade backed her attacker against a pole, then elbowed him directly in their face. She then flipped the man to the floor, holding her blaster towards him. Rey finished off by whacking the other with her quaterstaff, just until he was begging for mercy. "Go on, get out of here or we'll do much worse harm to you!" Jade screamed at the three men, watching them run off into the distance.
Rey reached down to remove the sack thrown onto BB-8, asking if he was alright. The little droid beeped in response. His attention was drawn away straight ahead, crazy beeps coming from him which had also caught Rey and Jade's eye. They saw a young dark man in a jacket looking back at them, beginning to wonder why it had caused the droid to act the way he did seconds earlier. "Who? Him?" She asked curiously, never taking her eyes away from him before deciding to chase after him. Jade shook her head, calling after Rey when she bolted off to confront the man. Upon catching up to the other girl, she overheard calling the man a thief and where he'd gotten the jacket from, that it belonged to BB-8's master. "Talk!"
A look of frustration appeared on Finn's face before a sigh escaped him, leaning back before answering the question. "It belonged to someone named Poe Dameron. Is that who you're talking about, right?" He asked, glancing back and forth between Rey and the droid. BB-8 reacted happily at hearing about his master's name. However, just before anyone else could speak another word, Jade overheard the name as well - it was one known to her as well.
"Wait. D-Did you say Poe Dameron?!" A wide eyed Jade asked from behind Rey, staring down towards Finn.
"Yeah. He was captured by the First Order, and I helped him escaped. But..." Finn began to say, preparing to tell them the fate of the pilot. He took a moment. "The ship we escaped in, crashed here...on Jakku. And, he didn't make it. I'm sorry."
BB-8 lowers his head, letting out a rather depressed beep and rolled away. Everyone watched him off, except for Jade. She grew teary eyed at hearing the news of the 'death' of Poe - the two go way back. Poe happened to be Ben's former best friend, as their parents used to be close before their unfortunate deaths. Not only that but Jade had a silly childhood crush on him, never telling him however because she believed him to only view her as Ben's younger sister. They weren't exactly as close as the two boys were but that didn't stop her from having those feelings. This was hard to hear, regretting not telling him now. "Oh God...Are you s-sure?"
"Positive. When I regained consciousness from the crash, I searched the ship and no sign of him anywhere. So I figured he's..."
"Poe..."
"You said you were with the Resistance before?" Rey asked after a long pause.
Standing up and brushing off bits of sand from his, Poe's jacket, Finn nodded at her question. "Yes, that is correct. I am...I am with the Resistance. Yeah, me. The Resistance."
"I'm Rey, by the way. She's Jade and our little droid friend here is BB-8. From what he told us, he's on a secret mission. Back to your base, in fact. If we can get a ship out of here, do you think you'd be able to help us deliver him?"
"Finn, and.." Finn took a quick moment to scope his surroundings before leaning in to whisper a piece of information to the woman, "I heard that he's carrying a map to someone named Luke Skywalker, and a lot of people in the galaxy are after it."
Again. Another name that caught Jade's attention. She wiped away the tears she'd been previously shedding and decided to join in on the conversation between the two, "Luke Skywalker? You mean to tell me that...that BB-8 is carrying a map to-We need to get him to your base, now!"
"I thought Luke Skywalker was a myth?"
"A myth? No, he's not. He's very much real! Luke Skywalker is-!"
Jade was interrupted by the loud, mad beeps of BB-8 as his attention is averted to something in the distance. They all looked to see two Stormtroopers who were in conversation with some of those thugs from earlier, which the thugs pointed out to the three. Finn grabs both of their hands and begins to run away in the opposite direction. "Come on! We need to get out of here, now. This is bad! Don't stop running!"
"Why are they after us?!" Jade questioned, confused with what was going on at the moment. She began to wonder why Stormtroopers are in a place like Jakku to begin with. Perhaps it has something to do with this..boy. It wasn't until Rey and I met with him that the Stormtroopers showed up. I have to find out.
"It's me they're after! Because they saw you with me, they have marked you as well! I'll explain more later, but for now...Let's get off this planet and lose them!"
"Oh, great! Thanks for that! WE didn't need this...All I wanted was get my ship fixed and get off this planet!"
It was then that the sound of TIE fighters filled the air above them. Two, perhaps even more on the way as the seconds pass, were seen at the moment. Soon, they begin to fire at the three, causing explosions in the sands. "We can't outrun them! There's too many of them!"
"We need something to escape in, quickly!"
"We need a pilot!"
"We got one!" Jade yelled through the loud explosions going on in the background, watching out for any type of ship or freighter they could all escape in. There wasn't any in sight - however, along the way, as if by miracle, there was one just ahead of them. It looked like that..."There! We can escape on that one. Come on, follow me!" The Falcon! Dad's ship...but why is it here?! No time for questions, I'm just so glad it's here! Finn and Rey followed the young brunette aboard the ship, each heading to a different part of the ship; Jade and Rey both directly went for the cockpit to conduct the Falcon, while Finn manned the turrets in preparation to fight off the TIE fighters once they took off. "Strap yourself in, Rey. This is going to be one hella of a bumpy ride. Finn, take out as many as you can while I try to prepare to head into light speed!" She yelled loud enough for Finn to hear her from the cockpit. There was a lot of time spent in this ship, and had a lot of practice thanks to Han. Jade knew every button and it's function so escaping would be an easy task as long as Finn took care of those fighters. Once the ship lifted off from the ground, a vicious chase through Jakku began. However, she began to get nervous when the TIE fighters could not be shaken off but a dangerous yet sure plan came to mind that would work. "Listen, Finn! I'm going low to confuse their tracking. Everyone hold on!"
She reached out to press and pull on buttons and switches, causing the Falcon to arc upwards, upside down and swoops dangerously closely to the sand. The TIE fighters nearly crash but manage to avert from disaster. They continue on with chasing down the Falcon and her crew, shooting but failing miserably with every bullet. Finn fired at one then the other, managing a few scrapes on the surface of their ships. "We're not loosing them, nor am I getting any shots! We need some cover, like now!"
"You got it! Keep firing, I know you can do it, Finn! You're with the Resistance and I expect better!" Jade yelled with a smug smirk on her face. She was much like Han when it came to flying - cocky and taking risks. There wasn't much cover around until Rey pointed out the perfect place they could get some good cover.
"Jade..This may sound crazy but we can fly into that crashed destroyer just up ahead. We'll loose them in there, trust me."
"That'll work. I'm glad to have you aboard, Rey. Here we go!" With the push of a couple more switches, Jade boasted towards the destroyer and raced through it's insides. The TIE fighters flew closely behind them. It looked as if this chase would not end but there was tons of debris anyone could crash into. Quick thinking, the young Solo steered the wheel and hit the brakes, waiting for the right moment to ram into one of the fighters. It was sent flying towards the wall, exploding on contact. The remaining fighter fell back in an instant, quickly preparing to lock onto the Falcon. "He's trying to lock on us. Finn! It's just him, you need to take him out or we'll be blown to bits."
"Come on...come on..." Finn turned on his focus, hoping it would lock on first. It was either them or him. "Come on...almost there. Don't let me down." With his thumbs rested upon the buttons, he pressed them as soon as the sound indicating that he was locked onto the TIE fighter and blasted two shots for the final blow. "Wooo! I did it! I did it! Let's get out of here!" He cheered into the headset for Jade and Rey to hear. I can't believe I did that! Oh man...
In the next moments, Jade sent the Falcon flying into space via lightspeed. No longer were the sands of Jakku seen from the portview, replaced by nothing but a quiet, starry atmosphere. A sigh of relief left both girls, looking at each other with a smile upon their faces. The danger was finally over, for now at least. Who knows if they were being tracked down but it seemed safe at the moment. "We're okay, I think. That...that was a close one. It's a good thing that I know this ship very well or we wouldn't have made if off Jakku alive. Don't ask. It's a long story." She chuckled, removing herself from the pilot's seat and went off to go find Finn. The three, including BB-8, met up in the lounging area. "You did great, Finn. Well, of course. You're with the Resistance after all. Couldn't have done it without you."
Finn showed a small smile before surprising Jade with a hug. He pulled away almost immediately, thinking she would find it weird that some guy she met was hugging her. Instead, he least expected the brunette to laugh it off. "Sorry. I just..got excited. It was nervewrecking trying to get away from the First Order. They don't mess around."
"It's no big deal - I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"Finn. It's Finn and I believe Rey said you're Jade?"
"Yeah, that's right. I'm Jade, nice to meet you Finn." Jade replied to his question, looking over her shoulder towards Rey. She could sense Rey had something to say. No just to Finn, but to Jade herself. If anything, it was out of curiosity. "Rey? Is there something on your mind?"
Rey shook her head, offering a kind smile to the other two. She now looked to Finn, "Thanks for coming along when you did. And I apologize for attacking you earlier. I just thought you might of robbed BB-8's master. Glad to know you're not a thief but with the Resistance. Speaking of which," She knelt down towards BB-8, placing a hand on top of it's dome shaped head. "We need to know the coordinates of your base so he'll be safely delivered to the right people. I'll tag along until he is. Because if he's carrying that important piece of information to, who you said, Luke Skywalker, they'll need it."
Finn stared at her for the longest time, frozen at what to say of her request. He hadn't imagined it would come this far, and that they would actually believe he was with the Resistance. Perhaps he should've been honest with them back on Jakku, then again...things could've have gone in a different direction. Now he's stuck in this mess, so he had to continue to go along with it. "Well, I-" But just before he could get in another word, the ships power shut off indefinitely. The room goes silent, and everyone becomes nervous. "...that can't be good."
Jade moved over to one of the panels, which seemed to be overridden. She immediately realizes what's going on, turning around to inform the others, "Someone's locked onto us. All the ships controls are completely disabled. Just when we thought we've escaped, this happens. Okay, okay. Let's not panic. There's..."
"What are we going to do?" Rey asked in a whisper, looking to Jade for the answer. Her attention turned to Finn when he looked out from one of the many viewports of the Falcon. His eyes grew wide with shock and fear. This was something, or so he believed it to be, he'd never want to see again. "It's the First Order. This is bad. Jade, please tell me you have a plan."
FLASHBACK
"Listen, Jade. If you're ever in trouble and I happen to not be around, remember that you can hide under this compartment. And see this wire here? Use a pair of pliers or something sharp enough to cut through it." Han explained to his then 10 year old daughter, Jade. Just like he taught Ben before her, he wanted both children to be safe in case of his absence.
"What does it do, dad?" Jade asked, looking curiously at the wire.
"This releases a poisonous gas that will cause any intruder to choke on it." He then showed her the gas masks hanging on the wall to their right. "Before anything, put this one so you aren't affected by it when you go up to the surface again. Understand?"
"Yeah, dad. But let's hope that you're always by my side to protect me from anything. That is until I become a Jedi and able to defend myself." The little girl laughed at her own joke, being half serious half joking.
Han could only show a smug smirk, shaking his head, "Very funny, Jade."
END OF FLASHBACK
"Jade!"
"Huh?" Jade snapped out of her flashback, returning to reality. She then realized what needed to be done in order to ensure everyone's safety. "Everyone, down into this hidden compartment. Now! This will keep us safe from whatever is trying to break into our ship. Put on those masks as soon as you get in there. Go!" She ordered them, opening the secret latch for the compartment. The ship rattled a bit from the force field it was stuck in. Once she herself was inside as well, she put on her own mask then walked over to the wire that was to be cut. "Rey, I'm gonna need you to cut this wire when I say so, okay? I'm gonna pop up and see what or who our intruder is, then give you the signal to cut it."
"Are you sure this will affect Stormtroopers?"
"Yeah. Their masks are made to filter out smoke but not toxins. So it's likely they won't be able to survive this the moment they walk into it.." Finn replied, beginning to sweat from nervousness. They're probably wondering how I know that. Only someone who's been part of the Stormtroopers would have that information. Let's hope they don't and just go along with it.
Suddenly, the sound of the doors sliding open is heard. Following that, two pairs of footsteps above them. The three, including BB-8 didn't make a single noise to make their presence aware to the intruder. There were voices barely audible for them to hear. However, they didn't sound like it belonged to Stormtroopers - more like normal beings. The footsteps head off in different directions. Jade, Rey, and Finn are caught by surprise when the latch was lifted off, a blaster pointed in their faces. It was the last person Jade ever expected to see, especially now after all these months. But at the same time, glad it was him all people. "Jade?"
"H-Hi dad."