Warrior ◊ Star Wars

chapter one; still hating on sand

Present Day, Jakku

The quiet wind whistled between the metal, whispering against the forgotten vessel. It cast large shadows on the ground, providing much-needed shade for travelers, if there were any. Mara found it refreshing, shielding herself from the direct heat of the sun, but still feeling the overabundance of warmth.

She stepped into the fractured ship, taking in its vast interior. The dark space presented a rusted hull, aging and broken. It moaned under its own weight, the weathered cruiser not suited for decades of sandstorms after it's defeat. In its youth, the ship would've been a fearsome foe, back when the Empire was in control. It probably tumbled from the sky, under heavy fire, the explosions beacons to signal it's demise. Its crew probably wished they were anywhere but there, not welcoming their untimely deaths.

Mara closed her eyes, a wave of nostalgic feelings washing over her very briefly. When she opened them, she looked upon the piece-of-junk battered star destroyer in a new light; it was a treasure chest of things just waiting to be salvaged.

Ever since Rey had found her two years ago in the middle of nowhere, the blonde had been forced to adapt to the life of a scavenger. To see everything that was broken or old with new potential and unseen value. Sure, it took a few months of Rey telling her repeatedly not to throw everything rusted to the side, but she'd adapted. Sort of.

There were still things that were just crap.

Mara looked back over at Rey, who was finishing pulling their sleigh of sorts up the hill of sand. As she set it down and approached her, the blonde pulled out the ever familiar flat, circular coin.

"Heads, I use the rope." She told her companion, and she nodded.

The coin was Alderaan currency, old and a little bent, but overall useless. The two had found it about six months ago and now used it to determine minor disputes; who climbed the rickety bar or, in this instance, used the rope instead of climbing the whole way.

As Mara tossed the coin in the air, waiting for it to settle the little question, Rey quickly grabbed it. She smiled to herself as she purposely positioned it to the tails side. She held it in front of the blonde's face, smirking," I get the rope I guess."

Mara snatched the coin out of her grasp, sighing in playful annoyance," Aren't you a genius."

Rey simply pulled goggles down to her eyes and started to wrap a cloth around her head," Or I just see the advantages and I take them."

The blonde just kept pretending to grumble, finding the situation more amusing than annoying," Or you're just a cheater."

As Rey started towards the rope, which had been set and readied the last time they'd been there, Mara pulled down her eyewear, not bothering to cover her head with wraps. To her, they were just unneeded unless of sandstorms.

Rey had made it a good thirty yards up by the time Mara had climbed her three. She had already almost fell once, the aging, weakened metal interior breaking immediately under her grip. She cursed under her breath, partly at the fallen hand-hold, partly at the non-existent second rope that'd be a great help at the moment. And she still had yards to go before the first main converter.

After a 'treacherous' few minutes of climbing, Mara had finally reached the converter. Opening the main hatch, she proceeded to inspect the rusting area. As the minutes droned on and the sun climbed higher and higher into the sky. As the blondes bag got heavier and she climbed higher, she looked out behind her.

The cruiser had severe damaging, many gaping holes. Through the fractured ship's hull, you could see right through for miles. Mara had just glanced through one of the many openings, noticing small puffs of black smoke marring the blue sky, coming from the far East. That was the same direction as a small outpost, mostly filled with villagers and not as many fugitives. Why would it be burning, especially enough for her to see from a considerable distance?

Her line of sight broke as the rope swung, Rey coming down it. This was Mara's signal to wrap up whatever she was doing at the moment and move on. She let out another sigh, shifting her makeshift pack around her torso so it wouldn't get caught on anything on the way down. And she descended, with much work.

When Mara made it to the ground, Rey had already loaded up the majority of their day's finding onto the sleigh. The blonde tossed her luggage on top, knotting it together so it wouldn't fall off. Rey then offered her a silver container, and she took it hastily. Warm water hit her dry throat, then taste still unfamiliar on her tongue. Mara made a face, hating how lukewarm it was, but water was water. And she just drank the last of what was left in the canteen.

Eager now to sell the findings and get food, she pulled out the Alderaanian coin again.

"Heads or tails?" She asked, a plan forming in her head. This toss was to see who rode the sleigh down, and who ran down the dune. Now she was intent on not losing this toss, because if there was one thing Mata hated, it was running down inclined sand that'd fill your shoes.

Rey didn't even have to think before simply stating," Tails."

The blonde to in a quick breath, throwing the coin up. As the two watched it spin, Mara took the opportunity and ran for the sleigh. As her friend processed what she was doing, Mara was already gliding down the dune, leaving a trail for which Rey had to run down. She smiled to herself as the sleigh stopped at the speeder, her companion looking particularly ticked off as the brunette finally made it down the dune, sand probably pouring into her shoes. The I restating substance would be a pain to get out later.

"I would be mad at you, but I guess that's what you call payback." Rey said as she grabbed one side of the net carrying their goods, fastening it to the speeder, which red paint was continuing to peel in the Jakku sun.

"Revenge, my dear friend," The blonde grinned, taking one last look at the fading smoke in the distance before hopping on her mode of transportation," Revenge is justified in this case. And it was fun to watch you waddle down instead of me."

Rey stuck her staff into the net of findings, hoisting herself onto the space in grit of Mara. She started to turn the handles of the run down vehicle. The engine unspectacularly roared to life as the two took jolted forward towards the nearest trading post.

"You're cleaning out my boots tonight." The brunette yelled over the wind, her head turning so her voice could reach Mara's ears.

She just smiled, hollering back," No way in hell. Your turn to get welts on your ankles."