#dropped thread

“We have ways of making you talk.” 

“I’m not telling you anything.” If there was one thing Rey knew how to keep, it was silence.

“How brave,” Ren said, straightening his posture. “But as I said, I do have ways of getting you to talk. One way or another. So you could tell me what I want to know, or…. I can extract the information from you forcefully. Your choice.”

“Who’s to say I even have the information you want?” she pointed out. “I think you’re grasping at straws, personally.” Maybe she did have the information he needed, but who cared? She wasn’t about to tell him that, and she wasn’t going to let him get it.

“So you choose force then,” Ren said, obviously unamused by her attempts to deny her knowledge of such things. “Tell me where Skywalker is. You’ve seen him. You were sent for him. I know he is alive, so where is he?” he questioned, though not forcing the information from her quite yet.

Rey was a lot less concerned about answering to him now that she’d kicked his sorry arse once. There was nothing to say she couldn’t withstand him again. It didn’t mean she wanted to endure his mental prying again, but she knew she could.

“How long do you think they’ll let you run the place when you never get the necessary results?” she asked instead of answering his questions. “I don’t think people like that stay in charge long.”

“I told you I have ways of making you talk,” he replied, completely unfazed by her remarks. He knew she knew what he could do. She had experienced it once before. And unfortunately for Ren, she’d resisted him the first time. But now he was stronger. Now he knew how to better control his powers. She may have trained. But he had too. He was much stronger than even before.

“You must remember,” Ren said, looking into her eyes, almost as if he were searching for any form of fear or weakness. But she had learned. It seemed she wasn’t going to be as weak as he’d thought. With a swift movement, Ren found himself inches from her face, just like before. “Tell me what I need to know.”

“And last time, you said you could take whatever you wanted,” Rey pointed out. “And who won that exchange?” If she recalled, it was her. It wasn’t the most pleasant victory, but she could withstand it if she needed to.

She wasn’t about to give him the opportunity, though. Instead, she struck first, using her training to push into his mind. “There’s so little of you left,” she murmured in thought before she drew back. “So much of someone else...doesn’t that grow tiring? Aren’t you sick of this?”

“I told you I have ways of making you talk,” he replied, completely unfazed by her remarks. He knew she knew what he could do. She had experienced it once before. And unfortunately for Ren, she’d resisted him the first time. But now he was stronger. Now he knew how to better control his powers. She may have trained. But he had too. He was much stronger than even before.

“You must remember,” Ren said, looking into her eyes, almost as if he were searching for any form of fear or weakness. But she had learned. It seemed she wasn’t going to be as weak as he’d thought. With a swift movement, Ren found himself inches from her face, just like before. “Tell me what I need to know.”

Giving him the information he wanted would render her utterly useless. She knew this game and how it worked, and she knew what it would take to keep herself alive. Giving up the information wasn’t at all beneficial to her survival.

Her eyes narrowed as he swooped in closer to her. Her lips pursed as she looked up at him, but it was easier to recognize his attempts to intimidate her than it had been before. She could see his actions for what they were: the last resorts of a man throwing a temper tantrum to get what he wanted. She figured he might resort to trying to pull the information from her mind with the Force again, or else swinging his lightsaber around to make her think he would actually harm her.

But the truth was, he couldn’t do much if she continued resisting.

“Look, Ben,” she said, hoping the use of the name would throw him off a little. “I’m not going to tell you. Even if I did give you a location, how would you know I was telling the truth?”

The quiet sands of Jakku, had been awakened. Laser fire filled the air as x-wings and tie fighters chased each other in an aerial dog fight…

The ground was louder then the sky. Rebels and imperial storm troopers battled to find a messily piece of cover in the crashed ties and rebel cruisers.

An imperial shuttle soared threw the laser fire from the star destroyer, tens of thousands of ties, turning to guard the jet black shuttle. It landed gently on the sand. Lord Vader exited the shuttle wearing a tie fighter pilot suit and some gloves, along with a crew man’s sleeveless unzipped vest. He pulled out his saber and activated the crimson red blade. His stormtroopers ready to guard him as he ran to join the battle.

There had never been much for Rey to do on Jakku but scavenge, so when the opportunity to work, to fight, had presented itself, she’d jumped at the opportunity. She’d trained with the Rebel Alliance long enough to know how to fight and how to counter the Dark Side’s techniques. Being strong in the Force gave her an advantage, and by the time the Empire struck on Jakku, she was ready.

Into the trenches, she’d gone, taking on Stormtroopers with the her standard issue blaster as opposed to the lightsaber hanging off her belt. That, she planned to save until it was absolutely necessary.

It looked like it would be needed soon. The battle was heating up, and the new shuttle brought with it a wave of dread the rebels had yet to face during this fight. Rey’s comrades became more desperate, leaving themselves more vulnerable and open to attack.

Her own actions became more focused, more in tune with the Force running through her veins. She sprinted across the battlefield and tackled one of her fellow fighters, shoving him out of the way a mere second before a blaster shot struck the sand exactly where he would have been.

She rolled a few feet away from him, her protective helmet lifting from her head and stopping in the sand just out of her reach. She had little use for it, anyway, and so abandoned it as she pushed herself back to her feet and began shooting at Stormtroopers again.

He landed on the broken wing of a tie fighter, after jumping over the rebel cover. He landed on his knee and foot, twisting the blade hilt in his hand and striking a rebel trooper.A blaster bolt was coming towards him and he twisted his saber, flinging the blade over his head and behind his back, deflecting the blast.

The blast had his the troopers gun. It was a young man…a boy practically. He didn’t seem ready to die. He extended his hand, the force wrapping around the boy’s neck.

When he decided it was a good idea to join the terrorist organization know simply as the ‘alliance’…

That was his first mistake…

It didn’t take long for Rey to zero in on the leader of the Empire’s attack. He was the one with the strongest Force signature, after all, and he seemed to have no qualms about using it.

She didn’t bother wasting time looking at who he was using the Force against. All she knew was she had to distract him before it killed his victim, one of her comrades in battle. So she took aim at him with her own blaster, squeezing off three shots. There was a possibility that none of them would reach him, but it would hopefully throw him off course long enough for his victim to escape.

Meanwhile, she activated her lightsaber and charged closer. It was her job to protect these people from the dark side and that’s what she was going to do, even if it killed her.

He turned and deflected the blasts. Beginning to lock blades with her.

“Usually people don’t ask to be killed…”

“Nobody’s stupid enough to ask for that, and you don’t get to decide who has,” she growled back, holding her lightsaber against his with as much resistance as she could manage. The last thing she needed was to ease up on her grip and let him run her through.

“End this. Nobody else needs to die today.”

Rey stared at Poe for a few seconds before she managed to speak. "Well, they say you're the best X-wing pilot," she considered. "But how are you doing piloting those?"

He laughed slightly, “ well first couple attempts didn’t work out so well.” He indicated numerous cuts and scrapes on his arms, legs, and face. “But I think I’ll get the hang of it!”

She nodded as she looked him over. “I’m sure you’ll manage,” she agreed with a smile. “Any idea how this happened?”

“ Not in the slightest, one minute I was laying in bed, preparing myself to take on the day, and I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder blades, I observed my reflection in disbelief as well..as I grew wings. Right before my eyes! I’ve thought about going to med bay, but I’m sure they’d want to lock me up and run extensive tests…I won’t  have any of  that.”

“You know they’ll hear about it eventually, though,” she pointed out. “Not that I’m saying you should go and let yourself be experimented on, but if they could help, maybe?”

“ I’ll- I’ll keep them hidden. Surely there’s a trick to making them less visible.” He looked over his shoulder and signed, “ alright fine, so someone is bound to notice. But I can’t be studied, I don’t have then temperament. I’m sure they wouldn’t know what to do anyhow… I’m a pilot, I’ll figure these wings out just like any other ship I’ve flown.”

She chuckled as he tried to justify it. “I don’t think  you’re really in danger,” she assured. “People aren’t going to look at you funny, either, not around here. In case you haven’t noticed, we’re kind of a mixed batch.” Sure, they were primarily human here. In fact, it was the largest human population she’d ever been around. Still, there were plenty of other species intermingling. She loved it.

“They might, I mean, everyone around here knows I’m human…not some strange hybrid…I doubt these things would even fit through half of the bases doorways!”

“Oh, please. If Chewie can fit through the doors around here, so can you,” Rey said. “Do you have any idea how to fold them in? Maybe if we figure that out, it’d be easier to move around the base.”

He nodded, “ tell me if they’re moving” he concentrated on folding them back against himself, moving them very slowly they eventually did as he commanded. “ There, are they back?” he looked behind him and whooped slightly, “ there we go, I’m getting the hang of this already.”

“There you go!” she grinned as she watched the wings fold in. “They’re beautiful, you know. I’ve never seen anything like them.” She’d seen plenty of strange things on Jakku, plenty of variations and species, but this was something else entirely. It was amazing.

It had been months since Rey’s journey to find the elusive Luke Skywalker when she finally completed her objective of bringing him home. Nearly all of the base had turned out upon their arrival to greet them, though it was mainly to welcome Luke back. Rey disengaged herself to search the crowds for the few people she actually knew here. A quick scan told her Finn wasn’t in the group and she didn’t have much longer to look for him.

That night was a whirlwind of congratulations and meetings, the latter of which Rey spent detailing why it had taken them so long to return. She’d been training and only once Luke thought her strong enough to encounter the Dark side again without being tempted by it had he agreed to return with her.

It wasn’t long after their arrival that the General came to the conclusion that Rey was ready for another mission, although she granted an easy one to start out with. It was a simple recon assignment and she would be able to take along whomever she chose.

Grinning at the idea, she gave the General her selection before taking off to find the room of the only logical choice. She knocked on his door when she found it, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

“Fiiiiinn! Are you here?”

There was a clatter from the other side of the room, the sound of a trillion small parts falling to the floor, abandoned. Finn had been busy all morning, decrypting intercepted First Order broadcasts, trying to get his kriffin’ comm to work (every time he brought it in, the guy at the desk said that it was fine, and yet every time he got back to his room, it started making those noises again), and trying desperately to restore some order to the accumulated reports. Everything was high-pressure, looming-deadline, but who cared about anything else when Rey was finally here?

The door to his ‘office’ hissed open, revealing Finn and his sharp eyes and dark scowl.

“Where the hell have you been?” he snapped, though he could maintain the illusion for about a second longer before he was wrapping his arms around Rey and squeezing the breath out of her lungs. “It’s so good to see you.”

She winced so deeply when she heard the clatter from within the room that her right eye almost closed completely, a look which she held until the hydraulic doors opened. Then, even at the sight of Finn scowling, her face brightened and she grinned so widely it hurt.

“Oof! Sorry,” she protested, the words a little strained as she had to choose whether to speak or to fight for breath. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the tight hug until she really couldn’t breathe anymore. “Okay, enough of that. No more hugging,” she groaned and pushed herself gently out of his embrace.

She took a deep breath and grinned up at him again. “It’s good to see you, too. Conscious this time. That’s an improvement. How are you?”

Finn snorted. “Trying to stay this way. You don’t want to know about me,” he said, ushering her into the room with a hand on her arm. “I’m not the one who went off to find the great Luke Skywalker.”

The hand on her arm squeezed experimentally, part of Finn’s sudden revelation. “I’m guessing either you found him, or you’ve been in one of those jails where they make you break rocks all this time.”

She rolled her eyes as she walked into the room with him. “I do want to know about you. I’ve been worried sick,” she insisted. “Especially given the fact that you were unconscious when I last saw you.”

She chuckled at his guess. “No, I found him,” she promised. “I definitely have not been breaking rocks in jail. What a pointless task.”

“That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing,” Finn sighed, sweeping a hand illustratively over the melange of gadgets and sheets on his desk. (He’d describe it as ‘a mess,’ though it was really anything but.) “Except these rocks are even harder to break. We’re trying to figure out where the First Order relocated to.”

There was a sour look on his face.

“I tried to tell them that I’d be more help on the field, but no one else seems to think I’m ready to leave here.”

“Ah,” she winced as she looked around his workbench. “Yeah, we sort of destroyed their last one, huh?” It was their own fault for building a planet around a perfectly destructible weapon, really.

She grinned as he complained. “The General seems to think you’re ready o leave. She’s given us a mission on Endor. When will you be ready to leave?”

“No,” Finn gasped, unable to contain his excitement. Like it or not, Rey was getting swept into his arms and squeezed. “I’m finally free of this place? Let’s go right now. I’ll just get my jacket.”

Was there anything else he needed? Not at all. He made it a point to get attached to nothing on D'Qar; one never knew when it would be time to relocate. His jacket was within grabbing distance, and he draped it over his shoulder, ready as ever.

“Yes!” she laughed, or tried to. The sound turned into another groan when Finn hugged her again. “You’re going to crush me,” she whined but returned the quick embrace and let him disentangle to get his coat.

“Ready? I left the Falcon to be fueled up, so it should be done by the time we get back out there.” She hoped so, anyway. As much as she enjoyed being home at the base, she loved the idea of traveling to a new place. She’d never seen Endor before and was more than eager to.

“The Falcon!” Finn was laughing and whooping. Rey might not have wanted to stand in his way here; anything within a five mile radius really was potentially in the way of his mad dash to the ship – and Finn planned to give no quarter.

“I’ve never missed a ship so much before,” he raved, unable to contain himself at the thought of soaring through the skies again. Hey, maybe this time: no tractor beams! That’d be the life, right? “I’d kiss it…if it wasn’t so full of Wookiee hair.”

She followed him out and didn’t try containing her grin. Seeing him alive was thrilling enough but he was so excited, she couldn’t keep from chuckling. “Yes, the Falcon,” she teased.

“You’ve no idea what a pain that hair is,” she snorted. “It’s even worse right now. I haven’t had a chance to clean it out yet, so it’s all over the place.” She had a feeling he wouldn’t mind so much, though. “Have you really not been off base this whole time?”

“Don’t even start with me,” Finn said, wagging his finger and grinning. “I may have been cooped up here, but I haven’t been gathering dust. In fact, I think I might just blow your mind on this mission. Chewie.”

Finn was prepared to give a little wave, maybe nod his head respectfully. He wasn’t prepared to be ensconced in Chewie’s massive furry arms, pulled in like prey. Chewie wailed something, and Finn tried to twist his head out of the jungle of hair that was catching on his lips.

“What did he say?” he asked, muffled and sputtering. “Tell me this is a hug and not him about to throw me into Hangar B.”

Rey laughed as Chewie grabbed Finn, giving her no time to properly respond to Finn’s “mind blowing” comment.

“He missed you,” she said. “He’s happy you’re okay, believe it or not.” She knew the two hadn’t been on the best of terms the last time they’d encountered each other consciously, but Chewie had been focused a lot on Finn’s well-being since then. She could feel the concern radiating off him without him speaking half the time.

“Okay, don’t break him, Chewie. We’ve got work to do,” she added and stepped around the two to board the Falcon. “Are we ready to fly?”

Finn took that roaring bellow behind him as something akin to an aye-aye-captain and followed suit. His first impulse once inside the ship was to breathe deeply and re-acclimate himself with it – but just in the nick of time, he remembered what a bad idea that would be. Especially when the vents first kicked in; Han had told them once that that weird funk had been lingering in the ducts since before they were born.

“You gonna let me fly this time?” Finn teased her, leaning over the pilot seat. He held out one arm experimentally. “You should – look at this, I can reach the shield toggle from here.”

“Hey!” she protested and gave his hand a light smack. “Ha ha. You’re hilarious, aren’t you?” she rolled her eyes. “No, thank you. That’s what I have a co-pilot for,” she said with a nod to Chewie.

The wookie gave a satisfied, gargling roar, and made his way to his seat.

“Exactly,” Rey grinned and hip checked Finn. “I don’t expect we’ll be running into any trouble on the way to Endor but you can man the guns if you’d like. Just like old times,” she teased.

Rey had spent several months training after she managed to track down Luke Skywalker and was now being sent on minor missions to gather information on the First Order’s new whereabouts. They weren’t the most exciting but she didn’t mind traveling as long as she had company, and Chewie and R2-D2 were always with her.

The Falcon had sprung a leak on the way to Coruscant, where they had planned to scout for information for a few days. Chewie was handling it but had waved Rey and R2 away to tend to their own business.

Rey led the way into the Cantina and went straight for the bar. She seated herself there and ordered a drink. The plan was to remain here for a few hours and see if any of the locals were gossiping about the First Order. It was a long shot, but they didn’t have many leads otherwise.

Lounging in a shady part of the Cantina, sat a man in what looked to be smuggler clothing. His gaze focused on Rey as she came into the Cantina. With confidence, he got up from his lounge and went over to her booth. Before she suspected him of being a stranger, he pulled out a small Resistance badge.

“Don’t worry, I’m an ally.” He began, waving his hand to get a drink. “General Organa sent me here, saying I was supposed to find the one who found…him.”

Rey glanced up at him and stared at the badge. She hadn’t been alerted of any Resistance allies in the area, but she wouldn’t be surprised to see them on Coruscant. The people of every planet conglomerated here whenever they had time, it seemed.

She nodded to the man. “That’d be me, then,” she said, albeit hesitantly. “I’m Rey.”

“Gavan. Gavan Shaider.” He replied back, getting his drink and took a small sip. Ah, aged Coruscant whiskey always tasted the best for his tongue. After examining the liquor in the light he set the cup down. “So. First Order planned to attack this old capital of the Republic and Empire. However i have some friends that can help with that Orbital front.”

“Nice to meet you,” she said and watched him with a curious frown. Her lips parted in surprise at the news he bore. “Are you mad?” she asked in a hushed tone and leaned closer to him. “The First Order plans to attack Coruscant? When? Why?” It was a horrible idea, really. Coruscant was the hub of their universe. It was fortified like no other, its citizens trained to defend it if they needed to.

“The First Order is a Militia, not a sect of the New Republic. They thrived on chaos and bring their iron-fisted law down. So of course I’m mad.” He replied, glancing at her, studding her face before leaning in close. “But you found someone. You found the one person this entire galaxy has been surcharging for. You found….master Skywalker.” Shit. He should have said old commander Skywalker or Luke, not that. it’s so embedded in his system, that…he couldn’t help but to say it.

“I know full well what the First Order is,” she rolled her eyes. She’d had first-hand experience with them, after all. “But attacking Coruscant is a death wish. Surely even they aren’t that mental.”

Her eyebrows rose when he referenced Luke. “Why do you speak of him like that?” she asked. There were few people who still did.

Now he was becoming nervous. He knew he shouldn’t have said it, but it was hard not to since its been ingrained in his mind. He let out a small breath of air, mouth opened ready to say his words, but sadly, they chocked up by the sound of muffled blaster fire…and more muffled blaster fire. He gets up and goes out to the door to see whats going on. Shit! It’s too late!

“It’s the First Order!” He shouted, mainly to everyone. A few of the patrons started to panic and screamed in fear, rushing out to the back, Gavan, however, brushed aside his coat (slightly showing one of his saber hilt.) and pulls his blaster out.

Rey was on her feet as soon as Gavan was. She followed him to the door, her eyes narrowing when she confirmed it was indeed the first order.

“If you’re really working for the resistance, cover me,” she instructed of the boy who claimed to be an ally. “If we’ve got any luck at all, this is only a scouting ship.” She hoped Kylo Ren wasn’t involved in this mission. As well trained as she felt now, she didn’t know if she was ready to face him yet.

Before Gavan could try to dissuade her, she drew her saber and darted outside, deflecting blasts from the stormtroopers’ weapons as she made her way through the first wave of them.

Gavan shot a few Stormtroopers down with his blaster, but then theirs that one bastard in the Riot gear that knocked him against the wall, making him drop his blaster about to hit him with baton. However…and in away, disapointing to him, He shoved him back pulled out a hilt.

The Green Blade flicked on as he cut the Riot Trooper down. Quickly he deactivates it before Rey could ever see it and grab his blaster, taking down another few troopers. He was trying to catch up with her, still being guise as a normal human.

Rey was slowed down more the further into the fray she tried to move, where the ranks of Stormtroopers began to close in on her. She fought her way toward their ship, deciding one of the best ways to figure out where the First Order was located was to seclude on of them and use her newly learned mind tricks on them.

She grabbed one and whispered that he would follow her into the ship before ducking inside.

“You will tell me where your base is located,” she said, her voice calming and soft in comparison to the sharp sounds of bodies hitting the ground and metal shredding apart as people fought outside.

“I will tell you-” The last line of the Stormtrooper was cut off by a Force choke. It wasn’t caused  by her or anyone else…though their was a disturbance in the force. Gavan glanced around. Despite repressing that feeling with the force, he can not deny it’s presence.

The Hidden Jedi glanced arond to see who or what, and he spotted that Who…or What. It was a person, slowly making its way to him, chest not budging with how it walked. Gavan pulled his blaster out but was ripped from his hand, passed the thing’s head. No other choice, He pulled his Saber out and activates it’s Green blade. This suited person pulled out a Vibrosword, the blade illuminated white on the edge.

“Rey, I think i need some assistance!” Gavan shouted.

Rey’s eyes widened as she watched the Stormtrooper freeze up, then slowly collapse. She didn’t have to guess at what was happening; she’d seen this before and there was nothing she could do unless she could find the Force user responsible.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered as she turned away and darted back outside. She pulled up short when she spotted the Vibrosword and a green lightsaber, her brow furrowing as she tried to figure out what she was seeing. There was another Jedi here? At least she could no longer doubt whether he was an ally. She knew now.

And her ally needed help. She activated her own saber again, but didn’t move. Instead, she threw her hand out and used the Force to throw Gavan’s assailant off balance and to the side.

Even with an AI as advanced as the one BB was installed with, the day count seemed to have gotten lost in his code somewhere. No sense of time, no company and everyone he’d met wanted to sell him for parts anyway. The thought of handing himself over to some poor scavenger did cross through the droid once in a while…

       .. at least then he’d be noticed for a while… despite probably being picked apart right after.

A long trail behind BB gave quite the image of just how long he’d spent moving around in the empty space of Jakku.. not more than sand as far as his lens could see. Crashed ships was the other thing that could come up once in a while, which only prompted a few moments of exploring before it was back to escaping.

However, approaching just one of those, a downed X-wing also gave the droid a quick glance at a female sitting by it.

It was dangerous to be curious… but that didn’t cross his code right now. He instead peaked through the corner carefully, hoping to be spared from fleeing this time around.

Rey’s home was by no means elaborate or even safe by normal standards, but she loved it as much as she could love anything on this wasteland of a planet. She’d been there the day the X-wing had crash landed, seen it from the village and recognized the opportunity to scavenge. She’d made the trek out to it and fought off the horde of other scavengers attempting to rake it over for parts. By the time she laid her claim to it and made her way inside, the pilot was nowhere to be found.

She’d learned how to fly using that broken X-wing, reading the manual she’d found under the co-pilot’s seat after selling that off for her daily food ration. She’d taken it apart and put it back together until there were no more parts to reassemble, until she’d gutted the entire thing and made a large enough space in which to take shelter from the sandstorms of Jakku.

She loved the rusting old X-wing like it was her own, because she’d laid claim to it. She’d broken it down. She’d fought to call this place home, and she’d finally won that fight. It wasn’t much, but it was hers.

She leaned against it as she ate, watching other ships pass by in the atmosphere when a small whirring noise caught her attention.

Rey glanced over and gave a start when she saw the droid. “Oh! Hi--sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you!” In fairness, it had startled her first. “Are you lost?” What was it doing all the way out here?

The sudden jump from the female did cause the droid to back up a bit. Perhaps he should escape now? He had slipped out of close calls way too much, and at this point.. it was pretty much the first call whenever he would approach anyone.. or anything for that matter. This caused BB to be out of sight for a moment while he calculated the risk of getting caught at this point.

But then.. the voice that came out was anything but enraged, which was, again, not something the small droid was used to. The punishment for being curious had basically always been to get chased down by greedy scavengers. Luckily, while this was a scavenger too, it seemed she had given him a chance.

As a gesture of temporary trust, the droid once again looked out from his rather compact hiding space, this time showing his full body for her, but kept his distance in case his initial fear was correct.

         “Bwiiop… Wiip-beep bop-bip Bwoiip..”

[Correct… I am sorry for scaring you..]

He said with a quick look down onto the soft sand. That did not last long, however, as soon the droid looked back up again to be on guard.

She gave a half smile and shrugged. “It’s okay,” she assured as she studied him. He was in remarkably good shape for rolling through the deserts of Jakku. She wondered how long he had been here or where he had come from.

“You’re not from around here, are you? How did you get out here?”

She didn’t move closer as she questioned, seeing the way he shifted around. She thought that might be nerves, but she wasn’t sure it was in his programming to feel that way. This was the first time she’d encountered a droid of his kind, so she wasn’t aware of the specifics that went into his circuitry. Emotion was well within the range of possibility.

It was quite the relief that she did not move any closer to him, his attention staying strictly on her for the most part, as the fear of being attacked was still in effect. His movements did seem to be heading forward though.. slowly, but forward nonetheless.

His head shook as a quick response to the first question asked, but seeing as the follow up was not a yes/no one, he responded more vocally.

             “Bwiip-beep bop-bip.. Bziip.”

[I have always been here… ma’am.]

She knew better than to move forward, not only because it would expend unnecessary energy when she had little to spare after a day of scavenging and meager meals, but because she didn’t want to scare the poor droid away.

“You’ve always been on Jakku?” she asked with a sigh. Poor thing. “Me too. As long as I can remember, at least.” She glanced down and patted the hard sand she sat on, offering him the space should he want to move any closer. “You don’t have to stay over there if you don’t want to, you know. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She finished off her food and talked with her mouth full as she added, “I’m Rey.”

His vision could be seen shifting from the patted place of sand, back up to the woman finishing her meal. This went on for a while, the debate of wether or not it was a good idea to move forward went on for a while… or if the action was even a welcoming gesture to begin with. BB seemed to have lost the ability to judge these things by himself at this point.

Eventually, he did take up the offer given to him, but quite slowly at that. Even so, he kept a bit of a distance from her… but it was most certianly a step in the right direction.

   “Bwiipo-beep..”

[I am BB-8..]

A short stop was dealt, the droid figuring the least he could do was show some respect for her invitation. So, with a ‘bow’, he added just that.

    “…Woo-bwiipo.”

[… my lady.]

Rey watched him roll closer with a small smile. He was cautious. Good. That was probably why he’d survived so long out here without being broken down for parts. She could imagine he’d fetch quite the sum at Unkar’s trading post.

“Nice to meet you, BB-8,” she grinned when he bowed to her. How cute was that? “No need to be so formal, though. I’m nobody special.”

After another quick bow, his head soon enough reeled back to inspect the others actions further.. of course, still keeping his attention high. There was no sign of any attacking motions thus far…

.. that was quite new.. something he felt he needed to adress.

       “Bwooiipo-beepo…”

[To me you are..]

Again, a hesitant pause was dealt.

       “…Wrrip-beep bop-biip Woo-beep Breeiop boop.”

[… you are the first to not try to pick me apart.]

Her gaze nearly lifted off him before he spoke, and then she found she couldn’t look away. “You think I’m special?” she asked, her tone wavering. Nobody had ever thought that of her before.

She could see why he did, but it still didn’t seem like enough to make her worthy of his sentiments. “Well, that’s because I value life, unlike the rest of the population here. Nobody deserves to be broken down like that.

“You could stay with me a while, if you’d like,” she offered. “Most people don’t bother me anyway. I could keep you safe.”

Once more, a nod was given in response to this. She was surely special for him… so far, that was. While the new feeling of not being alone and actually being able to speak with someone who is not interested in picking him apart for either cash or food is not something that was coded..

            … the AI was developed enough to show signs that it was surely enjoyable. BB could get used to this.

That seemed like he could quite sooner than he thought. Was this scavenger… offering him shelter? Now this was puzzing to say the very least, let alone how unfamiliar it was.

Head rotated quickly.

        “Wrriip bop-bweep.. biip?”

[Are you sure… ma’am?]

She had to admit, keeping him in her company would be a risk. There were undoubtedly a number of people on Jakku who would want to break the droid down for parts, but she wouldn’t let that happen. For the first time, here was someone who needed her help and protection, and she wasn’t going to fail him.

“Of course I’m sure,” she said. “I’ve been alone awhile. It would be nice to have the company, if you’re interested in staying. If you want to leave, though, I can point you in the right direction to get out of here safely.”

She didn’t want him to go, of course. The conversation was nice and he was cute. He’d be a good companion.

There was a sudden feeling of comfort rushing through the small droid. For a moment, he wondered if he was in fact malfunctioning.. which was the main reason he asked if she was sure about the offer. If she was a scavenger, which BB did not know if she was or not yet, it only confused the AI more.

A familiar wait soared through the air, lens simply staring into the eyes of Rey. Even for a coded conscience, this was a lot to take it.

          “Wriip-beep zwiip… Brrip-weep bop-reep wiiep-beep bop..”

[Excuse me, my lady.. I am not sure how to show my gratitude…]

Other than bowing again.. that statement was true. He felt an offer like that required some form of thanks. However, the process was slow to gather.

He remained stationary.

She stared back at the droid while she waited for a reaction. Had she short circuited the poor thing’s protocols that easily? He must have been running low on oil after wandering around Jakku for so long, otherwise she didn’t expect it to be so easy to confuse him.

When he spoke again, she smiled. “You don’t need to show your gratitude,” she promised. He was a droid; she didn’t expect that kind of response from him. “Just stick around for a while, yeah? I’m going into the village tomorrow. We’ll try to barter for some food for you.”

Some of her words seemed to confuse him, such as ‘food’ and ‘stick around’. These words were met with a quick head tilt.. but nevertheless, he seemed to have enough developed logic to figure them out. However, he did seem to question the latter of the two.

       “Bwriiop-weep bop-boeep weep? Wriiop-bip?”

[What do you mean by food? A refill?]

A short pause was dealt before he caught himself not showing the right amount respect he felt the female deserved. With another bow, he tried to fix that.

        “…Wriip.”

[… my lady.]

“Yeah, oil or something. Whatever kind of fuel you use,” she said. She wasn’t sure of the diagnostics on this particular BB model, but she would be happy to figure it out enough to keep him running.

Rey tilted her head to the side as she surveyed him. “You don’t need to call me that,” she assured. “I don’t care much about being formal.” Nor was her station in life fitting of the title he kept giving her. “My name’s Rey. I think that’ll suffice.”