And If My Shadow’s All That Survives
rey & obi-wan ;; @soresuandsnark
Rey’s awestruck expression made him smile. He should have thought about this- of course she wouldn’t have seen so much greenery before. This must be incredible for her.
ObiWan paused at her query, flicking his wingtips thoughtfully. “That… is a very good question, Rey,” he said. “That depends. I don’t really know what happened here after the Battle of Endor.”
Truth be told, he’d been a bit distant from the mortal plane for a time after the Death Star’s destruction. He’d withdrawn some, his primary duty with Luke completed and- well, in all honesty, he’d been happy to welcome Anakin back to the Light. He’d missed his brother dearly. And then it had been occasional visits to Luke, until the Force drew him to Jakku and he’d spent the majority of time watching over his daughter and trying not to drift away into the ether. But he could make a few educated guesses.
“It depends on how much activity there was after the battle,” he said. “Imperial and Rebel forces would have been interested in combing the wreckage and making off with anything that might provide valuable information, and Imperial sympathizers may have wanted souvenirs, trying to make martyrs out of Palpatine and Vader. Imperial Intelligence probably wanted some for their propaganda efforts. But- the Death Star was the size of a small moon. It seems unlikely they could have hauled everything away.” He smiled wryly at his daughter. “I admit I don’t know how much that would go for, you’re more of an expert in salvage efforts than I am. If you think we can make off with enough to keep us in funds, then we should make the attempt.”
Another flick of his wingtips. He’d thought to acquire the necessary funds through other avenues, but if they could make enough money selling scrap to keep them operating, then he certainly wasn’t going to protest the notion. “Alright. We look for the kyber crystals first. Then you identify what’s best for us to take.” They weren’t on a tight time schedule, after all. They could probably make off with a fair bit. Rey’d done enough salvaging from Imperial wreckage that she would certainly be able to identify what was the most valuable for its weight. “It’ll be nice to have a financial cushion. We will need fuel, parts for the Falcon, funds to get ourselves some ident-chips, basic supplies… new clothes wouldn’t hurt. Nor would real food.” He’d like to get his hands on a couple of blasters. He desperately wanted a lightsaber to hand, but they did draw attention. Blasters would be less conspicuous.
And tea. Force, he wanted to lay in a supply of decent tea.
Should he get armor? He was accustomed to wearing it at need, and they were going into a potentially dangerous situation. If he were alone, he’d get himself some armor and pass himself off as a bounty hunter. Mandalorian, maybe, he still knew the language, and it wouldn’t be the first time he’d pulled a stunt like that. People didn’t harass Mandalorians.
He could almost hear Cody again, muttering about jetiise and their refusal to wear sensible gear into combat.
Hmm. Something to consider.
And if they were going to make some salvaging trips, maybe he’d get that chance to stretch his wings after all.
He half-closed his eyes, reaching out with his senses to try and see if he could find any signs of the kyber crystals they sought. The Force lay heavy and dark over this entire moon, feeling cold and slippery and more than a little fetid. But there was a sense, a little bright spark that beckoned to him. He smiled and rested a hand on Rey’s shoulder. “Open yourself to the Force,” he murmured. “Like we practiced. You feel that little spark, about a kilometer northeast from here?”
Was it his imagination, or did he feel something else, something dark, shifting out there?
✧—- She all but beamed at her father. Of course, she knew that at least looking at what salvage might be lying about was a good idea. She’d managed to keep herself alive for most of her life by salvaging, after all, but the praise from a parent and even the agreement to go along with her plan…
Sue her, she was absolutely giddy to actually have a parent to pull that sort of reaction from. The last time she had a dynamic where anyone praised her or reassured her or validated her decisions was Asmund, and he’d been gone for such a long time. Rey hadn’t been anything more than a little girl when the First Order took him away. Having that reassurance back… It was everything to her. Even more so than the incredible views of Endor and how breathtaking the non-desert was.
She still found herself a little awestruck while actually taking in their surroundings, though. It was easy to just stand there and get lost in the sight of something she’d never experienced before. Jakku was always more of the same. There were some spots you needed to be mindful of because of sinking sand pits or wreckage that would draw a lot of attention from other scavengers, but otherwise, it was just miles upon miles of desert sand with hardly anything to break it up. This, though?
Force, the massive trees alone were enough to steal her breath away.
She found her fingers itching to reach for something to sketch with. Asmund left her a journal that belonged to her mother. Inside that journal were journal entries ranging from anything that had to do with their life prior to Obi-Wan, to ramblings about magic and how it worked, to random studies on subjects Rey couldn’t even begin to understand. It was also filled with drawings and doodles, though, and Rey always responded most vividly to those. They allowed her to see into her mother’s world, and while she wasn’t nearly the artist that Loki was, she’d picked up the habit herself. She’d never agree, but she’d actually grown quite good, too, and she so badly wanted to plop herself down and just… draw the foliage that stretched out in front of her.
Odd, considering she also wanted to go running through the trees, uncaring if Obi-Wan could keep up with her or not.
The hand on her shoulder brought her back from her mind racing out into this strange new moon, though, and she looked up at him. Sort of. He wasn’t really… taller than her by more than an inch or two. “Do you really want to trust my abilities to find the crystals?” she asked. “It seems safer if you do it, considering you’re both familiar with what we’re looking for and not so much of a mess that when you hear ‘reach out into the Force,’ you immediately stick your hand out in front of you.” Obi-Wan wasn’t going to let her live that down, but she wasn’t going to let herself live that down either. How did she come from a powerful Force User and a person literally worshipped for their skills in sorcery?
Despite her self-doubt, she did as her father asked and closed her eyes so she could drop her guard and hopefully open herself up to the Force. The call of the crystals doesn’t immediately make itself clear to her. She’s too overwhelmed by… She doesn’t even know how to describe it, but it makes her sick to her stomach. Rot comes to mind, like something sour and corrupting taking root of such a beautiful place and spreading. On the surface, Endor was beautiful and alluring, but underneath, it was tainted. She supposed that made sense, given what they were searching for. Remains of the Death Star, a massive super weapon designed to destroy literal planets. So much evil lingered here and the shiver that ran up her spine made her question how much she wanted the ability to feel that.
A soft hum broke through all of the mucky haze, though, like a little comforting song that hushed the cries of a small child. She focused on that. Was that the song of the crystals they were looking for?
“Yeah,” she finally murmured. “Yeah, I feel it. It’s one of the only positive things I feel in this place.” A little frown tugged at her lips. How could such beauty cover so much evil? “So we should… head that way, then?”
vaporwave
germansingergirl
prguitarman
andulkaphoto
theartofmadeline
dededos
baratheonpilled
