The Unauthorised Edit of TSR's Chapter 1
Aliana let out a strained groan as she trudged through the sands of Jakku. She hated desert planets with a passion. They were too hot, too devoid of life, and always filled to the brim with opportunistic Hutts.
Unfortunately, Jakku was also the closest place to Odessen with a scrap dealer, something she was finding herself in more need of as her ship continued to age.
She glanced back at the dwindling silhouette of the Fury, a replica of an old Sith Empire ship. Aliana could still see her mother beaming from ear to ear when they first got it. Her quiet voice filled with pride, repeatedly saying "I did it."
Aliana turned her gaze back to the outpost, slogging through the sands, a few flecks scratching up her leg.
She cursed.
You would think that after a thousand years, the designs for emperial ships would have changed, but no. Apparently failed empires enjoy invoking the designs of other failed empires. And now she was forced to walk, lest she invoke panic and hysteria in the locals. All because the republic failed to do it’s only job: to keep the empire from coming back.
Looking at the dunes of sand, sprawling forward like an endless ocean, Aliana couldn’t help but think “I hate my life.”
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An hour had passed by the time Aliana made it to Niima Outpost, and the first thing she did was look for someone to refill her water tankard. There was never a shortage of people willing to trade water, but they always wanted something other than the typical Hutt currency.
Currency was flimsy out in the backwater worlds, especially when there was little you could actually buy with it. Even Niima’s own goons traded in ration packs; sealed packages of polystarch and veg-meat that provided a lot of nutrition at a relatively low cost. They were made for soldiers, but for the hungry and desperate living on Jakku, they were worth more than electrum.
Fortunately, she always carried a few ration packs on her. After trading with a local moisture farmer, she made her way to the scrap dealers. She doubted a lot got sold at the outpost, but it looked like a few of them had some sort of stock for sell. Probably catering to the occasional smuggler, hermit or bounty hunter stopping by in hopes of getting universal ship parts for cheap.
Looking around, she decided to take her luck with the seller with the most wares out on his table; a greasy looking man who was sweating over some part or another.
“Excuse me sir…” She began, the man glanced towards her; she could hear him mumbling under his breath, something about exotic woman and his lucky day. He stood up. He was tall, taller the Aliana by a foot. He was also rather large. If it wasn’t for the openly displayed lust on his face, and the punch able grin, he could have been almost considered average.
“Well, hello there darling.” He drawled. “What can I do for a lovely creature such as yourself?”
Aliana suppressed a scowl. “I’m looking for a Hyperdrive.”
“A Hyperdrive?” He whistled, “A big machine for such a small lady.”
“Do you have one or not?” She snapped, this creep was getting on her already frayed nerves.
“No need to get all hostile darling. I may have what you want, but it’ll cost yah.” His gaze landed on her belt, or rather, the lightsaber that dangled on it. She moved her hand to cover it.
It was probably the only thing of true value that Aliana had. She wasn’t surprised that he spotted it, nor that he wanted it. Tourists, Hutts, hell the occasional Jedi fanboy would be more than willing to pay a pretty penny for it. She wavered, slightly. She really needed that Hyperdrive, but… No. Trading it was out of the question, and had her mother even seen her begin to waver, she would have never heard the end of it.
“It’s not for sale.” She stated, rather plainly. “What about ration packs? How many of those?”
“Pfff, you honestly think ration packs can cover the price of a Hyperdrive?”
Aliana scrunched up her face. She had rather hoped that they would.
The man looked her up and down, “Course, I suppose we could make a deal…” His greasy, sausage like hands found their way onto her ass, and gave a little squeeze.
Aliana reacted on instinct.
She grabbed his armed, flipped him around and tossed him onto the desert sand, pinning him in place with a solid foot too his throat. His panicked wheezing filled the silenced.
“You listen to me, and you listen well.” Her was voice dangerously low, foot digging in a little as he squirmed. “I am not some sack of meat you can put your grubby little hands on. You so much a touch me again, and I will take your whole hand off. Are we clear?” The man tried desperately to grasp at her foot. She pressed harder.
“Are.We.Clear?” She growled. “Y-yes, yes… we are! Very clear!”
She removed her foot and he scrambled up, rushing away from her. Curses and swears could be heard as he did so. The other shop owners all threw her a look, and she knew she wouldn’t be getting any more business done with them.
Aliana sighed. Now she did it. She probably lost her best option; all because of her damned pride.
Looking around the grungy outpost, she eyed the scavengers. Maybe she would luck out and one of them would have cabbaged a Hyperdrive. Unlike shop keepers, scavengers where far easier to buy off with ration packs, thought that was in large part because the Hutts made it their business to undersell them at every possible turn. It was also a gamble that a scavenger would have exactly what she needed, and a Hyperdrive? The force itself would have to be with her, and she never felt that the force particularly cared for her kind.
Perhaps the heat really was getting to her, because her mind went back to the only other time she had been on Jakku. This was back when she was still a teenager and her mother was alive. She had met a scavenger girl around her age, struggling to remove parts from a downed speeder. It was one of the few times that Aliana had drawn her lightsaber in a situation other than combat, all to slice off the various parts for the girl. Her mother had given her the largest lecture of her life after that stunt. Still, the girl and Aliana became pretty close. She could still remember tearfully handing her a small plasma knife as they parted ways.
She wondered what became of that girl, if she even still lived.
Shaking her head free of bittersweet nostalgia, Aliana made her way to the concession area, in hopes of good fortune finding her.
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Two hours into her search, and she couldn’t believe her luck. Aliana was certain that she’d be on Jakku for the better part of the week. Yet, there it was, a Hyperdrive coil, lying innocently in someone’s scrap tray. Looking at the owner, she blinked. The girl looked… familiar. But she couldn’t place why, exactly. As she stared, she couldn’t help but notice her looks.
Covered in dirt, sweat and grime, the girl… well, maybe girl wasn’t the right word, the woman had her soft (at least it looked soft) brown hair tied back in tight buns, and her tunic displayed a rather… toned body, and those arms looked like they could lift a girl up and protect her for days.
Snapping out of her daze, she shook her head to clear it of any inappropriate thoughts. She needed to focus.
She didn’t bother approaching right away. Her mother had taught her to wait for her targets to be offered a meager price, and then swoop in with a much better offer. Ninety percent of the time, it worked.
As predicted, the crolute looked over the woman’s wares, then frowned before offering the lady a half-portion of one measly ration pack for not only the coil, but everything else in her cart.
This was her chance.
“Excuse me?” She called out to the woman, who turned to her with a startled look on her face, causing Aliana to falter. That face… she knew this person!
The woman’s brown eye’s widened in surprise as well, as a realisation seemed to rush over her. “Ali? Is that you?”
“Rey…? No way…” Aliana couldn’t believe her eyes, could barely trust them, and yet… There she was. Alive. “How have you been?! It’s been so long since I last saw you!” Aliana approached her with a bounce in her step, she wanted to hug her, but considering how long it’s been, she wasn’t sure if that was an appropriate greeting.
Rey, however, had no such reservations, and promptly picked her up in a bear like hug, squeezing the air out of her.
‘So she could pick me up.’ Aliana’s thoughts traitorously supplied.
“Ali!” Rey exclaimed, “It’s been way too long!” Placing Aliana down on the ground, she continued “What are you doing here?”
Aliana opened her mouth to speak, only for a loud coughing noise to interrupt.
“As touching as that reunion is, if you aren’t interested in trade…” the crolute wheezed.
Rey looked back at him, pinching her brows together. “Ah, right. Sorry Ali, let me just wrap up here and then we can…”
“Actually…” She quickly interrupted, “I was going to offer you fourteen double-ration packs for that Hyperdrive coil.”
Rey raise an eyebrow at that, “That’s an entire month’s worth of food.”
“I really need that coil.”
Rey grabbed her stuff and moved it out of the way so that the other scavengers could access the booth.
“Ali, that’s a really generous offer, but…”
“I don’t want you thinking I’m playing favorites here. I was going to offer it to anyone who had one.”
“Still…”
“Rey, I’m not giving you special treatment. I didn’t even recognize you until you turned around.” Reassured Ali. If they had been strangers this would have been a simple affair; knowing each other made things just slightly more complicated.
Rey pinched her lips together, clearly thinking it over, before nodding. “Alright. But only if you let me go to your ship and install it.”
Aliana blinked in surprise. “Wha- Are you sure?”
“You’re not some random stranger Ali.” Rey shrugged, “Besides, it’ll give me a chance to practice fixing things for once, instead of tearing them apart.”
“It’s been a few years since we last met, I could be some kidnapper working for the empire now, for all you know.”
Rey snorted. “Right, and I’m certain a would-be kidnapper would totally wear black robes that scream I’m a secret assassin, look at me.”
“I’ll have you know these robes are…”
“A traditional garment that has been in my family for generations.” Parroted Rey, Aliana had to stop herself from puffing her cheeks out like a child.
“Point is, I know you Ali.”
Aliana sighed dramatically, “Fine. If you want to make a stupid decision, then fool of me to stop you.”
Rey smirked, “Where is this ship, anyways?”
“About a mile off.” That earned her a raised eyebrow. “You’ll see why soon enough.”
“I have a speeder,” Rey nodded, slinging her pack and staff over her back.
“Oh, you are my hero,” Aliana laughed as she followed Rey to the outer edge of the outpost, “I was not looking forward to another walk through the desert.”
The two mounted the speeder, Aliana wrapping her hands around Rey’s waist, the fabric doing nothing to hide the feeling of her chiseled abs. Based off of how Rey picked her up earlier, it was safe to say Rey was an incredibly powerful woman. Aliana quickly stopped, or rather tried to stop, her train of thought. Unfortunately, the blush had already crept onto her face. Rey didn’t notice (thank the force) and took off toward the desert.
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Rey almost couldn’t believe her luck. She thought she was lucky when she found that hyperdrive coil. But not only did she just secure a whole month worth of food, but she also met a dear friend to boot.
Rey threw a glance at Aliana, who was bringing in another tool box.
Just how many did that girl own? Rey wondered.
Aliana changed a lot since they last saw each other, but at the same time, she didn’t change much at all. Her dark brown hair was still a deliberate wavy, curly mess. Her black skin was still littered with freckles, giving her an impish charm and her eyes…
Tearing her eyes away from her friend, Rey looked around the ship. Admittedly, she’d been nervous when she saw the Fury. It resembled far too closely to those used by the First Order, and to anyone with an untrained eye, they may as well be the same. But Rey had dismantled both Imperial and First Order ships before, and this particular design didn’t fit ether of their registries.
While the ship wasn’t ancient by any means, it was poorly maintained. Aliana either wasn’t the kind of person who bothered to properly maintain her ship, or she just didn’t know how to. Considering how often she broke things back in the day, the latter was definitely more likely.
“Where exactly did you get this ship anyway?” Rey asked as she slid under the Hyperdrive generator.
“My mother commissioned it. She said it was to remind us of our heritage.” Aliana said, sitting down on a crate and watching Rey work.
“Must be nice,” Rey said, somewhat bitterly.
“I guess. Though considering the pain this heritage is giving me, I think I would prefer not to have it.” Aliana responded, she was getting a little distracted by Rey’s arms. So firm.
“You don’t mean that. Otherwise you wouldn’t have kept the ship.” Rey responded, twisting a few bolts. Her voice hitched slightly.
Aliana knew that this was a sore spot. For both of them.
“You know… My offer still stands.” Aliana tentatively said.
“Offer? What of-”Rey threw her a look, as realisation dawned on her face. “Oh. You mean that.”
“Would it really be so bad? Learning the force, exploring the galaxy…” Hanging out with me. Aliana added in her mind.
“No. I know you mean well Ali, but my answer hasn’t changed since the first time you brought it up.” Stated Rey, her hand was shaking a little, but she was firm in her answer. Aliana could only respect that. Besides, she was being ridiculous. Who would drop everything they know to travel with someone they barely knew anymore?
“All right.” Twiddling her thumbs, Aliana finally settled on changing the topic to safer things. “How’s scavenging?”
“Fine for the most part, got a lot of good use out of that vibroblade you gave me.” Replied Rey, “Unfortunately, it broke last month.”
“Really? Still, it’s been, what, Eight years since I gave that to you?”
“About that much. I tried to fix it, but there weren’t any parts that seemed to work.”
“I guess I can’t be surprised, it was already pretty old when I gave it to you.”
“I actually still have it. I couldn’t bring myself to toss it.” Rey rolled out from under the drive, giving Aliana a fond smile. “After all, it was a precious gift from a friend.”
Aliana could feel her whole face light up in a blush. Before she could respond, the smell of smoke wafted into the room, causing Aliana’s eyes to bug out.
“Oh no… Dinner!” She cried, rushing out of the room.
Rey blinked, before chuckling lightly. “She hasn’t changed a bit.” She muttered, a fond smile traced her lips as she slid back under the Hyperdrive.
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Aliana was convinced she was just been given a rare blessing by the force. How else did her day go so well? Rey had somehow not only fixed her ship in record time, but she also went out of her way to clean and fine tune the Hyperdriver for good measure. Meanwhile, Aliana had almost managed to burn dinner. She salvaged it, but that was… embarrassing.
As she set a plate in front of Rey, she scratched her cheek sheepishly. “Sorry about that. I swear I’m usually not that careless in the kitchen.”
Rey chuckled, it was a low, throaty sound that just made Aliana want to hear more. “Don’t worry about it Ali. Besides, it gave me enough time to get washed up. See?”
Rey held up her callous hands, as if to show off how clean they were after working in greasy machine parts all afternoon. Rey seemed proud of it too.
“Are you a youngling?” Aliana teased; she sat down across from Rey.
Rey blushed in embarrassment “Wha- I… No. I just…”
“I’m just teasing.” Chuckled Aliana, she had a mischievous gleam in her eyes. “I’ll have your ration packs ready after we’re done eating.
“Thank you,” Rey nodded, shoveling food into her mouth before freezing in place. Aliana held her breath. It didn’t taste that bad, did it?
Rey didn’t keep her in suspense for long however. “Wow…This is delicious! You made this?"
Before Aliana could respond, a robotic voice chimed in. “Darth Amorosa is quite an experienced chef indeed!”
Aliana whirled around to see 2V-R8; a protocol droid that came with the ship. Her mother had also commissioned him at around the same time as the ship, because she wanted this craft to be as close to the original as possible… And also because they needed someone to help maintain the ship, since both Aliana and her Mother where, at best, technologically inept. Still, after ten years with nobody else around, 2V had become the closest thing to family she had. For all his irritations, she loved the droid.
Rey almost choked on her next mouthful at the droid’s words, “I’m sorry, Darth Amorosa?”
“Is there something wrong with the title?” Inquired Aliana, Rey knew about Aliana’s Sith heritage, so she wasn’t certain why she was surprised by it.
“No, it’s just… Amorosa? Did you pick that?” Rey shot a look at Aliana, and Aliana couldn’t figure out what she was getting at.
“Yes, I did. Why?”
“You went with a title that means loving as your supper intimidating Sith title. Aren’t Sith supposed to be scary and intimidating? Loving isn’t exactly….”
“You’ve been doing research, I see.” Muttered Aliana, slightly embarrassed. It’s true, her Sith name didn’t exactly fit with the other greats of the past. Still, she liked it.
“Well, I was curious. Especially after everything you told me.” Rey paused, then added “I like the name, it’s very you.”
“You see master? The name, is as every bit Sith as you are. Your Mother…”
“Enough 2V-R8!” Hissed Aliana, the droid had a bad habit of bringing up things she didn’t want to talk about.
2V-R8 scurried off without another word, and Rey was thankfully mute on the subject. Internally, Aliana let out a massive sigh of relief. She just wanted to enjoy one dinner where the shadows of her past didn’t try to ruin everything.
“So what do you do?” Rey asked, looking up from her plate.
Aliana jolted as she was pulled from her thoughts and momentarily blanked, “Uh… I do a little bit of everything, really. Mercenary, bounty hunting, deliveries, wetwork, anything I can do to get by, really.”
Rey choked again, dropping her plate onto the seat beside her and pounded her fist against her chest, “Wetwork?!”
Aliana realised that that was one aspect of her life she should have kept quiet about. Mentally cursing, she attempted to salvage the situation.
“All my targets are First Order,” She carefully explained, “Republic SIS has a lot of people out there picking off stormtroopers and officers. They actually have a bounty out on Kylo Ren, but not a lot of people try to take that job.”
“Why not?” Rey asked, sitting forward. She was always interested in news from the galaxy, especially regarding the latest galactic war.
“Ren’s a Dark Jedi,” Aliana explained, “You know how it is; with the Force and a working lightsaber, you’re a dangerous target. And Ren’s in a league of his own.”
“Dark Jedi?” Rey asked, looking puzzled, “Isn’t he a Sith like you?”
“No. Being a Sith, a true Sith, is a matter of blood. I have Sith blood, so I’m a Sith. Kylo Ren does not, so he’s a Dark Jedi.” Explained Aliana neatly, her mother had hammered that particular point into her head quite well.
Rey thought about Aliana’s answer for a moment, then nodded. Was that not how legacies worked? You had to be born into one to be considered somebody.
"So… have you met any Jedi? In your travels?" Rey asked.
Aliana had to resist the urge to bristle at the question. Brushing a strand of thick wavy brown hair out of her face, she put on a face of indifference.
"Can't say I have," she replied. “A lot of them went into hiding when the First Order appeared.”
Rey narrowed her eyes slightly. She sensed that Aliana was hiding something from her.
Aliana felt a slight twinge of guilt at Rey's inquisitive stare. "... Did you… want seconds? Y'know, before you go?"
Rey blinked, and then smiled. "Oh! Yes please, I mean… so long as you're offering. I wouldn't want to impose."
Aliana smiled. "No imposition at all, I'll be right back," she said, making her way back to the kitchen.
When she returned, the two continued to talk as they ate. Topics ranged from funny stories from their time apart, to ways to upgrade the Fury to be a more reliable, modern ship. As they spoke, Aliana couldn’t help but feel comfortable for once. Being around Rey felt… right.
Alina could feel a pang in her chest. It was all she could do to ignore it. It didn’t do well to think of what could have been.
When Rey finally packed up her things to leave, Aliana handed her a container filled with the agreed upon ration packs. Though, and Aliana didn’t tell Rey about this, but she did slip another Vibroblade inside with a note attached. She hoped that this one would last longer than the other one.
They shook hands and Aliana stood on the ramp of the Fury as she watched Rey speed off back into the desert. Aliana remained on the ramp long after Rey had gotten out of sight, mulling over the day. It had been nice to have Rey around for the last few hours, and she quietly hoped that, if she ever came back to Jakku, she would be able to see her again.
Sighing, she turned to go back inside and prep the ship for launch.
Suddenly, a wave of terror, hatred and death washed over her.
Gasping, she clutched her chest as her legs bucked from under her, hitting the ramp with a clang. Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished.
Aliana recognized it instantly. She had just felt the deaths, no the cries, of so many people in agony. It was coming from the east.
She should ignore it. She should get back into her ship right now and just leave the planet. Go somewhere else. Somewhere where strong arms and charming smiles can’t reach her. Besides, what is she going to do? Play hero?
Aliana had prepped the Fury for launch, before finally swearing under her breath. Hero or not, she wasn’t about to just ignore what she’d felt.
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Aliana stepped off the Fury and was immediately hit by the smell of burning flesh. Covering her nose, she blinked a few times from the smoke stinging her eyes. Finally, she could see properly, only to be struck cold by what she saw. The village was in ruins. Bodies were scattered everywhere. An X-Wing Fighter burning on the outskirts of the village. The sand stained a horrible reddish brown.
None of the corpses seemed to have any weapons, nor did they appear to be militant. It looked to be a proper one-sided massacre. But worst of all, she could feel the Dark Side of the Force lingering in the air. It was faint, but she knew this was done by a Force User; a powerful one at that.
Taking a deep breath and preparing herself for the worst, Aliana turned on her flashlight and began to make her way into the village. There had to be someone still alive. She scoured the village for any signs of life, or even a clue as to what had happened.
Through her persistence, she finally found it… or rather, someone. An old man curled up in the sand. She hurried over to him, and ever so carefully, she shinned her light towards him so she could see his face. He was clearly fighting to hold on, but he didn’t have long. If she was going to save him, she would have to act fast.
“My ship has a healing bay. I just need you to hold on.” she stated, examining his wounds. A deep smoldering gash could be seen across his chest. The wound was clearly cauterised, and yet blood was gushing out all the same. Aliana had seen such gashes before. It was clear that whoever had done this, did so with a lightsaber
“I-” The old man coughed, eye’s struggling to focus on her, “I- won’t make it…The First Order…”
Aliana frowned. “Don’t say that. I’ve seen people survive such wounds before, I just…”
She felt a feeble hand on her face, “You are…kind… but…” He coughed violently, “No time…”
Aliana closed her eyes. Though she didn’t want to admit it, he was right. His life force was wanning. Her hand tightened around the flash light. If only she had been a little faster.
“They took… Resistance pilot…” the old man heaved, “…They want…Skywalker…”
Aliana’s stomach sunk. Skywalker? That was the last name she wanted to hear. “W-what does the first order want with Sk-sky-… The jedi master?”
“To find…” He coughed, clearly in great pain, “Told the pilot… he knows…”
“The droid… He had… a droid… the plans must be…” the old man heaved, pain laced his every word, “You…only you know… please…help.”
Aliana’s mind went blank. She tried to stay out of the war between the Republic and the First Order beyond a few odd jobs. She wasn’t exactly a desirable ally for the Republic, and she’d decapitate herself before she’d ever consider joining the First Order. She had always tried to help wherever she could, but only by operating from the shadows and usually nothing big. Getting involved and helping in the way that the old man was asking would mean not only stepping into the sunlight, but to help Skywalker.
And that was dangerous.
But, he was dying. Seeing him struggle, hope faint in his eyes… Aliana nodded.
The old man seemed to relax, and his hand slipped from her cheek, “Thank you…”
His head rolled back and his breathing stopped. Aliana knew then, that he had passed away. She looked away from his body and started back towards her ship. She’d just promised to help, but now what was she supposed to do?
Maybe she could pretend that she didn’t just agree to go on a fool’s errand. The man was dead. Nobody would know. Frowning, she knew the ugly truth of it: She knew. And because she knew, she couldn’t ignore it.
Looking around the vast desert sands, she sighed. It looked like her stay on Jakku was going to be a little longer.
