It was so hot out side and absolutely stuffy inside her face guard and it was completely worth it to pull the guard down and risk sunburn if it meant she could take a few deep breaths of unrestricted air. She was sweating under her clothes, could feel the stains under her arms and in the creases of her hips and thighs, feel her shirt sticking to her collarbones and the small of her back, but the running sweat down her face evaporated like nothing once in contract with the desert sun, her face a little cooler. Relief.
Turning back to her work, she had a decent pile for the day, parts and scraps that would at least get her dinner and some she could keep for herself, a spare part for her staff if she could get a hold of the welding tools, a decent mast of thin metal to patch the hole in her roof. She picked up the busted compactor, the crown jewel for today, ensuring her to eat half a portion tonight alone. The rest might come to a full portion combined with the compactor, but that was enough to last her.
Realizing the position of the sun in the sky, she flopped down on the ground in the shade of the ship she'd been searching through, taking deep breaths and letting her head tip back and rest on the half hinged ramp of the ship.
Her body ached, her legs were sore from scaling and her arms were very not pleased with having to yank apart the guts of the ship to get to what she wanted. But she had it and that meant she could eat which meant she lived to see tomorrow.
Glancing at the sky, she thought how if she just stared at the blue of it and ignored the piled sand of the desert, she could image she was anywhere else. Maybe it was stupid to think of being free to do as she pleased and live as she pleased without fear of starving or being beaten, but she would indulge in the moment. Relief.
As much as she hated this planet, the sky was its best (and only) good thing. There wouldn't be clouds to provide shade from the sun that reflected on grains of sand to blind her or burn her, but it could be so infinitely blue that it reminded her that there was more out there. And as it turned to night while she ate, sopping up every last bit of water and food with the half slice of tasteless bread, the sky was so many different colors, red and orange that streaked to pink and purple, beautiful even through the cracked, dirty shield of the pilot helmet. One day, she thought as she stuffed the remaining bread into her mouth, she'd trace those colors with her fingertips as she flew away from this place. And catch the stars in her hands, she thought as she got ready for bed, leaving the hole in her roof alone for one more night, not wanting to cover the only company she had in the sky.
I'll catch the stars, she thought blearily as she collapsed in her nest of blankets, laying on her back to count the balls of light she could see, tiredness bringing her back to childish thoughts, and see how far the universe goes. And maybe one day, she yawned, watching the brightest star through her lashes as exhaustion stole her away, I'll find my way home.
When she'd wake, the sky would still be dark but there would be no stars, a blank slate to start the day under the blazing sun for hardly anything to show for it. And the sun would rise, the temperature with it, and the metal of her newest find would be blistering and she would sweat so much could wring her headwrap and drink it, but in the dark, with nothing and no one but the stars to watch over her, Rey could know even the barest hint of relief, and it would keep her going.