What now? It was the most pressing concern on Elis’ mind, slowly followed by unclear questions around how exactly he had gotten to this small, decrepit outpost cantina on Jakku. His mind was fuzzy. There had been explosions, and fire, twice, maybe three times. Or perhaps that had been in a dream. Not so many hours ago, Elis had been heading into his office, anticipating a day that would change the galaxy, one important step forward to making it cleaner, better. Not one that would throw his entire life upside down.

   “Can you believe this guy?” Brin said to Elis, waving a hand at a passing Besalisk, a large, imposing humanoid alien with four arms, yellow eyes and a bony headcrest. “He almost knocks me off my stool and just walks on by as though he owns the place.”

   Brin didn’t seem the least disturbed by any of their recent near-death experiences. It was time to get some answers.

   “Why are we here?” Elis decided to start with.

Brin looked at Elis, an eyebrow raised.

   “You know why we’re here. We had to leave,” Brin said, lowering his voice and adding, “and it’s better if we don’t talk about it in the open.”

It took a while for the dismissal to sync in. Elis was finding it rather difficult to get his thoughts together. A gust of wind rattled the tent that covered the cantina and made its way across the tables. It smacked Elis’ face on the way out, helping him to collect himself.

   “You said I had to lie low for a while,” Elis said hesitantly.

Brin nodded in confirmation.

   “How am I going to lie low? What should I do?” Elis asked looking at Brin who simply shrugged. Taking his companion’s lack of clear response as yet another cause for concern, Elis felt his throat tighten and found that it was suddenly very hot. He pressed on, agitation growing with each question. “How long do I need to stay here? Where should I stay? How do you get credits in this place?”

   “Take is easy, buddy,” Brin said, placing a hand on Elis’ shoulder, steadying him.       “There’s nothing to do. Just spend some time around the outpost, don’t talk to too many people, and in a few days you can move on to another planet. Any planet. Kind of exciting when you think about it. Anywhere in the galaxy you’ve always wanted to go. Nothing keeping you in one place…”

   The more Brin spoke, the less Elis heard him. Move to another planet. What was he saying?

   “I’m going home,” Elis interrupted, wide-eyed. “I’m going back to Coruscant. I’m going back to my life.”

   “Look, you can’t do that,” Brin said, slowly. “It won’t be safe for you to go back for a long while. But listen, I can lend you a hand.” Lowering his voice again, “I know someone who can get you an ID.”

   Elis suddenly stood up, banging his fist on the bar, a mix of fury, confusion and panic on his face.

   “I don’t want your fake ID nor do I want to travel the galaxy!” Elis shouted. “I want to go home to my plants!”

   “Calm down, buddy,” Brin said, standing up to meet Elis at eye level.

   “I’m not your buddy!”

   “Hey! You two!” the men heard from the corner of the tent. Looking around, they saw the sturdy Besalisk, glaring at them. “You need to leave.”

   “Oh yeah?” Brin countered. “Says who?”

   “Says me,” the Besalisk asserted, stepping closer towards them and standing up tall enough to cast a shadow on the two men, his numerous arms unfolding as if getting ready to pick them up and throw them out face first into the sand. “Now get out of my bar.”

   “Turns out he does own the place,” Brin said before leaving some credits on the counter and exiting the perimeter with Elis.

   “Well that’s just perfect,” Brin spat angrily at Elis once they were far enough. “We’re definitely off to a great start lying low. You’re really going to have to work on that if you want at least the slightest chance of surviving this. Don’t think just because we’re lightyears away that it’s all over.”

   “I didn’t ask for any of this,” Elis answered defensively.

   “Yeah, well, neither does anyone, but that’s life for you. Now do you want that ID or not?”

 

   Kai was standing in front of the still fuming hyperdrive unit, munching on a rolled fluffy pancake with lots of small craters on one side where little bubbles had most likely popped during its making. Having shared the last of the food stored on the ship with her treacherous passengers, she had quickly ventured to the outpost for an urgent replenishment. She could do no proper thinking without food in her stomach. The pancake filling was delightfully sweet and had a hint of orange flavour. It was a rich date paste from what she could guess, with a cinnamon boost. The juicy oranges made her mouth water, while the almond slices gave a lovely little crunch. Perhaps being stuck on this planet would’t be all that bad if all of the food was this tasty despite the scenery looking like a deserted wasteland wherever you looked.

   Delicious food or not, she had to fix her ship. There were definitely a few parts that she could attempt to trade for what she would need, but they would be uncommon, well-earned parts that she had no interest in parting with. There was also no telling what peddlers in this part of the galaxy were looking for and it’s not as if she had any credits to spare. Those two good for nothing cheats, leaving her stranded. At least the trip had been a good test run. It was important to look at the bright side of life, Kai reminded herself. The first thing she needed to do was to check the hyperdrive unit and everything around it that the fire may have damaged to see what she had to work with.

   A good hour later, Kai could safely say that most of the hyperdrive unit components were operational, including the horizontal boosters so the Comet could still launch into hyperspace and the null quantum field generator that would keep the ship stabilised. The hyperdrive motivator had been damaged, but it was nothing she couldn’t fix with what she had on hand. The transpacitor, however, would have to be replaced. Without a way to divert excess heat away from the hyperdrive, the only flying she’d be doing would be hovering over the far reaching deserts of Jakku. That just left the question of what to barter with in exchange for the part.

   Walking around the ship, Kai was looking for anything of high enough value that she could potentially trade. Giving up one of the generators would likely be alright if she re-routed a few systems, although it probably wouldn’t be enough for the piece she needed. Maybe a laser cannon power cell, or two? That would mean that the Comet had better not run into any troublemakers because Kai would only have her deflector shields and evasive manoeuvres to fend them off. Perhaps the ship’s jamming device? She had never used it but she had been sneakily delighted by the idea of having the opportunity to. Not an essential part but it might be rare enough to be of interest, especially to the smugglers she would find in these parts. Kai scanned the pieces she could spare to show traders at the outpost, hoping it would be enough. About to head out, she stopped in front of the secondary accelerator.

   “Nope, no way,” she said, walking past.

   A few minutes later, she was back in front of the secondary accelerator, looking at it with tender adoration. Technically unnecessary, it would provide an unexpected boost in any situation, perfect for getting out of a tight spot. With a deep sigh, she scanned the part, just in case, as a last resort. It was time to head to the junkyards, an all too familiar setting for Kai, although she suspected that the parts she would find on Jakku may be different, if not archaic, compared to what she could usually pick from on Coruscant.

   Venturing past the food stall she had ordered the delightful food from and heading further into the outpost, it became even clearer that Gurrgo was far from what she had ever known. Large tents and a few solid structures made up the centre of the settlement with inhabitants from all corners of the galaxy. Most of them could be found under the tents, taking refuge from the unyielding sun. Kai scoured the area for any obvious signs of traders. Not finding any, she stopped a passing Rodian for directions. The green-skinned reptilian humanoid spat back at her in Rodese, glaring at her with his large shining eyes, after which he shoved her aside with an arm and continued on his way. Perhaps it was something to do with the heat, and the sand, so much sand, that made people here itchy. Kai sighed, placing both hands on her hips and looking down at the ground trying to think of what to do next when she heard a stranger call out from under one of the nearby tents.

   “You look lost, little missy,” the stranger said.

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