Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of its characters. No profit is being made from the posting of this work.

This is my first attempt at a Star Wars based fic. So bare with me. I did the best I could to correct grammar by myself as I don't have a beta reader as of yet. Anyways, let me know what you think.

Crossposted on ao3 under the pen name FullofStarlight.

Collasping Stars

Jakku — a sea of sand that stretches across the planet in a never ending blanket. Jakku — the place that seems to swallow her whole. Jakku — her prison, her hell.

Rey's eyes snap open. She can hear the whooshing sound of engines roaring. Panic. She remembers running. Fear. She was running to freedom. Regret. She hadn't been quick enough.

She tries to move her arms only to find that they have been secured in tight bonds. Her eyes flicker up from the backseat of the speeder to the driver's seat. A man is covered head to toe in brown rags. She does not recognize the man, but she can only assume that he has collected her for Unkar Plutt. She is to be returned to a life in chains, but not before she receives whatever form of punishment Plutt has decided for her.

It's hopeless. Rey knows this, but she struggles against her bonds regardless. That small sliver of hope sparks within her — a flame that won't seem to die. Others around her have surrendered to their fates, but not Rey. No, she wants to believe that there is a higher purpose for her. This cannot be the life she will forever lead — a life on her knees. No, there must be something else out there for her.

Her wrists pull against her bonds, trying to break through the metal through sheer will alone. She knows she looks like a damn fool, but she doesn't want to let go of that last bit of hope. Rey focuses, searching her mind for that power — the one that broke through her bonds last night. She tries to imagine her bonds clicking open and slipping off her wrists. She imagines herself running free, never having to serve a man again.

Help, she begs to the universe. Please help me.

She pushes her wrists against her bonds one last time with all of her strength. She imagines them flying from her wrists, releasing in one swift motion. Metal digs into her wrists as she tries to force the cuffs apart, but her bonds remain. Defeat washes over her and all she can do is rest her head back in sheer anguish. Tears come to her eyes. This must be how the other slaves eventually resigned to their fate. To taste freedom for mere moments before being returned to chains — it's so devastating, so soul crushing.

Hot tears run down her cheeks. Death itself suddenly seems so sweet. She would have been better off shooting herself with the blaster she stole. No one is waiting for her in the afterlife, but at least she'd finally be free. A lifetime of loneliness seems so much better than a lifetime of servitude.

Sadness washes away as anger fills her. How could they? It's a vague memory, but Rey still remembers her parents exchanging her to Plutt for a small price. Anger burns hot like fire within her heart. Did they not know what kind of fate awaited her? Did they not care that she would be thrown into a life of forced labor and at the very worst be sold like cattle to the most depraved of men. She wants to scream, but she can't.

The speeder slows to a stop. Rey's entire body feels tense. She hears boots crunch in the sand. A hooded man covered in off-white looks down at her with beady eyes. She instantly recognizes him as one of Plutt's many loyal thugs. She lets a defeated sigh escape her lips. The creature lifts her from the speeder and throws her over his shoulder.

She doesn't have to look to know where she's being taken. Rey already knows. This is what happened the last time she ran. She remembers the electricity from the shock prod running through her body in painful waves. There's a part of her mind that's already preparing herself for the torment that will soon come. She tells herself she's survived before — tells herself that it won't be as terrible as the last time, but she knows it's all a self-assuring lie that she sings to herself every time she must face her tormentor.

Rusted metal creeks and screeches as the door to Plutt's concession stand is opened. She's thrown to the floor like a limp ragdoll. Rey lies face down, hesitating to move even an inch. For a small moment, she feels frozen in a block of time where nothing seems to move forward. That is her life, an endless stream of days that could almost match each other.

"On your feet, girl!" she hears a bellowing roar from Plutt.

Rey forces herself up on her knees and lifts herself from the ground. Rey rises to her full height. She doesn't think to beg for forgiveness or offer a false apology. Rey's fingers curl into fists as she looks to her captor. She closes her eyes for a moment, imaging a blade slicing through him.

She opens her eyes. Rey can feel this spark within her, this tiny bit of hope that today could be the last day. An electric feeling seems to coarse through her in waves, pleading to be released from her fingertips.

Plutt's thug strikes her with the end of a shock prod. She feels as if she's just been struck by a bolt of lightning. Rey bites her lip as she falls to her knees. She refuses to cry out in agony, refuses to give Plutt that victory.

The shock fades. Her vision is blurred and her heart feels as if it's beating like a war drum. Rey gasps for air as she braces for the next assault. The first one is always the hardest. That is what she tells herself to soothe her nerves. She draws in a deep breath preparing herself for what is to come.

Screams pierce her ears — not her own screams, but screams from outside. Blaster fire echoes. Rey drops forward and curls into a ball on the floor. Unkar Plutt and his thug are communicating in a language she has yet to understand. Her eyes watch them closely, waiting for an opportunity.

Red light cuts through the rusted steel door. Rey tucks her feet underneath her metal cuffs. She eyes the thug. The shock prod slips from his fingers, clattering against the metal floor. The thug reaches to his holster for his blaster and draws it in one swift motion. The thug holds his blaster before him, waiting for the assailant to cut through the door.

The Resistance. It's the first thought that comes to her mind. Her eyes fall onto the deep crimson blade. Not the Resistance. No...The First Order. Her heart sinks at the very moment that thought crosses her mind.

The red blade disappears. The door flies opens and instantly the thug fires. The blast seems to reflect back to him, piercing through his chest. The blaster falls from his hands, clattering to the metal floor mere inches from Rey.

Rey's heart nearly stops at the sight of the blaster. She snatches it from the dusty metal floor and takes it in her cuffed hands. She aims to Plutt, a half grin coming over her lips. His beady eyes become wide as he looks to both her and to a cloaked masked man that enters the room. Rey looks to the masked man draped in a long black robe. She thinks to open fire on him and run, but her blaster stays on Plutt. She hesitates for one final second before squeezing the trigger.

The blast cuts through Plutt's arm in one sharp motion. Plutt releases a deep roar. Blood spurts to the floor in a long red stream. Rey's gasps and takes a step backwards. This is it. This is the day she will finally have her revenge.

The cloaked figure crosses the room. His gaze falls on her momentarily before turning back to Plutt. A soft humming sound echoes through the room as the cloak figure turns his blade on Plutt. The creature is holding his hand against his open wound. His gaze lifts to the masked figure.

"Why are you here?" his voice is weak, pathetic even. "I have done my best to stay out of the Order's path."

"You have something I need," the masked man's voice is dark when he speaks.

"Take what you want!" Plutt looks upon the man with pleading eyes. "Just let me live!"

"I don't think so," the man replies.

The blaster rattles in Rey's hands as she looks upon the severed arm on the floor. Rey looks up to the mask figure before her. He raises the illuminating red blade above Plutt's head and brings it down, cutting through his body slowly. Loud screams pierce her ears. Plutt's body splits, both halves falling away from each other.

Rey's breath comes out in heavy pants. She thought it would bring her joy to see such a sight, but all she feels is sheer shock at the violence that has transpired before her. He deserved it. She tells herself this over and over as a dark emotion runs through her.

Rey's shaking hands lower her blaster as the cloaked figure approaches her. She feels an energy coming from this man — a dark energy she's never felt before. A cold feeling crawls through her skin. Her first instinct is to resist it. Her hands tighten around her blaster. She raises it before her, trying to steady her hands. Her entire body is trembling as the cloaked figure approaches her. The figure outstretches his free hand. Rey's feels this pull within her mind. Her eyes snap shut as she tries to focus.

"You don't want to kill me," his voice is deep and hallow. "Lower your weapon."

She opens her eyes. The blaster is still raised. She looks to the cloaked figure. She shakes her head at him, the blaster still quivering in her unsteady hands. Her breath comes out in sharp breaths as she speaks, "I'm not with them. Please don't kill me."

Rey releases a staggered breath. She looks up to the masked man before her. Her eyes fall onto the bright red blade. She thinks maybe to shoot and run, but recalls that blaster fire deflecting backwards earlier. She removes her finger from the trigger and pulls back her blaster. She lowers downward and sets the blaster in front of her feet in show of surrender.

"I know you're from The First Order," Rey says. "I'm not with these people. I just want to leave. Please let me leave."

Three red blades vanish from the hilt of his weapon. Her first thought is to grab the blaster pistol from the floor, shoot, and run, but she feels an energy resonating from the man before her. It's an energy she's never felt before. It terrifies her, and yet, she's drawn to its power like a moth is drawn to a flame. Her first instinct is to guard herself from it — force it away. She feels a pull and suddenly she allows the energy to be drawn within her soul. She takes a step forward and reaches out with bound hands. Her vision becomes hazy. Her head feels light as a mere feather. Rey tries to focus, but she feels so heavy. Her eyes fall shut and she collapses forward.

Who are you? It's the last thing she thinks before she falls forward into his arms.