On the planet of Jakku, I learned something significant: all inhabitants of the planet were not as nice as Rey had been to me. In Niima Outpost, I came to understand it was a place where people kept their heads down, did their work, collected their portion of food, then went home. It was a cycle that was never broken, or for some people, never tempted to be broken, in fear of consequences.

In the first minutes I entered the Outpost, I asked around for where I could purchase a plane. No comment, a grunt, a shake of the head-- those were the answers I received. I asked for a boss. I was granted with a finger in the direction.

"BB-8, you follow me. Stay close," I ordered.

 With a nod from the droid, I entered the tent. BB-8 squealed and rolled through the crowded line of workers to the front. I elbowed my way through people to follow that droid. "He's malfunctioning," I lied at one point, to get an angry worker to let go of my hair. Lucky for him, he released my black locks.

At the front, I found the girl who tried to kill me. Rey stood at the desk in front of an old, fat Crolute. His scrunched nose gave away the displeasure with her trade. "Well, what about the droid?"

Rey noticed the presence of BB-8. Preoccupied with gaining her food, she shook her head. "What about him?"

"I'll pay you for him," said the boss. From under the desk, he dumped dozens of packaged gray paste in front of Rey. "Sixty portions."

A slight gasp came from Rey. She stepped forth, her hands cradling the portions as though they were going to disintegrate upon her touch. Her head slowly turned to BB-8. Without having to see her face, I figured I knew what her next move was. I took a single step, ready to fight for my droid, but I didn't have to. The look at BB-8 made her mind: "Actually, the droid's not for sale."

"Shame," I said, which caused her to jump. I walked with her away from the tent. "It was a good deal."

"I couldn't make it."

"Says a lot about you," I said. "Now, point me in the direction of a ship, would you?"

She pointed across the Outpost. "Over there. They're not much, but they're able to take flight."

"Will any of them get me to another planet?" I asked.

"Depends on the quality of the ship."

I stared at her. "Will you tell me which has the best quality?"

"You want a true answer?" asked Rey. "None of them."

I stared blankly at her. Rey opened her mouth, calm, but in an instant, her face morphed into fright. A sharp blow to my lower back had me falling into her body. She set me on my feet just before another attacker grabbed her from behind.

I took my time taking down my attacker, as Rey wasn't someone who needed saving. I fought strictly self defense, I fought effortlessly, until the attacker pulled a dirty move and delivered a punch to my chest. I took a shocked stumble back. Realizing the move had been made, I kicked the side of his knee, causing him to kneel. A swift kick to the head knocked him unconscious.

Alerted by BB-8's sorrowful beep, I freed him from the mesh bag. In the daylight once more, he twisted his head. A wild whir exited him. I followed his gaze. Through the tents, I found a dark skinned man staring wide eyed at the three of us.

"Says he's a thief," said Rey, when she deciphered BB-8's words.

My fists clenched. "He is a thief," I snapped. "Hey! You!"

The man sprinted in the opposite direction of us.

"Not the greatest approach," said Rey honestly. She grabbed her stick from the ground as she pointed in a direction. "Run that way."

Blinded by anger, after the man I ran, through the tents, ducking under low ceilings, sliding past tables of working people. I ran until we had accidentally crossed paths, ramming into one another. On the sand, I pinned his arms with my knees. My blaster was under his chin.

"Leave me alone! I did nothing!" he said. He wiggled under my weight.

"Only guilty people run," I countered.

The man fell still. "You're her," he whispered, staring at my face.

"What?" I asked.

"You're her!" the man shouted aggressively, and not fond of his tone, BB-8 tased him. "Ow! Quit it!"

"He only listens to me," I said.

"And Poe?" the man guessed. At my clenched jaw, he continued carefully. "Right? Poe. He's a pilot. An amazing one."

BB-8 and I shared a glance. "How do you know him?"

"He was captured by the First Order. I helped him escape. Our ship crashed."

My grip on the jacket, Poe's jacket, loosened. The jacket was with him for years prior to the Resistance. Knowing him, he wouldn't give it up, or allow it to be stolen.

"Poe said he was coming back for--"

"I don't want to hear anymore," I said sharply. I stood.

Nevertheless, the man continued. "No, no, he said he was coming back for his girl and his droid. Before we crashed, he said that in the chance I run across you, to remind you of what he told you before he asked you to leave..?"

The black dots behind my closed eyes formed a face. Poe's face, on the day we joined the Resistance.

"What if we get stationed at different bases? I don't know how long I can go without being annoyed by you," I said.

Cockily, Poe replied, "Is this your way of saying you're going to miss me?"

"You know I am. Are you scared?"

"I think going somewhere new is always scary. At first. Are you scared?"

"Not so much about going somewhere new."

"Then what is it? Scared of dying?"

"Not really. Since I met you, I've had a level head. You've told me when to fight my battles, when it's worth it and when it's not... How to use my power for good. Being separated from you means I have to do that on my own."

"Enna, Enna, Enna," said Poe, holding my hands. "At some point, you need to learn how to do it on your own. Seperation from me means you'll do that, and that means you'll be stronger."

"Listen up!" shouted the recruiter from the stage. "Anyone with the last name A-N, you're training here! M-Z, bring your belongings and wait in this tent for your transportation vehicle!"

Poe, bless his heart, took a second to hide his face from my sight. He was as equally crushed as I was, but he refused to show it. He wanted me to leave with a clear head. With my sadness, and not his as well.

"What if we're stationed at different planets? Different galaxies?"

"You'll adjust. I promise you, you'll adjust. Without me, you'll become strong on your own. That's all I've wanted for you."

Staring into his brown eyes brought my breathing back to its normal pace. "Right. You're right."

"Stop worrying, En. We'll find each other again."

"Hopefully you don't get your smart ass kicked out of the Resistance before that happens."

"For you, I will try to hold my to tongue."

"That won't happen," I said, causing us to laugh. I patted his cheek. "Just don't to anything stupid before I can see you again."

"Don't worry about me. Listen to me, pretty girl: across the galaxy, through the stars... If I have to, I'll spend my whole life searching all the planets just to find out wherever the hell you are."

"How long did you spend thinking that up?"

"All night."

"It's poetic."

"For you, I tried."

Rey's soft voice broke my memory. "I'm sorry."

As I stood, the chipping in my chest deepened. I thought it to be my heart breaking. BB-8 rolled behind my dragging steps. I glanced to the open tundra. Immediately, my growing grief was replaced with panic. I sprinted back to Rey and the mystery man.

"Direct me to one of those ships now," I ordered.

Rey furrowed her brow. Similar to my own reaction, a panicked gasp came from her lips as she saw two stormtroopers peak into the alleyway we hid in. The man grabbed Rey's hand and tried to lead us from the stormtroopers.

BB-8 and I chased behind Rey and the man. She was struggling for ownership of her hand. "What are you doing?" she yelled.

"We have to run!" he screamed.

Rey broke free. "I know how to run without you holding my hand!" she snapped, then guided us into a tent.

I tied my jacket in a position where my lightsaber was hidden. Poe died to protect my stupid Jedi secret. To neglect that would make him roll in his grave. Instead, I unsheathed both of my blasters.

Meanwhile, the man was scavenging through piles of junk metal. Rey stared at me with her head tilted.

"What?" I snapped.

"I thought you were a Jedi," she said. "Why won't you use the lightsaber?"

The man snapped his head to me. "You're a Jedi?"

I stared at Rey. "What did I say about keeping that a secret?"

From the sky came the TIE fighters, firing at the innocent town of people. One shot at our sprinting feet flung BB-8 and I into the air. Helpless, I screamed with absolute terror until I hit the sand harder than a sack of potatoes. I think, for a second, I passed out.

I remember hearing Rey's footsteps approach my head. She dropped to her knees. "Hey! Hey! Can you hear me? You have to get up. Now."

"BB..." I muttered. "B..."

A long, tired beep reached my ears over the sound of destruction. Assuming from our state of aliveness, the TIE fighter pilot hadn't realized the droid he shot at was the droid they were searching for.

"Up you go, come on," said Rey. 

On my feet, I took a few wobbly steps. We helped the man to his feet.

"We can't outrun them," he said.

Rey squinted into the distance. "We might!" She sprinted to a speck at the edge of the town.

I followed grudgingly, a slight growl escaping my lips.

"What about that ship?" the man asked as we passed the junkyard of space ships.

"No, that ship is garbage!" insisted Rey. 

"What other option do we have?" I yelled.

"My quad jumper!" she said.

"We need a pilot!" the man reminded her.

"We've got one!"

"And then what?" I asked.

"To your base!" she said. "You're both Resistance fighters!"

Running beside each other, the man and I exchanged a look. We held the same expression: skepticism. An abrupt skidded stop occurred next. The speck in the distance, Rey's quadjumper, was blown into pieces by a TIE fighter.

She shrugged hurriedly. "Garbage one will do!"