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SCRUBBING the dirty cup thoroughly, Raena realized that the gunk caused by a creature unbeknownst to her was never going to come off. She sighed as she let the cup crash to the ground and she started cleaning another. When she looked up, she saw a grumpy Nikto trying to grab the pitcher of alcohol lying close to her.
"Hey!" She pulled the pitcher away from his grimy grasp. "No free grog."
The creature let out a singular huff before turning away with an empty glass. Raena gave an exasperated groan as she tried to ignore the inconsistent rumbling in her ears. She guessed it was the lightsaber down below: whenever she would think about the stupid object, she would get a random pitch in her ear lobe. The information was tearing up her insides, and it had only been three days since she found it.
As she continued to scrub, she was distracted by Maz screeching, "HAN SOLO!"
The room fell silent as the blonde's head flew up. She couldn't believe her eyes: across the room, with a few unknown humans and a droid behind him, stood the famous Han Solo. Her parents had done nothing but tell stories of his adventures. Her father even helped him smuggle a few blasters from an enemy ship once, but she doubted he would remember. And then there was Maz, who was so fond of Han's Wookie to call him her boyfriend.
The aged man gave Maz a wave. "Hey, Maz."
Maz welcomed them to the port and led them over to a table, letting the others sit around her to discuss personal information. The old female creature signaled to Raena to bring a pitcher and a few glasses over. Raena did as she was asked, but not before tightening up her ratty blonde braid and wiping the sweat off her forehead in an act to somewhat impress the famous humans.
She set down the glasses in a singular motion, trying not to listen in on the conversation. She heard a notion about the First Order coming for the BB-unit with them, but she didn't have a clue why. It wasn't like she kept up to date with the First Order anyways, or the Resistance, for that matter. It was slightly foolish, she could admit, but involving one's self in the heated battle between the light and the dark seemed like an age-old error that would never be corrected. During the days with her uncle, they worked for either of the groups: a kill was a kill and money was money. But many of times, the duo did work with the Resistance to take down a handful of admirals in the First Order, even though it didn't do much to hurt their power. Now, she dared not to look into either of the two.
When she set the last cup in front of Han Solo, she took a glance at the famous man, noticing that their eyes had locked. She quickly looked away, heading back to her station at the bar as fast as she could.
She kept glancing over at the table, realizing that they were dispersing from time to time to talk to each other separately. Raena did her best to continue her job, but she was so curious as to why they were there. Not many people visited the port castle for important reasons, but when they did, there were looking for Maz's wisdom to guide them.
Adjusting her tunic and pushing a few stray curls from her forehead, Raena grabbed the pitcher from the Nikto trying to steal it again. As she looked up to scold him, she noticed one of the unknown humans that accompanied Han Solo – the girl, specifically – was walking fairly close to the entrance of the basement. Raena quirked an eyebrow upwards, realizing that the girl was soon heading down the dark staircase with a questionable look on her face.
Raena became alert as she shouted, "Hey!" to the girl, but she didn't hear her over the yelling of everyone in the castle. The blonde sprinted to where Maz sat with her head in her hands, letting out tired breaths. Maz looked up at her, noticing her worried expression. "What is it, child?"
"The girl," Raena replied, pointing the stairs that led to the basement. "She went to the basement, but she didn't hear me call her back."
"No," Maz muttered as she hurriedly moved her small legs to the stair case, "she cannot find it."
Just as the two port-holders arrive, they witnessed the scavenger girl being thrown back from the vault that Raena had found just days ago. Maz slowly walked up the girl, watching her grit her teeth and look around, almost as if she didn't believe where she was. Her head snapped to where Maz and Raena stood, whispering, "What was that? I shouldn't have gone in there."
Raena bit the edge of her thumb as she slowly approached the young girl. "You found it, didn't you?"
The girl swallowed the bile creeping up her throat and nodded.
"That lightsaber was Luke's," Maz pointed to the chest in the back of the room, "and his father's before him. And now, it calls to you."
"I have to get back to Jakku," the girl thought out loud.
Maz took her hand in her own. "Dear child," she whispered, "I see your eyes. You already know the truth. Whomever you're waiting for on Jakku, they're never coming back."
Raena nodded, clearing her throat as the scavenger stared in her direction. "If you've been waiting for these people as long as I think you have, you best move on. Embrace your destiny."
The old creature agreed. "The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead."
The blonde agreed, letting her hand rest on Maz's shoulder. "Everyone has an important path, and it only happens once. Don't let go of it. If there's anything I've learned from when I was younger, it's that."
"I am no Jedi, but I know the Force." Maz continued with a smile. "It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes. Feel it."
Raena watched the brunette's eyes well up in tears.
"The Light, it's always been there. It will guide you." Maz opened her previously closed orbs. "The saber – take it."
"No," the brunette shook her head, returning to her standing up position, "I'm never touching that again. I don't want any part of this." Her eyes met Raena's, and she saw the evident empathy in them. "I need to go home."
The two watched the scavenger run away as a sigh escaped both of their lips. "And now there's three," Maz shook her head. "How many people will know of this lightsaber before it's alerted to the First Order?"
Before Raena could make a snarky reply, she could feel a rumble shake the ground below them. Small pebbles from the ceiling fell on their heads, and Raena slowly locked eyes with the aged creature. Maz had her answer.
•••
A/N: The five chapters in Book I are gonna be short af but it's the only way to really drag out the story bc it's only going by a specific point in TFA :(((
But!!! Book II is gonna be fire and I already started writing it and I think I have the plot down lmao let's hope I don't screw this up
