Star Wars: I Am a Slave ✓

Chapter 8 - Electronics, Mathematics & Wookiees

During the last month while Unkar was rebuilding the trading outpost, Ani and Rey trained intensively—physically, academically, and with the Force. Today was Rey's first day at the rebuilt outpost. Back to scrubbing, back to the heat. The pirates had taken all of the good products back to Voras the Hutt, but they had left the junk pile.

Today, Unkar ordered his guards haul the junk pile to the cleaning table. 

Rey looked up at Unkar and argued, "This is all junk, Unkar. It doesn't even have a chance of working. Why waste our time?"

"Little girl, they left nothing else. Once it is cleaned, we are going to melt it for raw metal. Get going."

While she scrubbed away, Ani appeared next to her. He sat on the bench next to her, examining the pieces she was scrubbing. "Keep that piece," Ani said. "Hide it in your clothes when no one is looking."

Rey looked at him and nodded. A few more pieces later he instructed her again to take a piece. At the end of the day, Rey had snitched five different pieces, none of which had anything to do with the other. She hid them away in the cellar in one of the crates.

After Rey ate her ration portion, Ani appeared again. Rey stood, ready for training.

"Rey, where are the pieces you took today? Go get them." 

Rey went to the almost-empty shipping crate and pulled them out.

"Bring them over here. And go grab that glowlamp."

Rey obeyed as Ani headed to another part of the cellar, looking for a particular crate. Over the last year, he and Rey had gone through each crate, discovering that they did not all hold rations or clothing. A few held tools and technical equipment. He hunted for the tools he needed and brought them to Rey, who was sitting on the floor.

"Tonight, we are going to learn electronics. Trust me, you're going to need this." They began with an introduction to the tools, how to open the different units, and how to read circuit boards. One of the items Ani had directed Rey to swipe was an old datapad. He was hoping they could make it operational again.

Rey found a new pleasure as she worked with her hands on these items. She had no idea what each one was, but she trusted the skills of her granddad.

Ani smiled as he watched the mechanics gene run true in Rey. She had a natural talent for it, just as he had. "Rey, one day you're going to leave this place."

"I know, when my mommy comes back," she said cheerfully as she worked on a piece.

"No, I mean Unkar's. You're not going to be a slave much longer," Ani said. "I need you to learn as much as you can as fast as you can. You must be ready."

For the next few months, Rey cleaned, stole, and repaired multiple parts. Ani always directed which ones to bring. And then, after she repaired, Ani instructed her in more academics, specifically mathematics, which Rey hated. 

"I don't know why I have to learn this nonsense," she complained.

"Rey, you're going to fly one day. You need this. Now, again, work through that problem." He could not wait to take her up for her first flight. The day was getting closer.

The datapad Ani and Rey had salvaged had advanced Rey's education further than the average ten-year-old's on Outer Rim planets. However, she still was not up to the Inner Core standards. Rey may still be small in stature, but she had a good brain and was very curious.

The little girl enjoyed learning the languages and cultures of the different worlds best. Now that trade had resumed at Niima Outpost, traders from all over the galaxy came. Rey was fascinated by the variety of races and enjoyed it even more when she could pick out a few words that each race spoke. Primarily, they all spoke Galactic Basic, but frequently she would hear Huttese.

Once in awhile a freighter came that was run by Wookiees. Because of their throat structure, the Wookiees were unable to speak anything except Shriywook, but they could understand Basic. 

Rey was drawn to them, and any time the Golden Oak would land she would run to them and beg for Wookiee hugs. The strange thing she could never figure out is how she understood them. The datapad did not have a module for Shriywook, yet she always understood them. 

They loved telling her about a famed Wookiee who owned the Millennium Falcon and had a human co-pilot named Han Solo. They referred to the pilot as "The Mighty Chewbacca," and they told many stories of how he had swindled the Hutts and foiled the Imperials in the years before she was born. 

They even mentioned that the pair had made the famed Kessel Run in less than fourteen parsecs once. Rey hoped that one day she would be able to meet this Mighty Chewbacca and his friend. Something inside her pulled at her heart about this Wookiee.

When she mentioned the Wookiees to Ani, all he would ever reply was, "They were slaves, too, Rey. You can trust them." His voice was always full of regrets.