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THE NEXT MORNING, Rey took Juno and BB-8 to Niima Outpost, a junkyard settlement where scavengers gathered to trade. Rey, a scavenger herself, had brought her own salvaged parts. For a place made out of a downed AT-AT, Rey's home had been surprisingly welcoming, and Juno had almost been sad to see the charming residence go when they left, but the prospect of finding Poe and getting off of Jakku erased her sadness completely.
When Rey's speeder arrived at Niima, Juno got off and immediately scanned the area for the resistance pilot. He wasn't in sight, but she still had hope that he'd appear. Noticing her disappointment, Rey spoke up.
"Don't give up," she said as she unloaded her things, and Juno looked to her in surprise. "He still might show up. Whoever it is you're waiting for. Classified." Rey grinned at the word. "I know all about waiting."
"Who are you waiting for, then?" Juno asked.
"For my family," Rey said. "They'll be back. One day." Rey smiled at Juno, but it seemed forced. "Come on," she said, and walked off, Juno following her with BB-8. They walked to the trading area, which was a series of tents, awnings, and stands stacked with goods for trading. Rey seemed to be heading to the center tent, where Juno assumed the junk boss carried out his deals.
As Rey ducked beneath the canvas, Juno stopped in her tracks at the entrance as something out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. "Um.. I'll wait out here," she said, and Rey nodded, getting in line with BB-8 behind her.
The object that had attracted her attention was sitting on the makeshift booth, along with various crudely made trinkets. Most of them were dolls of sticks and cloth, but there were a few rare looking pieces. However, none of them were as interesting as the the object that had originally gained her focus.
It was a dark, onyx-colored metal molded into menacing form. The figure had their weapon held high above their held, ready to strike an unknown enemy, and as she lifted her finger to trace over the sides of the small figurine, she realized that while she hadn't seen the object before, it brought forth certain memories.
A loud bang caused her to jump back in shock, and she looked up to see the owner of the booth glaring at her through squinted eyes.
"Hands off," the old woman said, and Juno lifted her hands.
"Sorry," she muttered, but continued to stare at the object. As she gazed at it, she could feel the sudden cold of the rain of the past soaking her clothes and chilling her to the bone, all the while distant screams reached her ears. Terror clung at her heart as dark figures came out of her memory and swirled around her, their whispers freezing her where she stood. Juno couldn't even stumble backwards when the figurine grew in size, growing until it loomed over her and it's weapon wasn't about the strike an unknown enemy, but her.
Another slam of the woman's hand onto the table brought Juno out of the terrifying memory, and as she became aware of her surroundings, she noticed that she was on the ground. Embarrassed, she stood up, giving the woman an apologetic look.
