Chapter Text
After Ben Solo wakes the first sound he hears is his watch, ticking urgently. It counts the seconds as they pass while he lays flat on his back, staring up at a burning blue sky from the bottom of a hole. Dust floats before him like tiny dancers in the wind, drifting down on to his skin and glasses. He sit up suddenly, coughing hard into one of his hands as the other brushes away the sand that’s fallen on his lap. The fit passes but his fingers rush to inspect himself, to ensure there is nothing broken, or bleeding. Reassured that he’s still whole, Ben looks for his camera and his bag, the two most important possessions in his life. He’s thankful when spots them by his hip, looking visibly to be in one piece, just coated in a heavy layer of dust and sand much like himself.
Picking up the Nikon, his fingers quickly brush the sand away before checking over the equipment. Underneath the lens cap Ben finds that the glass is undamaged. For that bit of good luck he lets out a small and grateful sigh. After replacing the cap, he slips the camera strap over his neck and sets his bag on to his shoulder. Standing up in the hole there isn’t much to look at, just plain and well worn stone walls encircling him on all sides. Above the sound of a plane rumbles in the sky, drawing his attention upward. Using his hand to block out the blinding sunlight, Ben tries to hopefully spot a thin contrail. The sound grows nearer and Ben then notices a shape in the sky, but it’s not like anything he’s seen before flying. Listening to it roar upwards, it breaks the sound barrier, leaving a puff of a cloud behind before it then slips up and away. Vanishing into a tiny dot.
“Where am I?” he breathes out.
The hole itself doesn’t look impossible to scale. Ben has taken his fair share of falls before in more than half a dozen different countries, he knows exactly what he can handle. Touching the stone it feels surprisingly warm, but it looks sturdy enough to hold his weight. Pushing his side bag to his back, he lets his fingers find an edge to grip onto, and then jumps while lifting his body up. His boots dig into small dips in the wall as he pushes off of them, carefully climbing his way out.
Getting over the top is a bit tricky as the sand slips down past him, but Ben is able to carefully lift his body up and over the lip. Rolling on to the golden sand, it burns at his exposed hands immediately, forcing him quickly on to his feet. Pushing his glasses higher up on his nose, he looks around at a vast desert landscape that is clearly
not
jungles of Burma. Trying to recall what exactly had happened causes a sharp and pounding pain to throb at his head. Ben lets out a quick hiss as his fingers rub at his temples, trying to soothe it away. What little he’s able to recall is nothing more than a blur of shapes and sounds, nothing clear enough to piece a picture together.
Turning around in a circle there is only sand as far as he can see, and what looks to possibly be a mountain far in the distance. It looks unnaturally shaped, clearly unnatural, causing Ben to have the passing silly thought it might not be a mountain at all. Being the only point on the horizon that isn’t just endless sand dunes, he starts to walk towards whatever it is. Hope blossoms that when he’ll reach it he’ll have a better idea of where he is, and how he got lost.
The walk itself is relatively easy going, Ben has crossed deserts before and his boots are sturdy for really any environment. He’s still careful with each step, knowing how bad a fall can be with no help around. The sand is rather fine and feels unforgiving, but his footing remains sure. While he walk, Ben starts notice none of the normal signs of life, even for a desert. There are no plants, or even small insects scurrying about, it’s just endless sand. To keep his spirits up he sings along to the last song he was listening to, from a mixtape of Bob Marley that a friend of him had shoved into his bag as a gift.
“Come on and stir it up, little darling, stir it up.”
To try and recall the lyrics the best he can becomes a fun exercise, but the lyrics die on his tongue when Ben reaches the top of a dune. Getting a good look at where he’s been walking to, he sees the mountain isn’t a mountain. It’s something else. Something broken and shoved down deep into the sand. Whatever it is it’s massive, and beyond anything in scale he’s seen before. Recalling the time he saw a supertanker Ben can tell this is nowhere even close in comparison of size, it’s so much bigger.
“This like something out of Star Trek,” he breathes out and wipes at the sweat collecting at his brow. “But
pointier
.”
A breeze thankfully blows by but it’s barely cooler than the air currently. He still turns his face into it and hears a new soft rumble on the wind. Looking around Ben spots what it is, a motorcycle moving far too quickly across the sand. It zips along at some amazing speed along the horizon, the heat coming off the ground giving it the illusion that it’s flying.
“Wow,” is all Ben can say before he hurries down the other side of the dune.
If he can keep it in sight Ben knows it’ll give him a chance to find the person on it, and then hopefully some help. With the speed the bike is moving at it’s a long shot, but from where he’s standing it appears to be heading to the same location he already was. Hurrying as quickly as his feet can move safely, Ben spots its red color stopping, sees a figure get off of it and scurry up into the giant ship looking thing.
It still takes him some time to reach the motorcycle and as Ben stands before it, he now knows it's not a bike. Slowly walking around the machine, he stares in awe at how it just hangs freely in the air. Bending down he looks under it, then passes his hand through the air between the ground and it.
“Ok, this is seriously cool,” he huffs with a smile before looking up at the giant ruins.
There’s a foot trail that leads up into a massive round tunnel at the top of a rather large hill. Reaching into his back pocket, Ben pulls out a handkerchief and wipes more sweat from his forehead.
“Alright Ben, do you go up there and try and find them, get to explore something that just looks wickedly cool, or play it safe and wait down here?” he asks himself.
The wind blows by again, pushing his long hair about in his face. Shoving it haphazardly back, he smiles brightly up at the choice he’s just made, as if it was really a choice actually between the two. Moving to leave the red motorbike, he starts up the hill determined.
“Mom always said I was reckless,” he grunts as the sand slips, making it harder for him to climb. “Can’t let her down about that now,”
At the top Ben finds himself out of breath, his jacket which has been keeping the sun off his skin, is now just holding in his sweat. Taking it off he rests for a moment, then digs about for his thermos out of his bag. Half empty already from previously using it, he just takes a small sip to wet his mouth and lips. From the top of the hill he can see a field of broken things littering the sand, poking up like scattered tombstones, broken and rusting.
“Christ,” he curses before putting his water back away. “Looks like there was a war here or something. Are those
planes
? Where the
hell
am I?”
There’s a noise that comes from behind, a distinct clang of metal on metal distantly. Turning away from the landscape, Ben starts his strange walk forward into the belly of something. Whatever he’s walking into has everything made at a huge scale, but the longer he moves further in the more he start’s to vaguely recognize parts of it. There are pipes and wires, metal walkways and rows of metal looking doors. It all appears rusted and unused for a long time if he had to take an educated guess. Even as old as it looks, it’s far beyond anything he’s ever seen. His brand new Walkman in his bag seems more fitting in an ancient tomb compared to what must be the advanced technology of this strange new place.
“Did I fall through time or something?” whispers Ben who then shakes his head at the notion.
He does start to wonder if his friend Dale’s obsession with Doctor Who was rubbing off on him, he feels even more foolish that he takes a quick look around for a blue phonebox. Touching his temple Ben thinks about how he might be in a coma, or maybe this was some strange drug trip someone has slipped him at dinner. What he can’t tell is what is more terrifying of a thought, that everything he’s seeing is real, or he’s dreaming this all so vividly.
Following a walkway until it’s end, Ben looks out over a large open area. Under the sand that’s poured in he can see white lines marked into the flooring. It’s strange reminiscent of photos he’s seen of aircraft carriers.
Putting a hand to his mouth, Ben calls out, “
Hello
! Is anyone
here
?!”
There’s a banging suddenly, soft and distant again. Ben thinks he’s heard it clearly enough to pinpoint what direction it might of come from. Moving cautiously he finds a broken staircase and shuffles down the steps silently until he’s standing on the hanger deck. There are broken pieces of what he can’t tell everywhere, but they all look useless. With so much to see, Ben almost misses the heavy rope hanging in the air. Reaching out he touches it, then looks up into the hole in the ceiling it vanishes through.
“Hello?” he yells up and then feels the rope wiggle in his hand.
Taking a quick step back a body suddenly appears, sliding down at him on the rope. Ben watches them hit the ground and before he has a chance to say a word, the end of a staff is pointed at his face.
“Quiet,” snaps a woman’s voice from behind a cloth face mask and goggles. “Who are you? You don’t belong here.”
Putting his hands up, Ben laughs awkwardly. “That we can agree on.”
Reaching around the staff slowly, he holds his hand out for her to shake. “I’m Ben Solo, lost archeologist apparently. I was wondering if you could tell me
where
I am?”
The woman looks him over and then takes a slow step back, moving to hang her staff from her back. “How’d you get all the way out here? You should have never left Niima Outpost if that’s where you wandered in from.”
As time passes and she doesn’t make a move to shake his hand, Ben slowly pulls it back then motions to her face. “Maybe you should take that off, it’s a little strange talking to face I can’t see.”
Standing up a little taller, she adjusts the heavy looking bag on her shoulder first. Reaching up she pulls down the mask, then lifts her goggles up. Ben’s mouth opens slightly as he’s a bit taken back by the sight of the woman. There’s a hard but kind look to her eyes as she stares at him with an untrusting gaze. He’s half tempted to ask to take her photo but he’s quick to focus on the more important things at hand.
“Thanks,” Ben says with a small smile. “So what’s Niima Outpost? I’ve never heard of it or been there. Last I remember I was working a site in Burma, I woke up in this hole in the desert. I mean it’s pretty clear I’m not in Burma anymore, right?”
“Where or what is Burma?” she asks with thin narrow eyes.
“Burma?” repeats Ben. “It’s in southern Asia, you know, jungles and temples, not really a desert anywhere near it.”
“Wherever you’re from you should go to Niima Outpost and try and get back there.” The woman’s voice is sharp and to the point, Ben can feel his help starting to slip away. “There’s usually someone passing through who you could get a ride in exchange for work. You’re not the first person to wander too far or get booted off a ship, but you are the strangest I’ve seen.”
“Strange?” laughs Ben before looking himself over. “I don’t think I look that strange.”
“I have work to do but I can show you in direction of the outpost,” she says before moving to walk past him.
Watching her go, he quickly follows from behind but keeps a good few feet between them. “You never told me you’re name, and thank you, for the help.”
“It’s Rey,” she says plainly.
“Rey,” says Ben trying out her name. “That’s pretty. So what is this place?”
Walking up the staircase he came down, she moves more easily than himself and as if she’s climbed the same staircase hundreds of times before. Her feet miss any holes and her arms reach out to grab at the railings without thinking.
“You’re in the graveyard, it’s only a place for people like me,” says Rey flatly.
“People like you?” he asks as he jumps over a hole.
“Scavengers.”
“Oh, well, I’m a bit like that too,” he chuckles. “I collect and research old things myself. All over the world matter of fact. I would love to just explore this whole place but I don’t even know what it is.”
At the top of the stairs Rey spins around and looks at Ben strangely. “It’s a crashed Imperial-class star destroyer, anyone who comes to Jakku knows about it.”
“Star destroyer? Jakku?” he repeats as he ascends the final step, trying out the foreign words. “Is that like the name of the country, or town? County maybe?”
“Planet,” says Rey with a thin glare pointed at him. “You’re on the planet Jakku.”
Turning on her foot she walks away briskly, Ben is frozen in shock. “
P-Planet
?” he sputters.
“Who ever let you wander off is a
fool
, you clearly must have hit your head.”
Rushing to catch up with her Ben looks around with new eyes, and it starts to click in his mind he’s inside something very alien. “Are you trying to tell me I’m not on Earth anymore?”
“Earth?” she echoes. “Is that the planet you’re from? I’ve never heard of it before.”
“What do you mean you’ve never heard of Earth before?” says Ben a little more loudly. “Look if this is some joke or something, it’s not funny anymore.”
Stopping at the edge of the hill back down, she turns and looks back at him. “I’m sorry if I haven’t heard of your home world but it’s a rather large galaxy out there. Come on, get on.”
There’s a sheet of metal she’s standing next to and when Rey sits down on it Ben can see she’s intending to use it as a sled. Slowly walking over he takes a seat behind her, it takes a bit of shifting to fit his long legs in but he fits.
“Is this safe?” he asks.
Looking over her shoulder, Rey flashes him a smile. “I do this everyday, just hold on tight.”
“This has to be a dream,” he mutters but then grips on tightly to Rey as she pushes them off.
Slipping down across the sand, Ben can’t help but recall sledding when he was a kid. His dad would always run a few steps before pushing him down the big hill, one they would have drive around looking for the right one. The ride ends quickly and Rey gets up with no fanfare before hurrying over to the floating red motorbike. She starts to pull out parts from her bag and then stuffs them into a net hanging off the side. Shoving her staff in as well, she turns to Ben and points in a direction.
“Niima Outpost is that way, just try not to wander off again,” says Rey as she holds her arm out steadily. “You’ll find most people here will rob you blind and leave you to die if you’re not careful.”
“Where are you going?” asks Ben as he watches her climb on top of the bike looking machine.
“To Niima, then my home. I have to go collect my portions before sunset.”
Blinking up at her lost and confused, he feels reluctant to let the only contact he’s had so far go. “You can’t give me a ride too?”
Pulling down her goggles, Rey frowns at him. “How did you get here?”
“I told you, I woke up in a hole over that way,” he says pointing in the direction he’s walked from. Rey looks up towards it. “Anything before that is a blur. Honestly it feels like I’ve woken up in some strange Sci-fi story. I don’t even know how your bike is doing that?”
Looking down Rey’s head jerks about, looking for a problem she’s missed. “Doing what?”
“Floating,” says Ben amazed. “I’ve just… never seen anything like that. Or where we just came out of.”
Slowly Rey lifted her head as her mouth hangs open in surprise. “And I thought Jakku was backwater planet,” she mutters as Ben is puzzled by her meaning.
“Come on,” Rey sighs. “Climb up and I’ll give you a ride.”
His eyes light up as his feet are quick to move. “Thanks, seriously you’ve been a great help.”
Pushing her body as forward as she can, Rey then points out where he can put his feet. “Just don’t move around too much or you’ll burn your legs on the exhaust.”
Grabbing on to the side of the seat Ben carefully sets himself down. “Just like riding a bike, yeah I can do that,” he mutters.
The engine rumbles to life and Rey sets the speeder in motion, flying them both across the sand. Holding on as tightly as he can, Ben then scans the passing wreckage as they fly by. In the distant he can see other large objects peeking out in a variety of different sizes. It does look very much like a graveyard the longer they pass it. When they approach what must be the outpost is when things truly become weird for Ben. They fly past a large looking creature that’s dragging a pile of parts, he can only stare in utter shock. When they come to a stop Ben’s eyes look in almost every direction, quickly finding more and more alien looking beings moving about.
Reaching out he grabs Rey by the shoulder, she turns around looking quite crossed. “What is this place?” he whispers clearly frightened.
“Niima outpost,” says Rey as she glares down at his hand, willing him silently to remove it.
Ben quickly pulls his hand back, quick to notice her disapproval. Looking at another large alien, his jaw quivers, “What the hell is that thing?”
“That’s very rude to say,” scoffs Rey before moving to get down off the speeder.
“
Rey
,” says Ben urgently before joining her on the ground. “I’m serious, what is this place? What are these alien looking things walking around? How did your bike just fly like that? Why do I get the feeling we just came from a giant space ship? I… I don’t understand any of this.”
Pulling her staff free from her speeder, Rey stops and then turns to look up at him. “You’re telling the truth,” she asks in a whisper. “Aren’t you?”
“Yes, yes I am, and I’m really scared right now. Scared I’m in a coma or dead, because this, none of this is real. Aliens and spaceships, they don’t exist,” he says in a clear panic. “I’m just an archeologist for God sakes, I looks at rocks and broken pots all day.”
Taking a quick step closer to him, she leans in and continues to whisper, “Are you telling me you’ve never seen an alien before?”
“No, no one has,” he mutters back.
“I don’t have time for this right now,” Rey growls before turning to free the net on the side of her speeder.
“Where are you going?” asks Ben moving in close to her side.
“I told you, I have work, and I need to get my portions otherwise I don’t eat tonight,” she snaps.
Reaching into his bag Ben digs around and pulls out a can. “I got food, can I give you this if you just help me. Please, just explain to me what is going on.”
Taking a quick glance down at the offered can, Rey pushes his hand to put it back into his bag. “Don’t do that,” she angrily mutters. “You really
are
clueless, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” nods Ben eagerly. “Look, I’ll give you what I have and you can keep that stuff until tomorrow. Just help me tonight, and I’ll get out of your hair in the morning. I promise.”
Looking between the strange tall man and her haul, Rey then looks to the sun, measuring how much light is left. After weighing her options, she looks to his bag. “How much do you have in there?”
“I don’t know,” he mutters before going digging about within it. “I got a few cans of beans and lentils I keep on me. A bag of nuts, some fruit bars, and just stuff that won't spoil.”
“Did you say nuts?” utters Rey with a bright interest.
Pulling out the bag he shows her the edge of it. “Yeah, a whole bag.”
“Put that away,” she hisses while looking around to see if anyone is watching them. “I’ll help you, but I’m turning this stuff in now. Just, stay out of trouble and I’ll take you back to my home after I’m done.”
“Can I help you at all?” he asks shutting his bag back up.
“No,” says Rey with a wave of her hand for him to hush. “Just go have a look around or something, I won't be long.”
Pulling her net behind her, Ben watches her drag it off slowly but steadily. He stands next to the speeder, unsure what to do or even how far he should walk away. People and aliens are roaming about, all going their own way with parts in their hands, or being dragged behind them on metal sleds. He takes his first hesitant step away, and then another. Moving further with each step, he let’s his curiosity that has always been his biggest drive carry him further into the outpost.
Even with new mysteries calling to him Ben takes a quick glance back to where Rey was moving. He see’s her stop and then get into a line leading to a small metal shack. The sunlight is turning thin, twisting the world into a warm orange red, golden hour. Without hesitation, Ben reaches for the camera at his side and pulls the cap off, lifting it next to his eye. Twisting the zoom lens the face of Rey comes into view. She looks tired but her eyes are strong and sharp. Turning to look his way as if sensing his gaze, Ben snaps a photo just as their eyes meet through the glass. She gives him a questioning stare at what he’s doing but Ben just lowers the camera, hopes it isn’t all a dream so he can keep at least that one photo of her.