A year after the destruction of the second Death Star in the celebrated Battle of Endor, another war was waged between the New Republic and Galactic Empire. Basking beneath the desert sun of Jakku rests the remnants of this hostility. Shifting sands have since buried and uncovered countless treasures and relics—to the delight of scavengers eager who hope to recover tokens from either side of the conflict!

The harsh desert offers little shelter from the elements, remaining barren and flat against the imposing backdrop of a fallen Star Destroyer that was left uncovered after the famed Battle of Jakku. Rather than allowing the vessel to fall into the hands of the Republic after the self-destruct had been sabotaged, Captain Ciena Ree ordered the Inflictor evacuated and sent it crashing to the planet’s surface. Sunken into the shifting desert sea, the upper portion of the Inflictor’s hull and exhaust ports remain otherwise intact, preserved amidst the rubble of untold casualties that had once occurred on both sides. Although it has been scoured by the passing of several sandstorms, it still displays the former power and might of the Galactic Empire.

Countless scraps of metal and machines of war share the same grave, echoing the lives of those who fought and died among the perilous wastes. Hundreds of these relics sit untouched, lingering amidst the ghosts that tend and reside in Jakku’s graveyard.

Elyon had never thought she’d see a world more bleak, more barren, and even more empty than Tatooine. Yet, when she stepped off the ramp of her ship and onto the sands — still burning hot in the midday sun — she was assailed by the sheer weight of misery, nihilism, and sheer apathy that pressed down on her through the Force. This was a place that hadn’t just lost hope, it had long since forgotten the concept.

What in the world was Jon Silvon doing in a place like this?

The thought of the captain, always grinning, always with a joke or a sarcastic remark, making his haven in a place so… empty was like imagining Darth Sidious volunteering in a soup kitchen; it was self-contradicting on more levels than she wanted to count.

Still, this was where every lead Odan-Urr had been able to gather finally led them — after a weeks-long scavenger hunt for clues through ha;f of the Rim and some of the Core worlds — and it was the freshest lead to date, so hopefully he hadn’t yet packed up and left for yet another dying, decaying world in the interim. One way to find out.

Elyon stepped gingerly through the sun-scorched, sand-blasted ruins of a hundred dead-ships, her hood pulled low to shield her eyes from the overbearing light of the star overhead, R2-E2 trailing in her wake. The pair received many a lingering stare from the locals, some curious, some hostile, some appraising. She kept her distance, and never let her hand wander too far from the hilt of her lightsaber. Still, her attention was on the rotting, warped skeletons of a thousand spaceships that decorated this sand-drowning Hell, like bones picked clean by predators. She wasn’t sure if the tell-tale sight of bright red that marked the Grande Carnival was something she was hoping for… or something she dreaded, in a place of death like this.

Once more, the question of what would draw Jon Silvon to a place like this echoed in her thoughts. She put it aside for now. The “why’s” would come later. Oh yes, they would most certainly come.

It was inside a tiny wreck that just barely passed for shelter when she finally found him; the dilapidated remain of what she was fairly certain used to be the command bridge of a Star Destroyer, two-thirds buried beneath the omnipresent, blasted sand, so that just one corner of it was jutting like a rock breaking the surface of a sea of sand. An impromptu “door” had been made of a blast hole, haphazardly covered by a tattered sheet of heavy cloth, billowing in the wind.

It had taken no small amount of bribes, a bit of coercion, and two instances of Force persuasion to find out that an unusuall tall human wearing a very large hat had set up residence in this part of the “settlement” — a term Elyon used loosely — and pointedly avoided interacting with any of the local populace.

Stepping forward she made to knock on the “door” before realizing there was nothing to knock on. Beside, given how reticent her former captain had been regarding communication lately, maybe announcing her presence wasn’t the wisest of decisions. Steeling herself, Elyon gently swept the sand-stained rage to one side and stepped into the metallic hull.

She looked around the room, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, to be honest; aside from the construction, the shelter was decorated exactly like she would’ve expected Jon Silvon to decorate: haphazard, chaotic, and just organized enough that a generous description would call it merely “cluttered” rather than messy. A hatch in one part of the room led down to where she presumed the rest of the living quarters, such as they were, would be located

Her eyes were drawn to one corner where a tall figure stood, motionless, in the corner. The droid had a sheet hung over its shoulders, presumably to protect it from the sands that had clearly swept in from outside, though its head was left bear. Which was why she knew the moment its red eyes flashed to life and zeroed in on her.

“INTRUDER DETECTED,” it blared out in a monotone, metallic voice. “INITIATING DEFENSE PROTOCOLS.”

“Karabast,” Elyon swore under her breath, even as the Magna-guard drew an electro staff from underneath its impromptu outfit, electricity crackling as the telescoping staff unfolded itself, and the smell of ozone burning filled the small space. Elyon had her ‘saber out and lit before it could even step forward, but held it in a defensive stance; even if she was upset with Jon, the last thing she wanted was to come into his, well, “house” and start breaking things. Even things that were trying to kill her.

“What the hell, Eyegee,” a familiar voice groned from the hatch. “What is all the noise, I’m trying to… sleep,” Jon Silvon said as he poked his head out of the hatch and into the open air. He took one look at the sight in from of his and uttered one word:

“Sith-spit.”

The two were now sat around Jon’s table on the floor below. Elyon was fairly certain that the table in question used to be the desk of a Grand Moff, going by the emblem that was emblazoned into the metal.

“I’d offer you some tea,” Jon muttered as he settled onto the stool he’d set for himself. “But tea leaves aren’t especially easy to come by out in this part of the galaxy.”

“I wouldn’t think so,” she said simply. “So… Jakku?”

Jon shrugged. “It’s inconspicuous, at the very least. How the Hell did you find me?”

“With great difficulty. Everyone is out looking for you.”

“I left a message.”

“Your message was, and I quote: ‘leaving for a while, be back later.’” Elyon responded. “End quote.”

“Problem?” Jon said.

“Captain-”

“I’m not your captain anymore, El.”

“Jon. What happened? You just took off and left with no explanation. You can’t be surprised that people didn’t know how to take you suddenly going AWOL.”

Jon opened his mouth to give a reply, but before he had the chance, the whole structure was suddenly rocked, like a missile had just crashed into it. The sound of metal crashing to the floor was heard as tools and blades were knocked from their perches and sent scattering across the ground.

“What the Hell?” Jon swore, looking up to the hatch where they’d just climbed out of.

“Jon Silvon!” a voice called, muffled through the sand but unmistakable as it echoed around. “We know you’re in there you thieving bastard! Where’s our money?”

“Oh great; how do people keep finding me way out here, when I specifically came to the last place in the galaxy anyone would willingly go!”

“Are these the people you were hiding from?” Elyon asked as she helped her captain to his feet.

“What?” Jon glanced at her. “No, don’t be ridiculous, it’s just some Kanjiklub punks I ripped off a while back, I just don’t know how they found me out here.”

Elyon growled in growing frustration; the minute she was about to get some answers out of Jon, and some other fool with a grudge has to interrupt!

“Tell you what,” Jon said as he bolted over to a cupboard in the wall; opening it revealed a stache of familiar weapons. “You help me deal with these idiots, and I give you an explanation for my impromptu vacation that you can take back to Revak. Sound good?”

It sounded terrible, actually. It sounded evasive and left far too many loopholes for Jon to weasel out of — something Elyon had seen him do far, far too many times not to see it coming here.

But… it was the best she knew she was going to get. And for the first time since she’d arrived, a hint of that old grin was back on her captain’s face as he prepped for a fight.

Elyon sighed, reaching for her saber. “Alright. What’s the plan?”

Jon thought for a moment, looking at the hatch.

"Perhaps we could surprise them. How well do you know these ships," Jon asked, looking at Elyon questioningly.

"These stellar destructors are very similar to the Clone War cruisers. So I'm familiar with their design and the location of the shafts," Elyon replied, watching the surprise on Capitan's face.

"You're not using the Jedi tricks on me," Jon said, watching the young companion in front of him.

"I would never allow myself to you. I just know your style," Elyon replied, smiling.

"All right then, you'll use the shaft behind us that heads into the room above us and surprise them. I'll try to give you time and draw all the attention to yourself," he summed up his plan.

"I understand, Captain."

"Elyon, how many times do I have to tell you that ..."

"We'll discuss it later," Elyon interrupted him, heading for the shaft and disappearing from sight.

"Let's go," Jon said aloud to himself and hid two knives behind his belt on his back. Then he climbed to the hatch, but before he could open the hatch, the voice growled again. "Jon Silvon, get out, you rat and don't hide. We'll get you anyway."

"Yeah, I'm going," he replied, opening the hatch. At that moment, seven blasters were aimed at him.

"Slowly, keep your hands up so I can see them," said Pandoran, the leader of the gang.

"Do you have a problem, gentlemen," Jon began starkly and he looked for signs of a droid behind them. He could still shuffle the cards in this game. Unfortunately, a few seconds as he explored the space behind them, he noticed a droid lying on its back on the ground.

"You owe us money, Silvon and a lot. Either you give it to us now, or from today your tomb will be covered with sand. No one will find you here anymore," Pandoran said with a smirk.

"It won't be necessary. We can definitely make a deal," Jon began slowly and in a friendly voice. He knew he had to give Elyon time to get behind them.

"I don't have that much money with me, but I can pick it up. If you're willing to come tomorrow, I'll have the money." He said, hoping she would believe him.

"Do you really think I'd trust you after all? You'd just run away with our money," the gang leader looked at him in disbelief.

They were in a stalemate and it was not possible to find any non-conflicting way out. And if he wanted to be free, as they say, fight his way through, he would fight seven blasters against his knives. And those were not very good prospects. Jon therefore continued to stand with his hands over his head, trying to persuade Pandoran to solve it in order to gain an advantage in the form of Elyon.

Meanwhile, Elyon continued to wind through the service shaft, which was quite narrow in some parts due to the deformations of the surrounding parts of the ship. The process went slowly despite all of Elyon's efforts. For a moment she finally reached the top of the floor, and below it was Jon and the assailants.

Elyon reached into the Force to sense the people below her. She immediately sensed Jon in the company of seven men. The situation did not turn out very well according to their location in the room, so Elyon began to move again.

As quickly and quietly as possible, she crawled over them to the service opening next to the room. The gloom in the rooms now played for her. She stepped very softly and lightly so as not to draw attention to herself sooner than she wanted.

Unobtrusively, she stretched in the crack between the collapsed wings of the door toward the bridge. Then Elyon unbuckled her lightsaber from her belt, squatted down, and began to move discreetly toward the group of men.

Jon had difficulty prolonging the negotiations. His hands were already sore because he was still holding them on his head, and Pandoran already looked very upset.

Where the hell is she? What's taking her so long? Jon muttered under his breath and continued to watch the gang in front of him.

Elyon sensed his thoughts. She knew the move had taken her a long time, but they still had the benefit of surprises.

"Enough, Silvon, before I enjoy these games of yours. Either you give us the money or say goodbye to life," the gang leader shouted, walking toward Jon.

At that moment, Elyon's blue blade came to life with a click. Elyon quickly jumped to her feet and halved the blasters of the closest men with two quick cuts. The men remained surprised by this quick action. However, Elyon did not stop one by one, tossing them against the wall with the help of the Force. The rest of the men stared for a moment, too, but the next moment they pounced on Elyon. However, she defended herself by all possible means.

Jon was not left behind. Once the men including the leader Pandoran were forced to resist the attack he dropped his hands and drew both knives and with quick steps to approach the gang leader. Without the man noticing, Jon crept behind him and placed the knife blade around his neck.

"Stop the attack or you will have nothing left of your men and you will be a head shorter," Jon told him in a strong voice.

"Okay ... stop the attack. And the weapons on the ground," Pandoran shouted, waiting for his command to be carried out.

"I call it the benefit of the moment of surprise," Elyon said, turning off her lightsaber and fastening it back to her belt. Then she walked over to Jon and the man in his grip.

"What are we going to do with them? Will we turn them over to the authorities? Maybe there's a reward for them," she said as she walked between them.

"Or we could let them go, provided they didn't talk about the incident and were no longer interested in the money," Jon said in a honeyed voice.

"It would work. Perhaps they understand that it would be better to be broke than dead," Elyon closed, watching Pandoran

"You have our word," said the leader, but Jon did not believe him.

"You didn't believe me and I don't trust you," Jon said, still holding the knife to his neck. "Okay, I can prove I won't break my promise." Pandoran said, starting to pull the datpad out of his pocket. "Here's the debt. Take it, it's yours."

"What do you think," Jon asked Elyon.

"I think if they wanted to break a promise, they would have a lot to do," Elyon replied in a serious voice.

"Okay, well. Get out of here and dare cross my path one more time. Next time, your lives will be at stake," Jon said, taking the Pandoran knife from his throat. The men quickly collected their weapons and they were gone without sign of them.

"That wasn't so bad." Jon praised the result and switched to the droid.

"It's time to start explaining, Jon," Elyon said firmly, watching him.

"Looks like he's not damaged," he continued, as if Elyon hadn't said anything.

"Jon …"