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Rey would never know what sorts of things she’d have learned if her parents hadn’t abandoned her, but she could guess that she wouldn’t know as many languages because they wouldn’t have been necessary for her survival. She thought very little about translating BB-8’s Binary into Basic. She knew there were some who thought understanding droids like BB-8 was beneath them, but Rey had never been able to afford thinking like that.
When BB-8’s frantic beeping broke through her concentration, Rey jumped to attention. The little droid was pointing to a man in the market who Rey had never seen before. Rey zeroed in on him, listening to BB-8’s explanation that the man was wearing its friend’s jacket.
Rey didn’t give it much thought before she ran after the man in question. She had plenty of experience recovering stolen items, and the man didn’t even pull a weapon when he saw her coming. He just high-tailed it away with wide eyes, like he hadn’t been prepared for a confrontation.
It was odd, but Rey pushed her doubt aside. Most of the people she knew were skilled at the shadier sides of business, but occasionally, they did get someone new who had bit off more than they could chew. They were often the easiest to screw over despite their bravado. So, when Rey tackled the man to the ground, she figured that was the kind of guy she was dealing with.
“What are you doing?” the man yelled, struggling to get out from underneath her as Rey held her staff to his chest.
Rey ignored the question. “Where did you get that jacket?” she asked.
The man stammered for a second before saying, “From my friend.”
BB-8 chattered from beside them. The man looked at the droid with a frown. “What’s the droid saying?”
“He says that’s his friend’s jacket. You stole it.”
“No, no,” the man said frantically, putting more effort into getting out from under her. It was no more successful than his first attempt. “Look. I didn’t steal anything.” He turned to the droid, craning his neck to properly look at him. “Poe? That was your friend’s name, right?”
BB-8 gave a few beeps that confirmed it was. Apparently, the man didn’t need to have that translated.
“We escaped together, but we got separated. I couldn’t find him, but his jacket was there. I swear that’s what happened.”
Rey was skeptical, but BB-8 was kinder than she was. He gave Rey a few reassuring beeps. With reluctance, she clambored off the man in question, and with even more reluctance, she held out a hand to help him stand. He hesitated for a second before taking it.
The second their skin touched, the world changed. Rey had heard about color. She’d also heard the jokes that seeing color on Jakku was a lot like not seeing color at all. Now, she understood.
Whereas before the world had been in various shades of gray, it was now in various shades of a different color, one that must be brown if the things Rey had heard were correct. While it wasn’t the vast diversity that could apparently be found on other planets, it was something far different, and judging by the look on his face, the man in front of her was experiencing the same thing.
“I’m Finn,” he said, lilting upwards like he wasn’t sure of his own name.
In sharp contrast to how she’d felt moments before, Rey smiled. “I’m Rey.”
BB-8 beeped, asking for confirmation that they were seeing colors. Rey laughed and told him that, yes, that was exactly what happened. Even BB-8 chirped in happiness, though he gave a warning to Finn that Rey was thankful Finn couldn’t understand.
Finn eyed the droid warily before looking back at Rey.
“What does this mean?” he asked.
Rey shrugged. It had been a strange day. Newcomers, both droid and organic, weren’t unheard of on Jakku, but they never appeared like this.
“I guess it means that our fates are intertwined,” she said, “and we’ll have to figure out the rest together.”