Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The incident happened in a very sudden way, as it is when one's dorm mate blows you up. Kind of weirdly too, if Sahar remembered correctly.

It was a Thursday, just a week until the winter term was over and near the middle of Ramadan*°. The snow was nearly gone from outside, and she was packing away her belongings for the break between terms. All of her exams where papers and portfolios she could submit via the internet this year, so she took advantage of it and splurged on her leftover CAD currency by booking herself a plane ticket to the British Columbia coast. That way she could enjoy the cool Canadian greenery and Pacific a bit before visiting her grandmother in the arid heat of Cairo for Eid*°°.

As she was pulling her forest green university hoodie over her head, her roommate Kim Daeshim came barging in with a manic look in their eye. In their arms was an array of liquids and some plastic containers that had various powders in them. Sahar crooked an eyebrow at them as Daeshim set the item's down on their shared kitchen table.

This was nothing new for the Korean Chem-Bio major to be doing, Sahar has seen them do numerous projects over the past nine months they've been rooming together. These little experiments were relatively safe, the most dangerous it ever got was when a chemical reaction caught the ceiling fan on fire. Thankfully however, the fire extinguisher was just down the hall and Sahar was quick on her feet.

This however seemed a bit more...spontaneous than usual.

"Hey Dae," She began cautiously as she approached her roomie slowly from across the room. "Whatcha doin'?"

"It is a new experiment," Daeshim began as their fingers worked a lightning spread, adding various things here and there to the concoction they've begun. "It did not work in lab, so I want to see if temperature will change the results."

They don't elaborate any further so Sahar just shrugs off the odd feeling she got in her gut, before going back to her open suitcase. It was resting on the coffee table in it's neon purple glory adjacent to the load of laundry she left on the couch. She began to place what was already folded in the fore-mentioned suitcase.

Daeshim was a very intelligent and impulse driven individual. Whenever they came back with Hunain's shoes*, they felt the need to do the thing over and over till they got it right. They had to get this out, and they'd tell her when they where ready.

She was almost done when she heard Daeshim swear. Turning around, Sahar was met with the sight of a explosion of erupted blue color moving towards her. She didn't even have time to cover her face or turn around before it met her. It felt like an eruption of heat and crisp brisk wind against her body, sapping her body of her strength seemingly instantly.

She fell forwards onto the ground, her head nearly hitting the armrest of the couch as she started to loose consciousness.

"Al'ama**, what the hell..." Sahar thought to herself as the world faded to black.

Chapter Text

When Sahar came to, the first thing she noticed was that she was lying on her side. The second was absolutely hot she was feeling, it was almost like someone turned up the thermostat. Which as strange, both Daeshim and her where cheapskates that would sooner bundle up than risk a higher heat bill. Especially in today's economy. However, that tickling in her nose was what told her something was off. It smelt musty and dry, and a small breeze blew something small and grainy onto her skin. Wait, small and... grainy?

   'Sand?' Sahar identified to herself. Which was very weird, since there wasn't any sand in the dorm last she checked. 'Why is there sand...?'

As she opened her eyes, Sahar was treated to the sight of what appeared to be a desert with red-ish mountains off in the distance that the sun was just starting to rise over. No, that couldn't be right. She shut her eyes for a few minutes before opening them again. Pinched herself on the wrist. Yep, the desert was real. Why was she in a desert?

With a groan as she sat herself up, it slowly started coming back to her. Packing, Daeshim experimenting, the Blue thing, losing consciousness, and then...something else... Sahar tried to think about it, she was certain that something else happened. It was between losing consciousness and waking up in this desert, but what was it? The only thing that came to mind were these flashes of a pale figure, along with feelings of confusion and...acceptance??? Other than that however, no amount of rummaging through her memories seemed to help her  remember anything else about what happened. She started to get up, only to swiftly stumble over her feet.

  "What the...?" Her voice sounded different, kinda child like... That couldn't be right and why did she stumble, she wasn't that clumsy either...?

Looking down, she noticed how-how, small she was now. It was evident by how her white wash skinny jeans bunched up around her legs like cargo pants while trying to slide down her waist, or how her forest green hoodie was now more baggy than usual, that she was not her usual 180cm. She must have been around two or three feet shorter- and where were her boobs?!

A quick pat down confirmed that her D-cups and usual curves had indeed vanished, but that brought her attention to her hands. Instead of their usual tanned olive, they were a deep red with a purplish hue and short sharp black nails growing out of where her usual round ones where. Rubbing her hands together confirmed that they hers, and they didn't seem like they were covered in anything other than the dusty sand that was found on the ground. Nor did it feel like a burn or the worst case of sunburn imaginable, instead her skin felt as a newborn's. The skin was hers. Hers. Ya Ibn el Sharmouta*!

Sahar plopped back down to the ground below as the shock began to set in, after all it wasn't every day one changed into what-whatever she was! People don't-don't just change their species like "wham - bam - thank you - ma'am", it just doesn't happen! How? Just how?! How was this her life?! How could this be real?! She was supposed to go to B.C., get her Masters in Design, not become the rip off offspring of Hellboy! The crossover hybrid child of Count von Count and Knuckles the Echidna!

With a groan she ran her hands over face in exhaustion, absentmindedly noting the new groves and tiny ridges that contrasted the alien softness of her flesh, before letting them flop to the sides of her head so she could stare up in defeat at the sky. It just seemed easier to do that for now, it was just a normal blue sky after all. Nothing weird or life altering about that. Right?

She honestly didn't know how long she looked up at that sky from her spot on the ground, but by the time her brain stopped dissociating the sun was leaving the highest point of the sky and her skin started to feel overheated and tight. No to mention the exacto knife in her pocket has started feel like it was going to leave a bruise from where it was pressed against her hip. It was a cloudless sky, so it seemed like a good idea to sit up in order to avoid to damage her eyes. Sahar started to gather her thoughts.

  'Well I, a twenty year old woman, appeared to have turned into a Crayola coloured prepubescent child. That, or a very confused colourful dwarf with the inability to have boobs. The lack of beard however, along with the child like voice and booze vetoes' that idea.  And this is definitely not a lucid dream. I usually have chickens in those, and I don't see or hear any. Have no idea how the math works on that, but, err, go me I guess??? No every day one pulls that off naturally IRL after all. Plus, there could somehow be upsides to this!'  With a sigh, she picked up a lock of hair from her shoulder to look at. Dispute the recent track record revelations, her hair seems to to have maintained it's charcoal black colour and 3b curls. A small humorless smile twitched on her lips. They where a small thing she started to embrace over the past few years, as little as it may seem. 'Well, at least I still have my hair, and these nails look pretty cool too. Plus it could be worst, I could be a Llama, pig, or an insect.'

Looking at her hair however brought attention to her hands. It was hard to tell with the new pigmentation and all, but her dark red flesh seems to have gained a more dark and violet tinge during her time in the sun. Was she getting sunburn? 'I probably start looking for some shelter or water. No telling how long I've been out here.'

Sahar looked at the baggy pant legs paired with her blue sock-clad feet. They were thin and her new nails seem to be poking holes at the tips. Not ideal for her newfound climate.

  "Need to do something about this," so with that she grabbed the exacto knife from its place and took off the pants.  With that came the reveal of more red flesh, but she kept her attention to the task at hand. She'd divulge more into her physical changes latter, right now she needed to make she she didn't burn more than she already has. Not to mention how unpleasant foot burns could be. The sand beneath her was warm already, and it was only going to get hotter as time passed. Her arms and torso where good thanks to the hoodie, but she needed to do something about her face, legs and feet. Allah*° only knows what will happen to her new skin if she did burn more obviously, she didn't even know if her skin had the same amounts of melanin that it did before!

She started cutting the sturdy fabric into sections and strips. Some of the strips where used to wrap around her feet for more protection were knotted at the ankles, and what was once the lower shins of the pants became makeshift leg covers that were secured at just above her knee. The hoodie covered the rest of her legs, so she didn't have to worry about that anymore. The rest was used as cowl of sorts that served as a makeshift face cover, and some leftover strips where used to secure her wild dusty mane into a more manageable braid that she could fit under her hood.

Once her craft was done, she stuffed the scraps of what wasn't used into her pocket along with the knife for latter use, stood up, and looked around. It was flat a barren for the most part, with no obvious structures and civilisation in sight. The mountains she saw earlier where her best bet on finding some shade, and possibly people too. Which would be ideal to get to before she became dehydrated or got heat stroke. Which could be soon, judging from the signs of heat exhaustion she was experiencing with how her head swimming and her flesh felt heated to the touch. She had drank plenty of water before all this, but who knows how much good that could do. Deciding it was best to head in that direction, Sahar began walking.

She tripped and stumbled over herself a few more time then she would have liked, but after what seemed like the first few miles she got more surefooted. The air around her seemed to get hotter as she progressed as well, not as hot as Cairo could get in the summer but it became more uncomfortable as her journey progressed. She had to actively remind herself it was probably better to keep her hoodie on than remove it, since it was preventing her from gaining more potential sunburns.

  "How did I even end up here?" Sahar thought to herself as she walked. The landscape was ominously empty of variations around her, save for a few shriveled up bushes that popped up occasionally. She made sure to grab some branches off them to hold in her arms for latter use, in case she needed to make a fire. "What did Daeshim do that even brought me here?" She got no answer to her internal question of course, but then again, she didn't really expect a reply. It was just her here as far as she could tell. Save for a few insects that crossed her path, nothing else was there.

By the time she reached to reach the mountain range, the sun was starting to set and the earth beneath her feet began to cool. A plateau loomed above her as she entered the space, feeling slightly safer now that she was out of the open. It seemed quite here almost, but in a way that was less unknowing. After looking around a bit, Sahar found a divot in one of the smooth walls that she was just small enough to fit into, which lead to a tiny cave. It was uninhabited as far as she could tell, but she wouldn't stay here too long. Hopefully.

Gathering a rocks around her into a circle on the floor, she added her acquired kindling to the stopgap fire pit along with some of the scraps from what was once her jeans. Grabbing two rocks that where small enough to fit into her tiny hands, she started to bang them together in an attempt to make a spark that could start a fire.

CRA-CK

CRA-CK

CRA-CK

CRA-CK

   "Come on," Sahar uttered under her breath. She loved the outdoors before The Incident (as she tilted her random teleportation curtesy of Kim Daeshim in her head), but never went anywhere without some sort of man made convenience either nearby or on her person. Like a phone or matches, which was something she was starting to regret now as she banged her to rocks together. She wasn't even sure if these rocks were ones that could make a spark. However, her prayers were proved to be useless when no spark leapt from the stones to her pitiful pile of brittle branches even after what seemed like hours. They began to crumple into pebbles and dust beneath the pressure and friction of her actions instead.

In frustration Sahar threw the rocks off into a far off corner with yell, before curling up into a ball. She felt hot tears start to steam down her face from where it rested on her forearms, feeling utterly defeated in every sense of the world. She didn't like it here. She wanted her soft blankets and iced tea, she wanted to be home.

How was she going to survive out here anyways? She was a designer, not some wannabe Laura Zerra! Hell, she had no idea if her body could even withstand desert climates like her old one could. She was going to die out here. Oh Allah, she is going to die out here!

As tears started to soak her sleeves, she began to feel light headed and her vision distorted. Shivers even started to merge with her shaking sobs. She had to swallow back the puke that attempted to escape as a wave of nausea washed over her. Even in her hysteria, Sahar knew she couldn't afford to lose anything that was in her stomach. She was fasting, so she had much less food in her stomach than she usually would. When the incident occured the last time she ate was just over nine hours ago, much time has passed since then. God only knew when she'd be able to eat again.

At some point she must have pass out, because thing she knew it was night. Her shivers had long since died down and the nausea seemed to have passed for now, leaving an acidic tinge at the back of her throat. Sahar felt parched from the aftermath of her episode, but had seemed to have cooled down and was otherwise alright.

Rubbing her eyes to clear the sleep that gathered, Sahar noticed something she missed before. She could see. As in, she could see in the dark.

All the little details of her space that she knew would have been shrouded in darkness if she has in her old form, where instead clear as day. Everything from the twigs she gathered to the rocks she threw earlier where easy to seen, and she could even make out the lines stratigraphic section that darted across the cave walls in clear lines.

  'This is actually kinda cool,' Sahar thought to herself as she giddily looked around at her surroundings. Sure, night vision seemed insignificant in the grand scheme of being stranded in the desert of who knows where. To her right now however, it was a godsend that distracted her from her current troubles.

It was just one of those things that you wished for as a kid, like breathing underwater or super speed. You'd pick them for the most obvious of things too. Such as getting class on time, or so you could stay in the water longer. Night vision was like that in a sense.

Curious, she crept out of her cave to see what the outside would look like with her newly discovered vision. Maybe the sky was clear enough that she could find a constellation she could potentially use to navigate. She knew some of them thanks to her uncle.

Not to mention it was safer for her to travel now that it was night, especially now with her vision. She'd probably stay her for most of tomorrow though, in order to gather as much strength as she could before heading out again. What greeted her in the sky was not what she expected, in fact it left her breathless.

Over the years night and sky pollution have filled the air, making a true night sky a rarity that is something to be seen in a picture or in the middle of nowhere. Sahar has seen both in her life, but satellites and the ever present light radiation of the modern world still obscured somethings. This however, was unlike anything Sahar had ever seen. The late twilight seemed to be filled with more stars compared to what she has ever recalled seeing before in her lifetime, each more vibrant than the last. They shone brightly in varying hues with some being yellow, blue, or even pink in tone. There as even what appeared to be the tint of a nebula that stretched faintly across the sky in magenta glory. 

None of the stars fit any of the constellations she knew of though. No North Star nor Southern Cross was in sight, or any of the selected stars and constellations used for navigation that Sahar knew of. What added to the bizarreness of her situation was the moon, or rather the two green moons waxing in the sky. Not one, but two with faint rings. Earth definity did not have that, so that left only one explanation.   

In a stunned silence, Sahar turned back and stumbled back into her cave before curling up against one of the walls. She tried willing herself to sleep in hopes that she'd find answers there in her dreams. Some sort of abstract reasoning that would have all that has happened to her since The Incident make sense. Because her current theory wasn't possible, it just couldn't be! However, all that rang through her head when she tried to do that was that infamous Sir Conan Doyle quote that she read once: "when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

It became clear that getting home was going to be a whole lot more difficult now, if it even was possible at this point. Since Sahar was on a planet, an alien planet where she was an alien on in every sense of the word. She was an alien.

  "Daeshim, ya shar-moo-ta**. Where the hell did you send me?"

Great, just great.

Word count: 2866

Chapter Text

Sahar proceeded to stay in that cave for a couple days. Her nice alien cave, on an alien planet. Where she was alien. Because that was apparently her life right now.

There were two very different reasons as to why she stayed there. The first was to recover from her bout of heat exhaustion, which drained the energy and desire to even move her small body outside the cave. She was able to find some water by pure luck after digging a hole at the back of the cave. The water was not clear but she was desperate, and it was thankfully able to rehydrate her a little. Sahar's new biology seemed to protect her from the potential germs and seemed to help her recover enough to gain some energy back, which she was thankful for. It was honestly lucky she had heat exhaustion for as long as it did without it turning into heat stroke, let alone recover from it with her lack of resources. She very well could have died in this very cave if it wasn't for her recent body change and the water.

The other reason was a bit more complex, yet simple; she didn't know what to do now. Before discovering that she was on an alien planet, she a rough plan. Find civilisation, either attempt communication or find the nearest phone, maybe even barter with the locals to get lodging. From there she'd either contact the local authorities or her grandmother, depending on what continent she was on.

Now, that was not the case. She had no way of finding civilisation, nor did she see any on her short journey to her cave. Even if she did find civilisation what where the chances she'd speak a language even remotely similar to any that she knew, let alone communicate with the locals. What if they were like the ones in those old alien movies that didn't that didn't like other species? Then again, she might look like them for all she knew. Regardless, the lack of knowledge she had of the planet she was on was shocking and overwhelming. So with that Sahar decided it was best to make a plan and gain her energy before she left the cave.

It was nice and cool inside from the lack of sunlight coming in, not that it was really needed it with her night vision. The scotopia and her sharpened fingertips came in handy when finding the water. She was even able to find some  thick roots, or at least she thought they were roots. They reminded her of a prickly pear with their oval shape and pinkish hue, but a lot smaller than what she was used to. After much debate, she ate what she could find with gusto during the dead of night. Afterall, she needed to regain her energy while she could if she was going to survive this.

They tasted of a similar sweetness to prickly pear she was used to, which was an unexpected treat. Sahar was able to find some more and kept them in her hoodie for easy access. Food was valuable in the desert, maybe she'd be able to trade somehow with the locals. If there where any of course, but she hopeful that there was.

So with that she spent her time resting and planning. At night she spent a couple hours looking at the sky, trying to see any similarities to the one she knew or a star that she could use to navigate. When boredom arose she'd spend her time examining what she could of her features.

With her skin healing from the light sun burns, she was able to look at her skin more closely than she initially did. Sahar saw she had a pretty solid red gradient throughout her limbs, but seemed to lack the peach fuzz and hairs she was used to decorating it. The only hair Sahar seemed to have was that on the top of her head and her eyelashes, she didn't even have eyebrows anymore. Instead the space where they'd be seemed slightly more pronounced and parallel line indents on either side that seemed to act as a outline for the space where the hairs once where.

Her teeth where also sharper, and her tongue felt like it's oval tip was tempered into a point.  Her other limbs seemed to gain new points as well, which seems to be a reoccurring theme with her body. Her arms for example seemed to possess slight grooves in the forearm flesh and an extension of a skin covered bone that grew out of the tip of her elbow around a centimeter or two long. They were similar to the ones growing out of either side of her jaw, but those ones where more fleshy and remained her more so of stubby tentacles. Her previously examined nails seemed to be more like the claws of a cat than what she was used to as a human. They in strong points, with three of her nails being a semi-clear milky white while the other seven were matte black. Her feet had these claws too, but they seemed shorter and more dense than the ones on her hands.

While she wasn't sure to what extent she has physically changed, Sahar knew fully well there was a good chance she would be dead right now without them. The lack of hair on most her skin helped her notice changes in the air currents that the once-human wouldn't have noticed before. Not to mention how she seemed to have a sense of where things were without even looking at them, almost like a primal instinct of sorts.

She even took to prayer when she could, which wasn't something she often did. While she wasn't as devoted to her grandmother to religion, being more of an agonist, she still did believe in some of the values and celebrated the holidays that came with her heritage. Praying, as silly as it may sound, calmed her down and made her feel close to the comforts of home.

The next few days followed this pattern. Sleep during the day, wake up at twilight, drink some water, look at the stars, look for anything she missed on her body, eat a rationed amount of prickly pear root (just enough to stop her stomach from growling), think up some plans, disregard the dumb ones, pray a little, go to sleep, then repeat all over again. Sahar the got used to the routine, as dull as it was, and planned to head out again after digging up more prickly pear roots. As much as she didn't want to, she felt that it was time to resume her journey. However, what Sahar didn't know was that she was about to get a visitor that would change everything.

  "What did I do to make my life go this pear-shaped?" Sahar wondered to herself out loud as she looked out at the valley highlighted by the plateau in daylight. She woke up earlier than expected and was waiting till after midday to leave. That way she'd avoid being more burnt from the sun than she already was too, her cheeks where mostly healed but still aching and somewhat peeling from laying out in the sun a few days ago. Which was a strange experience in itself. Neith wasn't used to her skin burning so easily, but then again she has never been a red alien before. Was it normal?

Sahar winced at the new headache that was starting to form, both from dehydration and the thought that just occured.

Right, that other elephant in the room. Sahar honestly wasn't so sure what to think about her recent, er, evolution? Or would mutation be a better term? The past few days had given her time to grow used to the idea of her recent change, but whole situation was still strange. On one hand she was a red child on an alien planet, which was pretty cool from an outside point of view. It seemed like something that you'd find in the pages of a comic book or in the depths of the internet. She was also in space, technically proving that there was life on other planets with her mere existence! Or that there are inhabitable planets other than Earth at the very least. 

But on the other hand, she was a red child stranded on an alien planet with only the clothing on her back, a half finished degree, new biology she barely understood, and an exacto knife at her disposal. The water she found dried up yesterday in her sleep, and the only food she has was three measly prickly pear roots that she was able to dig up earlier. That was terrifying. Not to mention her de-aging, she had to get used to both her new height as well as the brain chemistry that came with it.

By all counts Sahar was still 20 both spiritually and mentally and still considered herself such, but she was now a child both physically however and that came with some truths that were harder to accept than alien biology. She found she was more prone to emotional outbursts, she felt stronger and was more aware of herself. It was almost like near two decades of emotional refinement just vanished. It was also harder than before to hold maintain single train of thought, without her mind drifting off to something else. Then again, it could just be the nerves she was feeling too. In the end she still considered herself Sahar Abreo and all that came with that identity, regardless of all the physical changes she just went through or how much she de-aged. She knew that. However, that didn't change the fact that she'll probably die out here unless something changed about her situation. Anything really.

Suddenly Sahar felt something, it was almost like she could feel the sand and air shifting all at once. Footsteps, walking. Something, or someone, was coming towards her spot. She was not alone.

  'I fucking jinxed it, didn't I?'

She quickly scurred back into her cave, laying flat on her stomach with her hood over her head as she peered out. Sahar's heart seemed to want to leap out of her throat as she looked over the short sand dune that served as part her cave's doorway, adrenalin starting to fill her veins as she hid from plain sight. Whatever that was coming could be friendly, but Sahar wasn't going to take any chances. Best to observe first, and maybe follow them from a distance latter. Large lifeforms ment some form of water, food, and shelter after all.

Soon she began to hear the soft sound of feet against the sand and the swooshing of fabric, disturbing the loose grains on the ground below. Then, they came into view. Sahar had to hold in a gasp, she almost could believe her eyes. It was a person, a flesh and bone living person.

Dark tan robes of some sort where wrapped around their tall form, with a wide heavy belt of similar colouring securing it in place. Over top that was a swap green cloak with sleeves, along with a hood that hid all features in shadows except for a hawkish nose and a marbling beard. It went down to the top of their chest, ending in wavy whisps. Their feet were covered in something akin to riding boots and had three buckles on either boot that where a few shades lighter than the leather, each wrapped around his shins and chaves. Gray gloves covered the hands that were holding the straps of a satchel on their back. They reminded Sahar of pictures she's seen of Asian monks, modest yet intricate almost. Only more worn rag-like, like the robes were the one possession the being owned. They were either an old man or a hairy being, and Sahar honestly couldn't decide which. It was probably still considered rude to assume species and gender in this part of the galaxy, right?

Sahar watched them till they disappeared around the bend of a path, and her mind started racing. She began to wonder who that was, where they a traveller? Native? Maybe they were stranded like her, though they seemed far more prepared than she did in her uni hoodie and scrap jean booties. They didn't seem like they'd eat or brutally murder people, right? Still, she'll follow at a distance and see w-

  "Hello there."

She let out a surprised squeak, and looked at the source of the unexpected voice. It was the traveller. At some point they must have come back while she was thinking to herself, because now they stood beside the cave entrance looking down at her. Sahar stared up in stunned silence at the looming figure of a few moments, wondering how they got there, before quickly scooting fully back in the cave. She panted her back to the wall just beside the divot that lead outside, small chest heaving with fright while curling up as small as possible.

  'They saw me, shit!'

Beside her she saw a shadow grow in the patch of sunlight that stretched on the floor next to her, signifying the traveller was now positioned at the entrance. Sahar's heart began to echo in her ears. She was trapped.

  "Hey, it's alright little one. I won't hurt you." The space between them was silent, with the traveller waiting for an answer and Sahar being too scared to speak. After a while they began taking again, their voice sounding soft and low. Almost like the rumbling of thunder, but having been withered down due to age. It sounded kind.

  "Here," a gray gloved hand appeared in her line of sight. In it was a canteen of sorts, Sahar could hear the sound of sloshing liquid. After setting it a foot from where she was, the hand retreated."You must be thirsty. Please, drink."

They sat in silence a few minutes more, neither moving so much as a muscle. Licking her cracked lips, Sahar built up enough courage to reach for the canteen. Her hand was shaking but was quick to grab the item they left. After a bit of fumbling she managed to unscrew the lid before taking a sniff from the opening. She didn't smell anything off. Cautiously, she took brought it to her lip and took a sip.

It was water!

Sahar began swallowing large mouthfuls, eager the clench her thirst. Compared to the muggy water she's had the past few days, this felt like heaven. She hummed in delight as she drank a few more mouth fulls before stopping, then swished the canteen testing in her hand. It sounded around half empty compared to before.

She bit her newly wet lips in debate. The canteen didn't belong to her, she should probably return it. Water was important after all, it should be shared in the desert. 

With that in mind Sahar scooted on her knees slowly through the entrance, canteen clenched tightly in her small claws. She held her breath as she moved forward, mostly assured by the fact that they seemed to feel safe. Besides, she could scratch them with her nails to get away if something when wrong.

As she entered the sunlight for the first time in days, her adjusting eyes were greeted by the sight of the traveler about two feet away. At some point while she was drinking, they sat down just off to the right, sitting in a meditative pose with their hands on their lap and bag off to the side. She shakily stood up on her feet and took a few steps over, still unused to walking at a reduced physical height. Even sitting down their figure was massive compared to her, Sahar had no doubt that they'd tower over her easily when standing up. She held the canteen out to them.

  "Thank you," she managed to utter in a tiny voice, which almost sounded like a squeak with the combination of her new vocal cords and nerves. Wordlessly, the traveller made sure to telegraph their movements as they took the canteen and slipped it into the folds of their robes. In a sudden burst of courage, Sahar grabbed one of the prickly pear roots in her pocket, wordlessly holding it out for them to take from her vibrant red hand.

It seemed like eons before they took it from her, but when it happened Sahar plopped down in front of them with her legs crossed similarly to their's. She watched as the traveller peeled the fruit swiftly, hyper aware of their every movement. She wasn't sure how they managed to peel it's skin with gloves on, but they did so with seemingly practiced ease.

  "Water is a desert's gold, it should be shared indiscriminately." The traveller waved off dismissively before offering her the smallest of smiles. "With children especially," they point out before popping the small peeled root in their mouth. Sahar feels herself tensing up a bit, before forcing herself to relax.

Yes, a child. Sahar wasn't entirely sure how it process it still, but that is what she is now and how the world will see her for the next decade or so if she guessed her new physical age correctly. Might as well get used to it.

  "Still though, you didn't have to though," she feels the need to point out.

  "But I did," they remind her. Sahar feels herself relax a bit more as a wave of humor passes over her. Their easy kindness brought a sense of ease to her she hadn't felt since before she first appeared to on this planet. It was nice to talk to someone again.

  "Yeah, you did," She agreed. They sat in silence a bit more, and Sahar too the time to examine them a bit more. Up this close she was able to see that their robes and boots where very heavily worn than they first appeared, seeming as though they were on the brink of falling apart at the seems. The newest thing on their person was their bag, but even that seemed to be fairly old as well. She is still unable to make out any more of their facial features due to them being shrouded in shadow. The only thing that becomes more apparent is an old scar crossing the bridge of their nose, disappearing into the hood of their cloak.

  "Might I ask what you are doing out in the wastelands alone?" The stranger asks, breaking the period of unspoken silence. Their question doesn't sound accusing or scolding in anyway, just curious.

  "Because I am," Sahar admits to both them and herself in a small voice. It felt remarkably easy to talk to them, like she'd known them all her life. "I arrived here around a week ago by myself, no supplies and no one in sight. So I found some shelter, and have been here ever since. I don't even know what planet I'm on." 

Gods, that feels so weird to say out loud. Planet, like it is normal to travel between them, which she supposes is her reality now. The stranger didn't even seem to be phased by her appearance, meaning there was a good chance it is normal wherever here was. They also seemed to catch on she was most likely holding back on quite a few details, but let it go for now.

  "That does seem like the quite the strange predicament, I don't think I've ever come across someone that doesn't know what planet they are on. It's quite...peculiar," The stranger muses with an air of awkwardness, as though they aren't used to talking to people for long periods. Which could be the case for all she knew. "How did you get here?"

  "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Sahar replies with a weak chuckle in attempted humor. She could hardly believe it herself. Her fingers begin to pick at loose threads from where they are hidden in her pocket. Beneath the beard on their face, she could see the outline of lips shape into a amused yet tired grin.

  "Believe me young one when I say that there is little left in the galaxy that would surprise me anymore." They encouraged. Sahar debated with herself, wondering if it was safe to give them this information. She'd had just met them after all, jahim, she didn't even know their name!

  But still, Sahar thought to herself as she looked at the patient figure before her. There is a chance that they could know what happened. Even if that is not the case, sharing couldn't hurt. So with that, she told them what she remembered. Everything from Daeshim's experiment and what was remembered from the beginning of The Incident, to waking up with her body completely altered. She even mentions how shocking it was to discover she was on a foreign planet, since her own wasn't capable that distance of interstellar travel. By the time she is finished the traveler is stroking their chin in thought, processing everything she just told them.

  "Well, that certainly is not something I am entirely familiar with." The traveller admits. There is a short pause, but they continue. "If I were to guess, it sounds like you somehow ended up going through the Veragance Scatter, or the 'World Between Worlds' as it is more often referred as. It is a place of existence that exists within The Force, serving as a gateway between all moments in time and space if I remember correctly. I've only heard the barest of rumors about it, not even enough to be considered a spacer tale. Theoretically it is possible to go there, but it is considered ultimately impossible to get there. Those who do tend to only find it once in their lifetime, if at all." 

Sahar's mind seems to halt at the information she was given, it was amazing that they were able to give her an possibility as to how she arrived here. However, her mind caught up to what she was hearing and focused on one phrase in particular: The Force. Were her ears hearing what she thought she heard...?

  'The-there's no way,' Sahar thinks in shock, but all the phases said only made sense in that context. The figure in front of her seems to sense something is wrong, and lifts their hands in to hover them in front of her form cautiously. As though to preparing to catch her if she fainted or to comfort her, but unable to decide which.

  "Hey child, i-is everything alright? Did I say something wrong?"

  "You said, 'The F-Force', right? As in the thing that binds the universe together and 'may the force be with you'? That kind of Force..?" When they confirm this, Sahar lets out a string of curses in all the languages she knows while threaded her fingers through messy hair while in shock.

  'I'm in Star Wars, mother-fucking isekai-ed to Star. Wars. As in Lightsabers, Clones, Mandalorians, Twi'leks, and Death Star STAR WARS. H-h-how is this even possible??? I mean sure, I've read fanfiction about it online, isekai anime and manga too. Hell, I even read that one crossover George Lucas comic that pretty much said Indiana Jones and Han Solo lived in the same universe but at different times after Cassy found it. BUT THAT DIDN'T MEAN I THOUGHT IT WAS REAL, OR THAT IT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME!!! OH FUCK, what if Palpatine is alive?! Or what if I'm in the middle of an intergalactic war-zone! I'm so screwed! Allaenat, alqurf, alqurf , min bayn kuli al'ashya' alqadhirat alati tahduth*-'

At some point she must have started hyperventilating, because next thing she knew was that she was being held by the stranger. It was as loose of a hold as humanly possible, but they did have one of her hands and head pleased against a broad chest. From her new position she could both heard and feel and strong heart beat emitting from it as the stranger said words that eventually reached her ears.

  "Breath with me, little one. Nice and slow, I'm sorry for the distress I caused you. I'm here now, I'll keep you safe as long as I'm able. Breath, in and out. Just like that. Listen to my breathing ." As she listened Sahar began to slowly calm down. Her ears were filled with the sounds of lungs rising and falling, along with the echo of a heartbeat through the stranger's rib cage.

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Ba-bum

Slowly her body relaxing from the tension of her panic, becoming more grounded with each sound coming from the being's chest. It felt soothing almost, in their arms. It was a reminder that she wasn't by herself anymore, someone else was here.

  'That's right. I'm no alone, I can get through this. It's not the end of the world, I have a chance.'

Seeing that she calmed down, the stranger still held her, letting her take her time. It was a few more moments before Sahar sat up and the being let their hands move to her shoulders with the movement.

  "Better?" Sahar thought about it for a while, before nodding slightly. The stranger nodded in response before sighing through their nose.

  "I believe it would be best if we continued this conversation elsewhere. Is it alright if I take you with me to where I am staying?" The offer was music to her ears, but still-

  "I was told never to go off with strangers," Sahar weakly jokes. It was a mute point afterall, since currently literally everyone in this galaxy was a stranger to her. Jahim**, the stranger was probably, ironically, the least like a stranger to Sahar in this strange land she found herself in. Thankfully, they seemed to take this in stride however, and reach up with one of their hands to draw back their hood to reveal their features.

  "That is a good policy to keep, young one, especially in these times. As for who I am, I was once called Master Jon Antilles but you may call me Jon."

Jon's features where more human that what she expected. He appeared to be an old man with skin that seemed like tan leather with an array of wrinkles and scars covering Jon's face, with the most prominent one one crossing his nose. His hair matches his beard almost, containing more dark hairs sprinkled in the strands pulled into a messy top knot by a piece of leather. The most inhuman characteristic Jon has was his face where his eyes, with the pupil and iris shining an iridescent gray. It make him seem like he was blind, but his eyes fixation on her made Sahar think otherwise.

His intro and reveal left her stunned for a little bit before she recovered.

  "Nice to meet you Jon, I'm Sahar, Sahar Abreo." Jon 'hmm'ed in acknowledgement before reaching towards his pack, which flew into his hand swiftly while blatantly showing what he was.

  "Y-you're a Jedi," Sahar stuttered out in amazement. All the clues she has see so far alluded to it, but seeing it was something else entirely.

  "I was once called that," Jon admitted with a flicker of small smile and pain filled eyes. Remembering days long past. He closed his pearly eyes briefly and breathed deeply for a bit before opening them again, absent of most of the pain that filled them just seconds ago. "Now, I am just Jon."

  "Just Jon who happens to use the force?" Jon chuckled softly before cutting himself of in what seemed like surprise towards himself, as though he was surprised he could still laugh at a dumb joke. The former Jedi shook it off quickly before looking back at her.

  "Yes Little One. I trust that is alright with you?" He questioned with a raised brow as he pulled his pack on.

  "Yes."

  "Good," Jon moved to a crouched position with his feet under him, and his arms out slightly to her. Sahar tilted her head in confusion, unsure of what he was signalling for her to do. After a few moments Jon seemed to catch on, his cheeks flushing slightly.

  "It is a long way to the compound, and you have very little energy from being out here for so long unprepared. We need to conserve your energy, so I will carry you. Sound good?"

Sahar thought about it. She didn't know how far this compound was, but it was probably far from here if Jon was willing to carry her. He was right too, she did need to conserve her energy as much as possible if she wants make it to safety.

With that in mind Sahar stood up and entered the space of Jon's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck while he scooped her form against his. One arm was under her thighs, while the other braced her back. Effortlessly he stood up, unbothered by the extra weight.

With Jon standing with her in his arms, it confirmed Sahar suspicion of his monstrous height. From where she was in Jon's arm, the sliver that served as entrance to her cave seemed so much smaller.

  "You good?" He questioned one last time, moving the arm he had behind her back briefly in order to pull his hood back over his head before placing it back. Iridescent eyes looked at her from the shade of the hood as Sahar moved her arms to accomodate for it.

She nodded, and with that the once Jedi began to walk to parts unknown to her. Sahar settled against him, unsure of how she should feel right now. After all, no one ever expects to meet a Jedi of all things.

Word count: 4969

Chapter Text

Sahar remembers the first time she was ever introduced to Star Wars. She had just arrived to Canada to begin her first year of university for a business major she would later leave for design, and her hair was straightened and pulled back into a  neat bun on the top of her head that contrasted the clothing she wore on the airplane greatly. She remembered being amazed by how everything looked, so similar yet different to what she was used to.

When she got to her dorm her roommate for the year, Cassy, was already there. She was a tall blonde who was a inch or two taller than her and was attending on a basketball scholarship. She was staying in the dorm in order to gain a sense of independence, or at least that's what she remembers Cassy telling her. They got along quite well when they saw each other once classes started, but otherwise stayed out of each others business. They did still attempt to put in an effort to be friendly the person they were sharing a place with for the next few terms. They even decided to dedicate Friday nights as a time where they took turns cooking and ordered take out every odd Sunday. It was a good system.

However, when Covid canceled their classes and all their break plans, both her and Cassy found each other spending a lot more time together because of social isolation. With it, they learned more about each other and even became friends. Sahar learned Cassy was an aries(???), she tended to doodle on her skin in Sharpie when bored, hated the heat, and had a love for sci-fi and fantasy movies. Cassy on the other hand learned that Sahar's grandmother raised her, she knew how knit, that Sahar was a polyglot, and that she was not as up to date in some pop culture as Cassy originally assumed.

  "What do you mean you never watched Star Wars?! How is that even possible?!"

  "It just never came up..."

  "Well, it came up now so we're watching it! God, no wonder you looked at me weird when I told you I had the high ground, or last Sunday when I said you were my only hope-"

  "Okay..?"

With that, they ended up skipping their zoom classes for the day and binge watching all of the six original movies. Which then lead to them watching the other movies, and eventually snowballed into them watching all the series from the franchise and even getting a few of the books from a book store nearby that was doing curbside pickup. After discovering that the books where a thing that is.

Spending that time with Cassy exploring the monster that was Star Wars, as well as all the other things the introduced each other to made covid bearable. It was a way to take their minds off the pandemic, as well as their home sickness. All in all, it was a good way to pass the time.

Looking back on it now, as a de-aged red alien that was being carried by a once jedi on a desert planet with no likely way of getting home, Sahar was pretty she that this wasn't what Cassy had in mind when she introduced her to Star Wars. After all, who in their right mind would think to introduce someone to a show on a off chance they get isekai-ed there? That's right, no one.

The path Jon and Sahar took through the mountain range was mostly consisting solid dry and dusty earth, with reddish sand shifting occasionally due to a sporadic soft breeze. The sun was now a quarter away from setting, causing the few shadows that existed to elongate. The air even started to slowly cool, lacking the stifling heat it had earlier.

Travelling with Jon was both similar and different to what she has grow used to over the past few days. There was still long silences, but they weren't as bad with another person there. They were often interrupted by the occasional question between the two of them and Force powered acrobatics performed by the former jedi, which caused Sahar to inadvertently gasp and giggle softly with delight every time the latter happened.

  "Someone's enjoying themselves," Jon observed with a slightly teasing tilt to his voice. Sahar attempted to bury her face in the space between their bodies in a burst of impulse, attempting to hide the blush she could feel spreading across her face.  Was it even visible anymore? How do red aliens blush anyways???

  "Its really cool, okay? All the jumping and stuff. I kinda reminds me of flying, ya know?"

  "You've flown before?"

  "Not often, only a handful of times really. All on planet back home. But the jumping reminds me of what I imagined it would feel like. Boundless and stuff?" Sahar lifted her head as she felt the blush fade, slightly peeved she did something so...childish. Sure, it was embarrassing to be called out like that when having fun, but it was nothing to be ashamed of. Especially after the solitude, it's not like she became a hermit or something!

Jon "hmm"-ed in agreement, or at least she thought it was agreement, and didn't touch the subject any further. Over the past few hours she learned that Jon preferred not to talk excessively, at least by his standards. Often his response to her answers where hums, to show he was listening, or just a handful of words that were very open ended. What words were said though where either to the point, knowledgeable, or somewhat sassy. Which could just be an ex-Jedi thing, but she was fairly certain (45% certain) it was a Jon thing. Personally Sahar was just glad to have someone to interact with that wasn't herself.

  "We're here," Jon announced, breaking her out of her thoughts and drawing her attention to a compound nestled in a space between the challenging rocky landscape than was around four hundred yards away.

The building that made up the compound was both over and underwhelming all together. They where a series of buildings placed in the shape of a squared cul-de-sac, with a large courtyard in the center. It greatly resembled some of the buildings Sahar had seen outside the city at home with its tan colouring and square architecture, but that's where the similarities ended. There where metal additions sticking out of various places on the buildings, just enough to remind her that she wasn't Earth anyone, and metal doors that looked like they belonged more so on a spaceship than at a compound in the middle of nowhere. Maybe that's why they were here, crashed space ship that has been upcycled to wasteland urban home?

As they moved closer, Sahar began to notice that there were people acting as guards placed all around the place. There seemed to be over two dozen in total from what she could see, each appearing to be armed with blasters on various places on their person. Most patrolled the perimeter diligently, while others either sat or stood on various places minding their own business while still being effortlessly intimidating. Kinda like how a supermodel looks intimidating-ly flawless on a runaway, but more in the sense they could kill us in one fell swoop with their killer instincts rather than their killer good looks. 

However, it wasn't the blasters that made them intimidating. Oh, how Sahar wished it where the blasters that were! In comparison to the guards themselves, the blasters looked like the cheap foam weapons that Cassy said schools allowed you to bring in on Halloween because there was literally no possible way to harm someone. What made themselves intimidating was the fact that they were lizard people, and she wasn't talking about Reptilians that may or may not secretly run the Earth. Or even homo reptilia Silurians from Doctor Who, that would have been prefered.

Half of them where Niktos, if she remembered correctly, a race that has been enslaved for centuries by the Hutts. She admittedly didn't know much about them as she did other Star Wars races, but she knew that they weren't known for doing jobs that were entirely legal at first glance, with a few exceptions of course. The other half where Trandoshans, two meter tall potentially temperamental alien lizards that hunt sentients for fun and rite of passage. If that wasn't enough of a reason to be weary of them, they had the guts to hunt Wookies. Wookies! And the jedi was taking them right towards them. Who ever said jedi were crazy, they were fucking right. This was not how she wanted to find that out! Al'ama*!

As they came closer Sahar tightened her fingers grip on Jon's robes, absentmindedly noting the way her claws added to her grip while she kept her eyes on the beings that began to take visual notice of their arrival. Something about this place seemed familiar, but she couldn't recall what exactly. Before she could think about it more, her eyes caught movement.

One of the standing guards left their post against the wall and met them halfway in the courtyard, towering over Jedi as one of the tallest beings there. The trandoshan had creamy white scales that had a pinkish hue in the twilight, glowing vermilion-orange eyes, and wore what appeared to be a faded orange flight suit with two blasters on either hip. Sahar immediately dubbed them Rudy.

  "Long time no see Antilles," they greeted with a hissing drall that only a Trandoshan could pull off. "Hissss. Still alive I see."

  "And you as well, Condottiere,**" Jon greeted back. "I trust no one has gotten in?" Rudy let out a loud hissing laugh, with their comrades chuckling around us. They seemed amused by the mere concept of it being a possibility, causing the phantom sensation of hairs raising to run across her skin.

   "They don't make bounty hunters like they did back in our day. Kids these days are soft. Relying only on their pretty blasters or tech, and hissss not the meat in their heads! We'll be fine so long as those Empire Scum continue being cheap. Hissss Makes for a steady flow of jaggernaths." The Trandoshan reassured. Sahar latched onto their statement.

  'So the Empire is around, or at least a version of it. Which means that I'm not in the Prequel or Sequel era,' Sahar thought to herself. 'Meaning I could be anywhere in the Old Republic time period when the Sith Empire was reining, fighting against the newly formed Republic. Or even in a time around the Original trilogy or Rebels when Palpatine was ruling most the galaxy for just over two decades. Which means I still have a rough fifty-fifty chance of running into Palpatine, lovely.'

  "Good," Jon replied while suddenly adjusting his hold on Sahar, which was enough to draw the Condottiere's attention to her. Sahar immediately felt like an specimen under a magnifying glass, it wasn't a very pleasant feeling.

  'I just had to go with the raggedy Jedi, didn't I?' Sahar rhetorically questioned herself as reptilian eyes examined her. In a fit of impulsiveness she examined the Trandoshan in return, noticing the smaller details she missed before. Like the lilac stitches on the neck of their flight suit that were out of place compared to the forest green threads holding together the rest of it, the almost elegant curve that some of their scales took, and the thick scar running from just under their right nostril to their mouth.

  "And who is this?" Rudy questioned with a raised eye ridge. "A snack? A bounty hunter? Bit tiny to be either." Sahar gulped nervously, unable to read the lizard-like facial features as much as she would like.

They were joking, right?

Right?!

  "This is Sahar, she'll be staying with us for now." Jon responded shortly while setting her down on her feet. Why, she had no idea, but Sahar didn't like it one bit.

  'No! Why are you setting me down? Now I don't have the high ground!' Sahar hysterically thought to herself as she forced her fingers to untangle from Jon's robe, revealing the new holes punctured through the material due to her anxiety. With her clawed hands in curled fists at her sides she turned to fully face the Trandoshan, determined not to show the fear she felt beginning to bloom.

With her feet on the ground, it only made it more apparent how gigantuan the mercenary Rudy was as one of the tallest beings there. They stood just over a solid two meters and was made entirely of dense lean muscles, filling out their flight suit in a way gym monkeys back home could only dream of. Surrounding observers that where the other guards seemed to watch the scene before them with eager eyes, curious as to what would happen next. The whole situation only added to Rudy's intimidation factor, making Sahar even more nervous with anticipation.

Thankfully however they decided to crouch down on their heels to meet her gaze more levelly, cutting their impressive height by just over a third. Which made Sahar's heart slow down to a more regular pace, which she wasn't sure was their intention or not. Could they hear it? Still, she was thankful for the slight break both her heart and neck where given.

  "H-hi there," Sahar stuttered while lifting one of her arms in an awkward wave to the crouching mercenary. As soon as she realized what her arm did, she quickly jerked her arm behind her back, feeling heat grow on her cheeks.

  ''Hi there'? Really? And the wave? I might as well be saying 'Hello, Zuko here,' and be done with it. Ghabiun***,' Sahar thought to herself, silently mortified of how quickly her social skills seemed to have dropped in a matter of days. Rudy let out a hissing chuckle in response.

  "Antillesss seems to think you are worth the trouble of being another mouth to feed. Hissss Are you?"

  "Rovakt," Jon began in a reprimanding tone, before they cut him off.

  "We don't have endless supplies or credits here, hissss even with what we take from the glory seekers." The newly named Rovakt reminded him, their eyes leaving her to look at the ex-jedi for a quick moment, before looking back. "The closest town is a standard week out, and shipments only come once every month. That's thirty-five days of food between thirty-seven, now thirty-eight people, hissss most of which eat more than a baseline human. She needs to contribute Antillesss. Can you?"  They questioned again, waiting for her answer.

Sahar thought about it for a moment, it made sense if they were concerned about another mouth to feed. Especially if they're trying to make a profit of some sort, if what was being implied was correct. If she were to stay her, for however long, Sahar would need to earn her keep. She responded to the albino lizard's query, slightly more confident than before knowing now some of the implied implications of her stay.

  "I am, and I'll help out in any way I can." It was the only thing she could offer of course, since she came here with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. Rudy, or Rovakt, lifted both brow ridges.

  "Oh? Hissss. In any way, huh?"

  "Within reason of course," Sahar quickly clarified. Her grandmother was one of the first female lawyers in Cairo before she was forced to retire. She taught her better than to leave her statements so open ended, up to interpretation by the opposing party. But in this situation she wasn't fully aware of the circumstances, and she wasn't entirely sure what she could contribute to here. It wasn't like her experience as an undergraduate could have prepared her for this. So this was the best she could do with what she had, hopefully it was enough.

The Trandoshan thought about it for a moment before they smiled, or at least their physical equivalent of one. It involved bared teeth and a slight uplift of the corners of their wide mouth.  It was as terrifying as it was fascinating. Her mind absentmindedly pointed out how their smile kinda reminded her of the frogs back home, only a lot more toothy. She told it to kindly shut up.

  "You seem to know use the meat in your head, or at least some of it. Good," They seemed to praise, before standing up right while placing their hands on their hips. "Very well, hatchling. We'll find you something to do tomorrow. For now, rest. Hissss. Dinner is in a standard hour, if either of you care to join us." 

  "Yes sir," and with that the Condottiere walked away and Sahar felt her stance relax. Their leave seemed to silently signal to the rest to get back to what they were doing before, which they did seamlessly. Jon sighed, causing her to look up at the old man in question.

  "What?"

  "The Condottiere seems to like you." They did?

  "Isn't that a good thing?"

  "It depends on your perspective," Jon explained open-ended-ly like he tended to do, before guiding her to the largest door. 

  "On what?" Sahar questioned, confused by what he ment.

  "On Trandoshans, on Rovakt, take your pick," Jon replied with a touch of wariness that seemed to come with age, as though it would explain everything. It really didn't. Maybe it was a cultural thing?

The door they were walking towards was wide and an orange-brown colour that has seen better days, with an armed Nikto either side guarding it. When they saw the two of them were approaching, one of them wordlessly typed something into the keypad next to them, causing it to open soundlessly. Jon led her inside swiftly, offering a wordless thanks to the guard before the door was closed behind them.

The room before them was dark and only a few rods that resembled LEDs lit up the space from the walls, casting a faint yellowed hue over everything. Said space was filled with a mix of storage boxes of various sizes and stuff that looked like it belonged in either a junkyard or a run down agora****. In the back just off to the side was a cleared space in a corner, with a hammock of sorts parallel to one wall and a minimalist cot against the other. Which was where Jon seemed to be leading them to. Both seemed to be made from the same of green and tan hemp-like material as Jon's robes, and was covered in stitches of varying colours and size, suggesting that he made them himself out of old clothes after they were no longer able to be worn as such. How long have they been here?

  "I'll take the cot, the trundle will be easier on your back." Jon stated while indicating to the hammock, leaving no room for discussion. Sahar examined it while Jon placed his pack next to his claimed sleeping space. It seemed sturdy enough and it was low enough that she could get on it with minimal effort on her part, even with her reduced height. She emptied her pockets onto it and removed her makeshift face cover, but kept her knife in her pocket after a moment of debate. Just because they were giving her shelter, didn't mean Sahar was out of the woods yet. It was better to be safe than sorry afterall.

In the corner of her eye, she caught sight of what appeared to be a mechanical sphere, sitting halfway in a box against the walled corner of their space. Stepping closer, she noticed how the sheets of metal on top looked like they'd slide open. It was large too, just a bit bigger than a beach ball and had some square buttons on the prodruded rim. Infact, it almost reminded her of-

  "Come," Jon called, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Let's have the medical droid examine you."

Her first experience with an actual droid was interesting to say the least. Or rather Jon thought it was, while Sahar personally wanted to crawl back to her cave and die of embarrassment. The 2-1B-series medical droid they had was old, manufactured back from only god knows when. They were covered in rust patches, and what paint they had was in a dark purple paint job that looked black in their current lighting. Their ventilation system was also quite messed up and noisily echoed rhythmically throughout the space. Someone also had the smart idea to have him covered in what appeared to be one of Jon's old robes for whatever reason. This combination naturally lead her to assuming that, for some reason, the droid was in fact Darth Vader. The Sith Lord.

This lead Sahar to do what her panicked brain assumed was the best course of action, punching him. Which she did, right where the spleen would have been on a grown adult. And she could have lived with the broken fingers that would've resulted from it if she were still human, it would have hurt of course but she'd live.

But no, she for some reason apparently possessed some super strength now. Meaning that as soon as she hit the medical droid, it fell back like a large domino while her hand was perfectly fine.

She punched a droid.

A droid.

And it just...fell down?

...What the actual fuck?

Sahar could only stare in dumbfounded mortification as the loud bang of their fall echoed the room, before racing to help them back up. This caused the once Jedi to burst out in unexpected laughter at the absurdity of a small child knocking down a three hundred pound droid, making her face grow that much hotter as she apologized over the old man's cackling. The only saving grace was that no one decided to come and see the commotion.

   "I am so so so sorry! Oh my god, are you okay? Do you need, like, I don't know, oil or something? Ana aasef giddan, astaghfirullah-"*****

  "I am quite functional still, though it is a first in all my cycles for a patient to knock me off my feet. My apologies for the distress I seemed to have caused you. May you please state why you acted in such a manner Mx?" The droid replied once they were up right again, the old cloak no longer on their person. It helped, somewhat reducing the likeness the medical droid shared with the Sith Lord.

  "Ah, it was the sounds I guess? It kinda caused me to...you know, freak out!"

  "I see.  My apologies, it has not been updated in sometime. I will notify the mechanic about this issue during the next maintenance period. Now, how may I offer assistance Mx?" By this time Jon seemed to calm down enough to be able to answer the droid for her, which she was thankful for. Since she was still mentally recovering from knocking over said droid.

  "The youngling has been stranded in the wastelands without proper food or water for roughly a standard week from what she told me, and has experienced symptoms of heat exhaustion. She'll also need to be up to date with shots in addition to a standard checkup." The droid processed the information they've been given before nodding and  lifting a limb towards a nearby crate that seemed to be serving as an examination table.

  "I understand. Would the young miss please have a seat and I will get started with the examination." Sahar looked at Jon nervously, trying to meet his eyes that were hidden by the shadows of his cloak. She was scared about what they may potentially find. Or not find even. How much as her body changed compared to what she's already seen?

  "Could you stay, Jon? Please?" She asked timidly. Jon looked at her for a moment before nodding, silently assuring her he would be there. With that, she hopped onto the makeshift examination table and the doid got to work, with the former jedi standing diligently off to the side.

  "May I have your chain code so I can view your previous medical records?" Sahar blinked. 

  'Well that answers my question about when I am. Chain codes came into use closely after Order 66, according to Bad Batch and Rebels. Meaning that I'm somewhere between that and the start of the Force Awakens, since the Empire seems to still be a thing. Giving me a fifty year range for when I am on the timeline, if we are following canon that is."  Sahar noticed the droid still waiting for her response,and bit her lip nervously before answering.

  "I-I don't have one." Sahar wasn't sure how it was possible, but the droid seemed to be giving her the most judgemental stare of her life with their optics alone. She squirmed in her seat, feeling more like her physical age than she felt comfortable with. Silence filled the air for a few moments before the medic droid responded.

  "Very well, with your consent I may treat and asses you under the The Asclepius Proclamation. Do you consent?" Sahar looked at them in confusion.

  "The Asclepius Proclamation? I have never hear of that before, what is it?"

  "The Asclepius Proclamation was  instated roughly fifty standard years ago according to know records, by the Republic under bylaw D.W. (5.5B/Apple/26). It is a law that states a medical provider such as myself can provide temporary documentation to a patient, (such as yourself,) and disregard standard procedure in order to be able give treatment if they are not registered in a planetary database in the known system. This documentation lasts for five standard years before becoming invalid, by that time you are expected to be registered in a known system. Failure to do so it can lead up to a ten thousand  cedit  fine to local plantery authorities. A sentient is only able to ever instate this protocol once in their standard life span. Do you consent to these conditions?"

Sahar thought about it, considering her options. Or rather her lack there of. The Asclepius Proclamation seemed decent and convenient, but also sounded like it made it easy for local authorizes to make a quick buck off potential immigrants and underprivileged individuals that failed to gain proper documentation. She could easily see someone in Hutt Space using this, only to end up with a large fine that they are unable to pay off due to the shitty economy that was controlled by the Hutts. Granted that was probably a worse case scenario, but still. 

  "Does this operate like a chain code?" She had to ask. In Star Wars, chain codes could be used for public services such as transport both planetside and off world travel, acting like a intergalactic passport of sorts. It also served as a way to convert a currency into imperial credits. However, like most Star Wars fans, Sahar also knew chain codes were a way to track individuals down due to the biological and personal information embedded in them, making them a personal favorite for most bounty hunters once they became implicated. Which could potentially be trouble for her.

  "Negative. Documentation made under  The Asclepius Proclamation  exist outside the standard  holonet  database, restricted under medic-patient confidentiality. It cannot be use for transportation or currency conversion, only medical use. The fine will only be implicated if the individual goes for medical assistance after the five year period is up, without the proper documentation acquired.  Do you consent to these conditions? "

The displaced earthling thought it over once more. It was currently her best option to find out more about her new biology and she knew it. Who knew when she'd get another opportunity like this.

  "I consent."

  "Lovely. We just need to fill out the form, then we get started with your examination. What is your given name or names?"

  "Sahar Inana."

  "Surname?"

  "Abreo."

  "Pronouns?"

"She/her."

  "Age?"

This caused Sahar to pause. Before the incident it would have been so easy to answer this, but now she was wondering which she should put down. Her estimated physical age, or twenty like she would have before?

  "...I don't know? Nine? Eight maybe?" Fuck, when did life become so complicated?

  "No matter, we can check with a bio-scan. Any allergies or sensitivities I should be made aware of before we commence the examination?"

"My eyes are sensitive, to the point where I can see in the dark. My hearing might be also stronger than a human's too, but I'm not sure by how much. I don't have any allergies last I checked."

  "Is the a possibility of additional  allergies or sensitivities that you are not aware of ?"

"Yes."

  "Health conditions or cautions?"

  "...I had a panic attack earlier before coming here, it was short though."

  "Do you have a history panic attacks?"

"No, this was the first that I know of."

  "Thank you for your cooperation. We will now commence the examination."

TB-33, as they introduced themselves after prompting, was quick and efficient in the ways only a droid could be. They gave her a quick full body scan, took some blood, and offered her some supplements that were meant to help with her dehydration and other symptoms. They were like chalk lozenges going down her throat and made Sahar want to gag more than anything from the lime-like aftertaste alone, but she diligently swallowed them down with the water she was given by Jon.

After that, TB-33 gave her a few standardized immunization shots that most had. It contained what was need for most humanoid beings, such as Togruta, Twi'leks, and Zabraks where given as vaccinations. Apparently they were very genetically similar, or at least that's what TB told her.

  "Due to the scan being so in depth Miss. Abreo, it will take time for it to be processed by my database and submitted. It should take no more than a standard week for it to be completed. Once I have it I shall give you a more fine-tuned immunization for your species, on the off-chance the one I gave you missed anything. But for now it seems like you are on the path to recovery and optimum health. I will make sure to give you a copy of the report at the earliest convenience." TB-33 explained to her after spraying the sunburns on her red skin with highly concentrated form of liquid bacta from a nozzle on their finger. It smelt strongly of seaweed and cocktail shrimp sauce, causing Sahar's nose to crinkle with irritation from the combination of smells.

  "Got it. Thank you TB."

  "I am just fulfilling my function as your current physician, there is nothing to thank. Is there anything other than your age that you wish for me to look into?" She already knew what to ask.

  "Could you tell me what species I am? Err, my genealogy?" That was what it is called, right? It would be nice to know what to call herself, since she is no longer simply "human". Thankfully, TB-33 didn't see this as a odd request.

  "Most certainly. In fact, I should be able to do this now, with your consent of course." 

  "I consent." With that TB-33 scanned her body yet again with a quick flash of blue light from their chest, before looking through their data.

  "Hmm, how...odd." The droid seemed befuddled almost, causing Sahar to look at them in concern.

"What is it?" TB-33 hesitated before answering.

  "Your genealogy minority of 32% is made up of various species in your ancestry. These include varying ratios of species such as Zarbrak, Shi'ido, Mirialan, Neti, Xidelphiad, Nautolan, Standard Human, and Taung. This amount of genetic ratio is seen as standard to the present known galaxy, if not more diverse in variety than normal." Sahar stared at the droid. That wasn't the odd bit? At all? She wasn't even aware of what some of those where, let alone if they were...compatible. Besides, weren't Neti essentially talking and walking alien trees? How the hell was she part tree?!

  "Then what's so odd...if not," She waved her hand around a little in the space in front of her. "that?"

  "I am unable to access and analyse the remaining 68% of your genealogy majority. It is restricted." Come again? 

Sahar glanced at Jon, who seemed just as confused as she was. Clearly this was not normal. Fantastic, not even a week here and already she is breaking societal norms.

  "A species is restricted? Why would someone do that?" she asked. It sounded like a very weird thing to do.

  "It is unknown." 

  "Can you see who restricted it?"

  "It is unknown."

  "When it was restricted?"

  "It is unknown."

"How it would be restricted?"

  "It is unknown."

"Planet of origin?"

  "It is unknown."

  "Evolution origin?" Sahar tried, pulling at straws at this point. Surely that would be available, if anything?

  "It is unknown." Sahar groaned in defeat, flopping her head into open palms. Great, she might have to pay a ten thousand credit fine with her currently non-existent pocket money in five years time, and she can't even find out what she is. Other than a bajillion other things that may or may not apply to her current situation, including tree. Sorry, alien space tree. Yay.

  "I've never heard of a species being restricted before," Jon admitted, stroking his beard in thought as he stepped closer to them from his previous spot.

  "Yeah, I figured," Sahar sarcastically dralled with her face still in her palms. He turned to TB-33, absentmindedly placing a had on her closest shoulder in a consolingly manor. It helped, somewhat.

  "Is there any way you could possibly hack the species file?"

  "I unfortunately do not possess the hardware-capacity to be able to do so, I am incompatible. Even if I were compatible, it is a unlikely probability that I would be able to do so without a portion of the authorization-key." Jon let out a breath of irritation before speaking again in a calm tone.

  "Very well, we understand. Thank you for your service, you are dismissed TB. Please let us know when the file is ready." What? Sahar looked up at Jon in confusion as the droid walked away, it saying something that didn't reach her ears.  That was it? That was all he was going to do?

  "I sense I have displeased you," Jon spoke after a moment of silence as he took a seat next to her.

  "Yeah, I am displeased." Sahar began, feeling mildly irritated by the question. "I just found out I'm some sort of weird alien that no one knows the name of, let alone can tell me, along with a bunch of other things! Why didn't you do more? Surely there was something-"

  "And what would this accomplish?" Jon questioned with a raised brow. "The droid already said they were unable to find out, and I doubt that they would lie about something that would go against their coding. Let alone be able to, there is no purpose to it. What else could I have done, threaten it perhaps?" Sahar stayed stubbornly silent, because she knew he was right. TB had no reason to lie about their patient's health, and had no reason to withhold information from her. She knew that, but that didn't make it any easier to accept.

  "Do you know what I am?" She ask after some time, in a tone so quiet that seemed to pierce the silence of the room. Surely an ex-jedi would have an idea of what she was, they were known to travelled all over the galaxy after all. Jon sighed and moved his arm to wrap around her shoulders.

  "No, you do not fully resemble any of the species that I am aware of." Sahar wilted in defeat, but Jon wasn't done speaking, surprisingly. "but can I tell you what I am aware of?" 

Sahar shrugged with a slight jump of her shoulders, unsure of what difference it would make.

  "One of our greatest freedoms as sentient beings, regardless of how sensitive you are to the force, is how we react to things. Often, like now for example, people react poorly when things don't go their way. But they are failing to see the other side of things when they do this." Sahar looked up at him in curiosity.

  "And what's that? What are they missing?"

  "That the chapter, the story, is not yet over. Now, I'm not saying that is wrong to be angry, or unsatisfied by the hand dealt to you. The galaxy can be a wondrous place, as much as it can be cruel or disappointing at times, and people are often the same. What I am saying, is that just because things aren't ideal, doesn't mean that they won't get better. That you won't find your answers- it's just going to take longer than expected." Sahar felt herself calm down as he talked, and found herself leaned against Jon's frame at some point. She only noticed she had done so when she felt him to stiffen slightly at the contact, before relaxing at the sensation. Jon continued.

  "Now, I don't know why someone would block a species file, but the Force tells me you will find out. I am not sure when or how, fore it is not my place to. But you will, in time." 

  "Really?" She found herself asking in a small voice.

  "Yes. Want to know something else?"

  "What?"

  "That you have the strength to make it through this, The Force wouldn't have brought you here if that hadn't been the case."

  "You really believe that?" Sahar looked up at him quizzically. How could he be so sure?

  "I believe in The Force, and that The Force is with me- and you." Jon replied seriously, full heartedly believing his words. Sahar allowed herself to smile a little, slowly accepting what the the once jedi was saying. It was easier than before. Yes, she will find answers to all her questions. Just not today, or even tomorrow. But she will, in time. "But for now I believe that we have more pressing matters to deal with." Sahar looked back up at him in confusion. What pressing matters?

Jon offered a smile.

  "Dinner." Sahar found herself smiling ever so slightly in return. Dinner sounded good.

Word count: 6368

Chapter Text

Dinner at the compound was much like a scene from a summer camp movie, or at least, according to Sahar's mind it was. When she and Jon went outside to join everyone the sun had already set, and a series of fires lit up the courtyard in it's warm glow. Much like in those movies, someone seemed to have set up a rotisserie of sorts above the flame, rotating what appeared to be a large well-cooked mammal over open flames, with some parts already taken off.

Both the Nikto and Trandoshans were either still maintaining their posts along the building, or mingling in groups around one of the fire. But everyone was talking to each other, eating together, and seemed to be casually enjoying each other's company. She was pretty sure she heard the equivalent of a radio playing from somewhere too, with a tinny voice singing like a silver-screen actress coming out of the speakers.

They made their way over to the main fire pit, where a lone tan-coloured Nikto man was handing out filled plates to those who had yet to eat. Each porton seemed to mainly have a rather large piece of meat filling up half the plate, along with what appeared to be mixture of some dried out fruit on the side. When the Nikto saw her reach for one of these plates, he tugged out of her reach, causing her to look up at them in confusion. Why did he do that?

  "That's too much for someone your size, kid. Hang on a sec," He said before lifting the plate she originally reached for. The Nikto wordlessly cut the meat portion in half, and removed the larger piece before adding what appeared to be a strange hybrid between beans and chickpeas covered in a sauce. After adding a utensil to the plate, he held it out to her.

  "Here. I know from experience that Bengal* beans are easier to digest after not eatin' for some time, and they are a safer bet than Burg on a empty stomach." He explained.

Sahar cautiously grabbed the extended plate and looked at it. Two-thirds of the meat gone it decidedly looked a lot less intimidating than before, and the beans actually looked slightly her grandmother's Kusheri** with the sauce and spices covering it. She felt a knot form inside her throat, a bout of overwhelming homesickness wash over her.

  'I'm never going to have her cooking again,' Sahar suddenly realized, abruptly feeling disorientated at the realization. 

This wasn't like when she was in either Canada or Europe, were home was a mere call away. Nor was it like she was in their apartment in Cairo, where the promise of a home cooked meal was a mere hallway away. Here, home was unreachable in every possible way she could think of, along with her grandmother and the small comforts that came with her.

'Nana.' 

It's been around five days since The Incident, did they know what happened to her? Did Nana--

A large hand settled on her shoulder, dragging Sahar out of her spiralling thoughts. Sensations came back in a sudden wave with it, such as the heat of the nearby fire and the noises of the crowd around them. Absentmindedly she noticed that her cheeks felt wet. Why was that?

Jon's luminous eyes looked down at her from under his hood, his massive frame filling most of her vision. The Nikto had left their station and stood off a bit to the side behind him, concern appearing as though it was bleeding from his frame. Jon spoke to her softly under the collective voices of their hosts, while keeping his hand where it was as he drew her attention back to him.

  "Are you back with us?" Sahar nodded, not yet ready to speak with the knot still present.

  "Do you...do you want to go back inside? You don't have to eat out here if you don't want to." Jon offered cautiously. Sahar genuinely thought about it for a moment, unsure of what she should do. The offer sounded nice, safe even after associating enclosed spaces with safety since she came to this planet. It would be so easy too, to just hide away from all these aliens by simply going inside, even if it would probably last for only the night at most. To hide like the child she now clearly was.

But there was another part of Sahar which was more stubborn, that was urging her to stay outside with everyone. To get familiar with the world she's found herself in. This was the part of her that grew up rebelling on Earth, in a effort to be herself. Whether it was regarding her choice to stop wearing a hijab, or transfering to a degree that was less profitable. She grew up fighting for her voice since she was taught she had to, regardless of whether it was for her planet, the people on it, or even just for herself. It felt wrong almost to hide from something that Sahar knew simply wouldn't go away.

So with that, she slowly swallowed the knot down and shook her head quickly, signifying her decision to stay. The once Jedi studied her with what felt like forever, before nodding and releasing her shoulder after a light squeeze. The Nikto, after seeing it was deemed safe to approach, came up and apologized for causing her distress-- he didn't know what caused it in the first place but he was still very much insistent on doing so.

  "I-it okay, really," Sahar tried to assure the clearly worried Nikto. He was quite persistent with his apologies, if anything. "It's been a long past few days. I'll be fine once I eat something and get some rest."

After a bit more convincing, the Nikto eventually let her go, though not without giving her two beverage containers for "compensation". Which quite frankly made no sense to her, there was nothing to compensate for! However, at this point Sahar just wanted to eat and sleep on something that wasn't sand.

  "Shut up," she said tiredly as she trudged to Jon, who was waiting nearby with his own plate in hand, and was practically radiating amusement.

  "I didn't say anything," he pointed out once Sahar reached him. Sahar narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. His mouth was clearly smirking-- granted, it was covered by a rather unkept beard and was barely a twitch. But it was a fucking smirk, and she knew it. In fact, she'd bet her non-existent credits on it.

  "You didn't have to," Sahar replied dryly, before looking around. "Now, where are we-"

  "Oi, Antilles, you made it!" Someone called. Sahar around and saw that it was the Trandoshan she dubbed Rudy not to long ago. They were waving their arm in the air, a bottle of sloshing liquid grasped by the neck. Jon began walking towards them wordlessly, and Sahar followed behind.

  'Well, I guess that answers that question.'

Rovakt was sitting in a group with three other people, who shuffled around on the crates that they were using at seats to make room for them once they got there. Sahar sat next to Jon on the low seat and looked around, a bit more curious about her host with her nerves not being as high strung as before, dispute being somewhat emotionally exhausted right now..

  "Settling in is going well, Hatchling?" The pale trandoshan asked with a raised eye ridge, setting their bottle on the ground next to them, eyes seemingly locking on her damp cheeks for a moment, before looking back at her eyes wordlessly.

  'Physically? Mentally? Spiritually? Financially? Socioeconomically? I am not sure what you mean, I mean, it's not like I've been magically transported into an epic space opera multimedia franchise, Oh, wait...' 

  "I would say it's going," Her response was a bit lackluster, but could you really blame her? Considering what she has had to deal with during these past few days, let alone today, this was probably the best answer Sahar could really give. The surrounding aliens, excluding Rudy, looked at her in confusion.

  "It's going?" The male red Nikto asked with a raised hairless brow, which made it painfully obvious to her brain that Jon and her where the only people here that possessed hair here. She wasn't sure how to processes that yet. Maybe later, a problem for Future!Sahar to tackle.

  "I'm still trying my best to process everything," Sahar tiredly admitted, looking down while mixing her beans around flimsily with her spoon. Was it sad that it was easier to face food that caused her to spiral, instead of actual aliens from a franchise back home that nearly anyone would kill to meet in real life?

There was a moment of silence amongst their group, before Rudy cleared their throat and drew her attention away from her beans. Thankfully they had no intention to continue the questions the Nikto clearly had. Sahar wasn't entirely sure if she should be grateful for that or not.

  "Take your time, Hissss adapting to change isn't something that can be forced." They pointed out, before continuing. "Now, allow me to introduce you to some of us." 

They waved a three-fingered hand to the closest person on their left, a slim green skinned individual who wore clothing far more appropriate for the desert than what she had seen anyone else wear here. It seemed like either jump suits and flight suits, with the occasional leather bits,  where the main fashion trend in this corner of the universe. "This is Mel, she is usually in charge of the morning shift."

Said Nikto raised her hand and gave a short finger wiggle, eyes crinkling slightly at the corners.

  "Evening." She greeted and Sahar waved back, not having time to respond before the Condottiere moved onto the next person over, who was the Nikto who questioned her earlier.

  "That's Derk, he is incharge of maintenance around here. He is a snarking son of a laserbrain, but he gets the job done."

  "Love you too, " Derk replied back light heartedly, rolling his eyes exaggeratingly at Sahar when he caught her eye. Mel shoves his shoulder, causing him to chuckle.

  "Nerf herder," She said with a mocking disappointed shake of head, which only caused Derk to smile wider while nursing a drink.

  "You married this nerf herder," he pointed out.

  "And as proud of that as I am, I still blame the booze," Mel deadpanned. The red Nikto let out a bark of laughter in response, while an affectionate smile seemed to grow on his wife's lips.

  "They have been mated for twelve standard years now, and I still don't understand how they work." A voice next to her replied, causing Sahar to turn to her left.

The last unnamed being in their group seemed to be the youngest there, but by how much Sahar as uncertain. Their head ridges were less pronounced than ones she has seen on the other trandoshans, making their appearance softer almost. They were a tan yellow with pearlescent white scales going down their brown in three V's of varying sizes, resembling a crown much to her amusement.

  "The universe works in mysterious ways?" She offered, unsure if they were talking to her. They laughed in response.  

  "Yeah, ain't that the truth!"

  "Laugh all you want, youngling. One day this may be you." Mel teased from her side of the group. At some point Derk seemed to have moved from his spot next to her, to his wife's lap with his arms resting around her neck. He looked quite comfortable in his new spot.

  "First off, ew. Secondly, isn't that supposed to be the other way around?" The young trandoshan questioned with a teasing raised brow, waving a finger at the couple. Sahar personally thought that they looked quite adorable.

  "Mysterious ways, young one, mysterious ways." The husband simply replied, puffing up smugly from his perch with a shit eating grin on his face. Sahar couldn't help but giggle at the ridiculousness of the situation, which only caused Derk to puff up even more if possible. Like a reptile version of a peacock, if there ever was one. Mel just rolled her eyes, and wrapped her arms around his waist.

  "And you have already met my nephew, who I believe can introduce himself?" Rovakt introduced dryly, seemingly amused by the whole situation as well.

  "I'm Khoso, welcome to the misery." Khoso held out a scale covered hand for her to shake. Sahar swallowed before reaching out a hand to shake the three-fingered limb. Her small clawed hand looked tiny in comparison. They shook.

  "Sahar, happy to join in." Khoso grinned while Derk laughed from where he was.

  "Oh, just give it a cycle or two, kid," The older being jokes, ignoring the slap to his thigh that Mel gives him. Rovakt just shakes their head slightly, before continuing on.

  "I myself am on evening perimeter, but am in charge of everyone along side Ra's. Khoso on the other hand is incharge of inventory. The four of us are who you'll be working with mainly during your stay with us, however long it may be. You'll shift working with a different person each day of a standard week. On Primeday it'll be me, Centaxday is with Mel, Taungsday with Derk, and Zhellday with Khoso. Bendudays are your own time, do what you will."

  "Meaning you got tomorrow off, lucky." Khoso commented beside her, flopping so his back was resting on the crate beneath him, placing his empty plate lazily off to the side. "I always get so tired whenever I eat Burg, it's annoying."

  "That's because of the Burg carry shared characteristics of both poultry and aquatic creatures such as fish, making their flesh into a hyper-saturated white meat when consumed. Just pace yourself and you'll be fine." Mel points out to him after taking a drink from her beverage. Khoso goes to do the same, only for Rovakt to swiftly remove it from their grasp before it could even touch their lips.

  "Morbror*** Rov', I'm twenty!" Khoso groans causing Rovakt to roll their eyes at their nephew's antics, as though this situation has happened before.

  "You are too young to be drinking Kowakian rum, and I'm too old to hear you plead for death's embrace at midday meal again. Get water or some juice."

  "Since when?" Khoso narrowed his eyes at them in confusion.

  "Since fifteen seconds ago, deal with it."

  "Morbror?" Sahar quietly questioned to herself.

  "It's a Dosh titling for a mother's sibling," Jon explained quietly beside her, causing Sahar to look at him. "There is also Farbror for a father's sibling. Trandoshans have large lounges of hatchlings when they actually hatch, and names are often recycled by more often than not within the same region. So that sometimes leaves a mated couple both having siblings who share the same name."

  "Not to mention it saves everyone from a whole lot of confusion too." Derk points out standing up from his stop and walking over, the trandoshans still debating in the background. "We had a similar system on Kintan from what I remember. I myself had both a Farbror and Morbror Undi growing up, and they happened to live in the same clan. Our daring leader over there has four sibling-parents that fall under that umbrella too, from what I hear. If I used basic titles I think my brain would turn to poodoo, they mess with my head."

  "Wouldn't it just be easier to use more different names? Maybe ones from another, uh, system?"

  "You'd think, but old Nikto values have a funny way of staying strong, enduring dispute the odds. Not to mention Nikto believe that names have power of their own. I mean, just look at the Prulmi period."

  "What's that?" Did she even want to know?

  "Essentially, a group of young expecting mothers decided they wanted to start a whole new line of names, unique to their family. So they all go to one of the newest healers in town, from off world and everything, and start looking for names. What they don't know is that they all went to the very same healer. Long story short, all their kids somehow end up sharing names, even though none of them have ever met. Showing the sheer power a name can have. Prulmi was one of those names."

  "Hold on. If Prulmi was just one of the names, then why is it called that?"

  "Oh, it has a bunch of other names too based on what the parents picked. People just tend to use whatever rolls of the tongue best. This include ones like the Payil Paradox, the Mrun Mishap', the Kalla Kerfuffle, the Rod'ral'mi Reenactment, Crorsesh Conspiracy, and my personal favorite: The Isla Incident." As Derk explained, Sahar just tried to follow along best she could. Who knew Nikto culture could be so conspiracy based? 

  "Mine is the Sraba Scenario," Mel offers from her spot over the debate going on still. "And as much as I love it when you get passionate about your hobbies, my love, I believe you got up for a reason?"

  "Ah, that's right! I'm going for another drink, do either of you want anything?" Derk suddenly questions, waving his empty bottle at the end. "Antilles? Kid?"

  "I'll pass," Jon dismissed.

  "I covered, I think..." Sahar hesitantly trailed off, lifting the two bottles she got from the Nikto from earlier.

  "A  juice, and Jaar-- how on Kintan do we have Jaar? None of us are Wooks last I checked." Drek questioned looking closer at the bottle with the pale pinkish liquid, which looked vaguely like strawberry milk if she didn't know any better. It had a label with a cartoonish wookie with what appeared to a nightcap their head, giving a comedic thumbs up next to text that looked like a mesh between Japanese kanji and Al-abjadiyah****. All in all, the drink looked like something you'd get from Chinatown or the T&T Supermarket, not a six foot alien with horns on their face.

  "Let me see," Mel said as she made her way over, examining the bottle closely for a moment or two, before lowering herself to a crouch in front of Sahar. "Little one, can you open your mouth for me? I just want to check something."

Sahar's brow crinkled in both confusion, before opening her mouth wordlessly to the Nikto woman. Because, lets face it, this isn't the weirdest thing she's done in the past twenty-four hours. Opening her mouth for an alien woman she met mere moments ago so she can look at it, is only in the top five at most.

  "Ah, I see why Neev did that. You can close your mouth now, by the way." Sahar closed her mouth and looked at the green Nikto in bewilderment, prompting her to elaborate. "Jaar is a Wookie beverage made from sweetened fermented Alcoari milk and Vineberries. Adult Wookies usually give Jaar to their children to rebuild tissue and encourage REM sleep after a long day from what I've read, which is probably why Neev gave it to you. It's kind of like when humans give their younglings hot milk, but this is like a step up. It'll help reduce recovery time, especially in omnivores such as yourself. Though, I recommend saving it for last, it's quite poteen from what I've heard." Sahar looked at the strawberry milk-like beverage with new eyes. 

  'Huh, so it's like Space Smoothie Bacta, but is also NightQuil on steroids. Good to know. Doesn't sound like it's haram***** either, which means I can drink it.' 

  "What about the juice? Is there anything I should know about that?" Sahar couldn't help but ask, looking at the mentioned beverage, which looked like apple juice in the fire light.

  "That's just Aurilian fruit^ juice, it should be fine. Greg has a in with with a plantation on the other side of the planet, so it is cheaper than getting water from the moisture farms, more often than not." Mel explained, before placing a clawed hand on her shoulder. "Just eat what you can, kay?"

Sahar offered the green Nikto a small smile and nod. Seemingly satisfied, Mel stood up and let go of her shoulder, before heading off with Drek following close behind to get more drinks. Sahar set the Jaar and juice aside before picking up her previously abandoned spoon, and turning her attention to her still full plate. Cautiously, she began to eat.

The meat, Burg if she remembered correctly, tasted alright for the most part, but seemed somewhat dried out to her. Like when cooked meat starts to dry out if you leave it out uncovered for a while. Sahar was only able to tolerate maybe half of her meger meat portion, before moving on the the beans and fruit, unable to take more of the bland flavoring. The fruit was thankfully more flavorful than Burg, and sent a strong shock of sweetness to her taste buds. Causing her to hum in delight as flavors resembling banana, lychee, and various berries filled her mouth. It was almost disappointing when there was none left on her plate. 

The beans, while looking and smelling vaguely like Kusheri, tasted nothing like it and Sahar wasn't sure if she felt relieved by that or not. It taste good, better than the Burg in anycase, but she couldn't bring herself to eat more than a couple spoonfuls, before setting it off to her side. Khoso, having long finished his banter with his morbor by this point, noticed her half finished plate, asked if he could have it.

  "Sure," she shrugged, before handing over her plate over to the egar Trandoshan.

For the rest of dinner, Sahar spent her time watching the Trandoshans and Nikto couple interact with each other, while taking small sips of Jaar. She saw how Derk doted on Mel in various ways, with Mel returning the affection with soft smiles and dry humor. Khoso would dramatically moan and groan at the couple's antics, but always had a teasing tilt to his mouth when doing so. Rudy/Rovakt seemed to act like parent of the group, watching over them all like a silent sentinel, only speaking out on occasion. Sometimes they'd drag Jon into the conversation, but even then it was usually only to verify something another has said. 

They acted so much like people, the humans, back home. Which shouldn't be as strange as it was, but, well, it was. For some reason, some part of her brain thought that being in another galaxy would completely change the way people interacted with each other, that there would be some entirely new social conduct that would be, for lack of better word, too alien for her to understand. Sahar was glad, however, that that didn't seem the case. Sure, she probably has a lot to learn about this galaxy in order to survive, let alone live-- but now it didn't seem as daunting as earlier.

As time went by, Sahar began to feel herself  dooze on and off, the combination of a full belly and fire lulling her into a state of sleepiness. The others where quick to take notice. Jon stood up and walked over.

  "Come on, young one." He spoke to her, removing the now empty Jaar container from her drasp, before picking her up swiftly. "Let's get you to bed."

Sahar hmm'd in agreement wrapping her arms around his neck lazily, burying her face in the crook where his neck and shoulder met. Yes, a bed sounded amazing right now. Vaguely, she could hear someone saying good night, and another cooing before begin cut off by a sharp yelp, but she paid it no mind. 

The Jedi carried her effortlessly back to the building they were in earlier, to where the cot and hammock was. He placed her in the hammock like she was something fragile, and carefully removed  the wrappings and coverings on her feet. In her tired state she whined in protest, causing Jon shush her softly while lightly squeezing her calf.

  "We'll get you some proper footwear in the morning. For now, rest." Jon covered her with a nearby blanket, before walking away.

  "Whe-where are you going?" Sahar questioned waking up a little, waking up a little at the sight of the Jedi moving away from the space. He paused in stride, before turning slightly in her direction.

  "I have some matters to take care of, I'll be back latter."

  "Oh," She silently admonished herself. Of course he had other things to do, it wasn't like she was suddenly his main and only priority since he found her. Still, she couldn't help but ask--"Promise?"

Jon for some reason seemed stunned by this question, as though he never thought anyone would ask him this question. He stood still for a few moments, Sahar's keen eyes making out his own studying her strangely under the cover of darkness. His eyes softened in a way, before nodding his hooded head.

  "I promise," before swiftly turning around and walking towards the door, leaving no room for further conversation.

  'I wonder what that was about?' Sahar wondered to herself, before snuggling into the blanket, causing tha hammock to rock slightly. She was eager to sleep in a place that wasn't the cave.

As she wiggled, her eye was caught by the large mechanical sphere that she saw earlier, still partly tucked away in it box. The lights where off, but that didn't stop her from being able to see it even with the dim lighting. She couldn't help but stare at it. Even without it seeming so familiar, her eyes couldn't help but be drawn to it. Sahar stared at it for a bit longer, before shaking her head and turning abruptly around to face the other way.

  'Nope. I am going to sleep right now, not going near The Sphere's mini retro cousin. That is the first rule of sci-fi movies: don't touch shit you don't know. Just sleep, I'll ask Jon about it in the morning. Yeah, that sounds like a plan,' She told herself, before going to sleep.

Or rather, she tried to, but even as Sahar dosed in an out of consciousness, she couldn't help but think about it. Even as she tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, she remained restless at the thought of it.  What was it, and more importantly, what was in it?

Sahar opened her eyes, and sure enough, it was sitting exactly where it was earlier. Taunting her.  Sahar narrowed her eyes at it.

  'I'm going to touch it, aren't I?'

...

...

...

Sahar groaned to herself, before sitting up. Yep, she was going to touch it, like impulsive idiot she was.

  'Allaenat ealayk!******'

She plopped down from the hammock, stumbling slightly before walking over to the sphere, blanket pulled around her like a cape. Upon closer inspection, Sahar's night vision could make out that the sphere's chipped tan paint job, revealing the shiny metal beneath it. On the front of the protruded rim that went around it, there were three buttons. Sahar crouched down to get a better look at them, and sure enough, they were as nondescript and plain as they were mere hours ago. However, that only enhanced need to press them. Buttons, humanity's greatest weakness, and still her's apparently, despite the species change.

After glancing around, to see if anyone was there, Sahar held her breath as she reached over slowly to the first button on her left. Wincing as she pressing down on it.

Cli-ck

Nothing changed, a dud. Sahar couldn't help but slump over in relief, before looking at the other two buttons sitting innocently next to the one she pressed. 

  'Two more to go.'

Sliding her finger over, she pressed the middle button.

Cli-ck

A blue blinking light suddenly flashed from the button itself, causing Sahar to jump slightly.

  'What the F--!'

Thankfully nothing else happened other than the binking, and when she pressed the button again, it went away. Star Wars Bluetooth maybe? 

Sahar turned her attention to the last button. Somehow, it managed to look more innocent then the other two, despite being practically identical. She knew without a doubt that this one, this last button, would open the sphere. She gulped, braced herself with squinted eyes and turning partly away, before pressing down.

Cli-ck

Sh-ck!

And sure enough the top of it opened with a short, distinct sound that seemed to echo in her ears. After building up the nerve, turned herself back to the open sphere and looked inside. Sahar went still with shock.

 '...No fucking way...'

She blinked.

Big eyes blinked back at her. 

She squinted her eyes. Was she seeing this right?

Long green ears twitched in interest.

Sahar raised a finger, and carefully poked his cloth covered belly, while trying to be mindful of her nails. It was squishy, but solid. Yep, he was real.

Grogu burst out giggling, and used his tiny claws to hold her hand with the grip only little children could accomplish. Stunned, Sahar offered little resistance to the cooing green child as she sank down to her knees, unable to move her eyes away from him. Said child gave her an infant grin, proudly showing off the little teeth he had.

It was Baby Yoda.

Baby. Fucking. Yoda.

  'Well,' Sahar couldn't help but think to herself, 'at least I know when I am now.'

Meanwhile, in a different part of the galaxy, a bulb on a monitor blinks brightly in a laboratory, casting durasteel appliances in a red hue that could be called ominous. It draws the attention of the room's soul occupant-- well, it's only living one in any case. Curious, he removes his hands from the carcass he was examining-- some sorry excuse of a bounty hunter that quite the fascinating organ defect, before walking over to the monitor. He removes his rubber gloves with practiced ease, before carelessly tosses them on the floor, knowing his personal mouse droid will clean them up before it can be considered a hazard. It's it job after all.

The man presses a few buttons on the monitor's keyboard, causing the bulb to stop it's flashing. A few more buttons are clicked, and a window opens on the vertical display. It's text and the low resolution holo-image that accompanies it seems to practically glow in the low-lit room. As he reads, the curiosity in the doctor's eyes changes, and his lips spread into a something that could be called many things.

Happy.

Satisfied.

Manic.

Insane even.

But the one word that describe the expression, better than anything, would be predatorial.

Word Count:5088