Musings of a Geeky Kind

Right up front.  We're gonna say...

And now I'm gonna talk geeky, yo...

If there's one really, really awesome thing I can say about "The Force Awakens" it's that it's awakened (ha) this whole sleeper cell community of fans that have been quietly going back to their "real lives" after the craziness of the prequels.  Sure, the insanity of the massive Star Wars Celebration gave us some fuel for the fire (Celebration Anaheim was just this past April in 2015).  But the truth is that the Star Wars community - or at least the niche of it that I was a part of - basically became boring, mundane, normal people.  We carried on with jobs.  Relationships.  Bills.  Car issues.  All of this stuff that's just boring.  

And then cue the opening credits for "The Force Awakens".  

Now there is a community of people who used to post on StarWars.com back when we had message boards (remember "message boards", kids?) who have come together on Facebook.  They're sharing memes and theories and delving into analysis and articles and interviews.  They're trying to figure out "The Force Awakens" and all its secrets while also being simultaneously enthralled with "Rogue One", "Episode VIII" and "Episode IX".  These people that I knew back in the day when none of us really had a "real life" to speak of (or so it seemed) have no all put their real lives on hold to come back together and be nerds to the nth degree.

I got sucked into a nerdy discussion last night - which started with reading some threads in the Facebook group and then went into an in depth phone call with a friend of mine as we scoured Google images and Wiki pages for clues.

This is our story...

The discussion was prompted by a friend of mine who had just seen the movie (again) with her family who was in town visiting.  She sent me a text saying she needed to borrow my "mad Google skills" to see if the ship that flies away from Jakku (leaving Rey behind) is the same as the smuggling freighter than Han is flying when we first see him and Chewbacca in "The Force Awakens".

Now, first off, I am inclined to say "no, this isn't the same ship."  My reasoning is based on the fact that - given the two times I've seen the movie - I do not believe that Rey is the daughter of Han and Leia.  It's just as simple as that.  I don't think they recognize her.  I don't think they know her.  And I haven't seen any concrete evidence that proves otherwise to me.

But despite my current hypothesis surrounding our mysterious heroine, I was inclined to indulge my own curiosity at my friend's request, and I started Googling.  Images were impossible to come by.  I figured someone out there had actually - you know - taken pictures of the screen or something was released or I could track down some image of her flashback vision that shows little Rey on Jakku.  However, I couldn't find a darned thing.

So then we started coming up with different ways to work this problem:
Q: How old is Rey when she's in TFA?
A: 19

Q: How old is Rey when she's dumped on Jakku?
A:....ehh....9ish?

Q: How long as Han not had the Falcon in his possession?
A:....

Q: When did he leave Leia?
A:.....

Q: When did he pick up this smuggling freighter, and would he have had the smuggling freighter in his possession at a time that he might have possibly dropped off Rey on Jakku, and what type of freighter is in, anyway?  Is it something new or something old or when was it manufactured?
A:.....TOO MANY QUESTIONS MY BRAIN IS SHUTTING DOW---*blip*


My husband at one point told me it might not even have a name - because "you know they don't name things unless they're making a toy of them."  He was joking, of course (I hope - otherwise, we will have geeky word wars), but I got defensive in my Star Warsiness and told him, "It has to have a name.  Everything has a name."

I furiously started typing away on my tablet again.  And I turned to another best friend - yay Wikipedia.

That's where I found the information concerning Han's freighter.  It actually does have a class and all sorts of information on it.  Apparently all of it can be found in the new Star Wars The Force Awakens Incredible Cross Sections book which is out on shelves (and virtual shelves) now.  I've always loved these books, and I regret I don't have any on my shelves.  I was able to flip through a copy of it over the weekend when we made one of our rare trips to WalMart (that place can scare me sometimes).  I found the pages concerning Han's freighter, and I read through them a bit.

All of that information gathering, though...and I still can't answer my friends original question.

However, there will be a chance for another viewing of TFA this Friday.  I will bring my tissue box for the inevitable sob fest that I'll have for Han's passing.  But maybe I can be one step closer to an answer.

Updated as of 2/2/2016: the additional viewing of TFA last weekend proved to me that the ship that flies away from Jakku while Rey is calling out for it is not the same ship as Han's freighter.  So while I don't have visual evidence to back that up in forms of pictures, the friend I was having the discussion with was with me at the time of the viewing.  So we're both convinced now.