85
Military-Grade Ration Pack
Location: Jakku
Date: c. 5 ABY
The Galactic Civil War left behind many unintended monuments to the clash between the Empire and the Rebellion. On the world of Jakku, the final battle that ushered in the dawn of the New Republic was long-remembered through the so-called Graveyard of Giants, where the wreckage of war machines was looted or repurposed by desperate scavengers, such as the young Rey. Valuable mechanical components and metals were stripped out and sold or traded for food and other supplies, leaving the bones of once-magnificent Star Destroyers to rust away.
As well as metal and other useful technology, some scrappers collected Imperial rations, military-grade sustenance that had been dehydrated and compressed into easy-to-ship pouches. These synthetic, non-perishable foodstuffs even formed the basis of the local economy at Niima Outpost for a time, a junkyard settlement on Jakku under the control of the unscrupulous Crolute Unkar Plutt.
The writing on the pack is aurebesh for “portion.” Dehydrated, nutrient-rich hunks of veg-meat are sealed in one half of the pouch, while the other half contains polystarch powder. Once water is added, these substances become a meal that is—if not palatable—at least enough to survive on.
At Niima Outpost, Plutt also controlled water rations. This gave him even more power over those who worked for him.
During the reign of the Empire, these ration packs were only used under special circumstances; soldiers usually traveled aboard vessels equipped with well-stocked kitchens. The packs were issued before lengthy missions or deployment to hostile environments where sustenance might be scarce.
When hydrated and gently agitated, the pack’s polystarch fermented into a small bread-like roll, and the veg-meat expanded slightly, becoming less dry. Without rehydration, although the packet was safe to consume, an already distasteful experience verged on the intolerable.
