SPECULATION Timeline of TFA Events on Jakku

PART I

Since I can only upload 30 images, this will be Part 1 of my timeline. I think I can fit every single image that I've seen so far into my timeline. But if you see any holes, please feel free to point them out. I discovered that I have a strange pathological need to piece together all TFA information. I may need help. Anyway, here's what I have so far. It seems to me that everything happens in less than 36 hours.

PRE-DAWN

After the opening crawl, we see a Star Destroyer above the planet of Jakku. Stormtroopers pile into a transport in the hangar before heading to the planet's surface...



On Jakku, Poe Dameron -- under the orders of General Leia -- speaks with one of the elders of a small village when he notices the arrival of the First Order. "We got company"...



When the First Order arrives at the village, the old man tells Poe he must leave. Poe runs to his ship, but it's too late. The First Order has arrived. He instructs his droid, BB-8, to leave immediately. Reluctantly, the droid does, probably carrying something important...



The First Order arrives, under fire from the villagers. Stormtroopers burn the village under orders from Captain Phasma...



Kylo Ren arrives. Dissatisfied with the answers he receives from the villagers, he kills the village elder, then uses the Force to capture Poe...



BB-8 sees the destruction as the little droid rolls into the desert [insert plaintive chirping and whistling here]...



MORNING

Aboard the Star Destroyer, Finn starts rethinking his place with the First Order after witnessing their viciousness...



While Poe is being tortured by Kylo Ren...



On Jakku, Rey rides her speeder toward the remains of a fallen Star Destroyer...



Then scavenges its interior for anything of value...



She takes a closer look at one of her findings, holding it up to the sun...



She loads up her speeder, but others are approaching, so she hops on her vehicle and zooms off (speeder chase?)...



Aboard the Star Destroyer, Finn decides he's had enough, but he needs Poe's help in order to pull of his escape...



The duo steal a TIE fighter, shooting up the hangar and control tower in the process. The damage they do prevents the First Order from launching any ships to retrieve them. At least for now...



General Hux orders his men (and women) to "Fire", which they do, hitting their target. The TIE drifts out of control toward Jakku...



On the deck of the Star Destroyer, General Hux orders Captain Phasma to hunt down Finn as soon as the ships can be readied, but it appears the hangar will not be operational for some time...



AFTERNOON

Finn wakes up after being knocked out during the crash of his TIE fighter. Finn likely ejected and is some distance from the crash site. When he makes his way to the wreckage, Poe is long gone. Poe leaves his jacket behind, which Finn takes...



To be continued...

[Edit 11/14: I slightly tweaked the timeline and added a couple photos.]

 

PART II

AFTERNOON (CONT.)

Rey rides her speeder toward the marketplace...



In the marketplace, she crosses paths with BB-8 (it took the poor little droid a while to get here), though they don't partner up quite yet...



Then Rey learns about one of her finds (I think it looks like a crystal of some sort, which may be why it appears that she holds it up to the light earlier) and cleans up some of her other scavenged goods...



Meanwhile, Finn has made a tiring trek to a sand dune overlooking the marketplace. He still has a long way to go...



SUNSET

At the end of the day, BB-8 watches Rey as she gets on her speeder and heads home. Rey must have made an impression, because BB-8 decides to follow...



EARLY THE NEXT MORNING

Rey is alone in her AT-AT-turned-home, watching a morning transport take off...

The image of the ship taking off has always intrigued me. It must be important somehow. What if it's important to Finn? Though I have no images to back this up, the morning could start with Finn in the marketplace, desperate to get off-world. He could try to get on the transport but fail, watching frustratingly as it ascends into the sky. Then we see that same ship from Rey's home, picking up with her morning activities.



When Rey hears a commotion, she grabs her quarterstaff...



And rescues BB-8 (who spent all night trying to get to her) from Teedo and the luggabeast...



LATER THAT MORNING, BUT STILL EARLY...

Rey takes BB-8 to the marketplace. One of Unkar's thugs says or does something that Rey doesn't like, so she beats him with her quarterstaff...



Finn, who made his way to the marketplace the previous night, is impressed by Rey's skills. He decides to ask her for help. But before they can even exchange names, BB-8 detects the arrival of the First Order...



And they're on the run...



The rest of their time on Jakku includes their run to the Millennium Falcon and the aerial chase, with Rey at the controls and Finn manning the gun turret. That's my timeline so far, though I'm guessing it will fall apart as soon as additional information becomes available. Oh well.

[Edit 11/11: I didn't change the timeline, just added some speculation about what Finn might be up to early in the morning.]

 

It's pure speculation. I'm more likely wrong than right (it happens with frightening regularity)!

 

PART III

I wasn't going to include the chase scene in my timeline, but I might as well finish up the first act. A piece of concept art helps with the sequence of events by providing a layout of the marketplace. If you look very closely, the layout can also be seen in the footage we've seen so far -- from the shot of Finn as he stands atop the sand dune overlooking the marketplace.



MORNING

After being chased on foot through the tents of the marketplace by stormtroopers -- and bombarded by a pair of TIEs from the sky -- Rey, Finn, and BB-8 run (or roll) through the McQuarrie gate and into the fenced-in area where the ships are kept. The McQuarrie gate is consumed by explosions behind them...



They run straight for the ship that is sitting opposite the Millennium Falcon, but that ship is quickly destroyed...



So they turn to everyone's favorite hunk of junk...



Rey gets in the cockpit, while Finn mans one of the turrets...



And the chase is on...

[insert all Millennium Falcon chase footage here]

After slaloming through the junkyard that is Jakku and ditching their First Order pursuers, Rey eventually steers away from the planet and jumps into hyperspace...



Where they finally get a chance to exchange names...



And it's on to the second act! Wherever they end up (previous coordinates from the navi-computer, perhaps?), that appears to be where Han and Chewie are. And I have no idea where Poe goes after he crashes that TIE. It's a mystery!