Guarded (#2 Post-Order 66 Series)

Guarded - Part 12

Author's Note: This chapter contains graphic description of serious injury

"Would you hold still so we can fix this karking hole in your knee?" Crosshair growled, and Iden stared daggers at him, sweat trickling from her brow.

"I don't need your kriffing help. I can manage," she snarled. However, the next slight jostle of the speeder had her swearing loudly.

Echo turned in his seat and noted how pale Inez's face was as she stared at Iden's mangled knee. Crosshair had taken his helmet off, and he glanced at Echo. It's bad. Get back here. The urgency in his eyes was clear, despite his irritation, and Echo turned to address the handmaiden.

"Inez, why don't you hop up front so I can help out back here," Echo said gently. The handmaiden nodded shakily before carefully swapping seats with Echo. Iden swore again as Inez accidentally jostled her, and Crosshair felt his stomach flip at how loosely the lower half of her leg moved from the motion. The blaster bolt had torn directly through the joint, essentially obliterating it, and he knew it was going to take a significant amount of repair if Iden was ever going to be able to walk on the leg again without some type of synthetic joint or cybernetic. Luckily, it appeared as though the cauterization was holding up, so she was barely bleeding. A small bit of luck, all things considered. Echo squeezed himself down in between the seats as he examined the joint, and Crosshair could see his jaw clench slightly. He knows it's bad.

"Do we have any first aid?" Echo asked.

The guard piloting the speeder pointed down below the front passenger seat, and Inez bent forward to pry loose a small box, handing it back to Echo. It only had a few bandages and bacta packs and a single painkiller injection.

"We need to stabilize it to keep the lower half of her leg from moving around and tearing more nerves and tissue," Echo said quietly. He began scanning the speeder for something they could use as a splint, but Crosshair could see there was nothing that would suffice. Well, except for one thing.

"Guard, how far are we from Fellen?" Crosshair asked the man driving.

"Name's Jex, sir. A few hours yet."

Crosshair sighed, hauling his rifle up from where he'd stowed it. "Use this," he said, extending the weapon towards Echo.

"Crosshair, I-"

"It's the best option we've got, unless you want to pull over and get a stick off the ground."

Echo nodded as he took the rifle, laying it along Iden's leg. "Can you get behind her and brace her while I set it?" he asked.

Iden was still glaring at him, but Crosshair nodded, clambering around so that he was behind her and gently pulled her up so that her back was against his chest. He felt her breathing heavily as she muttered some additional curses under her breath while Echo tried to gently adjust the joint. Despite the angry front she was putting up, he could see the fear in her eyes, and it tugged at something in his chest.

While he knew Iden had just been sharing what information she was told she could, he still harbored resentment for her since she was the one that had lied directly to them about the mission and their reasons for being there. Despite all that, he knew now was not the time to hold grudges and nurse bruised egos. The fear in her eyes softened something within him in a way he couldn't explain beyond a fierce mutual respect for a fellow soldier. She was willing to sacrifice herself so we could escape. This is the least I can do.

Carefully, Echo tried to clean out the wound, gently placing a bandage on the damaged joint to hold it together as much as he could. Crosshair felt bile rise in his throat at how little good the bandage did. Her leg is awfully mangled. The bandage is just barely holding it together.