Erstwhile

Crash

The first thing I noticed about the planet was its wispy green atmosphere. The second thing I noticed were the gigantic mushrooms that covered the planet, and the third thing was the wreckage of a massive star destroyer that hovered like a dark cloud on the horizon.

These were my musings as I fell to my death. I could already tell that we were going to die. We were descending way too quickly and our ship was way too small to give us any hope of survival. Once the Phantom hit the ground, it would we ripped to shreds, and Ashoka and I along with it.

Perhaps it had been stupid of me to stow away on this voyage, but I didn't think so. Sure, I was going to die, and this wasn't a particularly heroic death, but I was dying beside a Jedi Master, and a brave one too. I was dying because I had refused to leave her alone. Even if some disagreed with me, I thought this was an okay way to go.

As the Phantom fell through the sky like a star tumbling from the heavens, I briefly realized that we were headed straight for a cluster of fungi. Screwing my eyes shut, I brought up an image of my parents, clung to it, and prepared for impact.

Our ship's hull sliced through the mushrooms like a knife, greatly slowing our descent. The fleshy skin barrier didn't last forever though, and eventually our ship broke through and collided with the planet's surface.

Immediately, the front window shattered, sending glass flying everywhere, and I threw up my hands to cover my face. Through squinted eyelids, I saw Chopper slide to the back of the ship, and although I tried to follow the droid's tumbling form, it was impossible as the Phantom rocked back and forth till it came to a grinding halt.

Lowering my hands, I evaluated my body. Bruises covered me from head to toe, and I had several glass fragments sticking out of my skin, including a particularly gruesome one in my thigh that was bleeding heavily.

Turning my head, I looked at Ashoka. Just like me, she was bruised and battered with glass, but unlike me, her wrist was twisted at a weird angle, probably from holding onto the helm as long as she'd been able to. During the crash landing, something had hit her head, and as a result, she was lying unconscious.

Even with all these injuries, I couldn't help the smile that lit my face.

We were alive.

Forcing my sore muscles to move, I carefully unstrapped myself and made my way over to Commander Tano. For a few moments, I tried to wake her, but when she didn't respond, I decided to go find Chopper.

Getting to the back of the Phantom was easier said then done. Part of the ceiling was caved in, and there was debris all over the floor. As a result, I ended up tripping, causing the glass shard to go deeper into my leg.

Biting back a scream, I moaned Chopper's name. At first, the droid didn't hear me, but eventually, a series of annoyed honks echoed throughout the ship.

"Chopper, where are you?"

In response, the storage closet I had hidden in's door rattled. Unless I was mistaken, the droid had gotten himself stuck inside.

Standing to my feet, I limped over to the door and pressed the button. To my misfortune, all power on the Phantom was inactive, so the door would not open.

Groaning in frustration, I pushed against the door, but still it wouldn't budge. "Chopper, is there something in there that you could use to let yourself out?" Stumbling backwards, I was just able to avoid a part of the door as it fell forward. Rolling through his self-made doorway, Chopper whistled and put his blow torch away.

"Or you could just do that," I mumbled and followed the droid back into the cockpit. Upon returning, I was disappointed to find Commander Tano still unconscious. Perhaps she had hit her head harder than I had first thought.

After checking her pulse and finding it beating steadily, I sat down and contemplated my next course of action. Taking off my backpack, I found the food packets and calculated that I had enough to last us for a day, and if we were careful, two.

Glancing down at my own injury and then Ashoka's still form, I realized that a food shortage wouldn't be our only problem. If we were going to survive this, we needed food, we needed water, and we needed medical attention, and fast. Considering we only had a little of one of those necessities, things weren't looking good.

Interrupting my depressing thoughts, somewhere outside, I heard a 'thunk.' Immediately, I froze. My ears listening for any further sounds, my eyes scanned the foreign surroundings for movement.

Through my terror, I realized that although our situation was dire, I could still contribute in one area: protection. Pushing myself to my feet, I snatched my light saber from where it hung around my waist and activated it. Standing near Ashoka, I gripped my weapon tightly, ready for action.

I'd been so on edge that I didn't realize my mistake until it was too late. From behind me, a noise echoed, and I quickly spun around. Realizing my fatal mistake, I turned back around only to be hit in the chest by a pair of boots as someone swung inside the Phantom.

In the process of falling backwards, my light saber flew out of my hand and landed several feet away. Gasping for the breath that evaded my lungs, I threatened to collapse, but somehow, through sheer strength of will, I remained upright and leaned against the wall.

Perhaps if the intruder had been anyone else, I could've had some hope in this situation, but that proved impossible as I surveyed the person before me. From head to toe, he was dressed in white, scuffed armor, but what caught my eye was his helmet, for staining it was the imprint of a bloody hand.

He was a Storm Trooper.

"Two Jedi," the soldier remarked and pointed his gun at me, "I should shoot you where you're standing."