Force Destiny

Crash

Where am I?

Kylo couldn't hear anything but a shrill ringing that didn't seem to be coming from any direction in particular. He couldn't see anything in the darkness that blanketed him. A quick search through the Force revealed a control panel before him. He was wet and cold and had no idea where he was or how he had gotten there. His weapon was not at his hip, but he could sense it nearby. There was no one else in the Force around him, which settled his unease slightly. Attempting to move, he felt a safety harness compressing his chest.

I'm in a fighter. The Silencer?

Kylo had passed out from exhaustion once or twice on long journeys, only to be awoken by proximity alerts when he was supposed to drop out of lightspeed. It was usually a jarring experience, so he wasn't too concerned as the fog from his mind cleared. It was the lack of alarms that made him study his surroundings more closely. If it was the Silencer, everything about it was all wrong.

There should have been visibly illuminated controls at his fingertips, the steady whine of the twin ion engines, and the hypnotic blur of stars in lightspeed. There was nothing but darkness and the steady drip of something splashing into a puddle. The safety harness was unusually tight, forcing his breaths into shallow pants, so he released the safety harnesses and immediately flew upward, striking his back. Pain shot from his right hip up to his shoulder when he hit the roof... and stayed there. Was the artificial gravity generator broken? No, he realized as he rolled over to his side.

It's upside down.

That realization, coupled with the injuries, left one likely scenario.

I crashed.

The unease returned, his mind fighting through a thick fog to remember what had happened. He tried to recall the last memory that hadn't been affected, but there was nothing. He couldn't remember what he had been doing, where he was, or if he was in danger. If he was in danger, he needed to move as far away from the wreckage as possible. Even if he wasn't, he had no idea the condition of the ship or the starboard reactor. One thing was certain, staying in the wreckage was a good way to get himself killed, and dying wasn't currently at the top of his list. His head throbbed, and he felt the overwhelming desire to sleep, but he knew time was against him already.

How long was I unconscious?

Sitting up, he began to understand the extent of his injuries. Searing heat radiated from his right shoulder. Sticky warmth matted his hair to his forehead, rolling down the right side of his face. He coughed, and there was a crippling pain in the right side of his chest that stole the strength from his body. He collapsed against the side of the fighter as he fought to breathe. It was worse than he had thought.

There's debris...

He slid his left hand from his shoulder down to his hip, searching until he felt the mangled end of a metal bar embedded in his upper chest and exiting through his lower torso. It had pierced through the reinforced material of his armored tunic, suggesting the ship had hit the ground with considerable velocity. This was no ordinary crash landing. He attempted to straighten, but the pain was too staggering to endure, even with aid of the Force. It was against every survival instinct he possessed, but he knew he had to remove the bar. He pulled at the exposed edge of the projectile, lifting the ribbed piece no more than a centimeter through the raw wound in his chest. He cried out in frustration as it refused to budge. He braced his right arm against the side of the wreckage and manipulated the Force to dislodge it, groaning through clenched teeth as he removed the bloodied bar. When the bar was free, he dropped it at his feet with a metallic clang, doubled over, panting through the agony.