Confronting Fear

Rey

But I found in you what was lost in me
In a world so cold and empty
I could lie awake just to watch you breathe
In the dead of night, you went dark on me

Dark On Me - Starset

"Get me back to my ship and tell them to have a medical team ready the second we dock." Kylo shouted to his already frazzled pilot as he sprinted into the ship. He laid Rey down on the padded bench, holding her steady as the ship took off with a lurch. One of the smaller troop transports had been repurposed for the trip since the personal shuttle that Rey had stolen had not yet been replaced, for which he was suddenly grateful.

The transports functioned as triage centers after a battle and were much better supplied with medical equipment. He took several deep breaths, grounding himself in the Force as he ripped supplies out of the compartments. Panic would not save Rey.

He dropped his armload of supplies next to her as he knelt at her side, removing the contraption over her face with great care. Her normally golden skin was completely white, freckles standing out in dark contrast, her lips blue. He inspected the wound at her side. It was not a blaster wound, as he had originally thought, but caused by the shrapnel an exploding round had kicked up, pieces of the dirty metal embedded within. The bleeding had slowed somewhat which was good; also good, but puzzling was that her life force seemed to be pulled back, contained in her center.

He realized then that she entered a meditative state sometimes called a Force coma. When critically injured, those especially strong with the Force could move themselves into a much deeper meditative state than normally achievable. It had the effect of dropping the user's heart rate, which slowed bleeding, and thereby slowed death. It would not save her, but it would give him time.

The jagged strips of metal had ripped through her lower ribcage, damaging her lung, amongst other things. He tore open an oxygen mask with his teeth, placing it over her soot-smeared mouth. Could he get the shrapnel out? No best to leave that to an expert. Bandages next, his brain reminded him.

He tore away the filthy, shredded fabric of her shirt in order to give him better access. The sight of her bare stomach would normally have excited him, but at the moment he couldn't give a fuck less. He spread a large bacta patch over the wound, the gel surface absorbing blood like a sponge, taping it lightly in place. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly as he turned her over, terrified of doing anymore damage.

While he took no notice of her bare midriff, he reeled as he saw her partially bared back, but his thoughts were far from amorous. He shook himself from the trance the expanse of scarred skin had brought about, applying the second bacta patch and taping it.

He tried wrapping her torso in a thick gauze bandage he had found but couldn't hold her up and wrap at the same time. He'd later admonish himself for not using the Force to hold her, but his current state of mind couldn't comprehend it at the moment.

"Begging your majesty's pardon, but perhaps I can be of some help." spoke a hesitant voice behind his right shoulder. He looked up to see his pilot, nervously wringing his hands. "I did have some medical training before I was reassigned to the flight crew." Kylo nodded, suddenly grateful for the poor man he had terrified earlier.

"She should definitely be on her back, it will help keep pressure off that lung. Can you hold her up so I can wrap her?" Kylo Ren, never one to take orders from anyone, silently obeyed, lifting her into a sitting position as the medic-come-pilot wrapped her torso.

After the third round, the man spoke, his voice nervous, "Almost done. She's had a hard go of it huh? Those scars. Poor thing. We can lower her down now." It took Kylo a few seconds to process the man's words, before he lowered her back to the bench. "Not much more we can do now. She needs a bacta tank and sutures, and probably much more than that. I'll be heading back to the cockpit now if you need anything. We'll dock in about an hour. I'll let CMO Klendra know my lady's status."