124 Another Happy Landing

My vision turned red as a burst of red light flashed past me. I pulled hard left and up to avoid it just barely.

Iso then spoke to me. "Commander, there's 4 now."

I pulled back to the right, barely dodging a missile. "NO SHIT! JUST FUCKING SHOOT THEM!"

I heard an audible sigh through the channel. "Sorry man, got my hands… got one. My hands are full over here."

On a whim, I zeroed my throttle and spun around. Without even bothering to aim, I squeezed both triggers.

Twin streams of blue lasers ripped through two bogeys. The other two flew by and looped around to continue their pursuit.

Before they could be on my tail again, I re-engaged my thrusters and sped off. Unfortunately, this would be the slightest of reprieves.

A quick glance at my scanner confirmed the sinking feeling that had been creeping in my mind. A full enemy squadron was approaching from my front right.

I was now effectively surrounded. To my left was the enemy fleet and behind me were more enemy fighters.

I gritted my teeth as I pulled left. "UGHHHHHH!"

Something had to be done quickly for me to shake the growing number of enemies tailing me. There was more than a dozen now. They did realize that there were other Republic fighters, right?

Moving towards the enemy fleet felt like the best option at the moment. I was too far from the Republic fleet and a large cruiser was what I needed to put something between my pursuers and me.

Streaks of light continuously flew by. Nary a few landed true. I spun left and right, turned back and forth, my fighter was being pushed to the limits and so was my body. The G-forces were almost unbearable.

Then, my fighter shook as several shots landed. The screaming controls revealed the only fact that mattered right now… My shields were gone.

I felt my death imminent. An unavoidable chain of events had commenced. There was no fighting it. This flight was over.

Another shot landed. Cracks shot across the canopy in a web as the controls flickered, barely clinging to life. Every status indicator was blinking and beeping like there was no tomorrow. A slight stream of smoke even started to fill the cockpit.

With one last hurrah, my eyes darted around to examine my surroundings. Through my disorientation, my eyes locked on the only alternative to my current situation. There was now a fork in the road. I felt time slow down as a torrent of thoughts splashed through my mind.

Just within reach was an open hangar bay on the side of the Imperial Cruiser I was flying next to.

Now, a choice. Would I welcome the grasp of guaranteed death brought by the unrelenting vacuum of space? Or would I play the odds of death, capture, or escape aboard a cruiser I have no knowledge of?

A smirk formed on my face as I tightened my grip on the control wheel. "I like those odds."

With a hearty push, my fighter entered a nosedive. My fate may not be sealed but for now, I knew where I was headed.

I glanced at my scanner to see it barely functioning. Fortunately, I was able to gather that my pursuers had pulled off. They had written me off as dead. Whether that death came from the ailments plaguing my starfighter or the weapons platforms lining the behemoth to which I was adjacent, I was no longer of concern to them.

In that instant, I made a vow. They would regret that decision for the rest of their lives.

Each passing second felt like hours as I rapidly approached the hangar. I pushed back with all my might against the panic and flashbacks that threatened to consume me. I had improved in handling the leash on my emotions. If I hadn't, I would have long fallen from the light.

As I was about to reach the hangar, I pulled up to soften the landing. Then, just milliseconds prior to hitting the ground, I zeroed the thrusters.

I felt my spine threatening to flatten like a pancake as my entire body jolted. My helmet smashed into the control wheel, resulting in a serious bout of disorientation.

The fighter shook violently as it scraped across the floor. The already damaged canopy shattered. Glass went everywhere. I was so out of it that my awareness was limited to only the interior of my cockpit.

I winced in pain as I unclipped my straps and leapt through the shattered canopy. Then, I closed my eyes as I flipped through the air.

There was a throbbing pain in the outer facing side of my left forearm. I couldn't rotate my hand, but I could still move my fingers. It was likely a fractured or broken ulna.

Additionally, there was a dull pain just below my left pectoral upon inhalation and a tenderness when flexing my torso. This was a fracture on ribs 4 and/or 5.

The rest of my body appeared to be fine. I expected the dizziness to be gone soon since I was wearing a helmet. The risk of concussion was small based on my current symptoms.

My eyes shot open following my self-diagnosis. A razor-sharp focus pierced through my mind, offering some needed clarity.

I began to look around as I moved my left arm. I gripped my belt with my left hand and pressed my forearm into my waist in an attempt to immobilize it until I could fashion a sling.

Then, I turned my body upright as I landed on the ground with my feet spread and knees bent. With my right arm outstretched, I pulled one of my lightsabers into my hand and ignited it. I was as ready as I'd ever be.

Without even looking, I twisted my arm to hold my lightsaber behind my head. I felt the familiar sensation of a blaster bolt bouncing off my weapon before a pulse of death ripped through the force. Whoever fired it was now dead.

An alarm suddenly started blaring. I winced and stumbled as my head pounded from the loud noise. Shit, did I get a concussion after all?

I did my best to suppress the pain and evaluate my circumstances. There were about two dozen presences in the hangar but only five with hostility in their emotions.

With my eyes, I found three fighters in disrepair, not including my own, dozens of shipping containers, and two open doorways leading into a hallway.

Without hesitation, I began sprinting towards the closest door. I did my best to keep my body steady to avoid aggravating my injuries.

It took only a few seconds before they opened fire on me. There weren't many of them so it was quite easy to dodge and deflect all of the blaster bolts. Killing them wasn't my priority. My priorities, in order, were to acquire a disguise, treat my injuries, and then evaluate my situation.

I quickly made it to the door and ran through. Keeping straight, I went down the hall.

A short distance down the hall, but far enough that I would have some time before they found me, I noticed a laundry sign on the wall. I rushed over and opened the door which, luckily, was unlocked.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I closed the door behind me. There was no one in the room.

Leaning against the wall, I put my lightsaber away and started searching the room. I found a bin with dirty uniforms overflowing from it.

With a sigh, I pulled my helmet off and started unzipping my flight suit. It was time to blend in.