Puncture

*PIIIIIIIIII* *BFFFFFFFF*

The only thing I could hear through this ear piercing ring was the deafening roar of an inferno. If I was even the slightest bit coherent, I would probably be able to feel sweat roll down my body from the heat.

I winced as a wave of extreme pain pulsed through my brain. Between the waves, I was able to feel that my entire body was screaming from the torture.

Slowly opening my eyes, everything was blurry. It felt as if I was completely inebriated and didn't have my glasses on me.

Through the pain, I struggled to raise my right hand. Despite the blurriness, I was able to see that it was dyed red. Closing my fist, it felt wet. Was that blood?

I blinked a few times, clearing away a small bit of the haziness I was afflicted with. However, an impulsive feeling came through my chest.

*COUGH*

Specks of red sprayed out of my mouth. They were barely visible through the blurry screen held over me. Coughing blood was never good but I was almost unable to process this thought.

Fighting against the extreme pain, I managed to place my right hand on my belt. I grabbed two syringes and unclipped them. I jammed them both onto my thigh and pressed the buttons on top.

*Pshhhhh*

The sound of the epinephrine and bacta being pushed out of the needles made my ears ring slightly. The ringing quickly subsided as a wave of warmth and energy washed over my entire body.

*HUUUH*

It was so intense that my eyes closed involuntarily and I sucked in a huge breath. The breath brought on a different time of excruciating pain, the sharpness shot through my body, radiating to every part of me.

Upon opening my eyes again, I found my vision quite clear. I also found that my mind was a bit more calm. This allowed me to finally address my situation.

Looking down towards the source of the pain, I began to panic. Jutting out of my upper stomach was a piece of metal about the side of a beer bottle. It was jagged and bent like a shank one would find in a prison.

I quickly closed my eyes, pushing through the intense pain and taking deep breaths. Along with the force, my skills were the only thing I could trust in. I didn't know if any of the troopers we had brought with us were medics but I doubted they'd be in a better condition. For now, I could only thank myself for relocating my shoulder before getting into this mess.

*COUGH* *COUGH*

My eyes started to burn from the faint layer of smoke that began to fill the shuttle. Glancing upwards, I remembered that there was a small life support kit above each seat. I unlatched the door and a gasmask fell out, smacking me in the face. "Fu-"

*COUGH* *COUGH*

More blood covered my hands as I struggled to reach for the gas mask which thankfully landed on my lap. I pressed it onto my face and it immediately adhered, protecting my facial orifices from the smoke.

With clean air, I was able to think even more clearly. I quickly looked around for something to resolve my current situation. I couldn't even spare a thought for my comrades. If I didn't take care of this piece of shrapnel, I would die.

It only took me a few seconds to find what I was looking for. A standard medical kit wouldn't have the equipment I needed for the crude treatment I needed to apply. However, the repair kit under the seat across from me would definitely have such equipment.

Using both of my hands, I released the straps by unlatching the buckles. I leaned forwards but quickly found the ground approaching my face. I had no strength to stand.

*Thud*

I managed to land on my forearms and knees, saving myself from pushing the metal even further into my torso and causing lethal damage.

*COUGH*

Blood sprayed out of my mouth, covering about half of the glass on the mask I had put on. Almost instantly, a line of blue light wiped across the glass and the blood was cleaned away. How does that even work? Whatever, no time for that right now.

Remaining on my hands and knees, I crawled across the floor. Each and every movement sent waves of pain shooting across my body, nearly causing me to collapse. I had to persevere. The lives of these locals depended on it. That is if any of them were even alive still.

After an unknown amount of time, I finally managed to reach the kit. It felt like I had been crawling for hours but I knew it was just an illusion from the intense pain.

Reaching forward, I tried to release the straps on the kit. Several times I tried but success did not present itself.

Giving up, I reached inside my robes with my right hand. I kept a knife strapped to my left pectoral with a serrated back edge. Despite being a Jedi, I still kept standard military articles on my person. I even wore a lightweight rig that had various pieces of equipment strapped to it.

Unbuttoning the sheath, I pulled out the knife and placed the serrated edge against the left strap. With a light pull, I managed to tear it apart. It snapped back like a rubber band.

I then repeated the same thing with the right strap. I pulled back and the strap followed suit, snapping away.

*UGH*

I must have applied too much force because I found myself plopping onto my backside. Honestly, sitting was a bit more comfortable. Why didn't I think of this?

Pushing away those thoughts, I unlatched the lid of the kit and opened it up. It took a few seconds but through rummaging, I was able to find what I needed.

This blowtorch was the only way I could close up the wound and temporarily stop the bleeding. Cauterization was my only option due to the nature of self treatment under the duress of blood loss. I was already starting to feel slightly lightheaded.

Putting the blowtorch to the side, I used the knife to cut away my robes that were near the piece of metal. Aside from needing to see the injury, I would rather not fuse the fabric to my skin.

After the area was cleared adequately, I stopped to think for a moment. Pulling this shrapnel out could exasperate the injury if it had punctured anything sensitive.

I looked down and tried to recall the anatomy of the area it was entered. Beneath the skin it punctured was a membrane that covered the intestines. I had no doubt that this had been pierced.

Fortunately, my lungs sat a few inches above the point of entry so there was no risk there. In addition, it didn't appear to be close enough to my stomach for that to have been punctured. Thus, the only thing that was left were my intestines. Based on where it entered, it was basically a coin flip whether it sliced through them.

Regardless, I had to get it out and apply emergency treatment. I would just have to get some surgery later, no biggie.

Grabbing a rag from the kit, I rolled it up and bit down on it. Then, I picked up the blow torch with my left hand. As I was about to ignite it, I remembered something. I quickly inhaled through my nose a few times before sighing in relief. I could not smell fuel. Thus, it should be safe for me to ignite a flame.

Bolstering my resolve, I ignited the blowtorch and grasped the fragment with my right hand. It was now or never.

Three… Two…

I didn't even wait to fully count down and tried to trick myself. I yanked the fragment out.

"AGGGGHHHHHHH!"

I screamed in agony as I clenched my teeth onto the rag. Tossing the fragment aside I looked down and pointed the flame towards the open wound that was covered with blood. Then, I applied the flame.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The entire five seconds I had the flame applied, I was screaming in agony. After those five seconds, I couldn't take it any longer. Somehow, I managed to turn off the flame before tossing it to the side and falling to the floor on my back.

Deep breaths. In… Out… In… Out… In…

*COUGH*

Another splat of blood covered my visor as the blue light once again wiped it away. As I laid there, I found that a large portion of the pain I was feeling from my abdomen had faded. It appeared that I was lucky. There was somehow no damage to my intestines.

With this grace of God, everything would be okay. I would make it through this. For now, I would survive.