Unwritten Path [PAUSED]

𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒚-𝑭𝒊𝒗𝒆

22 BBY, Month 10

Groaning softly, Lexi's head swam as she tried to push through the fog of disorientation. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the dim, flickering light of the damaged ship's interior. The air was thick with the horrid scent of burning circuitry, and the low hum of malfunctioning systems buzzed in her ears. She blinked several times to clear the haze in her vision, squinting at the scene unfolding around her.

To her right, several clones were strewn across the floor, some motionless, others barely conscious. A few leaned against the jagged walls, their grey armor stark against the peeling, dirty white plating of the ship. The walls themselves were scorched and buckling, with dark smoke curling in the air, mingling with the acrid smell of burning plasma. Her head throbbed painfully, and as she tried to push herself upright, a jolt of soreness shot through her body. Every inch of her felt like it had been pummeled, her muscles tight and raw, bruises already beginning to form beneath her scratched and scorched armor.

"Sir! The commander is down!" The panicked voice of one of the clones broke through the ringing in her ears.

Her hearing was still muffled, a distant buzzing echoing like a broken transmission. She blinked, trying to focus, but her vision remained blurry for a moment. The sensation of weightlessness lingered as she forced herself to sit up, her body protesting with every movement. She gritted her teeth and pushed against the cold, crumpled wall for leverage. Pain flared through her joints as she made the effort, but she steadied herself with a deep, shaky breath.

Looking up, her gaze fell on the twisted remnants of the ceiling, bent and charred from the crash. Sparks danced from exposed wires, casting brief flashes of light in the darkened room. Her mind struggled to piece together what had happened—her memory was a haze, fragmented and unclear. All she could recall was the deafening roar of the explosion and then—nothing.

Lexi's hand instinctively reached for her helmet, but it wasn't there. Instead, her fingers found the rough surface of the wall as she forced herself to focus on the clones still alive around her. Most were injured, some worse than others, but she couldn't shake the feeling of dread that settled in her gut. They were in a dire situation, and the fact that she was still breathing felt almost like a cruel joke.

"What happened?" she croaked, her voice hoarse.

A clone by her side moved to her quickly, checking her vitals as he spoke, his face grim beneath his helmet. "We were ambushed, ma'am."

Lexi's eyes narrowed as she tried to make sense of his words. She scanned the wreckage around her again, noticing the heavy damage to the ship. She could feel the blood pounding in her temples, the dizziness threatening to return. "Droids?" she asked, her voice shaky but steady enough.

The clone shook his head, his expression unreadable beneath his visor. "No, Commander. Before we crashed, we detected a life form." The words hit her like a cold splash of water. A life form? What did that mean? She forced herself to steady her breathing, trying to ignore the ache that rippled through her body.