Awakening

The first thing I feel is pain in my head and my handas I start to become aware of my surroundings, the next is the heat. In my throat it feels as though there is a lump and my mouth is parched. I cough as I open my eyes, inhaling my lungs full
of smoke. I look up waving my hands to disperse the smoke and notice the nose of my fighter is plowed into the sand upto the cockpit glass. I press a button to open the cockpit but it doesn't work, still coughing from the smoke I try again with the
same result so I unclip my harness and start to climb out of the cockpit, pushing on the glass with my entire arm and my shoulder. Cursing that I have my gloves and flight suit on because of the intense heat, but as much as I swear as I jump out,
if not for the material I would have burned myself had I not been wearing them. Once my feet are firmly on the ground, as firm as you can get with soft sand underfoot, I take my helmet off and dump it on the floor, there's a slight dent in my helmet
and my head is throbbing, must have hit my head in the crash. I focus on breathing the smoke out of my lungs as I remove my gloves painfully snd as I pull off the left I notice the bloody bandage, I must've split my stitches. Iunzip my flight
suit half way down, shrugging it off so it's hanging from my waist as I'm looking around to see any signs of life in what looks like a barren desert. Where am I? How did I end up here? I wonder as I try to think about what happened finding I'm unable
to remember. But then on the horizon, not too far away, a large outcropping of rocks with what looks like structures atop them and... Smoke? I check the coms to see if it works, spotting my jacket in my seat, I realise the coms don't work and Igrab
my jacket.

I make my way over to the structure and to my relief it is a settlement, but there are no people, I see a tap that's dripping water and move over to it turning it on and automatically drinking from it andsplashing some over my face with my right
hand.

It looks though whatever they were doing they just stopped. I can smell a horrible stench of something burning and as I get closer I see why, there are bodies... Blackened... Burning... Then I see more dead bodies, villagers, women, elderly, even
children, though some villagers had weapons others were unarmed. All are dead. Who could have done this? I pick up a blaster just in case any hostiles are still in the area.

As I move closer to the centre of the settlement I notice the unmistakeable black and white armour of a dead stormtrooper, and several more. The defenders of this place put up a good fight. But then as I get to the centre I see what looks like all
the rest of the villagers, it looks as though they were surrounded and then butchered. I hang my head regretting that there was nothing I could do. The First Order must be stopped before any more innocents are murdered.

I look around to see if there is anything I can use to get out of this place, if not a ship a vehicle ofsome sort so I can go and find a ship in another settlement, assuming there is another settlement on this planet. As I'm walking around the settlement
checking every piece of technology I see wondering if it works I come across an advanced blaster, more advanced than anything else in this place I pick it up and look at it looks like it'll still works. I put down the blaster I picked up earlier and
sling this one over my back with the strap that is attached to it before looking around for a vehicle again.

I notice what looks like an X-Wing on the outskirts of the settlement and I jog over to it slowing down as I noticed it's badly damaged and still smoking. I then realise that this ship and the blaster must be Poe's. That's what I was doing, I was looking
for him, I was shot down by the first order. I check the cockpit, no one, thankfully, so I turn around and start calling for him hoping he can hear me if he's nearby. I go back to where I found the blaster and look around there, when that failed I
check in every building and every body, I pause on one body, an elder who looks familiar, he wasn't killed by blaster or fire like other villagers, but... Sliced... I reluctantly stand up from the face I recognise but can not place and I start to
look for Poe again, or at least his body.

Thankfully I don't find him among the dead. I can only hope he and BB8 got away safely. However, I did find a modified speeder. I check that it works and I'm eternally thankful when it does. I grab a bag and some water canisters that I have found, filling
them up from the tap I used when I first arrived and putting them in the bag with some food. I don't know how long it'll take to find another village after-all. I look out at the empty desert wondering which way to go. I look up to see which direction
the sun is moving, it's not even mid day yet, I decide to head the same way as the sun. With one last look back at the village the elder still on my mind, I set off with the hot sun at my back. Who was he? Why do I feel I know him? And... what sort
of weapon could do that? There's nothing but sand and salt flats for miles with the occasional marker, which I hope means I am heading the right way.

I stop to get a drink while still sitting on the speeder. The sun is now high in the sky and the heat is intense, causing me to stop to drink every so often. If I don't find a settlement soon I may end up dying out here. I put the canister of water away
and set off again in the same direction as before, it would be silly to change course now.

I stop and look with disbelieving eyes at an arch in the distance with what looks like ships and speeders parked around the gate. I can slightly make out the shape of tents and movement, so without further hesitation I put my foot down and head straight
for it. To my relief it's not a mirage.

I park the speeder near the gates and dismount, keeping my bag slung over my right shoulder crossing my body. And blaster on my left shoulder slung over to my right, keeping it ready just in case these people are hostile, but as I walk around looking
for someone to ask about a ship, all I see are scavengers, this is a scavenger town? Either way someone will be in charge. I wander around until I hear something out of place here, beeping, like a droid. I look around and spot a spherical orange and
white droid speeding after a running woman who is chasing a man. "BB8?" I say confused.

Before my brain has time to register what just happened I start running to catch up with the astromech.