𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐔𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 - DIN DJARIN

Chapter 27: The Crash

The Frog Lady screeches again at your side, especially as the whistling of the dead-in-the-air Crest gets louder. You have to try hard yourself not to scream at Din, trusting his piloting skills as you grip onto whatever you can for dear life. Din remains perfectly calm all the way until he gets the Crest back under his control, navigating it towards a gorge in the icy cliffs as he aims to fit the ship somewhere inside it.

You can hear the x-wings just behind the ship. All that work for nothing.

Din's starting to breathe more heavily now as he guides the Crest through the icy gorge, sometimes just narrowly avoiding the icy walls as Carson speaks over the intercom again. "Come on, Razor Crest, don't make us do it," he nearly pleads.

Din turns a corner rapidly, heading towards a narrow rift in the icy rocks. You tighten your grip, your eyes widening even more as you look at the small space. "Riduur!" you exclaim in a warning tone yet again.

"I've got it!" Din insists, grunting when he pulls the Crest inside—bumping the engine along one of the ridges as he does so. He's breathing even more heavily as he dodges every obstacle facing him inside, only briefly turning his head to address the Frog Lady. "Hold on," he urges, his voice tight as he focuses on his task again. The Crest rocks when the side meets the icy wall again, the belly soon hitting the ground as Din keeps it there and drags it along the ice and snow. He maneuvers the ship until you're moving backwards, soon urging the levers back once again as you bounce off a ramp-like part of the ice. The Crest lands hard yet swiftly, sliding back until it's brought to a stop under the shelter of an icy cave.

The three of you in the cockpit are breathing heavily as you wait for any sign of an x-wing, instead hearing them fly by as they seemingly completely miss where you're hiding out. Din starts to look around, making sure you and the Frog Lady are all right in a way that warms your chest.

"We're fine," you reassure him further—your small smile disappearing quickly when you remember the one person who's not in the cockpit. "But I'm gonna go check in on our son."

Din gives you an urgent nod, as if he's upset with himself for not thinking of that earlier. You stand from your seat and make your way out of the cockpit. You only have enough time to descend the ladder to the hull and open the child's compartment before the Crest starts to buck beneath you, causing your eyes to at least double in size as you start to rock back and forth. You're about to call out to Din to see what's happening when you're suddenly thrown to the wall on your right side—and the last thing you remember before you see black is the free-falling of the Crest through cold, chilling air.

When Din comes to, the first thing he's aware of is the way his armor's sticking to the dashboard. Quickly, he lifts his helmet and separates his beskar from the controls, reaching up to toy with some of the buttons and switches that are going off. He realizes his armor's almost completely frozen over—and that means the ship's already been sitting here longer than it should've.

He turns around quickly in his chair when he hears a groaning sound, seeing the Frog Lady shivering and nearly freezing herself on the floor of the cockpit. Din immediately leaps into action, jumping onto his feet—despite the way his frozen bones cry out at the motion—and helping her off the floor and back into her seat. He tries to find his voice while he settles her back into her seat, but she's panicking, and Din knows why when he looks in the direction of the cockpit's door.

"I'll find your eggs, don't worry," Din assures her, his modulated voice still croaking thanks to his unconscious state. He starts to think aloud, trying to process what's happened. "Gotta' get you some blankets... keep you warm..." It's then that he trails off, his eyes going wide underneath the helmet as a hard realization hits him.