Take Me Home, Country Roads [Daisy]

[Bryce Americus]

Some parts of the galaxy were tropical paradises. Some were mystical ruins. Some were massive cities that spread over an entire planet. Some were scum infested hovels where none should dare ever tread.

Bryce Americus, however, cared not where he went or what was there. If there was a place he wanted to go, he'd go. He was stubborn like that. This is how he found himself in the predicament he was in now. He, inside of his M-250, on the run from a band of pirates. Onboard his M-250, was something of value to the pirates. Something Bryce had to get his hands on. And so he did. Had to take out several pirates on his way in and out, but not enough to secure his escape. He barely made it to his starfighter alive. A few scrapes and burns, but nothing he wasn't already used to.

Bryce had no backup on this little operation of ihs. None of his team even knew where he was at the time. He kept it a secret to keep the team from looking for their shares. Bryce, however, did not anticipate this much resistance. He expected an easy job. And now, he was being chased down by at least a dozen angry pirates. It was quite the pickle he found himself in.

"Chit. Chit. Chit. CHIT. Gotta hide. Gotta hi-" Bryce was suddenly cut off. A laser managed to hit one of his engines. Smoke began pouring from the damaged engine. Bryce was running out of time. He had only one option. A nearby planet. One he didn't know anything about, but he was certainly desperate at this point. An emergency landing would have to be made. He quickly whipped his starfighter towards the planet and ripped through the planet's atmosphere.

His fighter began to light up in flames as he came closer to the ground.

Smoke began filling his lungs.

The cold embrace of death was overcoming him.

His fighter came closer and closer to the ground. Yet, the young Mandalorian showed no fear or any regret for what he had done. He knew he would survive this. He always had luck on his side. It's what kept him going this long and he knew it would not abandon him now.

Then ... darkness.

His fighter hit the ground hard. At the speed it was going, it ripped through the dirt, sending him sliding almost a half mile from where he brought his ship down. There he sat in his fighter. Unconscious and in danger of the flames around him and the pirates on the look for their treasure.

[member="Daisy Americus"]​

 

[Daisy Americus]

Location: Haseria [Durango] - Americus Farm

“Got a girl from the south side, got braids in her hair—first time ah seen her walk by, man, ah ‘bout fell off my chair...”, Daisy sang along with the music that played from a refurbished Audiobulb while working in the garden that her mother, Betty Americus, had started. There were all sorts of vegetables that seemed to grow well on Haseria but they were still testing things out. It would be a waste of time to cultivate fields of green only to find out it wouldn’t grow. So, they started small. “Had to get her number, it took me like six weeks. Now me and her go way back like starship seats.”

“Body like a back road, drivin’ with my eyes closed—“

There was a sudden whistling sound in the air that caused her to look up. Golden hair was tied up from her head with a red bandana with the bulk of it in a sloppy bun. She had gardening gloves on her hands with a large pair of sunglasses hiding bright blue-green eyes. A red and white cut off t-shirt fell a little bit off of her right shoulder, made mostly modest by a tank top underneath, with a pair of bitty denim shorts. On her feet were a pair of flat-heeled nerfherding boots with little flower designs on the side.

Looking toward the bright Haserian sky she could make something out. “What in the world…” Bright and getting larger. In seconds she realized what it was. Some sort of aircraft, burning, descending rapidly, and entirely out of control. At first, her heart seized. She thought it might have been her brother. He was out on a mission for the Protectors. But, the ship was too small. The tanned woman scrambled to her feet and nearly tripped into the house to get her comm from the kitchen counter.

The Mandalorian Rangers usually handled problems on Haseria itself but their home base was pretty far off. Chit. “This is Daisy Jane Americus. I need an emergency response team sent out to Joe Americus’ farm right away. Bring the fire suppression. Lot’s of it.”

A huge crash caused the house to shake and Daisy grasped the counter to keep from losing her balance. She flung her gloves off and snatched a medi-kit from above the doorway. Mama Mericus was the town doctor. They always had medical supplies and crash kits layin’ around in convenient places. The way they lived, without the support of the Mandalorian Empire, meant that they always had to be ready. Things could go sideways in the blink of an eye.

The young woman snagged a landspeeder from the side of the house before she made her way toward the wreckage. She could see the smoke, thick, and dark a little ways off. That didn’t look good. She increased her speed and fumbled with the glove compartment. There was always a slugthrower pistol or two layin’ around and she didn’t know what sort of situation she was walking into…

By the time she got to site it looked pretty much like a bonfire. Daisy didn’t have words. How could anyone survive that? Squinting, she tried to see beyond the flame, but found that she couldn’t. There was too much smoke. Too much debris. That was when she realized that she didn’t need to search visually for signs of life. The Force whispered, in that voodoo, magic way it did. If she reached with her mediocre affinity for the Force and knew that there was someone there. Hurt. Badly—but alive.

The teeny fire suppression kit in the back of the landspeeder wasn’t going to do a thing to this. The Protectors had taught her not to panic. Use the tools she had. What did she have? Inwardly, she groaned, and prayed to the heavens, that luck was on her side. Her eyes closed. What took seconds in reality felt like forever. Finding the spark that led her down the path to…

The wind around the downed starfighter picked up. It shuffled dry and she used it to smother the flame. It didn’t all go out, but it was enough, that she could reach the person trapped inside. The manual release for the cockpit was damaged, but, still mostly functional and with the help of a prybar she was able to crack it open. Inside lay a boy. Pink-skinned from the heat, burned, and bleeding after the impact…”Chit…”

She worked him out of his harness and did her best to get him out without letting their skin touch the outside of the ship. It was still hot as a stove. Fire blankets helped but it was still mighty dangerous. Ma and Pa were going to kill her. Once she had the boy down on a blanket she grabbed the corners and tugged him a safe distance away. She could hear the sounds of other land speeders and vehicles on the approach but she wasn’t certain the boy was breathing. Too much smoke inhalation.

“Hey! Can you hear me?”

The boy didn’t answer. She wanted to shake his shoulder but feared hurting him more. Her heart sat in her throat as her mind started to go blank. What had her mother taught her? Get the victim out of danger. Keep him on his back. Make sure the airway is clear. Chest compressions. Using the heel of her hand as a guide she found the right spot and began to try and restore circulation. The blonde woman wouldn’t have known it then, but between the smoke, and the motionless body she pulled from the wreckage she was actively in tears.

She’d just reached thirty compressions when the medical team swarmed in. They pulled her away and she let them, scrambling back, so they could do their jobs. Others tried to put the fire out at the starfighter before it turned the rest of their field into ash…

Sometime later would find Daisy perched in a chair in the guestroom of her family home. The medical clinic wasn’t fully set up yet and since Betty Americus was a doctor, it only made sense, that they keep the patient here. They took shifts watching over him. Just in case. The generally cheerful Americus seemed a little wan with darkening circles under her eyes. Everyone was tired.

Currently, she was fighting sleep. The warm midday sun was so soothing along the breeze that it almost felt like someone was trying to cheat to get her to rest. Sitting up slowly, she pinched her cheeks, and shook her head—reminding herself that she needed to stay up. Mama said that their guest was mostly out of danger but that things could still turn ugly. He was covered in bacta patches and had a cuff over his right arm to help keep it straight. It’d been broken in two places.

All they could do now was wait for him to wake up.

[member="Bryce Americus"]

 

[Bryce Americus]

There in the bed, the young man laid. Tossing, turning, and covered in bruises and scratches. Most of the damage was internally, but nothing that would kill him just yet. He was a strong mandalorian warrior and built to last. Soon, his eyes began to slowly open, the bright light above him lightning up his blue eyes. He attempted to prop himself up on his elbows, but was stopped by one of the people looking after him.

"Slow down there, fella. You been out for some time now, son. Get your bearings."

"Huh? Where..am I? Who are you people?"

"You're on Haseria. You crashed our starship and was brought here for treatment."

"I ... don't remember." Bryce tried getting up again, but was stopped again by the doctor. He had no energy to fight back and get himself out of the bed. He instead laid back down. Pains throughout his body plagued him, but he didn't show any pain or agony from any of them, being well conditioned enough to ignore them.

"Oh, dear. That ain't good. Daisy, you should get in here!"

[member="Daisy Americus"]