The world appeared to her. The details of her surroundings became sharper, and the burning metals and water surrounding her went from a blur to a reality. Raven suddenly recalled her 2078 Bo-F hitting another spaceship at nearly 10% light-speed. The last thing she remembered was rapidly jabbing the word "Eject" on the hologram in front of her, as her ship plummeted towards the surface of this strange planet. Apparently she hadn't been ejected, because she was still strapped into her seat, which was still intact with what was left of the cockpit.
She frantically unbuckled herself from the seat, and immediately fell and hit the shallow water beneath her with a splash.
She was still disoriented, as she'd only been awake for a few minutes since they wrecked, but she understood her situation, or at least she thought she did. After weakly crawling towards the shore, she collapsed and lied on the ground for a few moments, allowing the pain to ring throughout her body. She was only covered in scrapes in bruises, as she prepared for the crash as well as she could. She was aware that all of her limbs were still intact and no bones were broken, yet she couldn't say the same for whoever she'd hit. This wasn't on her mind, though. She was focused on her ship now.
What was left of the cockpit was now sinking in the lake. Raven turned, analyzing her surroundings for the rest of her Bo-F. Behind her was a muddy mound, where her plane had slid against the grass and dirt and into the lake. All around her was green vegetation, cliffs, and towering trees that filtered the sunlight. There were no clouds in the sky - only a blue blanket and a not-so-distant moon. There was a waterfall somewhere off in the distance, making the only noise in the atmosphere, besides the quietly howling winds and the roaring of a fire. It was a truly beautiful setting, yet all she could see were the scorched wings of her Bo-F jutting out of the ground, and the flames that engulfed them.
Raven eventually found the strength within herself to unsteadily rise to her feet. Her beige hood was no longer covering her wild and thick hair, and her cape was almost entirely ripped from her shoulders. She moved as if it were labor, forcing her stiff muscles to flex out a bit. She knew she had to find her weapon, fast, as she could feel the presence of danger on the planet. Whether it was the fact that she'd heard what sounded like a screech from miles away, or just the fact that she'd crashed into a stranger who could be a pirate, a thief, or worse, there was no reason not to search for her hand cannon.
After searching through the rubble and debris of what was left of her cargo, she eventually found an old hand cannon that she probably would've sold for no more than ten coins. It was old. It's barrel wasn't even modified to accept fusion-embedded bullets - something that almost every single gun in the galaxy could do since 3020. Yet, Raven found herself shoving it into the holster of her belt. It was better than nothing, and she had to be prepared when she confronted this stranger she'd crashed into.
Eventually, she found herself headed towards a fire burning in the distance. Then, she was simply following the path of a ditch of kicked-up mud, where the person's ship had skidded to a halt. The ditch was wide and long. It lead to the wreckage of the ship, where Raven ended up after a long while of forcing her body to walk through the pain.
The ship was so totaled Raven couldn't even tell what model it was. She could barely make out the cockpit, and the piloting seat, which was literally in pieces. She was about to begin searching through the rubble of the wreckage when she heard that distant screech once more, this time, much more audible. She paused for a second, looking to the sky with curious and alarmed eyes. Everything was entirely silent, except for the flames burning in the background. Raven could only begin her search, and she knew she had to conduct it hastily and quietly.
Of course, the entire time she was picking up pieces of the wreckage and peaking around large chunks of the ship for any sign of the stranger, she had her hand gripping the butt of the hand cannon tight. Yet, although she feared who the person might have been, she couldn't help but hope they were a friendly trader, like herself. She knew the possibility was low, however. She'd been flying through one of the deepest, most uninhibited parts of the Andromeda galaxy. The only kinds of people who hung around those parts were dirty, old thieves and pirates, waiting to get the jump on unsuspecting merchants and travelers, such as herself. Well, not entirely unsuspecting -- many mature traders knew the thieves' and pirates' gimmicks all too well.
Raven stopped for a moment to catch her breath, letting a piece of wreckage drop to the ground. She placed a hand on her hip as she sighed, analyzing the crash site. There was no one around that she could see. Even if they were, she almost expected them to be dead, seeing as how their ship was literally smashed to bits. Either way, she needed to find the pilot's body - dead or alive.
She was ready to begin using her tracking skills to track down where they could've escaped to when she heard a distant moan.
"Hello?" she clamored. Her soft voice echoed throughout the forest.
Silence greeted her.
Raven gripped her hand cannon once more, and entered a crouching position. She began moving cautiously towards the source of the sound, which appeared to be coming from behind a tree not far from the crash site.
She moved quietly and quickly behind the tree. Before the pilot could even blink, Raven leaped in front of them, her gun held out straight in front of her.
Raven nearly gasped as she lowered her hand cannon. She was surprised to see that it was not a pirate, nor a thief, but a young, and even attractive, woman, sitting up and leaned against a tree. The woman was so covered in dirt and blood that Raven couldn't see the tattoos that covered her neck, but if she could have, she would've never lowered her pistol.
Raven got down on her knee and examined the girls injuries before grabbing her shoulder and shaking her.
"Hey!" she said in a whisper. "Wake up!"
The woman brushed Raven's hand from her shoulder forcefully before opening her eyes.
