Qie Xieling winced as pain shot through his body. Every inch of his body ached but he knew he had to get up. His eyelids fluttered open, the weak light of the broken console stinging his eyes.
He was sprawled across the control panel of his escape pod, the once pristine surfaces now marred with smoke and fire damage. The acrid smell of burning plastic and metal filled the air, making him cough. He had crash-landed on a junk planet, surrounded by a forest of rusted metal and decaying machinery.
Pain flared across his forehead, hot and insistent. He brought a hand up to touch it, his fingers coming away slick with blood. His head was pounding, each throb sending a new wave of pain through him. His arm was twisted at an awkward angle, the bone clearly broken. He bit back a cry of pain as he cradled it against his chest, slowly pushing himself up from the ground, his knees shaking under his weight.
