ponds

ponds wakes up with his head on fire.

not literally, of course, though it wouldn’t be the weirdest thing that’s happened today, and he had been on fire when all this started - his kama is still singed, in places, last time he’d seen it. no, his head just - burns, like a sunny day on mustafar, and he barely manages to creak open his eyes before his stomach heaves in protest and he’s forced to close them again.

if this is the manda, it’s kind of osik.

( what happened last? boba, there had been boba, all child’s grief and anger and pain, and then seeing the holo of his general, the barrel of a blaster poking him in the back of the head, and a terrible pause, and then everything had gone black, and then cold, cold, and silent - )

where was he now, then? was he dead? he had to be dead.

it takes him a good few more minutes to groan and open his eyes even up to slits, and he sees someone almost familiar sitting next to him, at the controls of whatever ship he’s in - he’s in a ship? - now, purposefully not looking at him.

for a moment, ponds thinks it’s cody.

but - the armor is blue, and the man doesn’t have rex’s blonde hair. and come to think of it, he looks too old to be cody. and there’s no scar. he’s a bit more filled-out, a bit more suspicious or paranoid in his gestures, and his skin is - oh.

ponds doesn’t know how he manages it, but he pushes himself to sit upright, staring at the dead man in front of him.

jango doesn’t acknowledge him for a good few beats, punching something into the computer, and when he eventually speaks, it still doesn’t quite feel like it’s to ponds, jango not looking up at him.

‘ thought you boys promised me you were never going to die on your knees. ‘