Groaning into the darkness Mace reached up to press a hand against his temple. Hissing he sat up carefully, his back and left arm screaming in pain. He felt around with the force but there was no one else nearby. Just darkness and the claustrophobic feeling of stone above him. For a moment he couldn't remember how he'd found himself in such a predicament. Different engagements flashed behind his eyes and it was hard to settle on just one. But slowly it was coming back to him. An ambush, reinforcements in the form of separatist tanks, and an exploding building. The last thing he remembered was using the force to shove Ponds out of the way as the ground collapsed beneath him.
There was a ringing in his ears and the air felt stale. Coughing he spat dust out of his mouth and reached for his lightsaber. Igniting it carefully he looked around the cramped space with a frown. It was too difficult to focus with the pounding in his head, and even if he used the force it wasn't safe. He could end up collapsing everything on top of himself. With a resigned sigh he thumbed off his lightsaber and laid back, closing his eyes. The most he could do at the moment is put himself into a healing trance and await rescue.
"…eral? …neral! General!" A warm hand pressed against his neck and his eyes slid open sluggishly. Looking down at him, the light of a glowrod at his back, was the commander.
"Ponds?" The word came out in a sharp rasp and the man grimaced.
"Here, Sir." Lifting a canteen of water he helped Mace sit up and drink. Once he had his bearings back and his throat didn't feel like it was filled with sand he took a look around and frowned in confusion. The space was just as cramped as before and there were no holes that the commander could have crawled in through. There was no feasible way he could have missed the man before going into the healing trance.
"Ponds… how did you get here?" The man froze for a moment before grabbing some bandages from an open med kit on the ground next to him.
"I don't know, Sir." Even without the force he could tell it was a lie. Ponds was a dedicated commander and the man had a hard time outright lying, especially to Mace. The too tense shoulders and the way he avoided looking at his face were all the tells he needed.
"Ponds." He muttered reproachfully before grunting in pain as the bandages were tightened.
"Sorry, Sir." Mace let out a slow breath.
"Mace. There's no one else here." He'd given the the man permission to use his name but the man had a hard time using it when others were around. Indoctrination courtesy of the Kaminoans no doubt.
"…Mace." Ponds agreed quietly.
Using his uninjured arm he placed a hand on the man's shoulder to stop him from turning away. Their eyes met and held for one long moment, a silent battle of wills. Ponds closed his eyes and sagged, head bowed.
"Ponds-" A loud rumble made the two of them look up in alarm. The makeshift ceiling shifted and his commander cursed. Gritting his teeth Mace lifted his arms and focused as much as he could on creating a barrier to shield the from falling rubble. Small spots began to dance before his eyes and he felt his strength failing as the light went dim.
"Mace!" Arms wrapped around him and pulled him to an armored chest as the force began to swell. Looking up he blinked uncomprehendingly as the falling rocks slid past them.
"Ponds you're…" force sensitive.