A Day Unlike Any Other
Earth. A green and blue sphere in space. A planet teeming with many different forms of life. Even though large masses of land are separated by huge rolling waves of water, people communicate with each other by technology. Normally, this technology for a common human is the cell phone, flat-screen HD TV, and a vehicle or two. However, there is a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist that has all of that and more. With his brilliant mind, he was able to escape kidnappers by building his first armor suit in a cave, with a box of scraps. He named his first suit, Mark I. From there, he kept building and improving every suit more and more.
Flying over the Sahara Desert was one of those suits. Inside the suit was the inventor himself: Tony Stark. Soaring way above the sand, he does some barrel rolls and steep dives, simply for the sake of having a good time. "It's good to get out every once in a while. I got to do this more often." After this statement, Stark takes his Mark VI armor and slows it down. Down below, Tony sees nothing but sand. Plains of sand. Valleys of sand. Mountains made of sand. Sand everywhere. "Hey Jarvis, did you ever noticed that a desert looks like the ocean…..except more tan, gritty, and stopped in motion?"
A voice answers Stark through his helmet. "I just now noticed that, Sir." J.A.R.V.I. S., short for Just Another Really Very Intelligent System, replies to him in his smooth, machine/human-like voice.
Stark continues to stare at the beautiful, still landscape below him. I used to hate the sand. It reminded me of when I was held against my will and had to escape…..I also lost Yinsen over there. Stark mind goes silent, and then he continues his thought. If he were here, I would thank him for saving my life. I'm glad here was there with me.
Stark's thoughts shatter away at Jarvis's message. "Sir, an incoming aircraft is on a collision path to you. I suggest moving to the right." Without thinking about what Jarvis said, Stark flies to the right and hovers in place. A moment later, a yellow aircraft flashes past Stark's sight at a high rate of speed. The air current from the craft pulls him for his hovering position, but he quickly regains his stability.
"Has it really gotten to the point where you can't fly without a jerk cutting you off?" Stark sees that the unknown aircraft is still going down towards the desert at a blinding speed. Something's not right. "Jarvis, how fast is that craft going?"
Jarvis answers immediately. "The unknown aircraft is going roughly three hundred sixty one miles per hour."
Stark computes the data in his mind the speed of the craft with the distance to the ground, which is shown on his holographic screen to read only 20,624 feet. Without wasting another second, Stark flies on the same path the craft took. "Sir, are you going to try to stop the unknown aircraft from its collision course?" Jarvis asks.
Stark continues to fly downwards towards the craft and the desert. "That aircraft is out of control, Jarvis. They won't survive a crash like that." Stark states in a worried tone. "I have to stop it before it crashes!" Stark ends the conversation by kicking in the back thrusters. The suit responds by jerking forward at a higher speed than that of the falling craft. The closer Stark gets to the unknown craft, the closer it gets to the still sands of the desert.
In one fluid motion, Stark moves behind the craft, puts his hands onto the bottom and levels out the craft. The distance to the ground now reads 2,439 feet. Putting more power into the back thrusters and the thrusters in his boots, Stark slows the descent of both himself and the vehicle. Tony looks anxiously at the distance his suit is reading. 1,834 feet; 937 feet. Stark puts even more power into the thrusters. 597 feet; 384 feet.; 142 feet; .5 feet; .5 feet; .5 feet. Stark lets out a deep sigh of relief. That was too close.
Once he lands on the sands of the Sahara, Stark positions himself so that he can gently put the unknown aircraft into the sand. The craft sinks a little into the pliable sand, creating a soft, crunching sound. Suddenly, Stark's eyes widen at the sight of the aircraft that he caught from the sky. He recognizes the craft, but he does not believe what he sees.
This craft….I know what it is! It looks exactly like a Jedi Starfighter, right out of Episode II of Star Wars! Stark moves to the left of the craft. His mind was still trying to compute if this was even possible. "Jarvis, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Stark says, trying to confirm what is in front of him.
"Indeed, Sir. From its looks on the outside, it appears to be a Jedi Starfighter from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of Clones. In fact, it's exact classification is a Delta 7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor."
Tony stands there in shock. Has the government surpassed my technology? That's… highly unlikely. What if… the Star Wars Universe is… real? Is it possible? I mean… Thor is actually a real person that is a god from a different part of the universe. Who's to say that Jedi and Sith aren't real as well? Considering the universe is unlim-
"Sir, I have done a scan the aircraft. There is a person inside the cockpit area." Stark's thoughts dissolve away as his mind agrees with Jarvis's statement. The craft was operated by a single pilot. He uses his suit to look for the hatch to open the craft. The computer picks out the lever. Using his right hand, Tony pulls on the hatch. The sound of metal upon metal reassures Tony that it was able to open. Using both hands, he slowly lifts the window cover of the cockpit upwards and back. A hissing sound seeps out of cockpit area as the pressure equalizes with the desert air.
When Stark pushes the window of the cockpit all of the way back, the hot desert sun shines on a person leaning forward, their helmeted head resting on the control dash. Reaching in, Stark gently and carefully grabs the pilot's shoulder and pushes it backwards. When the pilot is upright in the seat, Tony realizes something right away. "The pilot's a woman." Tony says in shock.
Jarvis replies, "Indeed, Sir." Stark sees the pilot's helmet. On the one side of the white-painted helmet, that Tony could see, is the blue symbol of the Jedi Order. He also notices that there is a small trickle of blood coming from under the helmet.
Stark gives an order to Jarvis. "Jarvis, what are her vital signs? In my terms, not doctor terms." While giving the command, Stark takes hold of the helmet and slowly lifts it off the woman's head. While doing this, Jarvis uses Stark's suit to scan the woman's body and quickly, works on getting data. The helmet slides off smoothly. The hair of the pilot falls from inside the helmet to her shoulders. The sunlight shimmers on her shiny blonde hair and also on the blood that stains a small section of it.
Placing the helmet outside of the craft, Stark gets a reply from Jarvis. "In your terms ,she is unconscious with a concussion, has a small cut on the left side of her forehead, and three cracked ribs, one on her right and two on her left on the lower part of her rib cage."
Stark takes all that into thought and then asks, "Is it safe to move her?"
Jarvis quickly replies, "Yes, but be extra cautious with her ribs, Sir; and I suggest we get her medical attention quickly since we don't know how long she has been in this state."
Having heard what Jarvis said, Stark reaches in and puts his right arm behind the pilot's head and his left arm under both of her legs. Lifting her out, he gives some commands to Jarvis. "Jarvis, have Pepper look into getting someone over here as quickly as possible to pick up this Starfighter or whatever it may be. Give them the exact location for their GPSs. Tell them to take it to the Tower in New York, basement level." Taking off slowly, Stark looks at the woman's head to make sure it is in a position it will not move. It was resting in the inside of his elbow joint. Knowing that flying too high would deprive her of oxygen, Tony takes off gently and flies at a lower altitude.
Jarvis confirms Stark's command with, "I'll get right on it, Sir." Having said that, Tony quickly, but carefully, makes his way to New York and to the nearest hospital in New York.
Just hang in there. Tony says in his mind. And don't worry about your fighter. I'll take good care of it.