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Lastok ducked behind the rock wall that shielded and hid both of them from the ongoing blaster fire. He gripped the younger man's stained uniform and tugged him lower to rest more comfortably against the hard wall. The older lieutenant frowned when the action gained a startled gasp that turned into a pain-filled groan.
"I'm sorry, Matt."
Venka gave the other man a shaky thumbs up as an answer to his apology. His brow frowned when he noticed blood stuck in the corners of the younger lieutenant's lips and attempted to brush it away with his thumb, when Venka noticed what the older man was doing, he grinned slightly which showed the bright red that stained his teeth. Lastok's heart dropped at the sight, his hands instinctively pressed harder against the younger man's stomach where the shrapnel wound was located. His eyes burned at the whine that escaped through Venka's clenched teeth, he could feel his friend's blood seeping through his gloves and sleeves.
"Shh, I know. I'm sorry, you know I need to slow the bleeding."
The younger lieutenant looked paler and the dark crimson pooled beneight him grew in size with each passing minute, Lastok was actively kneeling in the red puddle where it could soak into his uniform trousers. He breathed in deeply, the metallic smell of blood and the musky scent of the planet filled his lungs, Lastok closed his eyes for a moment before he met his friend's slightly unfocused gaze.
"How are you feeling?"
Venka didn't answer him, for a while his eyes lazily followed something he couldn't see and settled on some faraway point. The older lieutenant pressed onto the wound, noticing that the only reaction he got this time was a slight twitch of the facial muscles, no sound. He gripped his friend's shoulder and shook him a little.
"Matt?"
His hand clenched, his fingers probably painfully dug into Venka's skin but the other man didn't react to that sensation either. Lastok felt his chest tighten with each passing moment deprived of any kind of reactions, he could feel the younger man's weakening shuddering breaths beneath his hands.
"Hey, come on, just look at me. I'm not asking for anything else, just please look at me, Matt."
The younger lieutenant's eyes began to glaze over and his body started to sink lower as if it was losing the strength to hold itself up. Lastok caught him with both hands, removing any pressure he had on the wound.
"No-"
He adjusted Venka so he would lean against his body and put his soaked palm back on his friend's stomach. The bleeding was slowing down, Lastok could feel it but it only brought up dread if he thought about it, the younger man was literally slipping through his fingers. He jostled his shoulder trying to get Venka to focus on him again.
"Look at me, Matt, I'm ordering you to-"
Venka took in a gasping breath, his body flinched weakly but his eyes cleared a bit and he finally looked up at Lastok with a frown. The older lieutenant looked back, slightly confused, though under the confusion he was relieved, at least for now.
"What?"
"we've th' same rank."
Lastok chuckled wheezily looking down at the weak, blooded smile.
"I'm older, beside I'm sure that if Admiral Piett was here, he would order you the same."
The younger man huffed, wincing a little after the action, "piett hates me."
A blast bolt flew over their hiding spot, slightly grazing the top of the wall. Lastok ducked over his friend, covering him in case any bits of rock broke off the wall and fell on them. He glanced around, scanning the area for any threats or familiar figures of imperial soldiers.
"He doesn't hate you, the Admiral dislikes you at best, he simply finds you, eh...annoying."
The younger man hummed, "i wont' annoy an'more."
"You've had a change of heart?"
Venka laughed, though it barely passed as one, it sounded more like a sharp exhale. Lastok frowned and looked down at the other lieutenant and his chest tightened once again because his friend didn't just look pale anymore, he looked like a corpse. Venka's eyes weren't really focusing on anything anymore, the older man held him closer which made him notice that the other's body weight was fully resting on him, his friend's speech started to slow down, words mumbled and slurred. Lastok had to focus on feeling the lieutenant's weak heartbeat, the shrapnel wound barely bleed underneath his hand. He tapped the younger man's cheek, leaving behind a dark red handprint that only made Venka look more dead than he already did. The other man's eyes focused back on his.
"Why won't you annoy Piett anymore? It's your favorite thing ever."
"im not gettin' off this planet alive rado."
The younger man said it with such finality, it was something Lastok kept out of his head up to that moment, the idea that he would be the only one out of the two of them to come back alive struck him. His hands tightened around his friend and he shook his head.
"You talk nonsense, you will get off this planet, and in two days you will be back to annoying Piett on the Executor's bridge."
Venka sighed, resting his head against Lastok's chest, right over his heart. He sniffled weakly as his eyes welled up, the spilled tears turned red as they dripped down over the blood on his face. The younger man gripped Lastok's arm with the remaining strength he had.
"rado, i don't wanna die yet..."
Lastok swallowed hard and hugged his friend closer, "I know, Matt. It's going to be okay."
The older man still pressed down onto the wound, even though the logical part of him knew that it wouldn't do anything anymore, he didn't want to give up. The battle around them was quieting down, he could hear the shouts of his fellow soldiers, Lastok could even recognize his general's voice somewhere out there. He looked back at the younger lieutenant who had been almost quiet for the last few minutes, his chest barely moved with his shallow breaths and he was back to looking into the void with glazed-over eyes. Blood was covering the both of them, their uniforms soaked in it and Lastok knew that the clothes he was wearing would be trashed once everything died down. And in approximately four minutes it was quiet.
Fully silent.