The first thought that came to mind as he opened his eyes was that everything hurt.
The second was that the world wasn't supposed to be upside down.
Frederic-104 bit back a groan as he blinked hard, shaking his head in an effort to orientate himself, as his thoughts returned briefly to what had transpired en route to the combat zone.
The drop was supposed to be a hot one - descend from several hundred feet above ground, fire thrusters and hit the ground shooting, a standard tactic. The others had managed their exit from the Pelican in good time, and he'd been about to when the chilling sound of a Banshee's engines had reached his ears, and the Pelican lurched beneath his feet as the pilot reflexively engaged in evasive maneuvers.
"Fred?" The Chief's voice had sounded over his comms, and only someone who knew the man as well as 104 did could detect the tense undertone to his voice.
"I'll catch up later," He'd replied, though they both knew all too well that he wasn't making any promises. "104, out."
"We'll make every shot count. 117 out."
"Keep going, Horner!" Fred had shouted to the pilot, receiving a short affirmation in return as he steadied himself, holding tight to the side of the drop ramp as he watched the Banshee coming around for another pass. "Seven o'clock, coming in fa-"
That was when the shots came from below them, from a second Banshee that neither had seen coming. Between the bursts of the impact and the reflexive jerk of the Pelican as Horner tried to avoid fire, he'd lost his grip, thrown from the vessel and sent tumbling end over end. Dimly, he was aware of a few things - the ground approaching sickeningly fast, the proximity of both Banshees ensuring that even if he righted himself to fire the thrusters of his armor he'd be a deadman. The explosion of the Pelican as another burst of fire tore it apart before he pressurized the gel layer of his suit as he realized that hitting the roof his trajectory was leading him towards was an inevitability, then-
Well then he woke up there, upside down and halfway through one of the floors of what seemed like it had once been a medical facility of some kind.
He cursed softly under his breath as he wriggled his arms free and let himself fall the rest of the way to the floor, thankful that the floor below him held as he glanced back up to the rather impressive hole he'd left during a fall through what he wagered was at least four stories. A quick onceover revealed a lot of hurts but not a lot of major damage - he'd been lucky enough to take the fall from low altitude.
He tapped the controls for his comms with his chin briefly, hearing nothing but static and the occasional hint of faint chatter from the usual bands his fellow IIs used, before he shook his head (a move he immediately regretted as an ache ran through it just behind his eyes) and tapped them again, scanning for the nearest live receiver.
"Seems I lost my battle-buddies on the day down," He said, figuring that he'd earn himself more flies with honey than vinegar. "Anybody out there lookin for a friend?"
