Skies over Europe

Laying on his back, stretched out over the seats he couldn't stop thinking about the fragment he'd lost. Why had it seemed so familiar? Thoughts of it being Covenant had crossed his mind, but it didn't seem like any of their technology, nor did it have the distinctive coloring, this is of course all ignoring the fact that it would be ridiculous for the Covenant to be here at all. He was here yes, but his own arrival here was improbable enough, one time didn't set a trend, only served as an exception to the norm. But…what if the Covenant were here? At the least it would be a very small amount, otherwise they would've tried to conquer Earth…again. What if the he wasn't the only one that went through that slipspace rupture and came out on this end. Could his squad be here too? Anger and confusion welled up within him, there was just too many things going on that were out of his control, that he couldn't know. Thinking on it, he had a lot to do when he got back to base, enough to keep his mind occupied for a decent while: patch up his ribs, talk to the ape about getting back home/how he got here, repair his armor, check his helmet's internal data, and most immediately important, getting a read out on the ammo situation. It seemed that they largely used typical gunpowder-based weapons, the only caveat being that UNSC weapons and ammo are a far cry from normal at this period in time, it would seem rather self-explanatory but the ammo is specifically catered to the unique style of UNSC weaponry.

Take the M7S caseless submachine gun, it doesn't have an ejection port specifically because the ammo does away with the typical conventions of brass casing and instead relies on a disintegrating polymer, add on top of the fact that the ammo isn't simply caseless but full metal jacket as well, and its bound to cause problems for any inexperienced weapons manufacturer. He's sure that some form exists in this world, but the question is have they overcome the early hurdles for easy production, his M7S simply would not be able to use any other ammunition because of the lack of an ejection port. Then his battle rifle posed an entirely other problem, made specifically to combat heavily armored and shielded Covenant, the rounds for the typical battle rifle are absolutely fucking powerful, and for all intents and purposes, still considered 'experimental' by the UNSC, just another challenge for him to deal with. In the end he'd probably see if the ape had any ideas for what he could do, wouldn't be useful if he's not properly outfitted. Staring at the ceiling of the drop ship, his eyes began to drop and before he knew it, he was falling into the alluring abyss of sleep.

"You were never good enough to save her, you fight them not because you hope to win but because you hope to die."

Adrian's woke with a start, his breathing was ragged and heavy, the deeper gulps he tried to tale the more suffocating he began to feel, ripping off his helmet he took a massive mouthful of fresh air. Wiping his hand over his sweaty face, he ran a hand through his soaking hair, it was only then that he realized he was being watched. Looking to the opening of the drop ship he saw Dr. Ziegler standing there, a pitying expression on her face, it seemed that they'd already landed, and he'd simply been here wasting away.

"Can I help you Dr. Ziegler?" His words laced with an underlying anger. He was never a particularly pleasant person after nightmares and he despised being pitied, what he really needed was a cigarette. Opening a zipper on his shoulder he pulled out a crumpled box of cigarettes and zippo lighter, placing it in his mouth he lit and took a long drag. Calling himself a smoker would be like calling the Covenant merciful, if one looked at it in the most obtuse and fucking pedantic way, then sure he was a smoker. It'd never been much a habit he picked up, though it's not like you can spend thirteen years in a literal hell and not pick up smoking, its cheap, easy to ship, and the nicotine can be the only keeping you from jumping in front of the next wraith you see.

"Well originally I'd come to check up on you, but now it seems like I'll have to lecture you about your smoking habits." She gave a polite smile.

"Thanks for the concern Doc, but if I live long enough to see long cancer take me then I'd consider that a miracle." He snarked back.

Her polite smile faltered a bit before she remembered the original reason she was there, "I'd gotten word ahead of time that you had rather…eventful encounter with Reaper and sustained some injuries. Aside from caring for your injuries I'm also required to give you a physical examination, its standard for all members but it seems in the excitement of your arrival it was overlooked."

Adrian gingerly got up, at their mention his ribs feeling more tender than ever, "Just as long as you don't snap your gloves on." He grimaced, "Jesus mother of a shitstick, yeah alright Doc, I'll take your help."

To say that he walked himself to Doctor Ziegler's office would be an exaggeration, it's more like he limped like a crippled penguin, swearing every other step. Finally sitting down, it felt like a scorpion had been taken off his shoulder, Dr. Ziegler disappeared somewhere into her office and Adrian took the time to look around. Of course, it'd be redundant to say that it was different than the UNSC, but when you've spent half your life serving them, it's hard to compare it to anything else. One word to describe this place would be inviting, and as oxymoronic as it might sound it did the opposite of that. Field hospitals and medical stations under the UNSC were bleak to say the least, those that survived covvie weaponry would be in extraordinary pain, only half of all those admitted to field hospitals managed to surive. A harsh reality but one that most soldiers had gotten accustomed to, and to have a similar place feeling inviting… it just didn't sit well with him, it was like decorating a graveyard with birthday candles. Ziegler returned with a massive staff, for a brief second Adrian wondered if this world was technologically advanced, but the medical world was still beating the shit out of people in the hopes it'd fix them. An odd glow began to emanate from the tip of the staff, soon it spread out like tendrils and engulfed him, all the pain and soreness he'd felt began to wash away. His earlier frustrations melted away; it was the best he'd felt in years.

"That's – its hard to describe, I can't…what the hell is it?"

"I won't bore you with the details, it's of my own creation, essentially it emits a series of nanoparticles that rapidly increase your bodies natural healing ability while also being able to correct minor bone alignment to prevent bones from healing incorrectly. Major injuries can't be avoided, but smaller things that bruising, fractures, and open wounds can be speed up" She'd never consider herself vain, but it did always give her a sense of pride to be able to talk about her work. She just wished she'd never have to use it because of such violent interactions, though she was curious about the medical situation back in Kasporov's home, she'd leave that discussion for another time. "Now I'll have to ask you to take off your armor and bodysuit for this examination."

Angela turned to gather her equipment and medical instruments, normally she'd be able to reference a patient's previous documents but with someone from an entirely different Earth, it'd be better to simply go through the full procedure. Turning back around she was ashamed to say that she was stunned at the scene in front of her, as a doctor she'd seen plenty of awful things and been witness to much of the depravity that mankind can inflict upon itself. She'd never so much of that cruelty inflicted on one man before, his entire back was riddled in scars, wounds, there were several areas where the skin seemed to have been burnt and scorched but never quite healed, like molten flesh that shouldn't exist. As he turned to face her, it seemed that the wounds were suffered over his entire body, she hadn't forgotten the near-extinction level event his humanity had been facing, but it had seemed so impossible it was hard to truly grasp. Seeing the consequences in front of her, it was then that the true weight of his war weighed upon her, the true face of an extinction that she would never face, looking into his eyes only solidified what she thought. What this man had suffered through was far beyond anything that anyone in Overwatch would live through, their 'great war' with the Omnics was absolutely nothing compared to his war. Deep within her, just momentarily, a brief flash in the passage of eternity, she questioned her role in the world, what she was doing here with Overwatch. At this point Overwatch seemed so small, so insignificant, they were a small ragtag group of heroes trying to do good things on this small Earth. What Adrian had faced, what he fought for, it was then that his words of the glassings truly sunk in, he witnessed entire worlds get wiped from the face of existence, he faced the possibility of a true extinction that would wipe the memory of human from the face of the universe. It'd seemed so pointless to ask, she wasn't sure if it was her life as a doctor or any almost sublimely twisted interest, but she couldn't stop herself from wondering.

"How…are you alive?"

The expression on his face must've been surprised enough to make her regret her question, but he didn't blame her. He gotten so used to his own scars and those of everyone else, he'd say he's gotten off quite lucky compared to most others, it'd definitely be a surprise to just about anyone else. In fact he'd often wondered the same thing himself, how he'd managed to survive this long, why'd he survived when so many others hadn't.

"I've gotten used to the fact that I look like a human pin cushion, most others do where I'm from. I don't take it as a personal insult if you're curious, but I don't need any damn pity, I've accepted the shit hand life dealt me."

Snapped from her daze, she began to set up the equipment and running test, "Well…I'd like to cover my embarrassment by saying its professional curiosity, but I suppose that's not any more polite than admitting my own personal curiosity…and horror. Such as, those unusual burn marks that uhmm-"

"Don't look human? That'd be plasma burns, the main weapon type used by the Covenant, super-heated plasma worked into a variety of weapons. Nastiest shit I've ever, our armor is practically worthless against it, might as well tape paper to your body and you'd get the same protection."

"That's awful! They just send you out there with worthless armor?"

"I'm exaggerating, but it's not great. My armor here is composite titanium, stacked and layered multiple times with various metals, and I can take maybe two or three hits from plasma before its entirely melted, but that's ignoring the fact that even one hit still leaves a partially melting piece of metal stuck to your chest. I just feel bad for the regular ole infantry that have even worse armor than mine." Silence reigned in as Ziegler continued her tests, it'd been strange for Adrian to talk so much, he'd never been quiet but there were others in his squad who ran their mouths enough for them all. Then he was the focus of so much interest, it made him uncomfortable, "If you don't mind Doc, I've been wondering about your accent. Where are you from? I knew a guy from a planet called New Harmony who had something similar."

"Ah, I am from Switzerland. My parents both immigrated from Germany when they were in their twenties, not long after they moved, I was born. I spent most of childhood in Zurich, though my family had a vacation home off of Lake Zug."

"Huh, I assume Switzerland somewhere in Europe then?"

Angela gave a light laugh, "You do not know? Its right in the middle of Europe!"

"Never been to Earth before, first time I ever saw her in person was when I was being deployed during the invasion, even then I got swept away before I could even set foot on the ground. I guess this is my first time ever being on Earth."

"Do you consider it home? Earth I mean."

Adrian thought on it, "I'm…really not sure. Some guys I've met do, never seen it but ask them about their home and they'll say 'Earth'. It depends on your ties I guess."

"What about your actual home then? Where you were born?" She noticed his body tense momentarily before relaxing.

"I was born on a colony called Kholo, in the Aberdaus System. It wasn't an awful place to live by any means, but most of it was barren desert, most of the population lived around the one large ocean that existed on the planet. It was always surreal living in the city and being able to look out into the vast wilderness and see exactly where the lush plant life just stopped, almost as if there was an invisible wall. Storms were rare, but intense, we'd go weeks without rain and then all of a sudden, it'd appear without warning. Flooding used to be a big issue because of this, but eventually we developed some sort of unique irrigation system that allowed us to expand into the desert. The only problem being the wild weather that existed in the wasteland, it wasn't uncommon for these massive dust storms to rage for days out in the middle of the desert. Far away from us, practically the opposite side of the continent, but you'd know if there was a storm raging because during the evenings…the sunlight would become this unreal shade of reddish-brown." As he explained, Angela listened with rapt attention, being able to hear of these otherworldly wonders was absorbing.

"What of your family then? Do they still live on Kholo?"

His light smile twitched as he struggled to keep from frowning, "They're… well – thanks for every Dr. Ziegler, I appreciate it. If I have your all clear I've got some things to take care of." She frowned at the abrupt change in subject but let it slide, giving him the all clear she watched as he systemically reequipped his gear. He left with a curt nod, leaving Angela to only question their new guest even more, though it was clear his family was a touchy subject. She made a mental note to try to avoid such personal questions in the future.

Originally planning to talk to Winston at some point today, he decided to toss that on the backburner. Deciding to wander the base and distract his mind instead, first he'd need to find a workshop or armory, somewhere he could get the materials to repair his armor and find a solution to his ammo situation. Better yet, if he could find the quartermaster, they'd surely be able to do all of that, he wouldn't be able to do any meaningful repairs to his armor on his own, lack of tools aside, he'd need someone truly skilled to work on titanium armor. It took him a few minutes of wandering to finally come across what looked like a workshop, bits of junk littered the floor, tool were mounted across all the walls, and half-repaired weapons laid on work benches. Wandering over to one of the workbenches, it looked like a prototype weapons, the metal was largely unpolished with sketches across the entire desk. Frankly it looked bulky and unwieldy, it had a bullpup design but it would've been a pain to reload, if anything it looked like someone had turned a UNSC into a weapon.

"Aye! Who the hell do you think you think you are, coming in here to my workshop and messing with my work!" Adrian turned to see a short, stocky man walk into the room, the man had an absolutely massive beard, he was surprised that the beard didn't pull him to the floor since it was practically as big as the man was. Briefly Adrian thought that it was like if a grunt had been turned into a human.

"I came here like for a quartermaster, my armor needs repairs and I had questions about making unique ammo."

"You're that new guy, aren't you? I don't care about your damn sob story or whatever it was. Go bother someone else, I have my own work to do. Fix your damn armor yourself." With that the short man left, leaving Adrian wondering why he came into this room in the first place.

"Fucking dwarf." He muttered under his breath.

"I'm sorry for my father, he can be a bit rough around the edges." A young girl walked into the room from where the other man had recently just left.

"That man is your father? I've having a hard time finding a resemblance." Where the man, her father, had been astronomically short and stocky with a massive blonde beard, this girl was almost as tall as himself, with dark auburn hair and a strong physique. It seemed that her father's stockiness had gone into endowing other parts of her body instead Adrian thought to himself as he looked her over.

She laughed, "I'm not entirely sure either, it seems I get my looks from my mother instead. Good thing for that I say. I'm Brigette."

"Adrian." He stuck out his hand, she grabbed it with a firm vice, harder than he'd anticipated.

"So I overheard that you need repairs and ammo?"

He nodded his head shaking his hand as he drew it back from her, "My armor needs repairs, but its specialized and above what I can do, my ammo needs are also unique. I'll show you what I mean."

Unstrapping his chest plate, he laid it down with a heavy bang onto the nearest open table. He also took out a round from each of his weapon's magazines as she walked over. She looked over the armor first, running her hands over the large fist-sized dent that Reaper's shotgun blast had caused.

"Its composite titanium, while its not in any bad shape now, I mostly want to know that in the future it can be repaired."

"Hmm I see what you mean, its not impossible, but its different than what the others use. I should be able to fix it up if it comes to, I'll also talk to my father for you. He's stubborn but can't resist a challenge, he's the best metalsmith I know, so if I can't do it then he will. As for your ammo, that won't be a problem, lots of the others have personal weapons with strange ammunition, your bullets are complex, but I can get new ammunition made to these exact specs. This will all take though, new molds will have to be made and materials ordered from overseas, I hope that's alright."

Adrian gave a sigh of relief, it was working out better than he'd planned, "That'll be fine, my armor will hold and I've got enough ammo for another couple missions."

He began to reequip his chest plate when he noticed that the girl was looking at him with a curious expression, "I haven't seen you here before though, are you a new member?"

So not everyone knew of his situation, he wasn't sure how long that would last but he'd take it for now.

"Uh yeah, just got here a day or so ago."

She smiled, "Well its nice to always have more here helping out! I'll see you around Adrian." Waving she turned and walked over to a project, in the corner of the workshop he saw he pod laying against the wall. Going over to it he found the duffle bag that was confiscated when he was captured. Rifling through it he saw it still had the spare supplies and equipment he'd brought originally. Heaving over his shoulder, he gave one last wave to Brigette and headed back to his room. Sliding open the door he tossed his helmet unceremoniously onto the table, sitting down at the desk his chair let out a loud creak as it strained under the weight of all his gear. He hefted the bag onto the rest of the desk and began removing all of his equipment, he'd only seen a fraction of the technology in this world but it was far different that what he worked on, even with covvie tech he'd been trained and had experience with it, but this was all new. It had some similarities of course with his own world, but the stuff that was familiar was extremely dated, the rest of it was. It wasn't impossible, but it wouldn't be easy. Hooking up his helmet with his TACPAD, he scrolled through piles of data and logged information, then he opened the holo computer they'd given him and attempted a wireless linking of the two. As expected, the two didn't even register each other as existing, opening the command screen on the holo computer, he typed in a few new commands in the hope of at least establishing a connection. Checking his TACPAD, he saw that he could brute force a connection, not what he'd hope but beggars can't be choosers. Copying the data from his helmet onto his TACPAD, he attempted to transfer the information over to the holo computer, only for a warning sign on the computer to pop-up, 'ERROR 35.0051.X3: INVALID DATA – TRANSFERFER CORRUPTED.'

Adrian stared at it before speaking, "Huh, that went better than I anticipated."