Skies above Europe

Adrian felt the rumble of the Orca tearing through the air as he rested the back of his head against the metallic wall. His left leg splayed out in front of him with his calf completely covered in gauze, the bandages that had once been a pristine white were now a dark crimson red. The dropship was thankfully very quick, by his estimates they shouldn't be far from the outpost now which meant he was that much closer this fucking pain being dealt with. Lifting his head he grabbed the discarded helmet lying next to him, its been a crazy life hasn't it, half his life spent in a war of unimaginable destruction and now at the one of the most crucial battle of the war he was stuck in what seemed like the plot of a cheesy sci-fi novel. Looking at his war-torn helmet it almost seemed to tell a story of its own, the original paint scheme faded to practically obscurity, what was once a stunning white lined with dark red was now almost entirely faded. A wolf skull, that's what had once donned his helmet, its mouth open like it was ready to kill, its jaw outlining his visor. Under the visor was the mandible, its sharp white teeth glistening with blood as though the teeth were reaching up to his face. Above his visor the teeth were long, vicious, predatory, like a snarl as the wolf readied itself for its next kill, he'd gone through multiple helmets but always they came back with the same design. To see it in such disarray brought a pang of regret to his heart for letting it reach such an abysmal state, he had to have his leg armor reformed and repaired, while he was at it he may as well get his armor restyled. Especially since for now it was his only connection to home, his real home where his squadmates were living and dying fighting for humanity.

He placed the helmet back on the seat next to him as Reinhardt's voice broke him from his musings, "So raumfahrer, this is the beast of your world?" Adrian looked across from him, Amari and Reinhardt were sitting across from him with Reinhardt giving his full attention to the elite's corpse laying in the middle of the troop bay. After picking up the corpse, Adrian outlined his concerns about covvie tech to Winston, they did a brief search but couldn't risk doing more for fear of Russian suspicion. In the end they hadn't found anything else, instead having to settle for only securing the now dead alien they had here.

"I have a name y'know."

"Ja but space-man is entertaining, besides it's fun to see you annoyed." The larger man teased, a mirthful smile gracing his lips.

"This fuckin' guy," He muttered under his breath, "But yeah this is an elite. Though I feel calling it a beast doesn't quite capture how much a savage bitch it really is."

"These are the most dangerous of your foes?"

"Save for maybe one of those brute apes, but pretty much. They've got better armor, better weapons, and an average strength far above that of a normal person. They're an absolute nightmare for most especially when you start getting higher in their ranks, ain't much that can go toe to toe with them."

Reinhardt looked thoughtfully at the limp corpse before turning his attention to Adrian, "Is there anything in your military that's equal or better than them?

"A tank…Though there is once group that outclasses them though no one's sure if they're entirely human."

Reinhardt raised his brow in curiosity, Amari who previously only been half listening gave the conversation her full attention.

"They're called Spartans-"

"Like the ancient warriors?" Amari interrupted.

Adrian shrugged indifferently, "History wasn't my strong suit, but I also never gave it much thought, anyway these Spartan are a special bunch, more like super soldiers than anything else. No one except the ONI spooks know anything about them, they're whole program is shrouded in secrecy, though what's not a secret is they've got tech way above what anyone else gets. They're a freaky bunch but they provide results which is more than most can say in this war."

"What makes them so…freaky?"

"Ehh they're…different…like there's something missin' in them. I've only met a couple, they're quiet, keep to themselves mostly but they've got strength to rival that of an elite. I imagine there's only a few hundred ever alive at once, they're a rare bunch which I suppose adds to their mystery. Though most they tend to butt heads with ODSTs whenever they're together," Adrian rolled his hands as he spoke.

"Jealous?" Amari jested, she understood better than most the tensions that arose in the military.

"Somethin' like that but there's a more personal grudge to it depending on who you ask, though it doesn't help when these Spartans get the newest tech, the best gear, when originally it all used to go to ODSTs, and they've become the poster child of the UNSC. I don't despise them like some do, frankly I'm just glad those sociopathic killing-sprees are on our side, but it's still aggravating to have your achievements overshadowed by the newest toy in the UNSC arsenal."

Reinhardt grunted, "I'm glad you've got your pride under control better than I did when I was your age. Rivalry between comrades is all well and good, but make sure it doesn't absorb you as it did me. Bah enough talk of the past, for now we must look to the future!" The giant let out a hearty cheer, "When we get back, drinks are on me! To celebrate our newest victory."

"Don't wait on my behalf, I'll limp there eventually." Adrian joked, though drinks were the last thing on his mind. Other than the obvious, he was starving and tired, he wanted nothing more than to scarf a plate of something hot then pass out immediately after. Hell getting to his room would just be a bonus, he'd gladly pass out in the cafeteria if it came to it. The rest of the flight was spent in amicable conversation, mostly between Amari and Reinhardt as Adrian didn't have the energy. When they landed, he'd expected to see Ziegler or some medical staff waiting for him like previously but instead he was greeted with an empty launch pad. The damn ape must've forgotten instead being too preoccupied with the joy of global connections, sighing Adrian stood up picking his helmet as he hobbled off the dropship. Waving to Amari and Reinhardt as they parted ways, he began making his way to the medical bay. At first glance it seemed the base had become a ghost town, but in reality it was simply still the dead of night here, whatever time had passed on the flight was negated because of back tracking through the time zones. It was still pitch black when he looked off the cliff face, the crashing of the waves could be heard clear as day but without a moon there wasn't even a faint reflection off the water. The time he spent painfully hobbling along to the med-bay felt like it lasted for hours, when the automatic door slid open in front of him, he was disappointed yet also unsurprised to find it empty. Doctor Ziegler had to sleep too, the problem was he didn't know where she stayed or have a way to get in contact with here. Still he figured other people had to work the clinic under her, there should've been an aide here or something.

"Anyone here?" He called out into the sectioned room, behind one of the private rooms he heard shuffling with muffled voices. After a minute two young aides stumbled out from the room, both seemed to be a few years younger than himself and very much flustered. They were both trying to fix their rugged appearance while smoothing their clothes into vaguely acceptable standards.

Not waiting for them to break the silence he spoke first, "Uh huh, listen can either of you get in contact with Dr. Ziegler? I have an emergency that requires her assistance."

The one on the right, a boy with short slicked blonde hair spoke up, "Well…uhmm…we're more than happy to assist you with whatever medical attention you need."

"After where you've been sticking those hands?" He retorted back. They're faces turned a dark shade of red while the female let out a strangled choke when she heard that. "Listen I'm not here to tease you till you faint, but I think my injury requires a more experienced hand."

He sat himself upon a long medical table, putting his helmet down next to him as he stretched out his left leg, "Cause ya see, while in the field I had super-heated metal fuse itself to the bubbling skin on my calf. At which point it was not so surgically cleaved through with a heated blade where the rest was then torn from my leg in a rather excruciating fashion, so really what I'm trying to say in this pompous style is that I'd really fucking like if you could et the qualified doctor in here to patch my profusely bleeding leg."

The two handsy aides stood in a quiet shock for a second before scrambling into a different room where they could be heard paging for Ziegler. Adrian wouldn't have been surprised if both decide to stay in the office until the arrival of the doctor, but either through courage or embarrassment for earlier both came out to wait politely. The awkward atmosphere barely bothered Adrian, fighting a bloody losing war tends to dissipate any notion of embarrassment fairly quickly, the same could not be said for the two juniors to his side.

Eventually the young guy tried to break the silence, "So…how's your leg?"

Adrian turned his head, a look of utter disbelief marking his features, internally he was laughing his ass off, but he wanted to make it as awkward as possible for the poor assistant. The girl elbowed the young man in the side as he slowly realized how absolutely stupid his question had been. They were saved from any further suffering when a bleary-eyed Ziegler walked in adorned in casual night clothes, a loose robe fluttering behind her, the tired look on her face turned into a smile at seeing Adrian. The aides quickly excused themselves as soon as she walked in, greeting her before shuffling out of the room.

"When Karla and Mendez phoned me saying that a frightening looking man was requesting my help, I had figured it was Torbjorn or McCree though I can't say I'm surprised it was you." She greeted.

"What can I say, I have a way with people." He chuckled.

"You do always seem to find a way back into my clinic." She said as she gathered her standard equipment.

"Well secretly I've been doing it so I can see you again." Adrian joked.

"There are other ways Mr. Kasporov."

With mock exaggeration Adrian shot his eyebrows up, "Well shit, slap me silly I just had no gosh darn idea!" They both chuckled before she took a seat in front of him, he told her what had happened, outlining what had caused the injuries and why, she gasped and winced as the story progressed eventually settling into a disappointed frown at the job done by the combat medics in Russia.

"I can't fault you for doing the right thing, but I wish they would've taken a bit more precaution with their 'surgery'." She used finger quotes while her face did nothing to hide the contempt she felt. Eventually she sighed and told Adrian to lay back, telling him she'd have to do some manual work on the hand and disinfect the calf wound, so it might be a while.

"Never have I seen one man attract so many injuries before, I'd ask you to take it easy but it didn't do much last time." Angela said as she began working on his hand, he wasn't sure what the purpose of it was but he didn't feel the need to ask so he just turned his head to look at the simple ceiling.

"Eh I've been reckless; I'm so used to working with my squad…its different here."

She hummed, "If you end up here again anytime soon, I'm going to take the largest thermometer, bend you over, and stick you like a roast pig."

"Well that's certainly incentive to keep me from doing something stupid."

"You think I'm joking, just you wait." Adrian turned to see the coldest look he'd ever seen grace Ziegler's face the longer he stared the more her façade cracked. Eventually her lips squirmed until they broke out into a large grin, they both let out heart-felt laughs with Adrian laughing so hard he felt his lungs go empty.

He took gasping breaths trying to stop himself from laughing, he wiped a single tear from his eyes, "Holy shit I haven't laughed that hard in ages, the sleep deprivation is really kicking in now. You know I'm not much for gossip but those two aides of yours are certainly making the most of their free time."

She smirked as she effortlessly mended his hand, "I'm aware. They think their being clever but I was doing the same thing when I was their age, they're also not very subtle."

"Doctor Ziegler!" Adrian placed his free hand over his heart with faux surprise, "How scandalous!"

She giggled, "We've all got to take advantage of our time when we're young, I just happened to have a…quicker time with my experiences than Karla does with Mendez."

"Yeesh, obviously you got the short end of the stick but I can't help but pity those poor fools."

He couldn't personally empathize though he'd known plenty of guys back home where shore leave was often a dread occasion, a few days of disappointment one of them of them had said. They were often good guys that he'd trust to watch his back, they just drew a shitty lot in that part of life. They fell into a comfortable silence as she sewed up his hand before moving on to his calf, it stung as she worked but nowhere near as bad as it had earlier, despite the prodding of his wound he felt his eyelids grow heavy.

"You know I've been enjoying the book you lent me." His weary eyes turned to her as she spoke, "I've also been looking into the real-life account."

"Found anything?" Being completely honest with himself he'd totally forgotten about that, though if depending on how long he was kept off of missions, a book may be perfect timing.

"I believe so, a collection of journal entries by an Arab merchant known as Ahmad Ibn Fadlan. It seems he was sent as an envoy long ago and ended up stumbling across a group of Vikings traveling along the Volga. It seems the book you have took a little more than just inspiration for the story."

"Well hot damn, does it talk about a stunning young Viking with great hair with the last name of Kasporov?"

"I don't believe so, though if I remember right it talks about a short hairy man with bad breath by the name of Kasporov." She flashed him a smile as she quipped. "I also took the liberty of having the book delivered, when it arrives I'll make sure it finds itself in your hands."

"Much appreciated Doc though I have to ask. This is supposed to be a top secret outpost right? How the hell does something get delivered here, same for just about everything else here, the food, the gear, the supplies, this all has to come from an outside source."

"You'd be right about that, though just because we're a defunct organization doesn't mean we're totally abandoned. The governments saw us a liability, but our work earned us many friends who we're more than willing to do some extra work to see us supplied."

"Hmm, so there was more to Overwatch than just shooting some Talon mercs?"

Angela shot him a solemn glance, "There was, I still believe in what Overwatch is doing now of course but it used to be much different back then. We weren't just a fighting force, we acted as peacekeepers, gave aid across the globe, responded to emergencies and disasters, wherever help was needed we were there. I'm well aware that at our current strength we simply can't afford to do it, but I've been talking with Wilson about doing a little more medical work, either through volunteering aid or disclosing my research."

"I imagine being associated with Overwatch doesn't help to do that kinda work."

"You're not wrong…"

"I'm sensing a but coming up."

She chuckled, "But – and not to brag – I've gotten a handful of requests from universities, medical expos, and the line to give presentations on my work despite my current occupation. I hope that eventually I'll be able to openly accept some of these invitations, to share what I've been working on that could save so many lives."

Despite Adrian's own past prejudices tainting his opinion of the ape, Winston himself seemed like he was far too empathetic to decline Ziegler's requests for long, "The big guy's gotta be cracking soon right?"

"I think so, the public showings are a bit more difficult of a sell especially with the increased Talon presence lately, but volunteering my staff and I to people in need of medical assistance, I feel he'll allow that to happen any day now. Its discreet, in a remote location, it's perfect for helping to restore the original vision of Overwatch while staying under the radar." Her voice was firm with resolve, the look in her eyes was dedicated to her goal, a noble pursuit.

"Well I doubt it'll have much sway, but you'll have my full support Doc, at the least it'll be a nice change of pace to help people with their injuries rather than give them said injuries."

"I appreciate that Adrian…it means a lot." Adrian blinked as she called him by his first name, he turned to face her but she'd apparently found it rather embarrassing as her face grew a rosey shade of red. Turning away she mumbled something to herself about misplacing something, when she'd turned back around her face had adopted a more professional look as she decided to change the topic of conversation to the mundane. The longer they talked the more Adrian felt himself slipping into the comfortable embrace of sleep, he couldn't say when he finally gave into the temptation only that he was probably dull company for Doctor Zielger as she finished up her procedures.

"-the colony known as Kholo in the Diub system was glassed soon after being conquered by the Covenant forces, as if a final insult to humanity the Sangheili Shipmaster has apparently emblazoned a Glyph of Faith onto the surface of the world." The radio in the UNSC barracks blasted, "Men and woman of the UNSC, this is far from the first planet to be glassed, and I can guarantee that there will be dozens more in the future, but I'm sure that many of you here on Barker Station considered Kholo your home. For that you have my utmost sympathies, but I want you to remember this feeling of pain within you, this pang of hatred rising up, because this feeling is felt by billions across the galaxy whenever those Covenant filth lay our planets bare. Vow not just to yourself-"

Adrian tuned out the rest of the speech as he felt himself fall back onto his bunk in shock, the words still not fully processing in his mind. It…it couldn't be…they'd spoken just a little over a week ago. For the planet to be do devastated in such a short time – his mind ran around in circles trying to find flaws, to find a hole in what he'd heard, trying to find any reason why his home hadn't been just wiped from the face of existence. If he'd just waited then maybe he could've helped, instead he left Chloe to practically fend for herself. God why did he have to leave, that feeling of reckless patriotism, his duty to humanity that had been plastered all over the city…no… now he was just making excuses for himself.

It was his own decision to leave, his own willing idea that he had to do what was right not just for humanity but for his family, he swore he'd make the universe a safe place for Chloe and instead he left her to die. The more his mind dwelt on it the more the pain came to him, eventually he could feel the hot tears streaming down his face as the reality came crashing down upon his shoulders. They say that the longer you ignore it, the longer you hold it in the worse the pain and sorrow become, that was total bullshit. The grief he felt now was worse than anything he'd felt in his life, though he supposed it was because he'd barely lived at all, still young without a hair on his chin. Sixteen fucking years old and he felt he was ready to join, now he'd done what he felt he needed too and what did he end with, fucking nothing. The tears continued to flow as he let out a silent wail into the folds of his pillow, the muffled screams drowned out by the speech still rambling on in the background.

He tried to turn his feelings away from the pain, to the anger he should be feeling at the damned covvies but honestly he felt nothing. It all just wrapped back around to his family, like a twisted maze with no escape, an ouroboros of suffering. He hated as sure as everyone else, hell why else would he sign up to kill them, but right now was different, the speech had told him to use that feeling of rage building up within him but what was he supposed to do when he felt nothing? Eventually the tears stopped as he laid back onto his bed, staring up to the blank ceiling above him. The feeling to cry never really left, more like he'd eventually felt so exhausted he didn't think he'd be able to anymore, even just laying in bed felt tiring. Briefly he'd wondered if everyone had felt the same as he did, if they grieved the same way but ultimately decided it wouldn't help to focus on the pain of others.

He wasn't sure when most of the people in the barracks had left – everything had passed in a blur – all he knew was that when he eventually looked up there were only a few stragglers in there with him. They were probably like him, laying back down he resumed staring at the ceiling for god knows how long, as the time passed one thought became increasingly more obtrusive until it weaseled its way into the depths of his brain. How absolutely lonely he felt.

His eye's slowly as they got adjusted to the bright white of the medical bay, Adrian sucked in a deep breath to calm himself before slowly exhaling. His time here with Overwatch had been giving him the same feelings as back then, a sense of helplessness. While he was stuck in this comparative utopia doing rather simple work with the plenty of downtime in what would be a luxury residence in the UNSC, his brothers in arms were sacrificing themselves by the hundreds every minute fighting for Earth. These thoughts wouldn't change the past, he had to focus on the present, on doing work here while waiting for the ape to get him a way home. Pushing himself up he looked around the room to find it empty, on a chair close to him was a note with a plate of food. The note read:

Apologies but duty calls, there's always work to be done. Please take it easy on your leg, it will be sore for the next few days as the tissue heals and the muscles regenerates. Also, I figured you would be starving so I grabbed a plate from the cafeteria :)

-Stay safe, Doctor Ziegler

P.S I'm not kidding about the thermometer STAY SAFE

Adrian chuckled as he stuffed the note in one of his pockets, at times she reminded him very much of his mother, he supposed it was why she made such a great doctor. Grabbing the plate of food he began to inhale the food like a vacuum, after not having eaten for about a full day he was ravenous. It was a medley of typical breakfast foods, eggs, ham, bacon, toast, but compared to the UNSC it was orgasmic, the UNSC had made hundreds of thousands of technological advancements but MREs seemingly never progressed past just being decent. Unsure of what to do with the now empty plate, he took one more look around the room before placing it back on the chair and leaving it. As he left the med-bay he set up a quick check-list of things he needed to do; when he got back to his room he'd look over the rest of his armor for damage besides the obvious, have Athena message Bridgette to take his armor for repairs, find satellite images of Russian territory they were in to try and find likely spots the elite would've, and his personal highlight, fucking around with the covenant weapons a bit. Sure, as ODSTs they'd all had enough training with covvie tech to be reasonably comfortable, but he never got tired of messing around with their weapons. The energy swords especially were difficult to come by, so he'd relish in 'training' with it, as well as the thought of the elites shuddering in disgust as a human laid its filthy heretical hands upon their sacred weapon gave Adrian immeasurable pleasure.

Almost immediately after he'd entered his own room a series of hesitant knocks at his door captured his attention. Turning on his heel he opened the sliding door to reveal Hana standing unsure outside his room, she turned in surprise upon seeing him.

"Did you uh…knock on the wrong door pip-squeak?"

"No!...No…I meant to come see you."

"Uh huh…" Adrian crossed his arms as he leaned against the door frame, he wasn't exactly in a rush, but he'd been hoping to knock out his work as soon as possible.

"Listen…after…well the video you showed us was pretty wild. Lots of stuff that probably won't let me sleep easy at night but that's beside the point, what I'm trying to say is…you fought – are still fighting – in a real war. Not that what Overwatch isn't good, but it doesn't hold a candle to you and… it made me think about my role in the group."

Adrian raised his brow, he'd knew the video was uncomfortable for a lot of people, Hana especially, but he hadn't been expecting it to have such a poignant reaction on her.

"Yeah I kick ass in my mech but what happens if I don't have it? I don't think it'd end well, so I want you to teach me how to fight better, I'm calling in the favor you owe me so that means you have to help me."

Adrian stared at her in surprise, this conversation didn't not at all go how he had first imagined it. He was at a loss for words, he'd never taught someone before, everyone he trained with was on the same level as himself and his basic training was over a decade ago. Initially he had half a mind to say no, that it wasn't his responsibility while there were plenty of other more qualified people to train here, but something about her…just reminded him so god damn much of Chloe.

Sighing he stood up from the doorframe, "The favor doesn't mean anything but…Alright I'll teach you-"

"Yes!" She pumped her fists in the air.

"But not right now, I have work I gotta get done so shit doesn't get fucked."

"That kinda crass language isn't attractive old man. Wait…you said the favor wouldn't have mattered, so does that mean you would've helped anyway?"

"Yeah I suppose so."

"That means I get the favor back!" A wide grin spread across her face.

"No."

"Wh- that's not fair! What if-"

"No."

As she continued to throw argue throwing an amusingly childish tantrum, he couldn't help the faint grin that spread over his face. While he lamented the fact that he was separated from his brothers in the ODSTs, he was glad for the fact that he at least wasn't stuck with dull company.