Sandrezki City, Coetzee II, Basker System
2545
Adrian squirmed in anguish as he was carried into the medical tent on a stretcher, agonized grunts escaped his lips as he shut his teeth to try to break out from yelling. Cracking his eyes open as his head lulled to the side, he could easily spy the massive metal spike protruding from his shoulder, no longer red hot but still sizzling as it continued to scorch his flesh with every passing second. It passed through his armor like a warm knife through butter, lodging itself to the concrete wall behind him it took a medical steel cuter to free him for his hanging imprisonment. His squad along with a handful of other ODST squads had been pulled from their current assignment to protect the last of the civilian evacs from the city in a desperate attempt to halt the Covenant advance. He wasn't sure how well it had been working considering it seemed they were always moving back.
He'd been sitting in half-assed attempt with Mistress, shooting the shit about what she planned to do on their next shore leave when the covvies started up another round of bombardment. His body went into autopilot as he began to pop off the grunt fodder as they came into view; Prince had been picking off jackals when his comms crackled before going silent which didn't leave Adrian with much hope that his squadmate survived. He wasn't sure when the brutes started there suicidal bullrush, only that one second, he was peeking out his foxhole and the next he found himself tossed back as a pain ruptured in his shoulder with himself stuck to a half-destroyed concrete wall.
Mistress had tried to pull him off, but the brute's were sadistic bastards, and any attempt to dislodge the spike just tore more of the muscle in his shoulder. She slammed her pistol into Adrian's good arm while she went to look for a medic, he wasn't sure how much good a pistol would do at this range but he tried nonetheless. When some field medic's finally found him, Adrian felt like his head was spinning with a large pool of blood was growing on the ground under him, he could barely think only vaguely noticing that Mistress wasn't with them. He had hoped that she'd simply got caught up in the fighting, but reality was never so generous, by the end of this missions only Barbie, Talos, and himself were still kicking though all of them worse for wear.
When he was unceremoniously dropped onto a medical cot, the pain in his shoulder flared up like a motherfucker. By the time ranking medical officer got around to him, he was so delirious from the pain, shock, and blood loss that he couldn't remember a single thing from that point on save for the absolute misery and suffering as the brute spiker round was surgically removed from his shoulder. When spiker rounds are first fired, they're red-hot bullets of pure agony, so when the round has stick into Adrian's body it'd immediately cauterized all his wounds before ripping them apart again as Adrian's body weight dragged him down to Earth against the spike imbedded in the wall. Furthermore, the heat had fused bits of his flesh to the metal as it cooled, meaning that when the doctors were taking the spike from his body, they also had to cut the fused flesh as quick as possible. They gave him what little painkillers they had but they did practically nothing. At some point he blackout from the pain which in all honestly was probably for the best considering that the removal of a spiker is only one half of the procedure, the second half is off course biofoam, muscle regeneration, and bone-knitting polymer. The Covenant were awful, but the brute's were abominations, Adrian's hatred for them trumped every other species in the covenant ranks.
…
…
…
Adrian's focus was taken from his thoughts he felt a familiar stinging in his shoulder, blinking a few times he reoriented himself in the Orca has Genji carefully pulled the last bits of bullet shrapnel from his shoulder. Adrian lightly winced a couple times when the larger fragments were pulled but other than that kept silent, once you experience the pain of Covenant weapons it's hard to find the same fear in human weapons. It still hurt like a motherfucker, but he didn't have to worry about an equal or even greater suffering in the healing process like he did with plasma or needlers. A faint trickle of blood rolled down Adrian's shoulder before soaking into a dark grey undershirt as his ODST armor laid peeled back from him. He briefly chuckled to himself at the thought of his left shoulder just being one unlucky son of a bitch.
Shimada looked up from his work, "Something humorous?"
"Nothing much, you almost done here?"
The ninja was silent as he methodically maneuvered the tweezers inside Adrian's wound before digging out a scrap of metal, "Now we are done."
"Much appreciated," He nodded his thanks to Genji before questioning aloud, "though overall the night was a success?"
"More or less I 'spose, we stopped the situation from growing worse and foiled Widowmaker's plan though your source didn't help us get the missing supplies Adrian." Oxton drearily spoke out from the spot she'd been laying, fruitlessly trying to sleep.
"Never said they guaranteed anything." Adrian said as he layered up his armor upon him, the troop bay drifting into a comfortable silence before Shimada spoke up.
"Perhaps I simply was not listening, but where were Amari and Morrison or rather where are they now?"
Adrian looked up at that, having completely forgotten the duo during the night though now left as curious as Genji.
"They chose to say behind, pursue other leads though that's no unusual for them. Morrison's always preferred to take action himself, even after coming to Gibraltar around a month ago he's usually been off doing his own thing. Him and Ana seem pretty inseparable, so I'm not surprised they're off together." Lena commented as she sat up in her seat, rubbing the weariness from her eyes.
"And no one else thinks that weird?" Adrian looked to his two companions in disbelief, "I get he used to be the commander, but no one's thought about just even being like, 'Hey man, where ya headed?' Damn I wish I had this level of leniency in the USNC, can't piss without ONI knowing how much I pissed down to the last milliliter." He grumbled the last part to himself as he stretched reclining into his seat. It was early to mid-morning now and he hadn't gotten a decent sleep for the last few days let alone any sleep in the last twenty-four hours. Gunny would whoop his ass if he knew how poor a job he was doing of taking care of his own body. Putting his helmet in his lap he was about to close his eyes before Lena spoke up.
"Just know that were only twenty minutes out Adria, not going to get a whole lot of sleep now."
He said nothing instead trying to focus on his rest, though the more he laid there the more he realized she was right. Grumbling some more he sat up in his seat and blankly stared at the wall across from him, he just wanted to sleep.
Angela peeled the rubber gloves from her hands, the sweat causing them to stick much to her frustration as she walked out of her office in the clinic. Tossing them into a bin she scanned the finally near empty clinic, save for a few occupied cots the room was finally down to manageable levels – well manageable enough. Between an accident at the cargo bay and a botched mission overseas, there had been a relatively massive surge of patients that had quickly overwhelmed their small numbers. While the rest of New Overwatch continued to grow it seemed the medical division was once more being left behind. The same thing happened with the original Overwatch where the militaristic capabilities grew at an unprecedented rate while their humanitarian endeavors were left in the dust, she'd have to put in a few strong words with Winston to make sure he understood.
Pushing open the doors of the clinic, she stepped into the corridors of the base with her shoes clacking along the tiled interior. Tucking her messy hair behind her ear, she stretched as she walked down the hall for a quick break, nothing particular on her mind just a walk to keep her occupied. She wasn't one to smoke and she considered it far too early to be drinking, though she knew Reinhardt would heartily disagree with that. Thinking on her old friend, she realized how quiet it was walking down the halls when most of the team was out with the previously mentioned friend out in South America likely on some grand destruction of Talon's resources. More than that was the unusually dull atmosphere, with so many gone she'd thrown herself entirely into research and her work, it'd been an odd lull to her days with practically no one to talk to. Though part of her wondered if it wasn't rather missing the conversation with a specific interdimensional marine. In the couple or so months that Adrian had been here he'd left a rather noticeable impact, though perhaps that's partly due to the small scale of Overwatch currently. Regardless despite her initial hesitations regarding the man, she'd come to grown fond of his brash though usually warm nature along with his stories that sounded straight out of a science fiction novel. His humor was an acquired taste though lately she found it funnier and funnier, maybe a Stockholm syndrome of some sort, she laughed to herself as she continued to wander the base.
Eventually she found herself outside with the early morning sun high in the sky, taking in a deep breath of fresh air she looked around before spying the vehicle bay and seeing a familiar pink mech being tinkered with. Making her way over the clanging of tools became louder as she neared, eventually she could faintly hear a string of Korean curses emanating from inside the mech.
"Hope you know what you're doing in there?" Angela called out, a grin on her face.
The tinkering stopped before the head of a young girl covered in grease and oil popped out from the interior of the machine, "Angela! You know I only take the best care of Tokki, I'm almost insulted. What are you doing here though, isn't the clinic busy?"
"Was busy, my assistants can handle the rest while I took a break. I just needed a reprieve from the work, so I've just been walking. It's odd though with most of the agents gone."
Hana pulled herself out of the mech and slide down its hull before landing next to Ziegler, "Right? It's like kinda spooky, but also boring. There's nothing to do. Though I did see that the Barcelona team is coming back today."
Angela shot her a pointed glance, "Really? Were you rifling through the databases again!"
"But its sooooo boooorrrriiiinnnngggg." Hana groaned with exaggerated dramatics, making sure to draw out each word. When the last syllable left her mouth, the sound of an Orca's roaring engines could be heard coming in, the aircraft casting a wide shadow as it hovered above the base.
"Speak of the devil." Angela muttered.
"Time to talk with Arian now?" Hana shot her a sly grin.
Angela coughed in surprise, "What?"
"It's not hard to see you two have grown close, and Adrian was part of the Barcelona team soooo…"
"Well I – Umm was thinking of greeting him." Hana reveled in a flustered Angela; it was cute to see the older doctor shy like a schoolgirl. "But that's it, we're both professionals in a delicate profession, we see each other as friends and nothing more."
"Whatever you say, just know that even in his worst moods Adrian ignores just about everyone except you." Hana spoke.
Angela gave her a surprised yet disapproving look before walking off towards the Orca as it landed, the hatch opening to provide an inclined walkway as the passengers began to disembark. Hana hoped back onto Tokki, watching from her perch as Lena exited first, followed by Genji and finally Adrian. Hana sat with unbridled glee, she'd always had a soft spot for the cheesy k-dramas back home and this was like a free reality showing. Despite what Angela may have thought, she wasn't joking, Adrian could be an enjoyable person to be around though at his heart he was a brash veteran. Looking on she could see the dark bags under Adrian's eyes, the tight frown on his lips, the overall aura of a grumpy old man who wants nothing more than to be alone. She watched with intrigue as Angela approached the old man in the young man's body, calling out to him and offering him a wide wave with a warm smile.
Adrian turned to the Swiss doctor, his frown turning into a surprisingly welcoming smile despite it all, his eyes still looked like Adrian was going to drop dead any second, but they gained a mirthful spark when they landed upon Ziegler. The two began to talk animatedly in spite of their taxing work, Hana smirked as the two walked out of her view and into the base. She went back into the interior of her mech laughing to herself, she gave them a few more weeks at the most. Now…where the hell did she leave her torque wrench.
Laying splayed out on the bed on his room so far into the realm of dreams that he didn't hear the first volley of knocking nor the shouts of his name. It was only when he was kicked off the bed by a leather boot did Adrian wake up to the waking world with dazed expression.
"What the absolute fuck is this. What cardinal sin did I do to deserve this?" Adrian grumbled as he groggily pushed himself off the floor.
"Became a marine, don't worry we all make stupid decisions." A southern drawl rang out.
Adrian looked up to see a smirking McCree standing on the opposite side of his bed, "Fair enough, just give me a firm slap to get the blood running."
Jesse gave a half-hearted shrug before walking around the bed and winding up his arm for a smack of the ages, when hand met face the sound echoed through the crew quarters like a jet breaking the sound barrier. Adrian stumbled into the wall of his room while swearing up a storm, he took a deep breath as he regained his footing.
"Good partner?"
Adrian blinked a few times, "More or less, we got a mission?"
McCree nodded and walked out the door, Adrian fell in beside him as the two made their way to Winston's lab, "Though from what the big guy told me this is prep for a big one, the real thing won't be for a couple weeks at the earliest, but he wants us to be ready."
"You mean we'll actually have a plan? This still seems like a dream to me."
"Heh I wouldn't get your hopes up too high, Winston's plans tend to outrun practicality so best case it's gonna be up to us to improvise."
"Figured. Where've you been though?" Adrian wondered as the two turned past a corner.
"Some ghost town in mid-west America, heard tales of an old gang I know running a racket through it. Got there only to find out they'd just decided to move shop the day before, so I spent most of my time trying to play catch-up to a bunch of mercs on the run."
"You catch them?"
McCree snorted, "Course, I never let a bounty get away. Eventually I learned where their next job was going to be, so I got there a ways before they were even in the state and had some fun just killing time. Eventually they came around to my neck of the woods and well…I don't think the leader was expecting to see the bottom of my boot."
"That makes two of us."
Jesse laughed at Adrian's expense before the two walked into the lab, already seeing several the Overwatch agents in the room. They took the nearest open seats before briefly finishing up their conversation until Winston cleared his throat as everyone he had summoned was present.
"Alright everyone listen up, we've got a big mission coming up soon. Our contacts in the Russian government had let us on some very crucial information regarding our elusive friend Mr. Kim." A round of groan broke out in the room, "I know we're all tired of hearing his name, but the fact stands that this is the best chance we've had in ages and we don't have the luxury to pass this up."
"What do they get from this?" Fareeha spoke up.
"I'm glad you asked." He pulled up a picture of a bald man with a greying beard pushing into his senior years, "This is Boris Gregori, a powerful Russian oligarch who until just recently was one of the Russian presidents most trusted private advisors. It will come as little surprise for most of you to learn that he was tied to numerous underground organizations, however the state was willing to overlook those in favor of the connections he had at his disposal. However, it has recently come to the attention of the government that one of those ties is Talon…who are of course supplying arms to numerous radical factions within the country."
"So basically, they want us to clean up their fucking mess then huh?" McCree questioned.
Winston nodded, "Normally as you know I would never accept this type of job, wet-work is not something we do here however his main contact with Talon is Mr. Kim as it seems that Boris a leading man in backing Talon's arm dealing. The Russian government see his as a mutually beneficial agreement to which I'm inclined to agree with, they don't care what happens with Boris Gregori as long as he's out of the equation, Meaning we get a powerful Talon associate that likely won't be afraid to talk if he thinks it will spare him the consequences."
"This is great and all, but his security isn't gonna be a pushover for a man as powerful as he is." Adrian brought up, unlike Winston, wet work was one of his specialties, so he knew how fucked this plan was unless the ape had a way to get them into the building.
"I'm aware Mr. Kasporov, which is why I'd like to now present to you the second part of this meeting." The slide changed to a Boris handing a golden award to a well-dressed man with a large banner behind them saying 'Global Scientific Advancement', "As it turns out, despite Boris less than savory qualities he is in fact a large patron of the scientific community, though its speculated this is just so he can then purchase the technology for his own privatized use later, but I digress. And as it turns out, we have one of our very own leading global scientists right here at Gibraltar, of which it is rumored that Boris Gregori is a very fond supporter of."
"Winston, I will not be used as bait and my work monopolized!"
Winston gulped before raising his hands defensively, "Of course of course, which is why I have more to say." Angela glared at him before waving him on, "You've been petitioning for a greater public presence of your research to which I will admit I have been lacking on, after this I believe we should discuss future plans but for now it is necessary. As a bonus however, there are a myriad of renowned scholars from across the globe, for while Boris sees it as a personal auction many in the scientific community see it as a welcomed gathering of some of the greatest minds. Your work will be presented in front of a large crowed of the brightest minds, I don't intend to take that away, and considering you are rumored to be a favorite of Boris I have no doubt he'll give you priority to speak your piece."
The glare from Angela had softened and she nodded, "Good, if I can get my work out to a larger populace then all the better."
"Now as for the actual plan as I'm sure many of you have been waiting for. Angela is our invitation onto his premise and entrance to his fortified private quarters, however she will not be going alone. Among the scientists are many of the local elites of which they all have personal protection, Angela will be following in their steps and be bringing along his own small unit of bodyguards, considering the event it's unlikely that it will raise any suspicion. The event goes on for almost the entirety of the day, meaning there will be plenty of opportunity to extract the target or interrogate him in a private location as you see fit. As for who will be accompanying Doctor Ziegler, I already have three candidates chosen though I am also open to hearing other suggestions as well. Jesse, Fareeha, and Adrian are my recommendations for this task."
Adrian choked on nothing as he heard those, "Excuse me but what the hell?"
"You have an objection Adrian?"
"I'm not a bodyguard, let alone dressing in some stiff suit to mingle with a bunch of stuck-up fucks."
"Trust me Adrian I know that very well, however you're the only fluent Russian speaker we have at our disposal. Boris may take a liking to you or perhaps you can skim some info from any number of the workers or the 'stuck-up fucks'." Winston make quotes with his chubby fingers, "I know it's less than ideal for you but frankly you're a vital part of this operation."
Adrian leaned back in his chair, grinding his teeth, "Fine, whatever."
"Good, now any other objections?" McCree and Amari both shook their head before Torbjorn spoke up.
"Aye, what about me? Put that bratty kid on some other mission and I'll take the lead."
"Nice try dwarf, but I've found a better personality in my drill sergeant's shits." Adrian bit back without shifting his gaze from the projection.
Brigette called her father before all hell broke loose and Winston quickly ended the meeting, glad that he'd managed to get through the whole thing. He gently removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead before he remembered that his work wasn't done. "Ah Adrian, could I speak to you."
Adrian sighed before turning on his heel and walking towards the center of the lab as the other filled out, "What now?"
"Listen I apologize about the mission but as I mentioned your skills are-"
"Look its done, just get to the point."
"Ah right…anyway I wanted to let you know that we're making good progress on the slipspace portals. I don't know if we're close to the physical testing, but we've actually made good progress with the theoretical equations."
Any annoyance Adrian had started to fade away, "That's actually… good news to hear. Anything else?"
"Just one thing, there's been a lack of recent slipspace ruptures which has been lucky enough for us I suppose however something caught my eye just before I called the meeting. My station was pinged for the anomaly, but the thing is the energy disruptions was…small…larger than almost all the debris but not quite as big as the first individual Sangheili drop-pod I marked as our first encounter."
Adrian felt his mouth fall open, "Are you saying…what I think you're saying Adrian."
Winston cleared his throat before staring Adrian straight in the eyes, "I went back through our data records, back to when you first came here." Winston took a deep breath, "The energy signatures match Adrian, the new slipspace entry is damn near the exact same as your ODST pod. If we can get to them, I don't think you'll be alone here anymore Adrian."