Troy sat leaning against the wall of his and Sally's barracks. The amount of Sangheili that had come in had forced the marines to sleep in barracks of two to six people, usually it was just two. He and Sally had been lucky in the fact that their arrangement had stayed the same when the Sangheili on the ship they had rescued from a crashing cruiser came along, and the COs had promised that they would be gone as soon as possible. He hoped that Sally wouldn't come in while he was so vulnerable. Then he hoped she did. Then he didn't, then he realised he was having a panic attack and needed to calm down. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. It's okay, he told himself. I'll have Flint and Hoi to watch my back. He tried to take comfort from this, but was unable to do anything but stifle a sob of helplessness. He suddenly jerked up as the door opened. Hoi and Flint stepped in. They fussed over him a bit, trying to convince him that it was going to be fine.

"Hey, by the time we get a mission, you'll have adjusted to them," Flint assured him. Hoi looked guilty. Troy knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Actually," he murmured. "The General wants us ready to drop in twenty minutes."

"What?" Flint exclaimed. "He's in no condition to –"

"I know. I tried to tell him, but the General says Troy's the only available person with the skill-set we need." Flint glanced at Troy sympathetically, then moved off to the armoury, Hoi close behind. In order to keep his job, Troy forced himself to follow. If he did well in this mission, the General might excuse his earlier behaviour. He gulped and strapped on his armour and grabbed a SOCOM and an SMG. Soon he was sitting in his pod, waiting to drop. A mechanical arm grabbed his pod and lifted him and his team out into space where they would be dropped onto the planet below.

"So, what are we doing today sarge?" Flint asked.

"Reconnaissance. Just checking out a potential weapons cache. Small chance of resistance." The pods were released and sent hurtling down towards the planet's surface.

Troy opened his eyes shakily. He usually enjoyed the sensation of dropping, but the thought of going on a mission with those aliens made his stomach churn. He was having a hard time not throwing up. What's more, when he tried to open his hatch, he realised he was pressed up against the trunk of a rather large tree.

"Sarge!" he cried. "I'm stuck!" He felt extremely claustrophobic all of a sudden. He was pounding the hatch, trying to get it off. The pod lurched from his movement and he felt himself sink lower.

"Hang in there Troy. We're in some kind of swamp. If you struggle too much you might sink into the mud," came his superior's voice. Well, he already knew that. He unstrapped himself and braced himself on the back of his pod, with his feet up against the hatch. He applied as much pressure as he could, but still it wouldn't budge.

"What is this treachery?" Yuri roared. "Your machine is malfunctioning!"

"Press the three little red buttons," Flint sighed, and Troy could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"I have!" Yuri growled. "Nothing has happened. There are no obstacles in my path!" Troy cried out as the pod shifted and he fell to the floor. It swayed a little bit before finally rolling onto its side, allowing the built up pressure of the release pins to blow the hatch off into the distance. Troy groaned as he flopped to the ground, coating his armour with mud and leaves, but glad to finally be out of the confined space. He gawped at the hand that was suddenly extended towards him. He followed the arm to the face of its owner, paralysed with fear. Calsu gave him a 'well?' look. Troy still didn't move. She snorted and put her hand down, tramping off into the swamp. "I am running out of oxygen humans!" Yuri reminded them. Troy finally managed to pick himself up off the ground, glancing both ways to make sure the Sangheili was gone. He trotted off towards the nearest waypoint on his HUD. He had no idea which of his four teammates he was heading to, but he was assuming it was Hoi, as it was not moving, implying that he was waiting for the rest of the team to meet him. What Troy saw when he eventually broke through the undergrowth was an unopened pod. "About time," Yuri grunted from inside. Troy locked up again. Why why why why did he have to choose that signal? Yuri kicked the hatch impatiently. "I could use a little help with this!" he coughed. Troy was trembling violently as he took a cautious step towards the pod. And another. One more... he was right next to it now. He placed his shaking hands on the hatch and pushed weakly. Yuri groaned from inside. "Now is not the time for –" Yuri had to stop to cough. He was going to suffocate inside the airtight pod.

"Troy, listen to me," Hoi commanded. "We are heading over to your location, but chances are we won't make it in time. You have to do this on your own."

"Troy, it's okay. You can do this. Just take a deep breath, no one wants to hurt you," Flint said over the radio.

"Please... do not speak of breathing," Yuri chuckled. Troy heaved at the hatch, this time putting all his strength into it. It still didn't budge.

"You're stronger than me!" Troy protested. "I-if you can't d-do it..."

"I cannot do it because my arms are trapped!" Yuri explained. Troy nodded. He pushed again, locating the pressure point that all pods had. Still nothing. Troy stared helplessly through the glass, only to see Yuri's eyes drifting shut. Oh god! What will the other one do to me if I let him die? Troy wondered. He battered the hatch desperately to no avail. He could see Yuri's chest heaving faster. "No!" Troy cried, pulling out his SMG. He launched a full clip into the glass and frame of the pod's hatch, eventually tearing it to bits. He yanked the remnants off and threw them away, then he unbuckled Yuri's harness. He dragged the unconscious Sangheili away, checking to make sure he was still alive. Troy collapsed against a tree in relief. By the time the rest of the team finally arrived, he had finally calmed his racing heart and Yuri was blinking in confusion, trying to remember how he got where he was.