The Beast Within

[MrKill]

** This is a RP for Llau, Wax, Martial and I. People are welcomed to join, however the plot is heavily designed for our characters. PM me for the plot point! Thanks!

Just an OOC note:

Gamma One Actual - Llau
Gamma Two Actual - Kill
Gamma Three Actual - Martial
Gamma Four Actual - Wax**

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger stepped out of the Albatross Dropship with his forty men in tow, an ability the UNSC must have appreciated to keep the aging drop-ships in service even with modernized updates to the aircraft. The Albatross spewed dirt and and dust into the air as soon as the last man was out of the craft, launching its-self back into the air and towards the pre-fabricated FOB the Marines had set up.

The First Lieutenant looked around at the rather small city sky-line, not a single building over fifteen floors other than the massive control tower at the space-port, but even then it was only twenty or so floors above ground level. That made the perfect command center, but also the biggest liability. It provided a clear area of the city around but was a potential target as a trade off.

"All squad leaders on me," Killinger ordered as he made his way towards the tower. He assumed that is where the Army Major in charge of the cities defense would be. Him and his Company were tasked with defending a city of eighty thousand while the rest of the UNSC Army on the planet participated on the front lines, which were growing dangerously closer every second. "Standby for orders." Kyle finished.

"Lieutenant Killinger!" Someone shouted out. A Army Specialist appeared on Killinger's HUD when he turned to look at the voice source. "Command and control is this way, sir. Major Buzin is waiting for you." The young Specialist said. He lead Killinger and his four squad leaders through the space-port, moving past heavily defended areas such as the main entrance, outside lobby and the following street. The Majors C&C wasn't at the tower, rather roughly five hundred meters away from it.

By the time Killinger reached the Major, his platoon had taken up defensive positions around the outside lobby along-side the UNSC Army. Kyle has also redacted his previous orders and let his squad leaders return to their squads while the Platoon Sergeant followed him into the command and control section of the space-port.

The Major looked like an extremely busy man, never stopping for more than a few minutes at a station. Holotables had been set up, tables had maps laid across them and an entire Battalion staff was inside the building. Kyle approached the Major and saluted. "First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger reporting as requested, sir."

The Major quickly gave a salute back and motioned the First Lieutenant and his Platoon Sergeant to follow him. He lead the two Marines towards one of the maps and shook his head. Many black circles were scribbled onto the map, but one of the black circles near the middle had red X already on it. Those were defensive zones or check-points.

"We've got a civilian riot on our hands, Marines." The Major said. "Eight of my men are dead with another three wounded, one of them critically. Civilians have taken up arms and have started firing shots at UNSC Personnel and emergency responders. Two police officers have also been killed." The Major added, his finger pressed on the red X.

"We've been forced to kill civilians or lose more men, but that hasn't stopped them. I've had to order my men to abandon one of the check points we've set up so we don't suffer more casualties once they arrive. We managed to maintain control of the first check-point they passed but only two unharmed soldiers and a medic are manning the post."

"That's why you're here. I've got to send more of my men out, or you, to reinforce my defensive zones. The Covenant are pushing hard and the front lines won't hold much longer. We've got to buy time for the civilians to evacuate... even if they are shooting at us." The Major finished.

"Sounds pretty ugly out there." Staff Sergeant Monate said.

Everyone in the room knew the unasked question was lingering: 'Why are the civilians shooting at us?' - No one asked because everyone knew the answer. It wasn't the first time it has happened and generally people react like this when their lives were at stake. The evacuation was going to slow and instead of shooting at the Covenant civilians decided it would be better to weaken the military trying to protect them.

"At the moment, Lieutenant, I'm going to keep you here. I'd rather have your presence here for now. You need to be prepared to engage humans this time, Marine, and not Covenant."

"Understood, sir." Kyle responded.

"Dismissed." The Major said.

First Lieutenant Killinger was barely outside when he activated his radio. "Gamma One, Three and Four Actual this is Gamma Two Actual. Cities falling apart and I'm requesting reinforcements, how copy?"

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin 'Jay' Jenkins
Gamma Four Actual - Platoon Commander
Touching down via Albatross at LZ

Justin was the first at the opening door of the Albatross, right hand tightly holding an MA37 to his thigh so it didn't rattle about, left hand tightly holding one of the roof straps to keep him steady, he was stuffed into the cargo bay of the Albatross with his entire platoon of 44 or so men and women, the orange loading lights inside the Albatross began to flare and gyrate as the Albatross shook violently from left to right and slew it's decent rapidly before touching down on the ground, the Albatross' three doors then screeched and and slammed down, all three or so squads poured out without Justin even having to say a word and they formed up twenty or so meters away from the Albatross in a fashion where of squad leaders in front and fire teams behind.

"Gamma One, Three and Four Actual this is Gamma Two Actual. Cities falling apart and I'm requesting reinforcements, how copy?" Justin heard the familiar voice of Kyle Killinger flare through his helmet's built in COMM system, it was rather clear despite the loud noises coming from all around the space port, as well as that of an Albatross flaring it's engines and shooting back up into the sky to head back to the FOB.

"Gamma Two Actual, this is Four Actual, read you five by five, way ahead of you, already on the ground and formed up and at the ready, over?" Justin said in reply to the First Lieutenant.

From there Justin waited to hear back from Kyle, who was either at command or making his way to Justin as he thought, Justin took the time to examine his men, the majority, about 90% of all men in his Platoon had seen combat before, so their trust in Justin was a little wavy, they respected him, due to his rigorous training routines to make his Platoon the best of the best, in theory he was quite the leader, but he had yet to prove if he could lead actual men into an actual battle, wether it be against Human Rebellion or the Covenant menace, Justin assumed, not that it was good to assume, but he assumed he was here for crowd control, otherwise all Gamma's would have been deployed immediately to the front lines, probably via Pelican's too to lower the amount of casualties in insertion.

"You men, all of you, new and experienced have been with me for about a month now, I'm straight out of OCS... You all know that, but as a commander in theory, I feel I have grown on you, but out here..." He paused to gesture to the landscape. "...This isn't theory work, so I would like to ask you all... Individually, not as a marine but as a person... Do you trust me, to get you home?" Justin paused and slowly walked to the end of the formation, he stopped in front of a Corporal at the far right/front of the formation, he looked into his eye's without a blink.

"Do you trust me?" Justin said simply looking at the man.

"I do Sir..." The man replied back proudly, Justin then proceeded to slowly walk across the front of the line.

"I do..."

"Yes Sir I do..."

"Hoorah Sir..."

By now Justin would have surely received a transmission back from Kyle, but he continued to walk across the ranks of his Platoon until all the men had replied to him, from there he made his way back to the front of the Platoon and smiled proudly and looked at his Squad Sergeants.

"You men, as well as women... Make me proud to be a marine, cause I would gladly die beside each and every one of you... No matter the cause..." Justin said with a smile. "...Oorah Devil-Dogs" He said loud enough for each man and woman to hear, he was greeted however with a loud synchronized wave of roars back to him as each of his soldiers screamed the words Oorah, he felt from here he had his men's trust, perhaps he even raised their morale a little, but none the less, he still had to prove himself in combat to these people.

[Llau]

First Lieutenant Alex J. Bishop
Gamma One Actual - Platoon Commander
Five minutes to LZ


First lieutenant Alex Bishop was in the third Albatross dropship that was flying toward the LZ; though, tense for a few moments when they were under brief fire from the streets below. It wasn’t the Covenant, which was bothering him.

‘Damn civilians...’ he shook his head as he bit his lower lip. ‘You people need to calm down so we can actually help you.’

He was sitting in the back, waiting with the rest of his Platoon he commanded, holding his BR55 in his hand as he quietly stared at nothing in particular, but once he made eye contact with Staff Sergeant Richardson, the two cringed at what they were flying into. Fighting the Covenant was one thing, but helping the Army to deal with frightened civilians who are so scared to listen to reason, that it was like giving medicine to the dead. He sighed, Richardson dealt with rioting civilians a little more than he did, but no one would ever be used to have to shoot any civilians who were threatening them. He glanced over at the others. Sergeant Krich, Dmitri and Karim were sitting with their squads they commanded, but they were looking grim. Hell, everyone was, and the back of the dropship was eerily quiet, save for the sounds of the engine as they flew closer to the LZ.

"Gamma One, Three and Four Actual this is Gamma Two Actual. Cities falling apart and I'm requesting reinforcements, how copy?"

Bishop reached his hand up and pressed his finger to his communication device in his ear to hear what the other platoon Commander was saying.

“Gamma Two Actual, this is Gamma One. I read you, five by five.” Bishop responded to the call. “We’re five minutes from the LZ. We were under minor fire from below, but they stopped. Civilians, of all things. Over.”

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

Gamma Three Actual

Coming in hot to the LZ

Second Lieutenant Hawk stood in the Albatross's troop bay gripping the overhead handles with one hand, planting his boots firmly on the deck as the dropship swayed from side to side. He was surprised he wasn't getting sick yet, but was thankful for it as he didn't want any display of his nervousness to show to his men. Still, this didn't feel like a normal drop...

To calm his nerves, Gabriel momentarily closed his eyes and thought of his parents' words before he'd shipped out.

"In a lot of ways, getting down to the LZ is always the hardest part," his mother had said to him, dressed in her standard Marine fatigues with the silver eagle insignia of a colonel on them at the spaceport as she sat across from him at the table. "At least, for me it is. You're stuck in a flying bucket with your Marines for several long minutes and all you've got to do in that time is think about the upcoming mission - knowing that whatever it may be, you're headed right for it, with no stops in between.

"It can be a little daunting, especially on your first run. You'll catch yourself doing things like fiddling with your weapon, adjusting your stance, looking around a lot or maybe just keeping your gaze solely on your boots. You have to avoid that, son. Your troops can sense when you're anxious, and seeing you like that, they're leader perturbed, will make it even worse for them. You have to always appear to be in control on the outside, even if on the inside you're about to wet your pants."

She chuckled a little and looked over at his father. "But I'm sure your dad sees drops a lot differently than I do. I can't stand being inside a ship with only my thoughts, but he's built a career on it."

Gabe remembered looking over at his dad then for his advice, but like always, Willis was a man of few words. Gabriel guessed that's where he'd gotten that trait from, since his mother was about as outspoken as one could get.

"Being a pilot, I've seen the service from a very different viewpoint than your mother, son." He looked over at her and grinned. "She'd never admit it, but the one thing that always scares her shitless, even now, is being in a ship. Doesn't matter what kind, so long as her boots aren't planted on firm ground she's squeamish."

Gabriel noticed his mother beginning to scowl at his dad, so Willis promptly corrected himself. "She's always been fearless as hell on the ground, though, something I had a rough time with when she was in the thick of it more often. I was always afraid she'd do something harebrained to get herself killed. I'm glad you're more levelheaded than she was at her age.

"But I have to admit that for her, it worked to her advantage. It's how she rose up in the ranks so fast - taking risks, and making situations work for her. You're going to have to find your own path on this, Gabe. Find out what works for you. You've already chosen to be a ground leader like her, now you have to fulfill it." 

He opened his eyes again and realized he was trying to do all of that now. He was conscious of when he started to let parts of his anxiousness bleed through and quickly clamped them down. He was aware that whoever was in the cockpit was probably just like his dad, trying to get the troops down safely in any way they could. He knew a few bumps in the air were to be expected.

What he wasn't expecting was the whole troop bay to suddenly jar violently to the left.

Lieutenant Hawk almost lost his footing, nearly going backwards into a group of his own Marines still seated around him on the benches.

"Jesus! What the hell was that?" one of them asked.

Hawk regained his footing, grasping hard at the overhead strap that had kept him mostly upright, and tried not to sound breathless from the spike of fear as he replied. "Don't know, Private. Evasive maneuvers, maybe. We must be taking some fire from the ground. I'll ask the pi - "

But just as the young second lieutenant moved to key his COM, a second burst rocked the dropship - from the right this time. Hawk fully lost his footing now and went tumbling into the bench, empty on this side because most of the Marines there had already risen.

Embarrassed and with his heart beating hard in his chest, Gabriel ignored the sudden aches spiking through his body at the rough fall and moved to push himself back up. A couple Marines nearby had moved to help, too, though it seemed like the rest had fared just as badly. 

Then the lights in the Albatross troop bay went dark...

...And the ship gave a stomach-lurching heave and plummeted. 

"Holy shit!"

Gabriel wasn't sure who called out, or why the pilot in the cockpit wasn't saying a word about their situation. All he knew was that they were in big, big trouble now.

As beads of sweat began forming on his forehead, Hawk gripped the bench he'd fallen onto hard, still on his knees, and felt like he was going to be sick. Sick with fear.

Holy fuck, he thought anxiously to himself. Not even in my very first op yet, and this is what happens? How the hell am I supposed to escape this? What about my Marines?

While the Albatross continued to rapidly spiral downward, Gabe thought he understood his mother's deathly fear of ships now. She was right. If something happened in one of these, unlike on the ground, there was nothing you could do. No way to get out of the way, to go another route, to save yourself.

Not a damn fucking thing except go along for the ride...and hope you survived.

[AlphaWolf]

Hospitalman Second Class Mark Phillips
Onboard le Albatross

    Mark stood in the troop bay, going over his gear.  He had been over his corpsman's bag before he departed the ship, so now he went over his combat gear first.  He'd go over his bag again if he had the time.  Checking his rifle, he took the magazine out and then slammed it home once he was satisfied.  This drop should be a breeze, but hey, anything was possible, right?  And this lieutenant seemed pretty green--he was holding onto the overhead's handles like there was no tomorrow.  Then again, there might not be.  And he was swaying back and forth like he might vomit.  Newb.  Going over the rest of his rig, Mark checked his K-BAR, his grenades, and his sidearm, an M6-series pistol.  Going over his chest rig, he checked his spare magazines for the rifle and pistol.  Green there.  Opening the pouch on the front of his chest rig, Mark checked through his supplies there.  Quik-Clot, ABD pads, some vaseline gauze.  Tape, his markers.  Triple-C's.  Nodding, he went over the rest of his gear.  His meds were good, zipped tight in a pouch in his pack.  Equipment was good, in a soft case in his pack.  Cravats, ACE bandages, trauma shears, bandage scissors, safety pins were in a thigh pack. TK's, Kling, and a can of biofoam in another.  All was well.

    And then the ship shook like a leaf on a tree.  Recognizing the feeling as anti-air weaponry, Mark dove for a bucket seat and strapped in, yelling to the Marines as he did so.

"Get yer asses in seats, Marines!  Strap in!"

    The ship shook again, Mark swearing.  Hot drops were never fun, especially when you in a lumbering behemoth like this Albatross, versus something quick and nimble, like a Pelican or a Falcon.  The lieutenant was on his knees, hanging onto a bench for his life.  Greenhorn needed to get in the seat, or Greenhorn was gonna die.

"Lieutenant!  Get in the damn seat and strap in if you plan on leading this platoon!"

    Mark's fears were confirmed as the ship started to fall.  It was a controlled fall, but a fall nonetheless.  This was gonna be a rough ride.  Holding onto his X-straps, Mark swore as the ship fell.

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

Gamma Three Actual

Hurtling toward the LZ

As Gabe grasped the bench, he heard a shout go through the dark Albatross bay.

"Get yer asses in seats, Marines! Strap in!"

His wits returned somewhat for a moment and he saw the name and rank abbreviation flash across his HUD - it was their corpsman, Hospitalman Second Class Phillips. Then the voice was directed at him.

"Lieutenant! Get in the damn seat and strap in if you plan on leading this platoon!"

Hawk went from being nearly green with nervousness to red in embarrassment for the second time. He was really fucking up his first op so far. Cool as a cucumber he was not.

"Right," he managed, crawling up the bench to take a seat and strap himself into the harness, as directed. Looking over to his left, he noticed one of his squad leaders sitting there beside him, giving him a look. The woman thumped him on the helmet.

"Easy there, LT," Staff Sergeant Sarah Reicher said over a private COM. "This stuff can happen sometimes when you're going into a hot LZ. Don't need to panic yet, could just be part of the evasive maneuvers the pilot's trying."

"Sure didn't feel like it," Gabriel groused.

The staff sergeant laughed. "Everything can seem pretty crazy the first time around, sir. You'll get used to it and start to learn what's normal and what's not with experience. This is rough for a maneuver, I'll give you that, but not scary yet."

Hawk felt silly. "My mom...my mom's always been afraid of these things. I wonder if I'm developing the same phobia from her."

Reicher raised an eyebrow. "Colonel Cooper, afraid of boats? No shit?"

"No shit. My dad told me before I left. I'd never noticed it before but...I know she's a lot better at hiding her feelings than me."

"Not surprising. She's been at this game a long time. I once - "

The Albatross jerked violently yet again, even as it continued precipitating through the air. Hawk swallowed down a lump of fear and shut his eyes, keeping his DMR firmly in his lap. He really, really didn't like this.

"I wish the pilot would tell us what the hell is going on," he said aloud.

And just like that, on cue, the pilot seemed to hear, coming over the shipboard COMs now.

"Marines, prepare for hard landing. We've taken significant damage from the anti-air down below. I repeat, coming in hot!"

Fucking great, Gabriel thought to himself then. Jesus, I knew this was going to happen.

This time, though, he sat steady in his seat and waited.

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
First Battalion, Seventh Marines
Space Port

"Well then the whole company is on the way," Staff Sergeant Monate said after the radio transmissions had came through. "Kind'u'va shame the Captain's pelican was hit on the way down by plasma and here I thought we'd be fighting squip-lips."

"I'm more than confident in Bishops abilities." Kyle said, looking gracefully into the dulling sky. It would be night soon, which meant that the Marines would be battling in the dark without night vision or thermal imaging... but yet again the UNSC predicted this. The Spaceport was littered with military grade flood lights that could expose entire city blocks - illuminating practically everything. The only downside is it, typically, made dark shadowed areas darker.

"I reserve the right to judge later." Monate replied.

Kyle snorted as he re-linked with his platoon, satisfied that Jenkins platoon had also landed. He heard the Marines shouting off and heard someone shout out 'Hoorah', which was the UNSC Army's battlecry. Monate cringes a little and silently corrected the mistake. 'It's Oorah.'

Kyle chuckled lightly before walking into the middle of his platoon. Most of the men were waiting for a briefing of the situation and it was Kyle's responsibility to provide that briefing to the men under his command. The four Sergeants who lead squads knew what was about to happen and were already paying attention.

"Okay, Marines!" Kyle spoke over the nose of his platoon talking to each-other. It wasn't very powerful which meant that the majority of the Marines were already quiet. Now that Kyle had his platoons attention it was time for the good and bad news.

"Good news - we're probably going to fight today. Bad news... we're probably going to fight today," Kyle started. "While the Covenant haven't arrived at the city quite yet they are on the doorstep. However, this time, we've been deployed as a defensive asset to the space-port because a armed civilian riot is proceeding. They have killed, I repeat, killed UNSC personnel, police officers and other emergency response units. This is not a simulation - we will be firing at our own kind today." Kyle said.

"We've been authorized to drop any civilian firing rounds at UNSC Personnel. However, unfortunately, we cannot interfere if they are firing at emergency responders. The city isn't in martial law so we don't have jurisdiction until it is. A state of emergency has already been issued so it is likely around the corner."

"That being said... the only emergency services here are behind the wall of tanks, machine guns, Army personnel and Marines! They have to get through us - so drop any civilian that has a gun pointed at you. Oorah?!" Kyle said and was pleased with the generally positive response from his platoon. He noticed a few NCO's and enlisted men confused by the news.

Kyle switched to a private channel before a radio transmission burst through his comm unit. The first bit was static, but eventually Kyle got the message - as did all the UNSC Personnel nearby. "Albatross Drops --- Critical hits and we are going down. Repeat. We've sustai --- re going down. Mayd --- day --- ma -- y. Coming in hot!"

The only Ablatrosses in the area were Marine assets, which meant that either Bishop or Hawk were going down... Kyle waited for any form of burst transmission, transponder or NAV marker that would signify the Albatrosses current position, trajectory and predicted impact... or impact... area.

"No..." Monate sighed. "Fuck!"

[Llau]

First Lieutenant Alex J. Bishop 

Gamma One Actual - Platoon Commander 

Two Minutes To LZ, coming under fire.

The Albatross Dropship shook violently from a sudden explosion, then the lights flickered on and off before finally staying off in the troop bay; causing the emergency lights to turn on. The First Lieutenant stood, finding the overhead handles to hold onto while he looked toward where the pilot, a Captain Geof Ambrose and his co-pilot, Flight Lieutenant Trevor Statton. They were both trying their best at controlling the dropship, but it still worried Bishop. 

"Hey, the fuck just hit us?" Bishop questioned. "A rocket?"

"Yes, sir," Statton responded, "One of those damn civilians fired a rocket at us, clipped part of the right wing. The damn thing's on fire, but the captain is trying his best to keep it under control."

"Two minutes til we can land at the LZ," Captain Ambrose struggled to keep the Albatross from losing control. "It's going to be a rough final minutes, but I can do it. Better strap back in, Lieutenant if you haven't already. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

"Roger that, Captain," Bishop replied, and then shouted to the men and women who were part of his platoon, "Strap in, marines!"

"Oorah!" Some of them responded, well, the ones who didn't put their seat belts on. 

Bishop sat down, fastening his own seat belt as the ride started to become rougher by the second, but Ambrose and the help of Statton were controlling the dropship pretty well, but only for a moment. His stomach lurched a little while his eyes went wide at the sudden shift to the left. He gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around the shoulder straps he just fastened as they started veering toward the left with the captain yelling out, "Evasive maneuver! More fucking rockets!"

"Shit, shit!" Bishop said through his clenched teeth. 

"What the hell are those damn civilians doing?" He overheard a Corporal shout, mostly out of fear of the attack. 

"Mob mentality, marine," Staff Sergeant Richardson answered grimly. 

Next thing he heard, was something no one going into a hot LZ would ever want to hear. 

"Mayday, mayday - LZ is too hot!" Captain Ambrose said into the radio at all UNSC personnel. "We've taken critical hits --- going down! Requesting ---- mayday, mayd---! Going down! I repeat! We've sustained critical damage --- wing ----engine. LZ is too hot! Going down!"

They were falling, though, thankfully not nose-diving toward the ground. The dropship was on fire, smoking heavily from another direct hit on the left side toward the front as it rushed toward the streets below, and then crashed - sliding into a building, where it made a complete stopped.   

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines 

Gamma Three Actual 

On the ground

The young lieutenant came to a few minutes after the crash, not remembering it...or the last several seconds leading up to it, either. The last thing he remembered was being strapped into his seat. He still was now, but something wasn't right.

When he opened eyes he saw why: the Albatross was on its side. He was dangling from his seat instead of sitting in it, the Marines opposite him either still knocked out or just coming to, moaning in pain.

After a moment he started to feel it himself. His head ached like crazy, but his left arm was what hurt the most. There was pressure on his chest too where his harness was keeping him from falling into the Marines on the other side - essentially, on what was the ground. 

"We've landed," the pilot announced, rather unnecessarily. "Everyone okay?"

Somehow, Gabe realized what he had to do even though his head was still swimming. Fucking ships, he thought. Mom was right...

He keyed his COM, surprised to find it still worked. "Dunno yet, Captain. We sure got worked back here. Nice flying."

"Flak was awful, kid. Did my best. And watch your tone."

"Yes, sir."

It was when he tried to move to the limited degree that he could that Hawk winced. He touched the source - his left arm - and found that it was bleeding. Some of the equipment had come loose in the crash landing and something had stuck him.

"Dammit. Just fucking great."

Staff Sergeant Reicher was still stuck in her own harness beside him, and appeared to have just awoken herself. She looked vaguely disoriented for a moment before glancing over at him.

"Okay, sir. I'll admit that was...a little more rough than usual," she said.

Gabriel chuckled harshly. "Yeah. No kidding." He looked down at his arm again, still not sure what to make of it - or perhaps not yet believing he'd been injured. Reicher followed his gaze.

"You should get that checked out, sir."

"I will. But first things first, Staff." He rose his voice, though it was scratchy from the hit. "Status, now! Anybody badly hurt or is anyone not responding?"

"First squad accounted for, sir. Minor injuries but we're squared away," Reicher answered beside him.

"Second squad is green, Lieutenant," Sergeant Hugh replied.

"Third squad is hit, sir! We've got some injuries!" Sergeant Milton responded.

Hawk glanced through the Albatross, even though the troop bay was still dark. Milton's squad had been on the side of the craft that had hit the ground; it made sense they'd be the most badly wounded. From what he could see, it looked like three or four Marines were having a hard time getting up.

"Roger that," Gabe said. "Corpsman Phillips, you're up. Treat the wounded, and in the meantime I'll find a way to get us out."

The second lieutenant's head was still hurting like crazy, and his arm still bleeding from whatever had pierced it. He couldn't see that well in the dark. But his Marines came first. And until the medic was ready for him, he was going to bust open this Albatross and get his men out - before the smoke filled the troop bay or any fires from the crash spread.

Pulling out his combat knife from its sheath above his right boot, Gabe growled at the pain the motion caused but brought the blade up, sawing at his straps. He fell quickly as soon as they were cut and he tried to aim his trajectory so he didn't fall on anyone. Then he stood, blinked a few times, and began issuing orders to the rest of the craft.

"Marines, if you're mobile, out of your harnesses, now! If you see a buddy who's not, direct Doc to 'em! If your harness release isn't working, use your knives! Let's move!"

It was only once the men and women around him started on their tasks that he had a chance to focus on his COM again. He faintly remembered a transmission coming in from Lieutenant Killinger before the crash, so he figured now was a good time as any to respond.

"Gamma Two Actual, this is Gamma Three Actual," Hawk said. "Albatross came down hard, sir. We're assessing casualties now, then we'll regroup and be on our way where you need us."

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
First Battalion, Seventh Marines
Spaceport

A sketchy, static-y radio transmission came through Killinger communication unit broadcasting through the company channel. His neural interface identified it as the voice of Lieutenant Hawk, but unfortunately Kyle didn't see anything and assumed the worst. It could have been interference from the engines or perhaps a damaged radio signal.

"No copy, Gamma Three Actual." Kyle replied into the channel.

"Search an-"

"Mayday, mayday - LZ is too hot! We've taken critical hits --- going down! Requesting ---- mayday, mayd---! Going down! I repeat! We've sustained critical damage --- wing ----engine. LZ is too hot! Going down!" A Albatross pilot said, specifically one 'Captain'.

"Another one?" Monate said with a tone laced in frustration.

The next radio transmission was from CENTCOMM, or Central Command.

"All call-signs, all call-signs this is Central Command. All pelican, falcon, albatross and hornet flights are hear-by grounded until civilian triple A in Domang Territory are neutralized. Mobile surface to air missiles, forty mike mike cannons and air to air missiles have been launched at friendly UNSC aircraft. A state of martial law has been declared in this territory. All available units under squad level are to converse on multiple crash sites and initiate Search and Rescue operations. Be advised; Domang Territory airport has been overrun by Civilians and hostile UNSC Aircraft are in the air. Central Command out."

Kyle's face whitened - he didn't like the news of that. The airport, roughly four miles from the city they were currently in, was overrun by civilians. Perhaps that was the reason the UNSC declared martial law in the city.

"Shits getting worse..." Monate said.

"Yeah, but we've got to find our downed troops."

"I'll personally volunteer," Monate replied. "Take a fire-team and myself to find survivors of Lieutenant Hawks bird."

"Do it."

"Yes sir! Gamma Two-One Alpha you're with me! Let's move, Marines!"

Kyle watched as the four men, including his company sergeant, split from the platoon and went towards the rough location of the two crashed Albatross dropships. Hopefully they were still alive.

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin Jenkins

Gamma Four Actual - Seventh Marines

In the city's space port

Justin had heard over the radio that one or two of the Albatross' had come under civilian AA fire. Didn't the fools realize that the marines were here to help them and by shooting down additional ways of getting off the planet, the idiots weren't making it any easier for themselves to get off either. Justin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before looking to his platoon sergeant, waving a hand and gesturing the sergeant over to Justin's position in front of the platoon, who were now just talking among themselves since Justin had not moved out just yet.

"Sir?" Said Sergeant Woods as he came within range of Justin.

"We need to do something about these civilians with the AA but we can't just up and leave the spaceport." Justin sighed in frustration.

"Why don't we split the platoon's up Sir? Twenty four stay here to guard the main checkpoint, whilst the other twenty four go into the city as a sort of crowd control?" Woods suggested.

"Seems like a relatively decent plan, I'll lead the marines into the city, you can lead the remaining marines to the main checkpoint at the spaceport entrance." Justin said looking to the man.

"Sounds good to me." The Sergeant finished before jogging off over to the platoon and falling in.

"Gamma Four, we're moving out and splitting the Platoon up, Four-One and Four-Two will be splitting off with me, whilst Four-Three and Four join Sergeant woods in reinforcing the main checkpoint at the spaceport entrance... Sergeant, lead your men to the checkpoint, the rest with me. We'll be taking the MagLev train a few stops into the city, see if we can't find where that AA is coming from, we may even be able to thin out the majority of 'hostile' civilians. I want everyone to understand right now, that we don't take a shot on a civilian, unless we have to, alright? Let's move" Justin finished off with a deep breath before turning to face one of the terminals that was connected to the MagLev platform, they would be able to board it there and run it a few stops into the city.

"Gamma Two, be advised half my platoon lead by my platoon Sergeant is heading to the main checkpoint as a reinforcement, myself and the other half of my platoon are going to be heading into the city via train, we'll find a relatively quiet stop and from there attempt to neutralize civilian AA and or leaders/motivators if any, over." Justin spoke through his COMM's to Killinger, before continuing to make his way to the spaceport platform.

After a few moments Justin and his men made it to the platform, both trains on the departing and returning rail were both in the station to avoid capture and easy access for the civilians, the doors on the departing train were open and about ten or so army rangers were on board as escorts. Justin gestured with a quick wrist movement for his men to load on. Justin himself made his way to the front carriage, entered it and then stepped through the door into the cock-pit where there was a soldier in place, a Specialist to be exact.

Justin placed his hand on the mans shoulder to get his attention, spinning around the man popped out of his seat and cave a crisp salute, obviously a little bit startled.

"Can I help you Sir?" The ranger spoke.

"You can... Me and my men here need a ride a few stops into the city, if there are any we'd like you to drop us off at a relatively quiet stop, then back track immediately back here?" Justin said, trying to put a little authority onto the man.

"I'm not sure if I can do that Sir, I'd need to clear it with my CO." The Specialist replied nervously.

"Listen buddy, two birds filled with marines have been shot down, I need to get in there and take out their AA and any resistance to support in their extraction and the further taking downs of any UNSC aircraft, you take us in there otherwise I'll take us in their myself"

The Specialist eyed the Lieutenant nervously before leaning outward and noticing the twenty two extra marines on board the train, each of them were giving eye's to the army rangers aboard the train and the army rangers back to the marines, the Specialist then looked back to the Lieutenant and nodded nervously before turning around in his chair to start the train up.

"I appreciate it, take us four stops in at max" Justin said before moving back into the passenger compartment to join his half of the Platoon, the train began to move, but only slowly at first as it had to leave the space port. (In case anyone wants to stop Justin)

[AlphaWolf]

Hospitalman Second Class Mark Phillips
Dirtside

Mark was suspended from his harness, sitting sideways in the Albatross's troop bay. Muttering about flying, Mark wrapped an arm around his seat and released his harness.  He dropped down to the "floor" of the Albatross, where several Marines who had been unharnessed were laying.  They looked to be in pretty bad shape.  Fortunately, most of the platoon had been strapped in and had avoided injuries.

"Corpsman Phillips, you're up. Treat the wounded, and in the meantime I'll find a way to get us out."

"Way ahead of you, El-tee!"

Mark knelt next to his first casualty.  His IFF tag identified him as Private John Jenkins, twenty-one in age.  The private groaned as Mark slipped on a pair of black non-latex gloves.  Feeling for a pulse, Mark started triaging the casualty.  He had a concussion for sure, but any permanent damage was unlikely, thanks to the helmet.

"Marine?  John, can you hear me?"

The private groaned, nodding.

"I need you to tell me what's hurting, John."

"My...side...n arm..." the private said, his words coming in ragged gasps.  Mark grimaced and turned to his lieutenant.

"Lieutenant!  We need a CASEVAC bird ASAP.  At least one major trauma, possibly more."

Mark took out a white marker and wrote 'R-T-ND' on the front of the Marine's helmet.  Moving on to the next casualty, Mark winced at seeing him.  The poor Marine hadn't been wearing his helmet, and now he was wearing the Albatross.  Writing 'KIA' on the Marine's helmet with the white marker, Mark moved on, triaging the injuries.  He came across one other Marine in a similar condition to the poor sap not wearing his helmet, one with bilateral femur fractures, one with a broken neck and two more like the first one.  He marked 'R-T-ND' on the four injured Marines' helmets, then looked up, towards the rows.  He could see three Marines dangling from their harnesses, apparently unconscious.  He mentally marked them as yellows and looked back towards his lieutenant.

"Lieutenant!  Still need that CASEVAC!  Five severely injured, three slightly less severely, and two KIAs."

Turning to a small group of Marines that were standing around, Mark directed them to retrieve the three dangling from their harnesses and went back to his first patient to begin treatment.

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
First Battalion, Seventh Marines
Space-Port

"Gamma Two Sierra, Gamma Two Actual; Do you have a sit-rep for me?" Kyle asked into the open channel, hence the usage of the call-sign. She had been gone for about five minutes now. Her response was on the private channel, on the command network for the platoon. Only Killinger, Monate and the rest of the squad Sergeants could hear it. She had done something all-right. Killinger swapped over to the private channel and listened into a bickering fight between her and someone else.

They went back and forth about a Warthog, how only was was in the current area and the Staff Sergeant was progressing too slow towards the Albatrosses. Kyle understood her need for the Warthog, but who ever was in the driver seat was refusing to get out. What was worse, however, was the man in the driver seat was the only man in the hog.

Kyle got the hint, though. She would be squared away within the minute. She had her orders and she'd follow them. Killinger closed the channel with a light chuckle before watching Second Lieutenant Jenkins head towards the train terminal, already knowing what the man was doing. While Central Command didn't order the neutralization of the anti-aircraft, everyone knew what they meant when they said flights were grounded until it was neutralized. It was a silent order, really. Everyone knew without being told.

Kyle quietly walked towards the entrance check-point. At least sixty Marines were helping the army secure the rather large one road entrance. A Scorpion Tank had been posted at this entrance along with a dozen other Warthogs in various variants. The check-point was also manned by two platoons of Army troopers, meaning that it was well reinforced. The Major only had a company to work with, so two platoons was actually a fairly significant portion of his two, three or four companies under his command.

It was also only eight army troopers. If the Covenant were to roll on through they'd put up a fight with the Scorpion, Warthogs and personnel, but they'd have to rely on the Covenant number being around the same as the UNSC's. It was a tricky situation and Kyle thought the Major was actually handling it pretty well... but if the Marines were called in they needed to be reinforced. A company of Marines at that.

Second Lieutenant Jenkins radio transmission came through, but Kyle had already known what he was doing. He chuckled. "Gamma Two, be advised half my platoon lead by my platoon Sergeant is heading to the main checkpoint as a reinforcement, myself and the other half of my platoon are going to be heading into the city via train, we'll find a relatively quiet stop and from there attempt to neutralize civilian AA and or leaders/motivators if any, over."

"Solid copy, Gamma Four Actual. I've split off a fire-team to search for the down Albatrosses. I will inform you of their status when I know more. Gamma One Actual out." Kyle said. He hoped that Hawk wasn't wounded. He had become a good friend.

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin Jenkins 

Gamma Four Actual - Seventh Marines 

In the city's space port 

"Solid copy, Gamma Four Actual. I've split off a fire-team to search for the down Albatrosses. I will inform you of their status when I know more. Gamma One Actual out." Justin heard Kyle respond as the train began to pick up speed and soon blast it's way out of the station at a high speed and made it's way down the track.

"I'm going to drop you guys four stops down in an underground station." Yelled the Specialist army trooper from the driver seat.

"Roger that Specialist." Said Justin.

Lifting his hand up he grabbed one of the handholds, holding himself up his men were seated on the left and right, sideways direction seats they chatted among themselves, Justin had a relatively blank face as he looked at each of his men, examining them, they were all rather casual, they had been in combat before, the majority of them anyway and due to the fact that they were facing off against civilians they probably thought this would be a walk in the bark, Justin frowned.

"We may not be up against the Covenant here, but I wan't all of you to be on your absolute A game! Give 100%, we do NOT lose anyone today." Justin said, just to slide them all into gear.

"Oorah Sir." Spoke one of the Corporals before they all sat at attention, waiting for the train to stop.

After a few moments of silence the train zoomed into a tunnel, the sound of the train's speed literally echoed through the circle shaped tunnel. Justin gripped the handhold above his head tighter and dug his feet into the slightly carpeted floor of the train as it decelerated, Justin ran his right hand down to the handle of his MA37 which was currently loaded with shredder rounds, which would tear any un-armoured human to ribbons, perhaps this would give Justin some sort of reputation, however he'd try only fire as a last resort.


"Alright, get ready guys!" Yelled the Specialist, Justin let go of the handhold  and slid his left hand under the barrel of his MA37.

Justin and his men lined up at two sets of doors, 11 at one door and 11 at the other, weapons at the ready. The stationed looked fairly clear at the current moment but that could soon change if any of the civilians saw the train enter the station, once the train stopped the doors shot open, Justin was the first to step out followed by his 22 soldiers in tow who instantly fanned out and cleared the area, there was no sign of civilians what so ever. Once the last man was off the train, the doors shut close and the train shot back in the opposite direction, Justin soon lowered his weapon and nodded.

"Clear."

"All clear..."

"...Clear here."

His half of Platoon sounded off through COMM's, Justin nodded and began to walk over to one of his Sergeant's who he decided would work as his current 2iC which was Staff Sergeant Clair Hunt, Justin shot a smile over in her direction but was shut off with a blank look as she signed and scanned the area. Justin was about to speak just before a round went off and everyone dropped, taking cover behind seats, signs and trash cans, seconds after several more shots popped off, Justin took cover behind a chair with Hunt and popped his head up to look at the source of the gun shots which was a civilian, luckily no one had fired a shot in return just yet so Justin may have been able to talk him down, but Sergeant Hunt had beat him to it.

"Listen mate, put the gun down, we're here to help you!" She yelled out.

"I just want to get off this rock! I don't want to die!" He yelled back.

"You're gonnah die if you don't put that weapon down!" She yelled before sliding her weapon off and raising her hands in the air, slowly approaching him, Justin cursed under his breath, she was acting like a cop, they were here to take out the AA and act as crowd control, not talk down threats.

"Get back!" The man said waving his weapon back and forth.

"Listen ma---" Clair went to continue, before the man raised his rifle.

"I SAID!" The man yelled out, raising his weapon, Justin had stood up and squeezed the trigger of his MA37 which was currently on a single shot burst, a shredder round shot out of the MA37 and hit the civilian square in the face, the shredder round turned the civilians face to mush and sent a fine mist of blood into the air, a second passed and he fell flat on his back.

Everyone stopped and looked at Justin, even Clair spun around and gave him a look, it wasn't a look of disgust or shock, Justin had just saved his life, it was more to the fact that Justin just popped a shredder round into the face of a civilian which turned to mush and he didn't change the expression on his face once.

"Move out! Staggered column!" Justin yelled about before jogging up to Clair, he slew down for a moment and nodded before jogging over to the stairs the civilian had stepped down, making his way up, it took  a few moments before his men began to follow him, Clair however instantly fell in behind. As he got to the top of the stairs he slew down and aimed down the iron sights of his weapon, looking over the horizon of the stairs to check if it were clear, it wasn't there were civilians running and walking to the direction of the barricades, some armed, some not, some old, young, middle aged. Justin saw a lot of families which distressed him a little.

"Alright... Move out from cover to cover, engage only if necessary." Justin whispered among his men who at this point gathered at the top of the case.

"Alright... Go."

He said in hush hush tone before stepping out and into the open, instantly moving to the best source of cover which was a huge statue, most of the civilians didn't spot them at first and those with guns mainly ran instead of stopping to fire, three stopped ten meters in front of Justin and raised their weapons, they were holding M6 handguns and as far as Justin was concerned, they were about to fire. Justin fire several shredder rounds at the civilians, all but managed to impact except for one, no matter all of the three civilians had been ripped apart, anyone else that had a weapon or was already running, sprinted off.

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines  

Gamma Three Actual  

Inside the Downed Albatross 

Hawk made a face when Lieutenant Killinger didn't reply; something was wrong with either the equipment or the signal, and he didn't have time right now to figure out which. He let out a rough sigh instead and and glanced down at the Albatross's bottom, really its side since it'd come down awkwardly in the crash. Still, the young second lieutenant was well aware of how lucky they'd been. A crash like this could've easily killed tens more than it actually had - could've even killed all of them.

Hell of a start to my first op, Gabriel thought to himself. I just hope it gets better from here. Though judging by their mission objective, it didn't sound like it was going to.

Lieutenant Hawk didn't stand there long assessing things, however. He knew he had an important task to complete and time was of the essence. He quickly slung his DMR behind his back, wincing in harsh pain from his wounded arm as he did so, and made his way to the back hatch.

The junior officer turned to the mobile Marines closest to him and shouted, "Let's get this thing open, Marines! We can't stay packed in here while the fight's out there! Move!"

A few of the men got up to help right away, coming up on Hawk's side to check out the situation with the hatch for themselves. It was a tough thing to see in the dark, but all were determined not to continue being stuck inside the badly damaged dropship.

"Lieutenant! We need a CASEVAC bird ASAP," Hospitalman Phillips called out suddenly. "At least one major trauma, possibly more."

"Damn," Gabe muttered to himself. It sounded like the casualties hadn't been as light as his squad leaders had first reported. He figured as much with what he'd been seeing around the troop bay since he'd come to. Still, for the moment, Hawk's top priority was still getting a hatch open to the world beyond. He keyed his COM again, stifling a grunt of pain with each movement of his left arm. When he looked down, his uniform jacket sleeve was dark with blood.

Suck it up, he thought. Doc'll take care of it...soon.

Establishing a channel with the pilot, he said, "Sir, what's up with the back hatch? It still hasn't opened and I'm not sure where the manual release is..."

"Yeah, auto-controls aren't responding, Lieutenant. Result of the crash as you might've guessed," the pilot replied. "Manual release is on the right side, central panel. Should have a small blinking light but that may've gone out, too."

"I think so, sir. I don't see it." Gabe crouched a little, looking over the panel the captain had indicated. Pulling out a penlight from his cargo pockets, he flicked it on and finally saw the release. "Got it, Captain. Punching it now."

Gabriel hit the side of the panel and the Albatross's back hatch finally opened. The young lieutenant as well as the Marines around him let out a long sigh of relief.

"Good. We've got a way out, everyone. If you can move, start filing out. Get a safe distance out but be cautious, we could have some resistance out here. We'll regroup once we're all out. Go."

He turned back then and wanted to ask Phillips for a sitrep on the wounded, but the corpsman was already ready with the words.

"Lieutenant! Still need that CASEVAC! Five severely injured, three slightly less severely, and two KIAs."

Hawk nodded. "Right. I'm on it."

Stepping out into the open now, Gabe did so slowly, taking out his sidearm in case of any subsequent attack. Nothing emerged to impede his progress, though, or that of his Marines - at least not the few who'd started to leave the ship with him. That was a good sign.

Every second was precious for those wounded in the wreck, however, and Lieutenant Hawk knew that. With sweat rolling down the side of his face, both from the heat and the pain, he clicked on his radio once more. "This is Gamma Three Actual to any friendly forces groundside. I've got wounded aboard the Albatross that went down. Requesting assistance and immediate CASEVAC, over."

[Llau]

First Lieutenant Alex J. Bishop  

Gamma One Actual - Platoon Commander  

Crash Site

Bishop gradually awoke when he started coughing from some of the smoke that was inside the troop bay. He winced, groaning in pain, but then realized he was dangling upside down from the seat he buckled himself into just before the Albatross crashed. The Albatross must have flipped onto its back before they crashed. He couldn't remember exactly, not that it mattered now. He was alive, now to see if anyone else survived the crash; though, all of them surviving it wasn't likely. It was a little disorienting at first, but he ignored the mix of pain and the upside down sensation, and started to reach for his combat knife, while he glanced around the troop bay. Some of the marines were still hooked in their seats, unconscious or dead, while others were out of them, conscious, but injured. As for how bad they were injured, hard to tell. There were a few working on getting the door opened, while a medic was working on one of the injured, and upon further inspection as his eyes stopped blurring, he noticed the whole front of the cockpit was severely damaged, and mostly on fire. One of his Sergeants were extinguishing the flames that keep flaring up. 

"Lieutenant," exclaimed Staff Sergeant Richardson. The older man noticed him slowly cutting the shoulder strap when he turned away from the door for a moment to see the First Lieutenant was finally awake. He walked over to him to check if everything was okay. "Man, aren't you a sight for sore eyes. Nice to see you're finally awake. How are you doing?"

"Well, other than for the fact that I'm just hanging around, Staff Sergeant," He grunted and winced, still feeling sore, but mostly at his own stupid joke while he worked on cutting the blade of the knife all the way through the thick fabric. "I'm fine...bruised and cuts...nothing too serious. You?"

Richardson scoffed a little at the dumb joke, smiling a bit; although, he looked tired and grim. "I'm good, nothing major to worry about. I've been coordinating those who were conscious and able while you were out." He glanced toward the front of the troop bay with a pained expression. "Wish I can say the same about everyone. The ones who were sitting near the cockpit got it worse." He sighed, helping Bishop out as fast as he could.

"What's the sitrep?"

"Both pilots are KIA, including eight marines, there are ten with mild injuries, and four with serious injuries who need immediate medical attention - the medic and a couple of others are working on them now, but if we don't get the door open and have a CASEVAC take them out of here, they're going to die. We're trying to force the door open that jammed at the moment before the rioting civilians swarm us. At least we crashed far away from those crazies." He paused. "We weren't the only Albatross that went down though. The civilians took down another one."

"Who was in the other one?"

"Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, sir."

Bishop didn't really know Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, but still...

"Shit..." He winced again, looking terrible when he heard the news. This wasn't going to be easy. Here he thought his first assignment on Gemini Sigma was bad, but this takes the cake. "Shit...why the hell did they shoot at us like that?"

He shrugged, shaking his head. "Anger and not thinking rationally, mixed with fear and desperation is an inferno just waiting to happen."

They were quiet for a few more minutes, and then Richardson helped Bishop out of the seat, keeping him from falling onto his head. The Lieutenant placed the headset that fell out of his ear during the crash back into his ear, and then proceeded to call out to any of the other platoons who they were coming in with. 

"This is Gamma One Actual, anyone on this frequency hear me?" He went on as he begin checking those who were still unconscious and strapped to their seats, while Richardson went back to check on the process of the jammed door they were slowly opening. "We have ten KIA, both pilots are dead, along with eight marines. Ten with mild injuring and four others who need immediate medical attention."

Bishop quickly paused, and looked at the Staff Sergeant. "Shit, we can't request any CASEVAC birds if they grounded all air traffic due to the anti-air fire coming from those civvies." 

Richardson frowned at that, slowly shaking his head in disgust as he realized that now, too. "Damn it."

"I can't leave these people behind...what am I going to do? I can't let them die..." The First Lieutenant trailed off, shaking his head as he slowly grew angry at this whole situation. 'Those assholes...' He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves as he started to figure out what he was going to do. Get out of here and head to the spaceport, or stay here, take positions, and hold out as long as they could and wait for the CASEVAC once another platoon takes out those civilians who are using the anti-air rockets.

"There's no right or wrong decisions here, Bishop," Richardson finally mentioned. "Whatever choice you make, we will understand."

The Lieutenant then waited for a response, and hopefully they will have help here soon. The young woman he was checking on, the IFF tag identified her as Private Paula Barnes. She groaned when she finally opened her eyes. When she started panicking a little, he calmed her down, and she looked at him when she realized where she was and who he was. 

"Lieu...lieutenant..."

"Private Paula Barnes," he asked, "How are you feeling? You okay?"

"My side hurts, but I'm okay," she answered weakly. "I'm okay, I think."

He glanced down at the medic, but didn't want to stop working on the other marine who looked like they needed his help more than Barnes did. He glanced back at her.

"Okay, I'll help you out of here. All right?" He checked to see if the buckles to her safety harness were jammed, satisfied, he unbuckled her one strap at a time, and then she quickly wrapped her arms around him when he finally unbuckled the strap across her waist, and then eased her down onto her feet.

"I-I need to sit down...for a moment..." She looked dazed, paling, and looking as if she were about to pass out. 

Nodding, he helped her sit down on the ceiling that was now the floor, and squat in front of her for a couple of moments to make sure she was okay. "Get your canteen and drink a little bit of the water...don't take huge gulps, okay?" He then stood up straight, watching as she slowly grabbed for her canteen and did what he told her. "You'll be okay." He then went to check on the others, helping them if needed.