Pain wracked Jon's broken body when he awoke, causing him to gasp for air. He struggled to open his eyes, not quite sure where he was.
The light stung at first, forcing him to squint. but as he grew used to it, he managed to take in his surroundings, bringing back a wave of recallection. Bodys still strapped to their seats, lifeless expressions frozen on their faces. He was sad for the loss of so many young lives, but he knew that time was short, and he had to make use of it.
Jons left arm was broken, he knew as soon as he tried to unbuckle his straps with it, searing pain shot up from his wrist to his shoulder. So he used his right arm instead, dropping to the floor of the shuttle as the straps relingquished their hold on him.
"Sir..." the weak voice came from behind him, followed by a cough. He was startled, spinning around to see who it was, forgetting about his broken arm; which proceeded to smash into the wall of the shuttle, sending another bout of pain up his arm.
"Jenson!" Jon was overwhelmed with happiness that he was not the only survivor, rushing to help her from her seat.
She fell onto his shoulder when the restraints came off, shouting in pain. "My leg...i cant stand on it." Jon knew the situation was not good, niether of them where in fighting condition and there was an unknown enemy roaming about, on top of the fact that they had no idea where they were.
"Its okay, ive got you, let me get this door open," he set her down against the wall, then pushed the emergency release button. "Check your weapons and ammo." jon told her quietly as the door swung open, flooding the cabin with light.
He quickly surveyed their surroundings, scanning for any form of threat. Tall trees surrounded the crash site, plumes of smoke rose through the thick canopy. Thick ruts of pushed up dirt and shattered tree trunks showed their point of impact, he knew that anyone out there would know where they had made contact.
"We cant stay here, grab your locater tag, and any other gear you can stand to carry, ive got weapons and food." Jon told her as he swung the heavy bag over his shoulder, the emergency supply kit would keep them running for a few days, their injurys would have to wait until they were clear of the crash site.
Helping her off the ground, they began their treck into the unknown forest, jumping at every chirp, hearts pounding. Training had told him what to do in a situation like this, simulations had gave him an idea of the feelings he would go through, but now that he was actually here, it was a whole new game, one he did not plan on losing.
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"Sir! we've got an active locator! Two survivors!" The crewman of the U.S.C Hellrazor yelled out.
Walking over, admiral McCormik inspected the screen. Sgt. Jon Lauren, and Pvt. Julia Jenson he thought to himself. The admiral reached out and pushed a few buttons on the control panel. The tags flashed a few times, then dissapeared.
"Sir?" the crewman asked at his actions.
"I do not see any tags, perhaps you should head to the infirmary, i do not think you are feeling well." McCormik said in all seriousness after deleting all records of the the two survivors.
"Sir, what are you.." The admiral quickly cut him off, leaning in close.
"That, is, and order."
"yes sir." the crewman hessitantly looked around at the staring crew of the Hellrazor, before quickly heading to sick bay.
"Well, dont you all have work to be doing?" McCormik shouted out. Everyones gaze quickly returned to their screens.
you've poked around in my files long enough, Jenson. He thought, a slight grin on his face.
"Someone update the systems. We only came with twenty nine drop ships, not thirty. There must have been a mistake in the manifest." McCormik covered all traces of his act. "And our deep orbital E.M.P had a malfuntion, causing it to fire. Am i clear?" The crew responded with a hesitant yes sir, they knew full well what was going on, they simply didnt know the reason behind it. It would be better if they never did.
