[ The attentive people among the Orbers will quickly realize Sam's in pain. If adressed, he initially waves it off - must have twisted his back or something. No really, he's fine.
That sentiment lasts until he has to double over, until over the course of a violent few hours his spine seems to extend outwards, ripping through flesh and skin on his back. Bony protrusions unfurl eventually, like wings of bone grown straight from his spine. Sam does not pass out - too battle hardened for the pain alone to do him in. He can still move, but not comfortably by any stretch of the imagination.
Still when it comes time to escape, Sam's there - horrific bone wings on his back, eyes glazed with pain. Not quite steady on his feet, but Redwing's in the air.
The plan is deceptively simple. Redwing is a combat and recon drone. Sam talks about it like it's a pet more than a lifeless drone that acts on his command, but the gist of it is that through his own visor and Redwing's scans, he can track heat signatures, foot prints, and use Redwing's inbuilt laser to melt through locks. Sam doesn't mention the limited firepower Redwing has - the plan is non-lethal, and he intends to keep it that way, instead use the recon functions to help direct people to take down guards without having to kill them.
Sam's unable to wear his wingpack, but he's got it with him, same as the shield. He is, however, visibly in no condition to fight. Instead he lets himself become their eyes and ears in the palace, helps navigate them through. At one corner, he grabs the nearest person to him, holds up a hand. His voice is a quiet, strained whisper: ]
Three around the corner... you gotta... [ He makes a small motion in the direction of the corridor. ] I can't.
✪ // PART IIA. THE MONSTER SANCTUARY
[ CW: hallucinations, PTSD/Trauma, references to corpses, references to loss/grief ]
[ Sam's a friendly, open sort of person. In the beginning stages of the infection back in the infirmary, it didn't seem like he was all that bothered - good at hiding his worry, good at keeping it together for the sake of others. That changed once the infection progressed, and by the time they're in Yuryeong, his eyes glaze over every time someone speaks to him as he sees them dead or dying instead of as they are. Many of the familiar faces become charred and bludgeoned, like someone who went down in flames and broke apart on the ground after a long fall. Sam eventually can't help but flinch everytime someone speaks to him and he makes the mistake of looking.
It's not like Sam to withdraw, yet once they're in Yuryeong, that's exactly what he does. For once, he's not exactly the first in line to help out around the encampment, seems to actively avoid situations in which he'd be around others unless they specifically seek him out. The one exception is the development of the cure. He volunteers himself a test subject, though makes it clear he doesn't consider himself a priority to be cured - just wants to help the process along for all their sake in whatever way he can.
The way his spine has split through his back and extended into bone wings makes it impossible for him to move, stand, sit or lie down without considerable pain. Sam still tries to crack jokes and act like he's fine when someone insists on speaking to him, he still gets involved in tasks if someone asks him to or tells him to, but he can't quite hide the immense mental and physical strain. He tries not to sleep, not while the cure hasn't yet come through - dodging nightmares and the physical horror of trying to get into any sort of position that won't feel like his body is ripping in half.
Stometimes he can be found by the graveyard, perched awkwardly, the bone wings looming large. There's something to be said about the sort of grotesque figure he strikes in this setting, perhaps. There's usually not many people here - which makes it the perfect respite for him. Even here, Redwing is now a permanent fixture, hovering over Sam's shoulder, and Sam doesn't take off the flight goggles anymore. If someone approaches him and makes to speak, Sam mutters a soft: ]
Please don't.
[ And if the person insists and keeps talking, a small red light shines on them as Redwing scans them. Sam looks like he's staring at something far away rather than at the person, the reflections in his visor giving little away other than that Redwing seems to be giving him a readout on some form of simple vitals. Sam doesn't seem to care, at that moment, if he's not been given permission to scan someone like that, but it's the only way he can assure himself the person is actually still alive, that he's not reliving Afghanistan, that he doesn't see someone dead or dying, over and over and over again until he can't take it anymore. ]
✪ // PART III. IT'S TIME TO BE BRAVE
[ CW: violence, blood ]
[ Here's a fun fact about being able to fly: People will target you, even if there's little chance of them hitting you. Especially then, actually. Sam's used to flying through RPG fire, weaving through explosions as if they were harmless clouds. He makes it look easy, like he's untouchable.
Tonight, he's in the air with the specific purpose of drawing fire. With the infection cured, he can finally strap on his wings again. They unfold from his pack, large and sturdy, made from a metal few would be familiar with, and Sam flies them like he was made to be in the air, to draw ranged fire towards him and the shield that is painted like a bullseye for this very purpose. Redwing, his drone, is up in the air with him, and Sam busies himself using his shield to block arrows, sometimes throwing it or using Redwing's grappling hook to yeet archers off their high perches.
The wind fans are a concern, but not a major one - Sam gets blasted back a few times, but that just means he lets the wings fold back into the thruster pack on his back, allowing himself a dizzying freefall to the ground in order to dodge the wind, and snapping the wings back out just before eating dirt, allowing him to physically slam into a few guards with his wings to take them down before swinging back up into the sky.
The energy whips are more of a concern - Sam relies on technology to remain airborn, and pure shocks of energy does not tend to mesh well with that. A whip wrapping around his leg is painful as hell and a tug of war of a person against a jetpack, but at some point a whip hits his thrusters, causing them to splutter and give out on him. Wings folding back in, Sam drops like a stone onto the nearest roof, hitting it hard and tasting copper in his mouth. He spits as he picks himself back up, wipes the blood off with the back of his hand. Redwing's flashing some warning onto his goggles - yeah yeah, he's grounded for a little while, his tech's rebooting. But if he's a menace in the sky, he's no less competent on the ground, alternatively using the shield to block incoming attacks and letting it fly to knock people down and out. Sam is strong, but also light and quick on his feet - that is unless a talisman manages to freeze him in place, the shield clattering to the ground loudly. Redwing chirps an angry alert and swoops in with cover fire - but help would very much be appreciated until the spell releases Sam from its hold.
More than anything though, as a former pararescue Sam considers himself made for the rescue much more than for the fight, all competence in that area aside. And while he knows there's no talking individual guards down here, he doesn't forget his fellow Orbers while he's soaring through the skies, or about the non-combatants, the civilians caught in this situation. If he sees someone in danger, Sam's going to abandon his fight to help them, personal goals be damned (forgive him, but he will not abandon those in need to bring back one person he couldn't save), either by grabbing them and flying them to safety or by quite literally shielding them from harm with his wings and his shield.
At any of these points, feel free to join the fight with Sam, help him, let him help/save you, or help him save some civilians. ]
// ✪ WILDCARD
[ If none of these options strike your fancy, feel free to hit me up with something of your own. Sam's also happy to chat on the network with anyone who stayed behind!
I tend to post brackets, but if you prefer prose, feel free to tag in with prose, and I'll happily match format!
no subject
✪ // PART I. THE GREAT ESCAPE!
✪ // PART IIA. THE MONSTER SANCTUARY
✪ // PART III. IT'S TIME TO BE BRAVE
// ✪ WILDCARD