[center][h1][color=ec008c]Samantha Dalton AKA Chaos[/color][/h1][/center]
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[H2][center]Aral Sea, Leaving the Sandbox Behind[/center][/H2]

By the time Samantha had managed to get another rocket ready to fire all the IFVs were gone. Now it was just mopping up the troops they had managed to get into the field and extract. Samantha dropped the rocket and grabbed her machine gun instead. She began shooting at anything targeted their area covering Xander as best she could as he did his thing. Samantha pushed through the injuries and pain to do her job. She kept up a running mantra in her head, deep breath, sight, find a target, pull the trigger. The noise of the battlefield, the smell of smoke, the heat from the flames and the desert had faded into the background. Samantha was grateful for the extra ammo as she popped in her last magazine. She had just taken down a trio of soldiers who were trying to hit Xander from the sand outside of the ship through the hole he was firing through. She had turned to take a shot at another when her radio flared to life. 

[color=f7941d]"Queen, Hawk is on station, is the LZ near your position clear, over?" [/color]

[color=lightblue]"Affirm, Hawk. Good to hear your voice. Team, rally on me and break from the fight, let's get to the bird."  [/color]
The voices from the radio pulling her from the focus that had kept her operating. She trembled as she touched the mic at her throat to answer Skye’s summons. [color=ec008c]“Chaos acknowledges.”[/color] Samantha climbed shakily back to her feet. She went to see if Xander would need help getting out. 

Samantha focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she kept her gun moving. Artemis’ soldiers had rushed towards the ship as the team began a tactical retreat. She took down soldiers trying to stop their escape. She fired to take down soldiers trying to get into a position to fire on them. She helped with suppression fire as they worked their way towards the LZ. She struggled through the sand as the meds she had taken began to run out and the injuries she had sustained began to take their toll. She kept moving and firing until she ran out of ammo. She then switched to her handgun. It didn’t have the range of her machine gun and with her shoulder mangled, she had lost accuracy. She finally clambered on board the V22. She collapsed into a transport seat along the wall and buckled her harness. She was covered in dust and blood and black soot. As the V22 took off and gained altitude, the pain and pressure in Samantha’s head exploded and she passed out. 

[center][h1]Raven HQ[/h1][/center]
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Samantha woke up to find herself in the infirmary at Raven headquarters. Her body ached from head to toe, and she had a killer headache. She felt groggy and sleepy still. The team doctor was standing over her. She had met Sophie when she had joined Raven Squad. Sophie had done her mandatory physical exam and an extensive review of her medical history. Samantha winced as the light above her bed caused pain to stab into her brain. She groaned and tried to talk but her voice was raspy, and her throat was dry. [color=ec008c]“Owe… can you turn the lights down Doc?”[/color] Sophie chuckled at her and dimmed the lights over her bed before replying, [color=f7941d]“Its good to see you are still with us.”[/color] Samantha let out a relieved sigh as the lights dimmed. Samantha just groaned before replying [color=ec008c]“Ok Doc, what’s the damage?”[/color] Sophie’s green eyes were warm but serious [color=f7941d]“You have a concussion, some cracked and bruised ribs, and some soft tissue damage in your shoulder.”[/color] Sophie patted her on the good shoulder. [color=f7941d]“I will need to wake you up every hour to assess your condition. Once you are past the concussion protocols, you may go back to your room. I have wrapped your ribs to support them. Now that you are awake. I will give you something for the headache I know you have. Once you start to heal, you will come back to see me for some physical therapy exercises to help your shoulder heal. You will be back in fighting shape in about four weeks.”[/color] Sophie turned and began injecting medication into her IV. Samantha only managed to get out a [color=ec008c]“Thanks Doc”[/color] before the pain medication swept her back to sleep. 

Samantha spent her first night back at headquarters in the infirmary being woken up every hour. She was grateful when Sophie finally let her go back to her room. She climbed into her own bed and slept most of the day. Samantha’s growling stomach finally woke her up. She was starving. She took a long hot shower. The heat felt wonderful on her sore body. She was grateful she had short hair. It hurt to lift her arm on the right side. She was grateful she was left-handed. She didn’t bother to try, and blow dry it. She just towel-dried it and ran a quick comb through it. Her chest and shoulder were a colorful patchwork of deep bruises. She still had some swelling in her shoulder too. She slipped into comfortable cotton black yoga pants and a hot pink loose t-shirt with the saying “I never argue, I just explain why I am right” in big black block letters on the front. She slipped her feet into hot pink sports sandals since she couldn’t bend all that easily. She grudgingly used the arm sling that Sophie had given her. She had explained the least movement the better and the sling would lessen the strain from supporting her arm. She couldn’t deny that it felt better to use the sling.  

She hated feeling like an invalid. She felt better today but her body still protested. Samantha felt like she had been run over by a tank. She left her room and began to make her way towards the kitchen. Samantha moved stiffly and she gritted her teeth. Every step jarred her aching body. It felt good to move even as it hurt. Her stomach let out an audible growl. She needed food.