Fane woke up with a thundering headache. He felt sluggish, his body reluctant to follow his commands. His eyes refused to fully open, sheer exhaustion holding them down. He would give anything for 5 more minutes of sleep, but something kept him from it. Apart from the pain in his head, he felt cold- far too cold to still be in his bed at home.
After a few tries to wake up, the slog of drowsiness finally relented. His eyes opened, slowly focusing to reveal unfamiliar surroundings.
A damaged console flickered senselessly in front of him, blood and broken glass obscuring what few parts of the screen were still intact. White light poured in through the small window ahead of him, illuminating the narrow space he found himself in. Pipes and wires lined the walls, leaving him feeling cramped. He could hear a small ventilation fan somewhere, it's inconsistent whirring suggesting an issue with the pod's power system.
He found himself harnessed securely to a chair, his arms dangling forward on either side of the wrecked console in front of him.
His fingers twitched as he gradually found the strength to move. His muscles were stiff, all of them feeling as if they hadn't been used in weeks. Eventually, he was able to move enough to check himself for injuries. He winced in pain when his touch reached the wound on his head. The blood on the console was certainly his, but it seemed his injury had mostly closed.
Taking a deep breath, Fane focused his gaze out the window, willing his eyes to adjust to the intense light. From what he could see, the world outside was encased in white, with snow covering the vast majority of the surface. It was hard to see much from this angle since the window was angled towards the ground. He would have to step outside to get a decent look. Fane grunted as he struggled with the harness release, his strength refusing to heed his call. It took a while, but he eventually got through the clasp holding him to his seat, allowing him to drop forward onto the console.
He couldn't explain it, but he felt an urgent need to get out of the pod. It was like there was some important reason to, but he couldn't remember why. In fact, he couldn't remember anything about his current situation. Regardless, he felt the need to leave this place as soon as possible.
Following his gut, he reached up and yanked down on the red egress handle. The pod hissed angrily for a second before the top hatch door was violently ejected, flying off several meters into the distance before crashing through the snow. The cold instantly intensified as if protesting his leaving. As he pushed himself up towards the hatch, he discovered a pack strapped to the back of the seat.
A quick check through the pack provided him with all the basic necessities, including what looked like packaged food, a first aid kit, a thermal blanket, some equipment probably meant to filter water- everything you would expect from a survival pack. But two things stood out the most: A rifle strapped to one side of the pack, and a sword on the other.
An ominous feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach. Several questions had been tumbling through his mind, but he felt he didn't have time to address them.
Throwing the pack over his shoulder, Fane gradually climbed up through the hatch in his pod. The second he crawled outside, he was met with frigid winter air of an even greater intensity. The strange clothes he wore did little to stop the cold. They were simple, black pants and a T-shirt both made from a strange fabric which was rather thin, but seemed durable nonetheless. His boots were notably comfortable, enough so that it felt as if he had already broken them in.
He still hadn't fully recovered from the persisting drowsiness, but he was doing better. It felt like he was recovefimg from some kind of sedative, his balance wavering. Regardless, he jumped from the hatch, landing roughly on the ground. The snow served to break his fall to some degree, helping him to stay on his feet through the landing. As he rose up, he finally got a good look at the outside world.
A line of pine trees had been crushed to splinters, and a deep trench of disturbed earth extended behind the pod, indicating it's crash landing in the middle of a mountain forest. The pod itself was steaming, all snow cleared in it's immediate proximity. A path of destruction trailed behind it, all the way back to where the initial impact must have been.
'This thing must have been falling fast to cause so much damage. And the heat... Did this thing fall from orbit?'
He looked to the sky, questioning if such a thing could have really happened. It seemed implausible. How could he have managed to end up in a situation like this? He quickly dug through his pack, pulling out the thermal blanket. He wrapped it around himself in lieu of a coat, then threw the pack on once more. Without delaying a moment longer, he cut a trail to highground, wading through snow up to his thighs.
It took some time, but he found a good vantage point where he could see for miles. He took a knee, catching his breath as he surveyed the forest below. There were no major landmarks he could find. No buildings, no roads, no signs of anyone living here. It seemed his pod had dropped in a fairly remote place. Honestly, that might have been for the better.
Considering he was sent down here with weapons, it was safe to assume that he would need them. Whatever else was out here likely wouldn't be welcoming.