Red vs. Blue: Dissent
Chapter One
Disclaimer: I do not own Red vs Blue or any of the original characters. They are owned by Rooterteeth. If there is any plot holes in the story that are inconsistent with the actual Red vs. Blue storyline, please, keep it to yourself. I'm kidding, I'll accept any suggestions and take it into consideration and if I feel it will help my story then I'll… do something with it. Even though there will probably only be like seven people who ever read this story. I'm not being pessimistic I'm being realistic. So… yeah.
Many Years Ago…
"Foxtrot Chariot, this is Mother of Invention. Do you copy, over?"
"Mother of Invention, we copy, over."
"Is Foxtrot prepped for insertion, over?"
"Affirmative, we're all strapped in and geared up, over."
"Acknowledged Foxtrot Chariot. You are twenty clicks from deployment zone, ETA two minutes. Good Luck Foxtrot, over and out."
Project Freelancer Agent Carolina heard all this on her radio. She leant back in her seat before pulling up the head shots of her team on the screen in front of her. Even though it was impossible to see their faces behind the reflective visors of their helmets, Carolina could still tell that they were nervous. It was like a chill in the air. The four helmets all turned to attention and Carolina began her brief announcement, "Okay, team. We deploy in two minutes. Make sure you're air-tight and everything is functional. There isn't going to be a second chance if we mess this up."
Agent Washington suddenly began checking that everything was working with an obvious air of panic, "Are we sure that this is the only way we can do this? There isn't a… less painful way of deploying."
"Negative Wash. Anything else and we'll get shot out of the sky."
The radios were quite good. Even through the helmet, Carolina could hear Washington gulp. She couldn't blame him. Out of all six of them, only one had actually performed this sort of insertion in person. According to Agent Indiana who spoke for Agent Colorado, it isn't the sort of thing you rush back for seconds for. She could understand that.
"Relax, Wash," Agent York said cheerfully, "Just imagine it like a rollercoaster, then multiply that by fifty and add the ominous threat of a somewhat embarrassing death."
"Thanks York, really." Washington muttered.
"Hey Wash," Agent South Dakota said in a narcissistic voice, "If you chicken out, I'm sure the Director will be very impressed and send you off to bed early with a warm glass of milk."
"Ok people, shut it," Carolina interrupted, "One minute until insertion. Enough with the encouragement, team. We don't need New Harmony all over again." Wash cry of disbelief was followed by poorly contained chuckles from the rest of the team. Carolina couldn't help it, it was just too easy an opportunity.
"It's quite alright, Wash," Agent Wyoming said in his usual British accent, "Backing out now will not change how we see you."
"I hate you all." Washington muttered darkly. Everyone cracked up laughing but Washington continued, "Honestly, if your lives had faces, I would punch them; I would punch your lives in the face. This brought on even more laughs. Even Colorado tilted his head to the side slightly.
"Okay team, deploying in thirty seconds." Carolina announced.
"Last chance to jump ship, Wash." South said.
"Just stop talking, please stop talking." Wash replied. There were no more laughs as everyone braced for deployment.
"Twenty seconds to deployment." The mood around the team was tenser than ever. "Ten seconds… nine… eight… seven… six…"
"Hey South," Wash said, "Just in case I don't get a chance to say this later… Ouch."
Just then the floor opened up from under them and a faint hissing sound was barely heard over the roaring winds as the cabin pressurized. Moments later, they dropped.
The fairly dark cabin they were just in was replaced by the night sky and as Carolina looked up, she failed to see the Pelican they had just been dropped from. She looked back to the front of her drop pod which served as both a window and a screen. She pulled up her team again as they were lost in the drop and the five helmets reappeared on her screen. "Okay team, it is 2543 hours local time and from the distinct lack of gunfire, we haven't been spotted yet. I'll take this time to re-brief you. We are above the city of New Harkness. It is currently held by the Insurrection. Freelancer forces have been trying to get in for weeks but so far the Insurrection's defences have held. That is why we are being dropped behind enemy lines. Our primary objective is to punch a gap in the Insurrection's defences and let our forces in. Our secondary objective is to cause as much mayhem as possible. That includes destroying weapon caches taking out high-ranking officers and generally crippling the Insurrection for future conflicts. From information gathered by analysts, the Insurrection leader is supposedly in the city as well so if you find him, kill him. Got it?" There were nods around the team. "Our landing coordinates have already been designated by command so when you land, get to the rendezvous point which is here." The rest of the team should be getting shown a map of the city with the points of their landing spots and the rendezvous points. "If you are knocked off course and you land somewhere else then stick to the plan and head to the rendezvous point."
A timer appeared on her screen, "Touchdown in thirty seconds–" The pod shook terribly as loud gunfire rocketed around the pods.
"We've been spotted!" York yelled.
Yellow flashes erupted around the night sky around them. Sooner or later, someone's going to get hit.
Someone did. A pod directly in front of her was consumed in a flash of yellow light. The explosion sent Carolina's pod spinning. She looked at her screen and she saw that the square where Washington was supposed to be had degraded into static. I'm sorry, Wash. Carolina didn't have time to mourn because she saw the timer counting down to the moment when they hit the ground. It read ten seconds. "Everybody, pull chutes, now!" She pulled a lever and the pod shook as the air caught on the parachute and the pod began to slow. But now she was a sitting duck. Either way, this was going to hurt.
A loud screeching erupted around her as her pod erupted in a flash of white light and Carolina just had time to think, They got me, before she blacked out.
Aboard Project Freelancer Frigate Mother of Invention
As the Mother of Invention drifted along in orbit around a planet, two men waited around a holographic screen. One of them stood with his hands behind his back while the other stood with a datapad in his hands. The two stood in silence while scientists worked furiously around them. The man with his hands behind his back, The Director, turned to the other and asked, "Are we ready for extraction, Counselor?"
The man with the datapad, The Counselor, nodded saying, "We are ready when you are, Director, however I am not completely sure that the timing at the moment is not premature."
"We have done tests and preparations for months now, Counselor," The Director replied, a note of frustration creeping into his voice, "I need to see the extraction with my own eyes."
The Counselor hesitated before nodding, "Yes Director. Extraction beginning."
On the screen, a small, blue figure appeared. It was wrapped in a ball with its legs up against its helmet. At the sight of the Director, the small figure spoke, its voice barely above a whisper, "What is happening, Director?"
The Director watched the blue figure for a moment longer then said, "Begin separation." A floating creature with long tentacles rose from an open box and floated towards the blue figure. It began fiddling with the controls on the screen like a well-trained dog.
Moments later, the small figure flashed then suddenly began screaming. It began changing colours, first red then purple then black. The Counselor moved in close to the Director in a hope to speak over the screaming and asked, "Should we mute him, Director?"
The Director raised an eyebrow but replied, "No, Counselor. We need to understand the entire process. Keep watching."
The Counselor nodded so the Director returned his full attention to the digital figure. The screams got more disjointed as the outlines of the figure began to flicker. And before his eyes, the Director saw the small figure rip into two, a second, black-armoured figure emerging from its blue-armoured counterpart. The two figures lay motionless while the science team took crucial tests on them. Once they had finished, the Director muttered, "Thank you, Alpha." The blue A.I. disappeared from the screen and moments afterwards, the new A.I. began to stir.
It talked with a voice that shook the Director to the core, "Where – where am I?"
The Director simply stared and finally muttered, "Allison?"
There was no response from the A.I. and the Director quickly regained his composure. "Place her in storage for recovery, Counselor."
The Counselor couldn't help the obvious question from being asked, "Her?" The Director glared at the Counselor who quickly changed tact and muttered, "Yes, Director."
The Director frowned and walked out of the room towards his quarters while the creature with the tentacles was herded back into the box. He had a lot to think about.
The Beta A.I. for example.