Agent Washington had been staring at the floor of the chopper for some time now. Several thoughts clashing in his head, but above the commotion of Hargrove's location, the still vivid images of the blood washed battlefield he'd left the army of Chorus to deal with, and the nagging feeling that something was wrong, he felt a complete and utter concern for his friends. Friends. The thought forced a small chuckle out of the freelancer.
Carolina took notice of Wash's humorous indulgence as she walked back from giving the Reds and Blues coordinates to the pilot in the cockpit of the cramped pelican. It always felt familiar being in these flying ships, even more so with Wash patiently waiting in the cargo hold, just like he used to when they were still freelancers.
"What's got you in such grand spirits? Riding the high of victory?"
Carolina sat next to Wash, the two of them harmoniously neglecting the safety harness Dr. Grey had commanded the soldiers of Chorus to wear while she performed her physical.
"We just took down a corrupt private military of space pirates, and here I am worried about the guys. I should be riding the high, I just can't seem to hold on."
Wash responded with the humility he'd felt moments before dwindling into deep concern, then gradually building up into anxiety until he turned to Carolina for an answer.
"Why haven't they sent out any message since the radio in for evac?"
Carolina looked down slowly, then perked up.
"Maybe they're… preoccupied?"
Bitters, who'd been leaning against the back door of the cargo hold, seemed to have lost interest in the tussle of calming Jensen down from flying and had been listening in on Washington and Carolina's conversation.
"Preoccupied with whatever weapons, soldiers, and other bastards are on board that ship," Bitters spoke absent-mindedly, not realizing the situation he was feeding into.
"Thank you for that, Lieutenant Bitters."
Carolina spoke sharply, staring daggers at Bitters, who verbally fumbled to correct his statement.
"I mean, these guys took down Project Freelancer, right? I'm sure they could handle a few goons and some alien weapons. They have before, right?"
Bitters didn't speak to Carolina, but instead to Washington. Nonetheless, Carolina seemed to relax in her seat, turning her attention from Bitters back to Wash.
Palomo took notice of the conversation and broke away from soothing Jensen long enough to speak.
"Totally! You should've seen Tucker in battle today! He pulled out his sword, and was all 'swoosh-swish-stab'-ing on these guys."
As Palomo spoke he began miming out the movements of Tucker's energy sword, becoming more and more absorbed in it, until he seemed to have lost all interest in the prior conversation.
Carolina turned to Wash and put her hand on his thigh plate, looking squarely at his visor, trying her best to ignore Palomo's poor pantomime of the battle.
"The guys are alright. I promise. They've survived worse, and I'm sure they can handle whatever Hargrove has onboard for them. So just relax, Caboose will be hugging you in no time."
Wash looked up at Carolina, making a deliberate attempt to relax his posture as best he could.
"For future reference, mentioning a bear hug from Caboose probably isn't the best way to get me to relax."
Carolina chuckled, and leaned back in her seat once again perfectly calm. "That's what I like to hear. I do love watching you squi-"
Carolina was interrupted by the pilot calling her to the cockpit as they pulled onto the Staff of Charon for a landing.