Hey guys Price here and welcome to the Prologue of Project Freelancer: Rebirth. I look forward to writing this story, and I hope you look forward to it too. I will probably make this longer, but I don't really know. I meant all the stories in the Project Freelancer series to be twenty chapters, but I had no idea what to do as filler. Granted I could have probably made up my own, but I think one was enough for that story, right? Anyway, I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. This story, in case you didn't know, follows the new Agent California, Alex Velasquez. Alex is the son of Ciara Velasquez in case you didn't read the original, who was the original Agent California. The AI will all be new, except for Lambda, as Ciara technically stole him and passed him on to Alex if he ever needed it. Also, literally every Freelancer is sex-swapped, or in other words, if they were a guy, they are women, if they were a woman, they are men. This does include the Director and Counselor. Also, bare in mind that Alex does not know that Tex killed his mother, and, because I like a good feud, will definitely have Lambda tell him. I should mention that, only for the prologue, I will have everyone's favorite Half-Jaw, R'tas Vadum, in the story. This is only because Alex will be having his mother's armor shipped and R'tas is the only being who has a ship fast enough to get it to him by the needed time that Alex knows. Most of the prologue will be with Alex being on the Shadow of Intent, but he will arrive at the new PF CC(Project Freelancer Command Center) by the end of it. Also, last thing, but I changed the last name. Not much, I just switched the first e and a in the last name to make it Velasquez, instead of Valesquez. Anyway, I'll shut up now, and onto the story!
"Okay," Alex said, smirking and narrowing his eyes playfully, "shoot." He finished, the woman across from him merely staring at him for a second, as if unsure what Alex meant. "Oh no. You're ONI aren't you?" He asked, the woman stuttering in surprise.
"Wha-what? No! No, of course not." The woman answered, Alex smirking deeper.
"Oh? Then why didn't you ask the question?" He asked, the woman clearing their throat.
"Well, you said to shoot, so I thought you meant literally." The woman answered, Alex sighing and slumping over in disappointment.
"Just...just ask the question before I shoot you." He said, the woman sitting up straiter.
"Well, I've been sent by a woman from a new little program to ask you if you want to join. The rebirth of one of the most infamous programs in the universe. The rebirth of Project Freelancer!" The woman said, Alex freezing in surprise at this, something that was noticed by the woman. "Of course, I understand if you don't want to join, what with what happened to your parents." The woman added, Alex smiling sadistically.
"No. I want to join. I want a shot at the bastard who managed to take out my mother." Alex said, the woman getting visibly nervous.
"Oh. Okay. Well, I'll have you clear it with your CO, and you will be shipped out to the command center, the Father Of Creation." The woman said, Alex nodding and watching her leave, then opened his data-pad and called his house back on Earth, hoping that Maria would pick up. Maria was the woman that took care of his house while he was on duty.
"Hello? Alex is that you?" Maria asked, Alex looking at the door to make sure the woman was gone.
"Hey Maria. Listen, I need you to ship the armor. L' too." He said, Maria being quiet for a moment. "Maria?"
"Oh, sorry. Of course. By when should it arrive?" She asked, Alex smirking lightly.
"By yesterday." He answered, Maria sighing.
"I'll call HJ." She said, Alex saying goodbye and ending the call.
"Now...what to pack and what not to pack?" He asked himself, looking around. Shrugging, he grabbed his standard issue ODST sidearm and placed it in the holster on his ODST armor, which was currently on an armor rack by his bed. "I think that will be all I need, actually. Maybe some spare clothes. Meh." He said, shrugging and deciding to watch some television while he waited.
A few hours later, his data-pad rung, Alex nearly falling out of bed to get to it. After untangling himself from the sheets and grabbing it, he saw that it was Maria.
"Hello?" He asked, answering it.
"He said he'll bring it, but you owe him." She said, Alex chuckling.
"I thought this made us even." He said, Maria chuckling too.
"I said that too. He answered that you previously asked him to glass a section of that Innie planet when you and your squad got held down." Maria said, Alex sighing.
"I told him to bombard it. Apparently he thought I meant with the Ventral Beam. I hardly see how asking something of him in a warzone is a favor, especially when he had troops on the ground too!" Alex exclaimed, Maria making a sound of confusion.
"Huh. I don't know. Ask him when you see him." Maria said, hanging up.
Alex put down the data-pad and looked around, noticing a small, glowing object in the chair the woman had sat in. He picked it up and noticed it held a number for him to contact if he needed to.
He grabbed his data-pad again and entered the number, waiting as it rung.
"Hello? Is this Alex?" The woman from before asked, Alex becoming momentarily confused.
"Yes. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be arriving at the FoC with a friend, he's dropping me off." Alex said, the quiet sigh of discomfort barely audible from the other side.
"Are you sure? It's no problem for our pilot to come and bring you." The woman said, her obvious tone of begging making Alex realize there was something they didn't want any random civvie to know.
"I'm positive. He's dropping something off for me anyway." Alex said in his no-nonsense tone, the woman chuckling nervously.
"Of course. I'll notify the FoC when I arrive. Who shall we wait for?" She asked, Alex smirking.
"You'll know them when you see them." He said, terminating the call.
Thinking himself done for the day, Alex lay down and went to sleep.
###
Waking up at around oh-five-hundred hours, Alex put on his ODST armor and made sure he hadn't slept through any messages or calls. Satisfied he had none, he walked out the door and told the receptionist that he was checking out. He paid the man and walked out, walking to the town's military base to make sure they knew about his friend's impending arrival.
Arriving at nearly oh-five-thirty hours, Alex knocked on the door to the general's office and was told to enter.
"Ah, Alex Velasquez. Ready for duty already?" He asked, clearly surprised.
"No, actually. I came to tell you that-" Alex was interrupted by the general's data-pad ringing, Alex already knowing what it probably was.
"Sorry." The General said, answering the call. "What is it? I'm busy." He said, Alex merely watching. "What!? A Covenant Supercarrier!?" The general shouted, Alex huffing lightly. "Wait, the Shipmaster is requesting to land a Phantom? Why?" The general asked, Alex waiting for it to click for the man. "To deliver something? For who? Actually, don't answer that. I already know. Give them permission." The general said, ending the call and looking at Alex. "I assume that's what you were going to tell me about?" He asked, Alex nodding. "You couldn't have told me sooner?"
"I'm an ODST, sir, not a Spartan." Alex said, the general sighing. "Sorry, sir, but I'm afraid that I'm gonna have to resign. Someone recently came to me with an offer I can't resist. I'm sorry." Alex added, the general sighing.
"I understand, son. I understand. Good luck." The general said, extending his hand, Alex shaking it.
"Goodbye, sir. Give 'em Hell for me." Alex said, turning around and leaving.
A few minutes later, Alex was at the designated landing zone for where the Phantom was going to land. He watched, helmet in the crook of his arm and depolarized, as the purple speck that was the Phantom slowly got larger, until it was only a few hundred feet above the ground, where it proceeded to slow down until it landed, and R'tas Vadum himself exited the Phantom, followed by two clearly surprised Rangers.
"When he said ally, I did not think he meant a human." One of the Rangers said to the other, who merely stared at Alex. "Why does a human require Demon armor?" The Ranger asked R'tas, who looked at the Ranger with a look that said he wanted him to shut up, which he did.
"It's Spartan, Ranger, not Demon. And it's actually designed to fit someone without the enhancements Spartans have. Of course it's better to have the augmentations, but not required." Alex said, the Rangers looking at him, it's domed helmet hiding the probable snarl of anger at him, even if they are technically allies.
"Ranger! Be respectful! Even if you don't like the humans, I ask that you at least respect him as a warrior!" R'tas commanded, the other Ranger merely looking towards the Ranger that commanded R'tas' wrath.
"Shipmaster R'tas Vadum. As a fellow warrior, I assure you that I can handle anything they say. Believe me when I say any insult I've ever had from Sangheili is not as bad as what I endured from my drill instructor during my ODST training. I actually like it when they try and insult us humans, so, if they have an opinion they want known, I ask they speak it. Of course, you outrank me, so feel free to order them otherwise." Alex said, the Rangers looking at him in what he thought was probably surprise at how casually he talked to the Shipmaster.
"I know that to be true, however, they have been trained to show respect to a fellow warrior, no matter the race." R'tas responded, Alex nodding.
"Oh, right. R'tas, I know you agreed to deliver the armor, but my ride to the location has been detained for flying too close to an insurrectionist planet while possessing UNSC markings, but will be released when they are cleared. This means I must ask that you take me to my location. I assure you that I would not ask if it wasn't necessary, but it is and I apologize for the inconvenience. I know you need to get back to your planet due to the Remnants still performing small attacks, but I have no other choice." Alex said, R'tas giving no clue he heard but the twitch of a mandible.
"Of course. However, you still owe me." R'tas answered, Alex letting out a breath of relief, albeit quietly.
"At least you picked some human slang up from talking to me. You finished that novel I sent you?" He asked, R'tas chuckling deeply.
"It was certainly good. However, your translation skills need some work. There were some words mistranslated that meant some rather...sensitive material." R;tas said, Alex tilting his head lightly.
"Um, no. I had an expert on your language translate it. They assured me that it was all correctly translated, assuming your language hasn't changed." Alex said, R'tas blinking in surprise.
"You mean...that the detailed acts of..." R'tas trailed off, Alex noticing the Rangers look at each other in what he assumed what surprise.
"Yes. Properly translated." Alex answered, nodding.
"You humans have a strange sense of fiction." R'tas mumbled.
"Trust me, there are weirder. Things I'm sure that your Arbiter would certainly find...interesting. In a horrified and disgusted way, but interesting nonetheless. Same goes for you." Alex said, R'tas finally noticing they were still on the landing pad and telling him he could get on, which Alex did.
"I still think that the Shipmaster is being too lenient with the human's behavior." The left Ranger whispered to the other, who merely looked at him, then at Alex and shrugged.
"It's not our place to say." The Ranger answered, it's voice sounding a little more high-pitched than normal, something that Alex, the other Ranger, and R'tas picked up on immediately.
"The first time you speak since joining the crew, and it's defending a human. Females." The other Ranger said, not noticing the glare both R'tas and Alex both threw his way.
"Baka..." R'tas growled out, Alex looking at the female Ranger as the ship continued climbing.
"Baka's a pretty...odd name." Alex said, the female Ranger shrugging at him, then looking at Ranger Baka.
"Just so it's clear, I'm not defending a human. I'm reminding you that when the Shipmaster makes a decision, it. Is. Not. Questioned." She growled, Alex shuffling over to R'tas' side.
"Normally I'd bet on the female Ranger, but I'm not in a betting mood and this needs to be stopped before it turns into a fight. In my opinion, that is." Alex said, R'tas looking at him.
"Then by all means, stop it." He said, motioning with his hand towards the now in-each-other's-face Rangers.
"...On second thought, I think I'm in a betting mood." Alex said, earning a chuckle from R'tas. "But sure, I'll stop it." He added, R'tas shrugging in indifference.
Alex sighed and walked towards the two Rangers, Ranger Baka looking at him while the female Ranger continued to look at Ranger Baka.
"If you two are gonna fight over something this trivial, wait until we arrive at the Shadow of Intent." Alex said, Ranger Baka growling at him.
"If you wish to stop it, then challenge me." Ranger Baka responded, Alex visibly becoming fearful.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'd rather keep my life." Alex said, turning to walk back towards R'tas.
"Oh, you mean that the human that earned this female's interest is afraid of me? Did your mother raise a coward?" Ranger Baka asked, Alex stopping and, to the surprise of everyone but R'tas, spun and delivered a punch straight to Ranger Baka's helmet, shattering it and continuing into his mandibles, where a resounding snap was heard, Baka screaming in pain as his mandibles shattered and the glass from his visor embedded itself into his face. Baka fell to the ground, clutching his face and continuing to scream in agony.
"Hard to raise a coward when you're dead." Alex answered, walking back over to R'tas and shoving his helmet on, the visor polarizing. "...Think I went too far?" He asked, earning a head shake from the female Ranger.
"For what he said? Of course not. Probably should have warned them myself." R'tas answered him, Alex shrugging.
"He wouldn't care. To him, I'm just a little human with a problem with honor. Now I'm a little human with a problem with honor and that just broke all four of his mandibles because he said something sensitive. He's lucky, though. If we'd met before the alliance, when our races were just starting to work together after the Great Schism, I'd have killed him. Well, probably. That or break his legs." Alex said, surprising the female Ranger and R'tas, both of their heads moving back in surprise.
"Shipmaster! We will be arriving soon! Shall I call ahead and tell them to get the medical team ready?" The pilot asked, Alex suddenly wondering if this was a good idea now that he'd just crippled a Sangheili's mandibles for about two or so weeks.
"No! Let him make his way to them himself!" R'tas answered, the pilot not speaking for a few moments.
"Of course, Shipmaster! Will not call ahead!" The pilot finally said, Alex looking at the female Ranger, who merely looked at him, then at Ranger Baka, who had reduced his pained noises to a quiet whimper.
A few minutes later, they landed on the Shadow of Intent and Alex was shown to his quarters by the female Ranger, Alex knowing that R'tas was merely doing it to try and goad Ranger Baka again, and Alex was actually looking forward to showing him what a human could do again, much to his own surprise.
The door to Alex's temporary quarters opened, and Alex walked in to begin taking off his ODST armor while the female Ranger watched from the door, then took her helmet off.
"You mentioned that your mother is dead earlier. Might I ask what happened?" The female Ranger asked, Alex tensing briefly, then relaxing and sitting on the levitating bed, motioning the Ranger to sit next to him, which she reluctantly did.
"To be honest, I don't know the exact details. All I really know is that she bled out after being stabbed repeatedly. I don't know who killed her. I only know how she died. I do know her name too, though." Alex answered, sighing as the female Ranger placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"If this information pains you to speak of, then don't." She said, Alex smiling lightly.
"You asked. It's only fair I deliver." Alex responded, shrugging lightly.
"Still, I do not wish to upset you by asking for private information." The female Ranger answered, Alex raising an eyebrow in question. "I mean, because you are a guest, of course." She added, Alex chuckling lightly at her sudden awkwardness.
"I knew what you meant, but it's better that you clarified. More for your sake than mine, but still better." Alex said, the female Ranger letting out an exaggerated breath of relief. "I see R'tas isn't the only one that knows what sarcasm is." He said, earning a slight chuckle from the female Ranger.
"Like your stories, you humans have a weird sense of humor." She said, Alex chuckling.
"And like our stories, there are far weirder." He countered, earning a huff of surprise.
"You mentioned earlier that there are things that would interest the Arbiter, albeit in a disgusting and horrifying way. What did you mean?" She asked, Alex sighing.
"Okay. If you remember, I mentioned a novel I gave to R'tas. Ask if you can read it, and you'll understand what I mean." he explained, the female Ranger tilting her head.
"What is this novel called?" She asked, Alex looking towards the door quickly.
"It's an extremely old story that came out over five-hundred years ago. If you read it, you'll probably understand why it became popular, and stayed popular for so long. It's called 'Fifty Shades of Grey'." He answered, the Ranger looking confused. "I know, the title's confusing. I don't really understand it either." He added, shrugging.
"I am still curious about what you meant by weirder." She said, Alex holding up a finger.
"I'm getting to that. In a normal human's day, some of them choose to write something we call 'fanfiction'. Basically what that is, is when a person writes a story about a subject that didn't actually happen, but would have been an interesting extension to that subject's universe. Well, people also write something called 'lemons'. These lemons are basically detailed acts of mating between two characters. Well...people have taken it to themselves to write fanfictions, lemons included, about the Spartan known as the Master Chief, and your race's Arbiter." Alex said, the female Ranger looking at the floor and blushing profusely. "Oh my God." Alex said, the Ranger looking at him.
"What?" She asked, Alex struggling not to laugh at how funny a Sangheili looked when blushing.
"Nothing. I've just never seen someone of your species blush before. It's a little..." He trailed off, trying to find a word that wouldn't offend her pride.
"Cute?" She asked, Alex stuttering. Now it was his time to blush and look at the floor.
"I was gonna say funny, but I didn't want to hurt your pride. Last time that happened, R'tas almost threw me out of the gravity well." He said, the Ranger getting ready to ask a question. "Without it being turned on." He added, earning a wide-eyed look of shock from the Ranger. "Yeah. Not the best one to mess with, R'tas is. Even playfully teasing him." Alex added, shrugging.
"I see..." The female Ranger said, nodding lightly.
"Alex! Ranger Baka 'Nrafum has requested a duel for his honor as a warrior. He has also requested that Ranger Xoxi 'Dragum be present to 'witness who the greater warrior is in a real fight'. He also apologizes for being stupid and having no knowledge of judgement or common sense." R'tas called from the closed door, the female Ranger looking at Alex questioningly, who merely stood up and walked to the door, his proximity to it opening it.
"You added that last part to get a laugh out of me didn't you?" He asked, R'tas growling in frustration.
"I should've known you'd figure that out. No matter how much I learn about your human sarcasm, you always know when I'm being sarcastic." R'tas growled, Alex rolling his eyes.
"That's because you learn from me." Alex said, the female Ranger, who Alex assumed was Xoxi, walking to the door.
"Oh. I was unaware you two were in the same room...alone." R'tas said, Alex choking on his own saliva at the bold comment.
"We weren't-it's not li-why would you say that!?" Alex shouted, his arms flailing in his anger, Xoxi getting the hint.
"That was a bold comment, even for you, R'tas." She said, R'tas shrugging and turning to walk down the hall.
"You two coming?" He called over his shoulder, having turned to see them still standing there, with Alex bent over and hacking at the sudden buildup of saliva he kept choking on in his anger.
"Give. Me. A. Moment." Alex said, holding up a finger. "Okay. I think I'm good." Alex said, standing up and following R'tas, followed by Xoxi.
"Don't forget your combat gear." R'tas reminded Alex, who groaned and walked back into the room, walking back out with his ODST gear on a few moments later.
The group arrived at the ship's version of a workout room with a boxing arena, minus the workout room...and the ropes to keep you from falling out...and the actual arena.
"Wait, so you just fight in the center, and the others watch from the wall?" Alex asked, Xoxi shaking her head, then pointing above them. Alex looked up, seeing a lot of nearly invisible cameras, which he knew were linked to some kind of terminal in the different rooms that the Sangheili were in.
The door on the opposite end of the room opened, Ranger Baka 'Nrafum entered the room, a new helmet hiding the probable visceral scars and other wounds from earlier, as well as whatever they had his mandibles wrapped in to keep them from flapping about.
"You will pay for earlier." Baka said, a device on his throat translating his throat movements into words.
"Before we fight, I have a question. You wanna know what Baka means on our planet?" Alex asked, Baka turning his head slightly, as if thinking, then looked back at Alex.
"Sure. What does it mean on Earth?" He asked, Alex smirking under his helmet.
"It's a Japanese word that means idiot, or stupid..." He began, raising his fists and entering a combat stance. "...Baka." He finished, a roar of anger coming from the sound translation device.
-Begin song Le Bien Qui Fait Mal-
As Ranger Baka 'Nrafum charged at him, Alex turned and ran towards the wall as he got within twenty feet, and jumped at the wall, flipping off of it and over Baka as he slammed into the wall. Alex slammed a fist into the armor in the middle of Baka's back, then ducked and rolled backwards as the Ranger turned and swung a wide back-hand at Alex's head level.
Alex attempted to slam a fist into Baka's chest, but Baka grabbed it and slowly twisted it, then threw it towards Alex's own face, but Alex manged to twist with the blow and stay on his feet.
Alex dodged a few blows before slamming a fist into the Ranger's knee, which bent the wrong way just enough to pop, but stay in it's socket and stay usable. Baka gasped in pain, clutching his knee.
Alex jumped up and slammed a knee into Baka's helmet, only applying enough force to knock him back, not break it again.
Baka then managed to punch Alex in the gut, Alex gasping and dropping to the floor. Baka then kicked him in the side, making him flip over and onto his back, where Baka delivered yet another punch to his gut.
Alex dodged an attempted third strike to his chest and-or gut area by rolling away, then turning the roll into a backflip and landing on his feet.
"Your endurance is that of a Spartan, human. Yet you are a simple ODST. Impressive, I suppose." Baka said, Alex nodding to show his gratitude at the compliment.
"You aren't so bad yourself, Baka. However...I've already won." Alex said, earning a surprise look from the Ranger.
"What do you mean?" He asked, Alex pointing behind him, which made Baka turn around.
"Baka." Alex said, using the insult version this time. He then ran forward, stopped, and dropped, swinging a foot out at Ranger Baka 'Nrafum's own feet. Baka jumped up to dodge it, only for Alex to jump and spin, his foot connecting to the side of Baka's helmet, knocking him unconscious and sending him crashing to the ground a good five feet away.
-End song Le Bien Qui Fait Mal-
"I suppose I did see who the better warrior was after all." Ranger Xoxi 'Dragum said, Alex shrugging.
"He would have won had he not fallen for that trick." Alex said, Xoxi rolling her eyes, then suddenly turning around and facing the door, activating her Type-1 Energy Sword as a trio of angry Minors came in, their blue armor obviously brand new as there was not a single scratch on them, their own Energy Swords activated.
"Surrender the human, female." The one in front, and larger, one ordered.
"Just because I'm female does not mean I am going to follow every order like your slave." Xoxi countered, Alex reaching for the combat knife on his left shoulder.
Suddenly, the door behind Alex opened and in stepped R'tas Vadum, who, upon seeing the three Minors, growled and walked up to them, all three shrinking in fear.
"What is the meaning of this?" He asked the trio of Minors, the larger one swallowing.
"We suspected the human of cheating in the due-" however, his sentence was cut off as R'tas back-handed him with enough force to send him crashing to the ground ten feet away, the other two dropping their Energy Swords and running back through the door from which they came.
"Meh. We could've taken 'em if we had to." Alex said, shrugging and letting go of the handle on his combat knife.
"You never know when to back down do you?" Xoxi asked, Alex shrugging.
"Not how I grew up." He answered, walking through the door to his quarters.
"He's a strange human." Xoxi muttered, sighing and looking at R'tas, as if asking for the answers to her unspoken questions.
"As I'm sure you know, his mother was killed when he was young. He grew up without anyone to really teach him how his race behaved and reacted to threats. He became fascinated with our race and our sense of honor and fairness for reasons even he doesn't understand. Of course, I managed to get into contact with his mother's old comrades in her squad for the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. I asked them about his mother when they calmed down enough to talk, and they told me that, during the fall of their colony world Reach, her and one of our own were forced to team up to survive after they were both left behind. To them, they had no war to fight, only a harsh and unforgiving landscape to survive. They parted ways upon escaping, and that male eventually made it to the Halo ring known as Installation 04, where he lost half of his jaw to a former comrade infected by the Flood." R'tas finished, Xoxi gaping at him. "I never even realized that they were of blood until then. I've treated him like a warrior ever since. Even if it was more for his mother's actions than his own abilities." He added, the door that Alex had left through opening, Alex walking back through. "Oh, hello Alex." R'tas said, clearly surprised.
"I can't remember if I asked or not, but how long will it take to get there?" Alex asked. Xoxi had thought he was gonna ask that R'tas knew his mother, so she was surprised when he didn't.
"Roughly a few more hours, close to two or three, in your time." R'tas answered, both of the Sangheili wondering when the question would come.
"Oh, okay. Thanks." Alex said, nodding to them both before leaving.
"Usually when a door opens after an important revelation, the person mentioned questions about the revelation's authenticy in an incredibly emotional state. But then again, Alex Velasquez never was one for doing the expected. Or being emotional." R'tas muttered, shaking his head and turning to walk back through the door he had come from, leaving Xoxi to stand there, confused on what to do.
After standing there for a few minutes, Xoxi finally decided to go back to Alex, in order to continue their previous discussion. However, the door didn't open upon her approaching it, which meant that it had been locked, something that happened very rarely unless they were asleep.
She knocked on the door, then stood back.
"Alex? May I come in?" She called, surprised when, not even a second later, the door opened, but either Alex was faster than he let on, or he hadn't moved, because he was still on the bed. "How...did you unlock it without leaving the bed?" She asked, surprised because she didn't know it was possible.
Alex chose not to speak, instead holding up a small object Xoxi recognised as something the humans used to move their AI from one object to another; a neural-interfaced AI chip.
"I thought that regular warriors, even elite warriors such as yourself, didn't have the kind of uplink necessary to carry an AI." She pointed out, Alex shrugging.
"We don't. Doesn't mean I can't keep him with me, right?" He asked, although it sounded like a statement.
"What is his...designation, I believe is the word." She asked, Alex placing the chip in a section of his armor, near the breastplate, where she assumed he had something to keep it from falling out.
"Project Freelancer Artificial Intelligence Program Fragment LMDA-11-009183542, also known as Lambda. He is an AI from the original Project Freelancer, more than fifteen years ago. He has escaped the effects of Rampancy via lockdown code Sierra-Foxtrot-198472, which dictates that any and all Smart AI be placed in their equivalent of cryosleep if they are expected be be away from a facility that can safely decommission them for longer than their life-expectancy at that point in time." Alex answered, Xoxi just staring at him. "And I've lost you, haven't I?" He asked, Xoxi shaking her head as if to clear it.
"My apologies, it's just a lot to take in that I..." Xoxi began, though stopped when she saw that Alex was shaking his head in that odd human way that showed they thought something funny. The movement had always confused her, since it seemed strange to her that someone would shake their head when they thought something funny, but she didn't question it.
"It's okay, Xoxi. Really." He said, chuckling. "If it confuses you, it's okay. If there is one thing I hate, it's people that try and act like they know and understand everything. It's stupid. Not even the Forerunners knew everything. That much is made obvious by the fact they made the Halo rings in the first place. If they knew everything, they could have predicted the Flood, and made better weapons to combat it. Instead, they did the one thing any civilization does when faced with annihilation, they panicked and decided that if they couldn't destroy the Flood, then everyone would pay for their failure. They fired the Halo rings when they could have just done what the Covenant did to human colonies. They could have just destroyed the planets with confirmed Graveminds, then traced the path of destruction caused by the Flood until they found where it originated from. Destroy the home, you destroy the species' best place for a final stand in the event of dominance. It only makes sense." Alex said, Xoxi just staring at him in surprise, her mandibles slightly agape in shock. Suddenly, Alex remembered that there were some Sangheili who still worshipped the Forerunners. "You don't still revere them, do you?" He asked, suddenly conscious of his wording.
"No. I'm just...surprised. Your statement made more sense than the recordings of the Prophets' speeches I've seen, is all." She answered, Alex letting out a breath in relief. That was when she remembered something Alex told her about his AI. "You said that AI contain override codes to shut down when expected to be out of reach of decommission facilities, so how did your AI open the door?" She asked, Alex sighing.
"Don't tell R'tas, but Lambda has a Fragment placed in the Shadow of Intent's systems. It's passive, so it can only control things like doors and the occasional unencrypted data burst. But it mostly sticks to doors." He answered, shrugging. "It can't access anything to do with weapons, so the worst it can do is lock you inside a room and, if they're accessible, remove the override codes. But he can't depressurize the atmosphere or access the oxygen circulation of the room, so anyone at a console on the bridge could probably open the door." Alex added, Xoxi blinking in surprise.
"For a passive Fragment of a Fragment, he sure can do some pretty aggressive things." She remarked, earning a shrug from Alex.
Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, Alex released a heavy sigh, a look of something akin to a cross between sadness and defeat appearing on his face.
"Is something wrong?" Xoxi asked, Alex shaking his head sadly
"It's just...you're probably the first person to treat me like...a friend. You need to know I'm not like I pretend to be. I pretend to be this nice, caring person but...I'm not like that. I haven't been like that in over fifteen years. I'm cold, uncaring, and ruthless. That's what happens when you have nobody to turn to in the worst moments of your life. I almost caved when I fought Baka. I almost killed him, Xoxi. Just because he didn't know something and made a comment that hurt more than any of the physical wounds I've received." Alex stated, standing up and shrugging her off when she attempted to place a hand on his shoulder.
"Alex yo-"
"No! I want you to listen, Xoxi! This isn't me! It's just me trying to seem normal. This is the first time in my life I've been treated like I'm normal. Like I'm not the emotional time-bomb that I am. All my life I've been treated like I'm special. Like I deserve to be treated kindly because I've been through Hell at a young age! The only people who deserve anything...are the bastards who took away the only good thing I had in my life. They'll get what's coming to them. And everyone else who allows others to do the same." He finished, having made his way to the door, which opened right as the alarm for exiting Slipspace sounded. He looked over his shoulder back at her, his voice cracking slightly. "Goodbye, Xoxi." He said, walking out the door and slipping on his helmet, the visor polarizing.
Alex made his way to the hanger, not that surprised to see R'tas standing by a Phantom which hovered slightly, showing it was on. As he made to board, he stopped when a hand was placed on his shoulder. He was surprised to see Ranger Baka there, helmet still donned.
"Take care, Alex. And may you find peace in the end." He said, moving to turn away when Alex placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You as well, Ranger. And take care of her. At least from afar." He said, Baka nodding. "And may we meet on the other side." He added, turning and boarding the Pelican, followed by R'tas. Just as the doors began to close, Alex saw Xoxi run through the door he had entered from, and he felt the familiar pang of regret as the Phantom edged out of the hanger, as he was forced to leave his only friend behind.
"Megszakad a szivem." Alex murmured, earning a glance from R'tas.
"You tell her?" R'tas asked, Alex merely nodding, his hands clenching.
"I wish things could've been different. But, no point in wishing. Only thing you can do is expect the worst and hope for the best. My life's just been more worse than best." Alex murmured, his head hanging.
"She may be a Ranger, but she still thinks people can do no evil. It's her naivety at work." R'tas said, Alex shaking his head.
"She's not naïve. She just tries to find the best in people. There isn't enough good in me to be helped though." Alex responded, suddenly looking towards R'tas. "I told Baka this, but take care, and take care of her. And may we meet on the other side." Alex told him as the Phantom entered the hanger of the Father of Invention.
As Alex stepped out, followed by R'tas, he was surprised to find the hanger empty...save for the twenty odd people aiming Battle Rifles at them.
"Well this is certainly...unkind." R'tas muttered, his words earning at least half of the BR's moving from overlapping fields of fire to centered on him.
"Should be easy. Notice their stances. Minors." Alex said, earning a "hey!" from someone in the group
"Son, I'll have you know everyone on this ship is of the legally required age of enlistment." Someone else, presumably the CO, told him, Alex rolling his eyes behind his polarized visor.
"I meant the rank. Although the clarification is certainly...appreciated." Alex told the man, his voice losing it's fake light-heartedness and turning cold at the word "appreciated."
"Oh. I assume it's a Covenant rank then. My apologies for the mistake. Not to be rude, but is there a reason that there is currently a CAS-class Assault Carrier at outside of our weapons range?" The man asked, Alex tensing lightly.
"Well...had to get here somehow." Alex answered, smirking under his helmet when the man glanced towards R'tas, and a flicker of fear crossed his face. "Also it's his, so be respectful." Alex said, walking past him and to a door behind him. He looked at the man over his shoulder. "Wouldn't want anything to get...messy...would we?" He asked darkly, the man gulping and shaking his head, Alex jerking his head for R'tas to follow, the Sangheili lifting the pod his mother's Freelancer armor was contained in and walking past the group, pausing to snap his mandibles towards the CO, who shrank back, earning a chuckle from R'tas.
"You humans think you're tough. Yet you cower when opposed by a superior force. Hypocrites." R'tas said, a man rolling his eyes.
"Technically, you didn't win either." He retorted, Alex looking back.
"Will we have a problem? Don't wanna leave any bad impressions on my first day." Alex said, his tone implying he didn't care.
"Of course not. Sorry." The man said, Alex and R'tas walking away.
"Sorry to make you carry that, R'tas. I'm sure it must be heavy. Or at least relatively compared to humans." Alex told him, the Shipmaster grunting.
"Only a little." The Shipmaster answered a moment later.
"I'll go see where to take that. Try not to kill anybody." Alex said, nodding and walking down the hall as R'tas set down the pod and sat on an elongated chair, a bench, if his memory was correct.
Alex made his way through the halls, finally walking into a large room, then noticed it had a gathering of around fifty-nine people, not counting the two on the elevated platform. He walked over to the platform and motioned to the woman he had met in the hotel room. She walked down and over to him.
"Hello Alex. I think I know what you meant when you said I'd know your escort when I saw it. Is there something you wanted to ask?" the lady asked him, Alex nodding.
"Is there a room assigned to me yet? I have something I'd like to take to a room if possible." Alex answered, the lady shaking her head.
"Not yet. Although, we can put it in storage until after you get your augmentations to better fit the armor we have."
"I guess that will work." Alex said, nodding.
"Welcome to Project Freelancer 2.0, better name pending. Get your possession, get it to storage, then make your way to the medical deck. We have a few recruits to weed out." The woman said with a smirk, Alex nodding and making a mental note to find out everything possible about this woman.
"Of course ma'am. Oh, and tell your crew not to shoot at the Phantom that's gonna leave soon." He said, earning a slight nod. After getting the nod, Alex turned and walked back towards R'tas, only to find a group of soldiers having cornered R'tas into a room and jeering at him, while doing his best to ignore them, but Alex saw his lower mandible twitch, a sign of pent-up anger. Apparently he was taking Alex's advice to heart and attempting to hold back his pride.
Alex took off his helmet, set it down quietly and pressing a button, and walked up behind the group of soldiers and tapped the middle two on their shoulders, and when they turned around, grabbed both of them by their throats and, with a barely audible grunt of exertion, lifted them up.
"Is there a problem here, boys?" Alex asked, the two flanking soldiers each swinging a fist at his head, only for Alex to back up and bring the two soldiers he was holding lower, the fists connecting to their heads, which Alex used as additional force to smash their heads together, knocking them out. "I guess so." He answered himself, smirking and kicking one soldier in the knee, snapping it with an audible crack loud enough to make R'tas visibly flinch, if only slightly, then blocked an attempted stab by the other who had pulled a knife. "I guess no one ever told you not to bring a knife to a gun fight." Alex told him, drawing his standard issue SOCOM and shooting the man with eleven bullets in the stomach. Alex pushed away the body and then turned to the man whose knee he had kicked, aiming the gun at him. The man looked genuinely terrified and began to pray, when Alex flipped it around and held it towards him, grip first.
The man hesitantly took it, and Alex turned away, walking towards his helmet when he saw the man point the pistol at him in his visor, then quickly unsheathed his knife and spun, throwing it into the man's throat. He then walked over and picked up the pistol, but not before picking up his helmet and pressing the button again, taking out the empty clip and showing it to R'tas, who huffed.
"Even for you, Alex, that was cruel." He told him, Alex shrugging.
"Needed a reason to empty my meter. This was perfect." He responded, then held up a finger when R'tas made to speak. "No, I did not orchestrate this."
"Okay. I was worried there for a second." R'tas muttered.
"Oh, one second." Alex said, turning away and his head tilting down as if looking at the ground. "L, the vid. Data chip. Now." He ordered as he held his left arm bottom up, a universal data chip popping out from his left gauntlet's underside. He caught the chip as it spun in the air, then turned and held it out to R'tas. "Give this to Xoxi." He said, R'tas staring at him dumbfounded.
"You...recorded that?" R'tas finally asked, taking the chip hesitantly. "Are you trying to make her hate you?" He asked as Alex turned and started taking off his ODST armor and opening the pod, putting on his mother's old armor and putting the ODST armor into the pod, but grabbing another data chip from the breastplate first.
"No." Alex answered, walking towards the door, looking over his shoulder for the second or third time that day. "Proving a point." With that said, Alex walked out of the room and leaving a shocked R'tas, who wondered whether or not he should just crush the chip and keep this event to himself. He finally decided against it, since it would go against the trust Alex had in him.
-Random POV Switch-
R'tas had made it back to the Shadow of Intent with the only damage being to his pride from the human soldiers' jeering. He walked to Xoxi's room, chip in hand, and wondered for the fiftieth time that human hour if this was really the right thing to do. On one hand, it may make her feel depressed and possibly kill herself, which would weigh on him forever. On the other he could betray the trust of Alex and not give it to her, then lose some of her loyalty when she found out he kept important information from her, which would weigh heavily on him. Either way was a potential lose-lose for him.
He approached Xoxi's door, only to have it open and reveal Xoxi laying on the bed.
"Oh, Shipmaster! If I'd have known you were coming I would have...well, probably not done anything, since I'm still decent, and I don't think there is anything else that would make me more prepared." Xoxi said, performing the Sangheili version of a frown. "Hm."
"Well, I guess I was right; Alex actually did put a piece of his AI in the ship." R'tas muttered, Xoxi looking away at the remark.
"Um, well...yeah." She said, R'tas chuckling. "Is there something you wanted to tell me?" She asked, R'tas sighing.
"Alex asked me to give this to you." He answered, Xoxi's expression brightening, which then faded quickly. She took the data chip, R'tas nodding to her and walking away, leaving her to walk over to the terminal in the corner and place the chip into it.
She sat down on the bed as she watched the video play, her expression quickly turning to something of horror as she watched Alex kill the two humans, leaving her with a feeling of being betrayed as she saw him let loose.
She sat there in silence, thoughts racing through her confused brain faster than she could mentally say them. She squeaked quietly when there was a knock at her door, then mentally chastised herself. She walked over and opened the door, slightly surprised to see Ranger Baka 'Nrafum standing there.
"Oh! Hello, Baka." She said, her fellow Ranger nodding and looking at the beginning of the paused video, grunting in surprise.
"What's that?" He asked, Xoxi sighing.
"Come watch." She said, sitting on the bed and beckoning him over. He walked over and sat down next to her as she played the video, taking his helmet off to be polite. He watched as Alex killed the two humans, his respect and fear growing for the human after the video ended.
"I don't know what to think about him anymore, Baka. He told me he wasn't like how he acted on the ship, and he proved it here, but I still think he's a good person. I don't know what to do." She finally said, Baka sighing.
"The only thing you can do is continue to hold hope. If what he said is true, then it goes to show that he was truly trying to be good when he with with R'tas. If R'tas knew his true nature, he accepts Alex for it, and that means we should too. I made him a promise, Xoxi, and I intend to keep it, whatever he's really like." Baka told her, standing up and walking out.
"I'm gonna miss him." She muttered, shaking her head.
-Back to Alex-
Alex entered the medical wing and earned a gasp or two of surprise from the medics. He glared at one from behind the curvy t-shaped visor, which shut them up.
"Oh, hello! If you don't mind me asking, where'd you get that armor?" One of them asked, the name-tag reading "Dr. Emily Gray", and a sticky note under that said 'WARNING! Possible psychological problems. Do not antagonize. Failure to follow rule rewards with possible death/mutilation and/or PTSD as well as any form of phobias involving anything with doctors. Have a nice day! Signed, Emily Gray.'
"My mother. She was a Freelancer from the original program. California was her designation." He answered, Dr. Gray immediately perking up.
"Your name wouldn't happen to be Alex Valesquez, would it?" She asked, Alex narrowing his eyes behind his visor.
"Who's asking?" He asked, Dr. Gray looking down and to the left, indicating her name-tag "I meant why do you care?" He asked, Dr. Gray having looked up at him.
"Oh! An old friend talked about you sometimes is all, telling me stories about how her friend had a son named Alex. Talked about her a lot. Never mentioned what happened to her though. Little weird." She answered, Alex gasping silently.
"Was your old friend called Carolina, by any chance?" He asked, now leaning forward slightly.
"Um...yeah. You know her?" Dr. Gray asked, tilting her head.
"I haven't seen her since I was around nine. I mean, I recently heard she and the Reds, Blues, and Washington were on Chorus, but other than when I was nine, I haven't had any contact with her or the others." He said, Dr. Gray obviously interested.
"Did you ever meet Church, the leader of the Blues?" Dr. Gray asked, Alex becoming worried slightly.
"Yeah, once. Why?" He asked, Dr. Gray sighing.
"He sacrificed himself in order to power the Meta's armor for Tucker. He was starting to become inoperable, so he was forced to. Sorry." She told him, Alex beginning to feel the feeling of a panic attack setting in. It was odd, really. He hadn't had one since his first ODST drop in his "Space Coffin" as he called it. He knew why it was happening. It was due to him finally exploding. The time on his emotion time-bomb had run out; the floodgates opened.
The next thing he knew he was waking up on one of the medical beds, his mother's armor on a stand next to him.
"Oh God. How long was I out?" He asked, placing a palm on his forehead and sitting up, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He noticed his reaction times were slightly buffed, and his muscle structure was a little larger. Had they performed the augmentations already? That would mean he had immediately been operated on after he fainted.
"Oh! Your awake. Hello Alex. It's been a few months, since we took the chance and went ahead and gave the augmentations to you. Sorry." A voice told him, which he immediately identified as Dr. Emily Grays.
"Don't worry about it. I'm to sleepy right now to do anything about it." He said, shaking his head. "You're positive you gave me the correct dosage of anesthesia?" He asked, Dr. Gray nodding. "Okay."
"I measured it compared to tranquilizer, so I'm positive I made the correct dosage." She said, Alex scrunching his face in thought.
"What kind of tranq?" He asked, blinking.
"Uh...I think it was elephant. I'd have to ask though." She admitted, Alex staring at her, then standing up and walking over to his mother's armor and moving to put it on. "Oh, the Director asked me to tell you that you will need updated armor for this project, so you can't wear that. I know it's special, but the Director ordered it! Sorry." She said, Alex sighing.
"Well, where's the new armor?" He asked, Dr. Gray promptly turning around.
"Follow me!" She said, walking out, followed by Alex.
They made their way through the ship, until they reached the armory. She directed him inside, where he saw a few others picking out armor on screens. They all turned their heads at his entrance, then turned back to their armory screens.
Alex walked through the rows until he saw two different armor variants next to each other on screens. The left one was the new Helioskrill armor, and the right one was the older, at least compared to Helioskrill, War Master. He selected the War Master helmet and the Helioskrill armor, then swiped his two hands together and merged the two pieces together, then selected a primary color: Salt, and a secondary: Vermillion, and the Legendary visor, then sent the layout to the computer, which then sent the design to the armory's construction unit, and Alex waited as his armor was both scanned for defects and said defects were fixed.
Finally, the armor was complete and it came up from a hole in the floor, which Alex assumed was where the whole thing was done, then grabbed the chest and back piece and had one of the others connect them, then slid on the arms, legs, and finally the helmet.
"Whoa." Someone said, whistling.
"Well, looks pretty nice. They go together." Another one said, Alex nodding, then turning and walking out to get his designation.
After reaching the bridge, he saw that no one was prepared for his arrival, as they all turned in surprise.
"Ah, hello Alex. Good to see you." The Director said, Alex stopping at his name, still mid-step
"How'd you know it was me?" Alex asked, his tone filled with suspicion.
"Well, the War Master helmet is reminiscent, if only slightly, of the CQB helmet, and the Helioskrill armor is similar is the shoulder area to Hayabusa, so I made an assumption. Glad to know it was right." She explained, Alex nodding and bringing his feet together.
"I'd like to request my designation, Director." He said, although he knew one possibility.
"Oh? I'm surprised it wasn't obvious. Your new designation, Alex Valesquez, is Freelancer Agent California."
And that, people, is the prologue for Project Freelancer: Rebirth. I hope you like it, because I look forward to writing it. This is, by far, my longest worded document to date. More than 9,700 words. Let's see what takes the record next, shall we? Anyway, the people picking out armor near the end are Agents Washington, New York, and the Dakotas. I want to say that no, Alex and Xoxi will not be in a relationship, but consider each other good friends, something Alex has few of. So, I hope you guys like the armor choice, because I think they go together. Ain't gonna change it. Sorry. And yes, I did just add Dr. Emily Gray to this story...and hilarity and horror will ensue...I guarantee it. Please don't kill me, guys. I needed some funny doctor and it was either Doc or Gray, so I went with the one with more screen-time and better character. Yes, I am aware that shots have been fired. Please let me keep my butt-cheeks. I don't hate Doc, I just think that Gray is better due to her...eccentric behavior. Also the torture of Zachary Miller was funny too. Again, I don't hate Doc. Anyway, I will be posting the Prologue of the Warriors: Mud Wasp(better title pending) story after this, so look forward to that. My schedule will be more around publishing which one I want to do more, and some stories may be canceled if I lose interest. Sorry. But hey! If any of you guys want to take over the discontinued stories, you can. Only rule is that you actually want to do it and aren't just trying to be nice. Okay, so if you guys can tell me a better name for the afore Warriors story in the comments, I'd appreciate it. The only reason for the name is that the two central characters will be named Waspeye and Brownfur, and a Paper Wasp can have red, yellow, and brown in it, so that was the first name that came to mind. I don't like it, but it was the best I could come up with. Sorry if you don't like it. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy, and peace out. Word Count: 9,752