California sat in the cave she had dragged herself to. She took her helmet off and chucked it across the way, where it clattered to the ground.
"Damn it…" she sighed, pulling her tired body off the ground and walking to where her helmet landed.
How the hell did I end up here on this chunk of ice, COWERING in a freaking cave? She thought angrily as she wiped the snow and ice from the helmet's visor.
It was 18 months ago when Calysta Andrews was recommended by her C.O. for Project Freelancer. She had dreamed of becoming a freelancer since she was a little girl. That day when her C.O. pulled her aside and told her that he was talking to the Director and her quick progress up the ranks had come into conversation, Calysta's heart almost beat out of her chest. He then told her that he had recommended her for Project Freelancer because of all his subordinates, she had the will and intelligence for it. She met with the Director shortly after that and her training began.
Her first months of training were horrible, one defeat after another. After one particularly nasty defeat, she dragged herself back to the bunks, desperately needing and wanting a shower. As she walked down the seemingly endless maze back to her bed and the shower, she passed a door that was cracked slightly and there was a faint light emitting from the door. Normally, she would have just kept walking as it was none of her business, but a snippet from the conversation behind the door caught her attention.
"…..We found it! I knew they had it somewhere around here!"
"Shhhhh! Keep your voice down, stupid! Do you want everyone to know what we've been doing?"
Calysta strained to hear more, but the talking had stopped and all she could hear was her own faint, ragged breathing. Footsteps coming down the hall scared her, making her jump slightly and push the door fully shut. She quickly ran from the door, not stopping until she literally ran into someone. She looked up at the man, all the while apologizing. He took her hand and pulled her to her feet, smiling.
"I saw your training session earlier. That's a tough break, kid." He said, smiling at the pink in Calysta's cheeks.
"I'm just…trying to get it to- wait! You're North, aren't you?" she exclaimed, pushing her embarrassment aside. North looked at her and nodded slightly sheepish. Calysta couldn't believe she was really standing in front her idol and carrying on a conversation about her "lack" of training.
She excused herself, turning on her heel and racing off to the bunks.
"I think you'll make it, kid." North smiled to himself.
She made it back to the bunks and threw her armor on the bed and grabbed her towel, washcloth, and toothbrush and walked to the showers. Surprisingly enough, no one was there, which in itself was a blessing, because Calysta really didn't want to have explain that horrible training session to anyone else.
As the water ran over her tired, sore and bruised body, a thought hit Calysta with the force of one similar to one of Carolina's punches from earlier on.
"I have to train all night…even if it kills me. I have to do it if I want to beat Carolina…," she thought aloud. She heard people coming in and turned the water off, slipping her towel around her and walking to her bunk. She fished around for a minute, looking for her underwear and night clothes.
I know I left them on the bed, she thought, ripping the sheet and blanket from her bed. Carolina walked up behind her, leaning against the opposite bunk. A smile crept on Carolina's face as she watched the girl search more frantically.
"Did you lose something?" she asked, smirk still perfectly in place. Calysta turned and looked at her, trying to figure out why Carolina was smirking at her.
"I just kinda misplaced my clothes," she mumbled, going back to looking for her clothes on the floor next to the bed, under the bed, and in the nightstand drawer.
South walked over and joined Carolina in watching Calysta's frantic searching, snickering amongst themselves at the girl's "misfortune". Finally, after fifteen minutes of searching, Calysta sat on her bed, defeated.
"Hey. Aren't those your clothes out there?" South asked, pointing to the clothes that were laying on the floor outside the bunk room. Calysta got up and, still hugging the towel to her body, went to get her clothes. As soon as both feet were out the door, it slammed shut behind her and she heard the lock click. She pounded on the door and yelled to be let back in, trying to hold the towel to her body and her clothes in her hand.
She bit back the tears that threatened to fall and walked the halls, until she heard someone behind her, shouting for her to slow down. When she stopped, the man that had been running behind her and calling her almost collided with her.
"You are aware that you're in a towel and walking the halls dangerously close to lights out, right?" she heard North's voice say behind her. Her face flushed a deep red as he walked around to face her. She held her clothes closer, as if they could be a barrier between her and North.
"Awww, come on now. I don't bite." He said, smiling slightly. Calysta returned his smile a little, but quickly looked at her feet.
California leaned against the ice wall, watching her breath escape her body in small puffs of smoke.
North…I trusted you… she thought, feeling a slightly unfamiliar warmth in the corner of her eyes. She pulled her glove off, rubbed her finger against the corner of her eyes and felt a tear run down her finger. She looked at it, momentarily mesmerized. She hadn't cried in a long time. With North, she never needed to.
It's night time. Better put my helmet back on…. She thought, putting her hair back up and putting her helmet back on her head.
"Upsilon. Wakey wakey. What are my chances of survival?" she asked the A.I. in her helmet.
"Your chances of survival? Hmmmmm…You'll live. I'm going back to sleep. Wake me if you think you're gonna die," he responded. She nodded and leaned back against the wall and drifted off to sleep.
After a few weeks of unauthorized night training sessions, Calysta got back into the bunk late one night and looked around at everyone slumbering peacefully. She growled softly and grabbed her armor, slipping out the door as stealthily as she had come in.
Alright…everyone is asleep. Good. Now's my chance, she thought as she crept down the hall and back into the observation room. She walked up to the control panel and played with the setting controls until she found one that would challenge her.
"F.I.L.S.S, activate voice control." She said, putting her helmet on and walking into the training room.
"Affirmative. Round one begin." F.I.L.S.S' voice filled the football field length room. Calysta stood and watched as the simulation began, sunlight filling the room and sound of waves hitting the beach started behind her. Unbeknownst to her, North was in the observation room, watching as he had been doing for the last few nights. He watched as Calysta was blasted and beaten until he couldn't stand it anymore.
"F.I.L.S.S, terminate simulation. She's had enough." North said, walking away from the window and down to the training room. He walked to the door and stood there, the normally self opening sliding, doors locked tight.
He walked back to the control panel to see that the training simulation was still running and that F.I.L.S.S was running well over what her safety protocol recommended. He tried to switch her back to manual control but Calysta had locked her into voice control. Both she and her voice were too busy being pummeled to tell the computer to terminate.
The more North tried to unlock the system, the higher she ran until every screen in the control room flashed the same word: warning.
"Damn it…" North bit out. He quickly ran back to the bunks that he, Maine and York, shared. He shook the slumbering York until he woke, still completely groggy .
"York, look. Wake up! I need you to do something for me. Quickly." He said, dragging York from the bottom bunk and toward the training room, where the warning screens still flashed.
York's eyes became the size of dinner plates when he realized what was going on. He practically flew to the control panel and started punching in security codes. Over his shoulder, he yelled at North, "What the hell did you do?"
"Simulation terminated. End result: California 3, Opponent 4. Opponent wins." F.I.L.S.S said, powering down and finally shutting off.
York looked at North, eyes narrowed. "Did you know she was in there?" he asked, looking from North to the motionless Calysta on the training room floor.
"Yes, I did. Look, you don't see her training night after night. Trying to improve…" North said, not thinking.
"SHE'S BEEN IN HERE NIGHT AFTER NIGHT? AND YOU KNEW ABOUT IT AND DIDN'T TELL ANYONE? WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" York screamed, throwing his hands in the air. North just watched as York paced back and forth, grumbling to himself. North put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.
"She needs help right now. Let's worry about what's wrong with me later." He said calmly, walking down to training room. The doors opened and he walked on the cold metal floor until he stood in front of Calysta's unconscious body.
California woke with a start, shivering in her armor. Her stomach growled loudly.
"What was that?" Upsilon asked, scaring her a little more. She laid her hand over her armor, her heart racing. Upsilon snickered a little in her ear. She shook hear head at his snickering and stood, wiping the snow off herself.
"Okay, no more joking around. I have to find something to eat. Gotta live somehow." She said to Upsilon, walking to the entrance of the cave and looking outside.
"Hahaha….Blizzard…Looks like you're stuck for a looooooooooooong time." Upsilon laughed, making California growl softly.
"You know, sometimes I wish I could turn you off…."
~~~~~~~~~~~~* One Month later; Aboard the Mother of Invention *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So, when do you think we're going back to Sidewinder to get Calysta?" North asked York as the two walked down the hall, deep in conversation. York looked at North, eyebrow raised.
"Who?"
"California." North sighed, shaking his slightly. As York was about to answer, C.T. pushed her way between the two, sporting a new black eye. North ran to catch C.T. and wheeled her around so she was facing him.
"What happened to you?" he asked, looking down at her. She growled, pushed his hand off her shoulder and responded, "Maryland," and walked away in a huff. North and York exchanged a look of confusion and walked in the direction that C.T. had come from. Their quest had led them to the training room, which North had only visited when he absolutely needed to.
Maine, Wyoming, and Wash were watching a solider in black and cobalt armor sitting on South's waist, punching her in the face repeatedly when North and York walked into the room. All the men watching grunted their greeting in unison.
"What's going on here?" North and York asked in sync. No one answered; all of them entranced the fight in the training room.
The black and cobalt armor clad solider flipped up off of South, landing by her head. The solider then grabbed South by the shoulders, dragged her five feet, and lifted her to a standing position, only to punch her in the face, which sent her flying across the room. Everyone in the observation room, including North, cringed at the bone shattering impact of South's body slamming against the wall.
"Round Two End result: Team One: Zero, Agent Maryland: Two. Round Three begin." F.I.L.S.S' voice sounded as Carolina walked into the room, one hand on her hip.
"Hmph. Playtime's over." Carolina said, cracking her knuckles and going into her familiar fight stance. The solider codenamed Maryland cracked his knuckles, going into a street fighter stance. The two stared at each other, sizing the other up. Carolina made the first move, lunging at her opponent.
Maryland waited until Carolina was inches from him, sidestepped to the right and tripped her. Carolina went flying, face first, into the nearest wall. Back up in the observation room, everyone watching winced, feeling the impact as if they had taken it.
"The new guy is dead," Wyoming scoffed, his British accent thick in his words. Everyone looked at Wyoming, the same look on each of their faces.
"Shut up Reginald," C.T. said from the door. Everyone in the room, excluding Wyoming, turned their attention back to the fight in the training room. Carolina stood and shook her head, growling softly. She ran back towards Maryland, preparing to punch him in the face. Maryland grabbed her hand mid-punch and twisted her arm behind her back, using his weight to pin her against one the small pillars that filled the room.
"Get off of me…You bastard…" Carolina said through gritted teeth. Maryland, still pinning her to the pillar, threw his head back in laughter. Carolina struggled against the solider, trying to free herself from her opponent, but to no avail.
"You want me off of you?" the solider asked, his voice slightly distorted because of a voice filter. Carolina still struggled to free her arm and shoulder, which was no longer in its socket. The soldier, feeling Carolina trying to free herself, wrenched Carolina's dislocated shoulder. As Carolina felt the shock run from her shoulder and down to her toes, it took everything in her not to yell out in pain. The solider wrenched her shoulder once more then pushed Carolina to the ground.
The solider turned and faced the observation room window and spread his arms out, in challenge. C.T. looked at Wash and said, "I think he's calling you, Wash."
Wash shook his head and backed away from the window slowly. "No, I think he's calling York."
York looked surprised and pointed at North, "I definitely think he's calling North out." North folded his arms across his chest, shook his head and simply said, "Wyoming."
"I have somewhere else to be." Wyoming stated shortly, and left the room before anyone could say anything else to him. Maine stared out the window at the soldier, as if he were weighing the outcome of the match before it happened. The odds must have been in his favor, because he walked down to the training room doors.
As F.I.L.S.S was about to announce the beginning of round 4, Maine took off running towards the solider. They met at the middle of the room and Maryland's fist connected with Maine's face, sending him flying into the locked sliding doors. Maryland stood still for a moment, waiting to see if Maine would get back on his feet. When he didn't, Maryland walked over to his crumpled body and nudged it with his foot.
Maryland took off his helmet to reveal a girl with short, black hair and lime green eyes. She turned towards the observation room and said in a sweet voice, "I think he's down for the count. Can we get a medic down here before he internally bleeds to death?"
No one in the observation room moved; they were all stunned that a girl with such a sweet voice could be so aggressive. Still partially numb with shock, South called the medic team to the training room. C.T. was the first to come completely out of shock.
"Wait a minute! The GUY that beat me, South, Carolina, AND Maine was some chick who is probably like 16 years old?" She sputtered in utter disbelief.
"Point Maryland. With an end score of four, Agent Maryland wins." F.I.L.S.S said, even though it was QUITE obvious to everyone who had won.