"Well commander, this is it." States a woman as she leaves the small ship. "Mann World. Ugly name, wouldn't you say Jacob?"
The one known as Jacob stepped out of the ship and took a view of the planet. It surprised him how much space was covered by the hab dome, but there was a depressing atmosphere to it all. He didn't say anything, merely nodded. It was hard to stay focused next to a woman wearing a black and which skin-tight bodysuit. It left little to Jacob's imagination.
Shepard was last to exit. "We're not here to take in the sights. The Illusive man wants us to pick up several people here. We need to get moving after this. We do not know if our other targets will stay on Omega."
"Got it commander." Jacob replied firmly and followed the commander up the road towards the imposing complex. The entire hab seemed dedicated to capitalism, with factories placed right next to residences, and behind all that, the management buildings. Standing like three giants, Reliable Excavation Demolition stood to the left, Builder's League United faced opposite. In the middle was and even larger structure, extending to the top, was Mann Co Intergalactic. A woman was standing alongside a taxi and gestured to Shepard. "Commander Shepard I presume?"
Commander Shepard nodded. The woman dusted her suit. "I'm Sarah Pauling IV. I've been instructed to escort you to RED- I mean Reliable Excavation Demolition."
"I got a couple of questions first."
Ms. Pauling stiffened and placed a hand behind her back. Then let it drop. "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything. If you come with me I will take to see Miss-", her omni-tool flared up. "Ms. Pauling has the guest arrived yet?" inquired a not so friendly voice.
"Yes ma'am, I'm bringing them now." Miss Pauling replied into her omni-tool.
"Time is money Ms. Paulings, please hurry things up."
"I'm sorry but I really should be bringing you along now."
"It's alright.", Commander Shepard dismissed. "I don't want you to get in any trouble on the account of me."
"Okay…good." Ms. Paulings opened the door to the taxi and Shepard's group got in. Ms. Pauling sighed with relief as she tucked the very large, very powerful handgun further into its pocket, and got in. The cab lifted off and sped towards RED. Just as the cab disappeared from site, lights danced across a figure as a man removed his cloaking device. He wore a blue jumpsuit and a ski mask covering much of his face, a belt of various gadgets lining his Waist. He removed a silver case and pulled out a cigarette. As he lit it, he pressed a button inside the case "Spy to base camp. Spy to base camp."
"We hear ya spy." Replied a Brooklyn-esque accent.
"The package has left. I have confirmed it's in a red ribbon. Repeat it has a red ribbon."
…RED infirmary…
His head was pounding, that much he was able to understand. It hurt too much to think of anything else. But he forced his eyes open. The large Russian man noticed how dim the lights were. Good, at least none of the usual blinding lights that usually happened after passing out. Those never helped a headache. He moved his head up a bit and looked around. He was in a bed, barely big enough for him, though his legs dangled off the bottom. There was an IV in his left arm, and one of those annoying beeping machines. Then it came as a slap in the face. These were very small machines! Not like the large devices he was used to. It was small, metallic, and showed various graphs in the forms of light dancing above a small glass orb. He looked beyond it and noticed his comrades were all in the same state as he. Each one was in a bed, hooked up to one of those freaky machines.
Heavy looked up at the ceiling. A fuzzy memory. Comrades all unconscious. Advanced medical equipment. He, and the rest of his team were not wearing those embarrassing nighties that always showed your butt no matter how tightly you fastened them. He could only come to one conclusion. They were abducted by aliens.
…RED lobby…
The first thing Shepard noticed was how…red everything was in the room. Then he noticed how everything looked like it was from 40 years ago. Archaic, but just as effective. And finally, there were no seats. Whoever they were speaking to intended to make it as uncomfortable as possible.
Miss Paulings stood next to a woman in her late fifties, early sixties, her legs crossed as she sat on a chair mean for someone much larger than her. She held a datapad, and was skimming it, then looked up as if just noticing the team who was standing there for the past 5 minutes. "Ah you are Commander Shepard." It was not a question.
"I am miss?"
The woman waved her hands dismissively. "Don't bother learning my name because after this meeting you will not see me again. Let's get down to business. A little more than a century ago, I'm sure you are aware we humans had barely even reached the moon."
"Yes?"
"And that during this time we we're too busy killing each other to even consider uniting as a single force."
"I've had basic education miss. I know my history."
"I'm sure." The woman said while taking a drag of her cigarette. "What I'm sure you do not know was that this company had been embroiled in a war with the company over there…" She pointed to the BLU building through the window. "…since that time. And while the nations were blaming each other for holding nuclear stockpiles and building walls, RED was building doomsday devices, and BLU would match them with equal force. Truthfully given at any time RED could have annihilated half the planet. Namely the side BLU was on. And vice versa. However to keep BLU in check, my ancestors" she emphasized the 'my' "would submit a dossier of mercenaries to RED who would try to disable BLU's capabilities. BLU would do the same, with files my great grandmother would submit to them."
"So she worked both sides." Miranda stated, giving the woman a disapproving glare.
She returned the glare with a look of pity. "My dear you have it backwards. Both worked for her." She smiled devilishly.
Miranda took a step back. "You mean she let to companies practically hold the planet at gunpoint and you let them?"
"Wouldn't you?" she replied. "Anyway, because the two companies kept killing off the people my ancestors found for them, one decided to find a way to find a replaceable source of manpower without the painstaking procedure of wading through all those half-baked wanna-bes who call themselves mercenaries. In the 1950's, my grandmother found a way. Miss Paulings."
Miss Paulings took the woman's datapad and handed it to Shepard. On it the words 'Team Fortress' filled the screen. He tapped it and a flood of information popped out. He read though the various files, his expression getting darker with each page.
"Cloning." Shepard said darkly. "You kept cloning the same people over and over."
"Cloning…"Jacob breathed. "Isn't that illegal?"
"In Council space, yes. It's why everyone," she raised her hands to gesture to the three companies RED, BLU, and Mann Co. "moved out here outside Council jurisdiction."
"But the point I'm reaching is that the process was long, and expensive. We found nine recruits who met our standards after a long process of elimination. Considering how much money was poured into the project, we did not want to have to hunt these people down again if we needed more clones or worse yet, find them when they were old and decrepit. So we had them put in stasis until we needed them. Oh don't give me that look, it may have been against their will but that was their contract. They were bonded to us for the rest of their lives. And thus RED has been using these endless well of clones for their battles. Almost immediately afterwards though, BLU got wind of the clones and commissioned the same plan for themselves. And thus the feud between RED and BLU was fought with an endless well of manpower. But seeing for the last hundred years all they've been doing was provide amusing ice sculptures and keeping vegetables cold, and after a very convincing argument from Cerberus, we decided to give custody of their contracts, and them to you Commander. I believe that a Reaper invasion, real or not, could hurt profits."
Shepard looked at the thing in human skin sitting across from him and scowled. Then he read further on the data pad.
"The first one on the list goes by the designation 'Scout'. We selected him for his flexibility and near endless well of stamina. Also he is the only person I know of capable of jumping in air. Effectively doing a…oh what's the word? Double Jump. Also he was the only one of the Scout candidates who survived the test."
"What did the test involve?" Miranda asked, already dreading the answer.
"Avoid getting shot." The woman replied in a calm manner, as if describing the weather. "The next one is designated the Soldier. He is an expert with a rocket launcher, though his military history is…minimal."
"It says he was kicked out of every armed branch at the time."
"Yes but after giving him a rocket launcher, along with the other twenty candidates, one of them a fireman of all people, he was the only survivor. Apparently he blew up everyone else before we even started the test."
"And you are giving us a madman? No thanks." Jacob sneered.
"Rest assured while he can be unstable, he will follow orders to the letter. He knows the chain of command, and he will not complain, so long as the order allows him to carry a weapon." Shepard scrolled further down. "The next class is simply called the Pyro. "
"Why is it all blank except for one sentence?"
"You mean 'He likes fire.'? That's because he does. It's best not to ask about his background. If you want to keep your sanity that is. The next person is called the Demo man. As his name explains, he is a demolitions expert. He knows everything there is to know about explosions. Give him a wall to blow up and a bomb, and he will know exactly where to put it for maximum damage. He is also very accurate with a grenade launcher. Expect any resistance pitted against him to be quickly neutralized."
"He has an alcohol problem." Shepard noted.
"And it improves his aim. Moving on. The Heavy Weapons expert. Tall, Russian, once one of the best soldiers to come out of the Soviet Union. Until we hired him. "
"The profile really goes into detail about his size." Shepard said. "A little too far"
"Well our test for the Heavy candidacy was to fire a minigun. Despite all the movies out there, a man cannot fire on of those things from the hip without breaking something, a hip, and arm, a spine, a coccyx. Unless they are very big. The Heavy was the only man big enough to handle the custom rounds we used and only received minor bruises."
"Impressive. Does he have any social problems like the rest?" Jacob asked, half serious, half joking.
"Yes he has an intimate relationship with his gun. And if he challenges you to chess, let him win." Jacob winced. He had to ask.
The woman continued as if no interruption had happened. "Next, the Engineer, a genius with a wrench. His sentries can easily out match anything released to the public. And he is a very good shot with his shotgun anyway. And unlike the rest, he is smart enough to keep his personal problems out of his business."
Shepard nodded. He was the only sane person he saw so far on this list. Or even on this planet.
"Next is the Medic. A tad homicidal, but will keep you and your team on its feet through the worst."
"Tad homicidal?" Miranda asked. "That isn't something we want."
"Oh really, and I suppose you want a medic that will throw up the moment he sees someone shot?" Before Miranda could deliver a retort, the woman continued. "The Sniper. Australian, crack shot. May have a case of depression when he realizes he never managed to reconcile with his parents before they died. You should be prepared for this. And finally the Spy. French. A bit aloof, but his line of work has him working alone a lot. If he insults you, realize it isn't because he doesn't like you, it's because he doesn't like what you do."
"I've had enough of this. This whole thing is a waste of time." Shepard said. "We're leaving." He pointed to the woman in the chair. "You can keep your pack of crazies."
"That's a shame Commander Shepard. They would have been very helpful in the next hour."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"Because I'd say BLU is planning an attack on RED in about..." An explosion rocked the building. Shepard ran to the window and looked down. He could see RED security outside getting beaten back by a large group of men dressed in blue gear. "Oh, they're a bit early." The woman remarked as she looked at her watch.
"Come on team, were leaving!" Shepard shouted as he pulled out his Shuriken Submachine gun. His team drew out their weapons and followed Shepard out the door.
"Good luck out there Shepard!" The woman called out as Miss Paulings handed her a mug of tea. "And if you run into the team, be sure to fill them in. I'm afraid they are still in the dark."
…Infirmary…
The Heavy had no luck in waking his comrades, but that boom certainly did the job for him. They all woke with a start. "What the-AGH! My head." The demo man exclaimed as he lay back in bed and waited for the swirling colors to disappear.
"Someone wanna explain what's going on?" The Scout shouted as he nursed his head.
"Aliens took us!" the Heavy shouted back.
"Was zat a joke? Because I did not find that amüsant." The Medic looked over his glasses at the Heavy.
"There is no other explanation! Look at stuff! There is so much lights it not funny!"
"Heavy's got a point. This stuff doesn't look like RED. Or BLU." Engineer said, prodding the device monitoring his vitals. "I don't recognize the design of any of these doodads. Way ahead of anything even I can build."
"Well maybe we're in the future. Maybe we just got like, put into cold storage and stuff." Scout offered. Heavy shook his head.
"If it was future then why do we not see people?"
As if to answer his question, klaxons blared and red lights started flashing in the infirmary. "Intruder alert. Intruder alert. Blu mercenaries have breached the front barricade. Repeat, Blu mercenaries have breached the first barricade."
Heavy looked back at his comrades. "Okay. We in future. But now we have new problem." He cracked his knuckles.
"Yeah, enemies in the base and we ain't got any weapons." Engineer nodded as he made for the exit. A small explosion and a series of screams filled the hallway outside. As the Engineer approached the door, he saw clones of the Heavy and Medic, but their outfits seemed to have a lot more body armor. And next to their bodies were a still cooling minigun with three barrels, and a medigun that looked a lot smaller than the one the Medic used to carry.
The Heavy picked up the minigun and gave the barrels a spin. "Now I have weapons. GET BEHIND ME DOCTOR! WE HAVE ENEMIES TO FIGHT!" he laughed. The Medic grew an evil grin as he strapped the medi-gun to his back.
"Ja. Time to show dese cheap puppen how far dey are from der originals!"
…RED Manufacturing wing, over watching bridge…
Shepard used his biotics to grab another one of the blue mercenaries and Jacob combined it with his to send the unfortunate man falling into the machinery below. Shepard didn't even stop as he unloaded his heat capacity into the last merc, a black Scottish man with an artificial eye. He screamed as the shards of metal tore into him and he teetered off the edge of the bridge.
"That last one had a striking resemblance to the demo man in the dossier commander." Miranda noted as she checked the ammo counter on her weapon. 2000 rounds left. Good, but she only had enough heat clips to fire 200 more. "It seems they have some very advanced cloning technology to be able to make the same clones for so long without any sort of degeneration in the genetic information."
"Well given what these people use, I'm honestly not very surprised." Shepard responded as he switched thermal clips. "DIE NEW RED BABIES!" came a loud shout from below. One of the blue heavy weapons men appeared below them and poured horrendous amounts of firepower into the squad. "Geez how many more of these did they bring?" Shepard sighed. His cover was wearing thin very quickly. Rather than wait to be exposed, he prepared to unleash a shockwave on the offending heavy, and risk getting several hundred rounds punched into him, when the man's laughter was replaced by cries of pain. The sound of gunfire continued but it no longer focused on their position. Shepard peeked over the crate he was using for cover and saw the Blue heavy was hiding behind cover himself. He turned his head to the source and saw another Heavy, but this one was red. In fact, when Shepard focused on him, he saw this heavy was in fact the very heavy that was on the dossier. The Heavy laughed as he tore through his opponent and continued on, with a medic tagging behind him deploying a beam of red. "There goes our mercs." Jacob said. The sound of gunfire continued to echo through the chamber.
"Well he's not ours till we reach him." Shepard replied. "After him." And Shepard's squad continued onwards. The next room revealed a staircase downward, which they promptly took. Shepard threw open the door, and retreated back inside as he noticed a blue dot crawling up his body. He ducked behind a wall before a sniper round nearly took his head off.
…Opposite end of the manufacturing floor…
The BLU sniper replaced the thermal clip in his Mantis. He was so close to taking out the target, if it wasn't for his twitchy arm. Which was odd. Normally he wasn't that terrible a shot. Something was off today. He resolved to get it cleared up after he killed the new RED team member. He barely noticed the sound of a cloak field deactivating behind him. By the time he registered what the sound was, he felt the cold knife digging into his back.
The Red spy retracted his butterfly knife and flicked his cigarette on the sniper's corpse. "Pathetic. I thought all zese years would have made zem at least a little more reactive."
…Back to the other side of the floor…
"Shepard, I think someone took out the sniper." Miranda called out to her commander.
Shepard looked around his cover and notice indeed the sniper was dead. Over the body was a man in a red suit like one he had seen in his history slates. The man took the rifle from the body and disappeared.
"I'm guessing that was the spy then?" Shepard asked rhetorically.
...Red Management 3rd Floor…
Sniper twitched as he saw the Red spy materialize in front of him. He reflexively pulled out his knife, then relaxed when the spy laughed. "What iz wrong? Expecting someone elze?"
"What'ya want Spai?" the Sniper groaned.
"Iz zat ze way to treat a man who worked zo hard to bring you a gift?" The spy lifted the Mantis for the sniper to see, whose eyes lit up behind his glasses.
"Gimmie dat!" he snatched the rifle out of the spy's fingers. "Like a child on Christmas Day." He grinned. "Don't shoot your eye out now!" he teased and disappeared again.
The sniper sneered at the spot he last saw the man and looked down the scope. It was so light but handled just as well as his old rifle. Through the scope he saw several BLU soldiers pinning down three people he did not recognize. Well they were BLU's enemies, so they were his friends. He sighted down the scope, and pulled the trigger.
…Red Management 1st floor…
A series of shots rang out, one after the other. Since the explosions had ceased, Shepard poked his head out from behind his now flimsy cover. The three mercs who were firing rockets at him were all dead, each one with a shot between the eyes. "That sniper'd give Garrus a run for his money" Shepard said to no one in particular. Miranda poked out from behind the reception desk, and peeked down the elevator shaft, making sure no one was hiding inside. Jakob came out from behind a pile of ruined furniture, covered in chair stuffing.
"We're almost to the terminal Commander." Miranda said. We –"she was cut off as a blur ran past her and shoved her down the elevator shaft. "You ain't goin' nowhere toots." The blue teenager grinned as he pulled out a shotgun and turned it on Jacob. He fired a shot which sent Jacob sprawling back into the ruined couch, and Shepard used his biotics to toss the small blue man outside. As he expected, the sniper took the shot and the scout didn't get up again. Jacob kicked himself out of the mess of wood and cotton. "Ah, if my shields were any lower, that would have taken something off. That scout doesn't play safe."
Shepard nodded. "And he's fast. The way he got between Miranda and me-" he mentally kicked himself, and ran to the elevator. "Miranda! Miranda, are you alright?"
…Red Management basement…
Miranda peered up the shaft. "I'm alright just keep going Commander. I'll catch up." She started off, maneuvering past the debris and destroyed architecture shaken by the explosions. The power down here was barely functioning and whole sections of the floor were dark. She readied her machine pistol and held it in front of her. She snapped in the direction of every noise, her nerves were frayed from the sheer insanity of it all. She had already killed the same man several times over but there didn't seem to be an end to them. And worse off if they were all based off the nine mercenaries, which meant there were others she simply did not see yet. Namely the spy. Or the engineer. Or-
"HUDDA HUDDA HAUMMMPH!" the muffled voice of someone sprang from behind her and she turned to see a man in a fire suit pointing a flame thrower at her. It was too close to take a shot without detonating the fuel canister, and she didn't have enough time to protect herself. A gout of flame spewed forth and it missed her by inches. Only when she heard a French man yelling "ZUT ALORS! JE SUIS SUR LE FEU!" did she actually notice that this pyro was not blue like all the others.
She turned to see a blue spy decloaking as the flames destroyed his suit, and pretty much everything else. "Thanks. You must be the pyro right? "
The pyro nodded vigourously. "HMMA!".
"Well that's nice." She said more nervously than she liked. "I'm sure you'd like an explanation as to what's going on yes?"
"Wmm. Aphhmm um mmmphmm mphrmm mrph-ph." the pyro replied, making even stranger gestures with his hands. Miranda blinked. Then smiled. "Okaaaaay…come with me Mr. Pyro. I'll just give you the brief run down as we go, but we need to hurry, the commander is waiting.
The pyro gave her a 'thumbs up' and ran ahead, spewing fire into all over each room and cackling as it ignited dozens of spies hidden in the dark corners. Miranda followed…at a distance.
…Red Taxi Service Station…
The station was a wreck. The only vehicles that were not destroyed were the ones the Blu team jealously guarded as escape vehicles when the raid was over. Shepard fought a bloody battle slowly forcing his way towards the center of the station, which was guarded by several heavies and an engineer.
Shepard used his biotics to throw a blue heavy into the burning wreckage of a destroyed cab. A whole team of the large men occupied the station and were pouring an insane amount of bullets into their position. Every time they eased up on Shepard, Jacob would try and get a shot in, while Shepard would do the same. This time however he was too slow and the sentry let loose a hail of metal shards, tearing through his shields, and flying through his armor. He hissed in pain as the wound cauterized from the superheated shot. The missle pods it fired after sent him flying.
"Commander!" Jacob jumped between the two piles of twisted metal towards Shepard. The commander was gritting his teeth and was looking quite pale. He pulled the wounded commander to a more fortified position, taking shots off to try and discourage the Blu team. Jacob examined the wound and grimaced as he saw it not only penetrated through his arm, but through muscle and bone as well. He searched his pockets for medigel, but found none. The Blu team renewed their efforts once they saw victory in their hands. Jacob couldn't even rise from cover from the sheer amount of firepower, and could only risk raising his arm to fire randomly aimed shots in the general direction of the enemy.
"Need help?" Jacob looked and saw several of the red mercenaries they came to pick up smiling at him.
"That's one hell of a job you put up there kid, but it's time for the professionals to take over." The soldier said as he hefted his looted ML-77 missle launcher. He jumped out and fired off a shot, only to duck back behind cover just as the cry of a heavy notified them he scored a direct hit. He grunted and coughed up blood. He looked down at his chest and noticed several new holes that shouldn't be there. "Jeez these newfangled sticks of yours hurt like crazy. Doc, work your magic."
The medic nodded and the beam he had given to the heavy was redirected on the soldier. Miraculously the holes in the Soldiers chest healed up as if nothing had happened. Jacob's eyes widened. "The commander! He needs help, use that. That. Medi-weapon whatever thing on him!" he pointed to the heavily sweating Commander Shepard.
"It's a medi-gun but close enough." The medic chuckled and turned it on Shepad. First the bones realigned. Then they closed,and the flesh reconnected itself around it. Then the skin grew back leaving only a hole in the armor showing where the Commander had been shot. "Amazing…" Commander Shepard said breathlessly.
"You haven't seen all I can do yet mein freund. Heavy, it is time to clear dis rabble!" he shouted and he switched the medigun back to the Heavy.
The large man laughed as he jumped from cover. Moments before the Blu projectiles made contact there was a blinding light. When vision returned, Jacob and Shepard saw the Heavy and Medic literally glowing as energy dissipated off of them. Bullets, missiles and all other projectiles simply bounced off the two as they steadily advanced closer and closer. "I'M COMING FOR YOU!" the Heavy declared as he opened fire.
The first to go was the sentry. Then the engineer that had manned it. The Heavy-medic pair advanced slowly and the demoman followed in from behind, lobbing bombs at the demoralized Blu team. Only one heavy remained, and when he realized his allies were dead, he dropped his weapon and ran. Only to fall as he gets tripped by an out held leg. The red scout climbs over the Blu heavy and swung his metal bat as hard as he could. "That fatso ain't getting up again. Uh no offense buddy."
"Taken none." The still glowing heavy replied. "Was that all? I was expecting more from copies. But then I remember: they are just copies! Fake little babies not meant for fighting!" he laughed as the demoman and soldier came up behind him.
"I personally reprimanded thirteen of my so called clones about how inferior they were. Then proceeded to give them a proper lesson of how to fight. By blowing them up." He grunted. "Pathetic workmanship."
"I gotta admit though. Me boyz know good taste." The demoman smiles as he hefted a bottle looted from one of the fallen Blu demomen. The soldier grunted in disdain.
Shepard gaped in awe at the display of violence that had just played out in front of him. He then snapped back to reality and walked up to the chatting mercs, who seemed entirely unfazed being surrounded by dozens of mutilated bodies. "Alright then, I guess you guys are Team Fortress right?"
The mercenaries suddenly realized who was with them and turned as one on Commander Shepard and Jacob. "Ja. That is name of team. What is it to little man?" the Heavy asked, gauging the oddly dressed man that barely came up to his chest.
"I'm Commander Shepard and I am here because I want you on my team." Commander Shepard replied unflinchingly. "I understand you are the best, and after seeing what you have done, I can see that information is well founded. It is exactly what this galaxy needs."
"Sorry buddy." the Soldier replied. "Even if we wanted to join Team Shepard, we can't. On the account we're trying to figure out where we are."
"You are on Mann World." Jacob answered.
"Mann Co. took over the world?"
"No, I mean Mann Co. bought out a planet!"
The soldier snapped his fingers. "Damn I was hoping it'd be easier to get some high ordnance explosives if that were the case. Okay... but then what happened to the Earth?"
"It's still there."
"Is America still in charge son?" The soldier asked with a grin on his face. Jacob rubbed the back of his head. This was one of those hard line patriots of his era. It was going to be hard to swallow someone telling him his beloved country was not number one anymore.
"Uh no, it is actually equal with the other nationas as part of the Human Alliance." The Soldier seemed to process that new information for a few minutes, not making a sound or move.
"Alliance? Then…you mean the hippies won?" The soldier practically shreiked. "NOOOOOO! I gotta go back! I need to return the earth to its natural order!" he shouted and made a start for the cab. Heavy held him in place. "Wait soldier, I not think our new friends done with the talking."
"Thank you." Shepard nodded to the Heavy. "We are an alliance now; out of necessity to represent our race as a single nation to the galactic community."
"So…you mean there is still fighting right? But with aliens?"
Shepard and Jacob exchanged glances. The Soldier seemed very volatile, but at the moment Shepard wasn't in a position to be picky. "Yes basically."
The Soldier shook himself out of the Heavy's grip and landed on his feet with an even broader grin on his face. "And if we join your team we get to blow aliens up right?"
"Among other things."
"HOT DAMN! Sign me up sir!" The soldier saluted.
"But what about contract? We cannot leave yet remember?" The heavy reminded everyone.
"Taken care of. They were transferred to me. You are officially under my command, and if you want, I'll let you go as soon as the Reaper threat is averted."
"Well I don't know what de hell a Reaper is, but this is as good a deal as we're getting'. I'm in." The demo man slurred, already drunk from downing an entire bottle of Mann Co. Whiskey.
"Best deal I hear so far." The Heavy extended his large hand. Shepard grasped it and shook. "Team Fortress now works for Team Shepard."
Shepard nodded. "Good. As soon as the rest of the team arrives, we'll head out."
"Where to first Commander?" the soldier shouted as he stood to attention.
"Debriefing on the Normandy." Shepard replied.
"The what now?"
"It's easier if you see it."
...Somewhere deep below Mann World…
The woman simply known as the Administrator watched as countless screens streamed the latest battle between RED and BLU. Lights danced across the room as she watched the scout blast a blue pyro away with his shotgun. She switched to another screen and saw the heavy shaking the hand of Commander Shepard. She pressed a button on her control panel and the face of Miss Paulings appeared. "Miss Paulings bring in that list of mercenaries I requested."
"Yes ma'am. May I ask why?"
The administrator smiled. "Why I never fully intended to relinquish Team Fortress. I want to monitor Shepard. If there threat is real, and he has dealt with it, I fully expect Team Fortress back."
