Chapter 2 - Good First Impressions
A Pelican ship lands at the Red base and drops off a soldier in standard-issue red armor. He sizes the place up.
"All right, so I need to find Sergeant Tackle…" Rapid mutters to himself.
He enters the base and looks around, but there's no one to be found.
"Hello?" Rapid calls out. "Is there anyone here?"
He goes outside and does a lap around the base, but still doesn't find anyone.
"Huh. Maybe they're on a mission or something," Rapid thinks. It isn't long before he begins to feel the anxiety of future social interaction welling up within him…
"Screw this, the army sucks, I'm taking this base for myself. Finders keepers, losers weepers!"
Feigning confidence has always helped him in the past, so why not now? Rapid heads to the top of the base and sits on the edge of the roof. "Fuck, I'm so nervous," he whispers to himself. "I just need to get in character…"
Rapid lies on his back and zones out, trying to lose himself in the mindset of a cocky prick. A few minutes later, he is drawn from his thoughts by the sound of someone approaching. Sitting up, he sees a soldier in crimson armor standing below him in front of the base.
"Who the hell are you?" Reid asks.
Rapid hesitates then clears his throat. "I should be asking you that, this is my base."
"Uh, no. It's my base."
"Yeah? I didn't see your name on it."
"Don't be stupid. I'll ask again, who are you?"
Rapid stands and looks down at Reid. "My name is Rapid. I found this base unoccupied, so I have commandeered it for myself. Now, would you kindly get off of my property? I don't want to have to-"
Reid draws his pistol and shoots Rapid in the shin.
"Ow, fuck!" He falls off the roof and crumples into a heap on the ground.
As Reid approaches him, Rapid starts waving his arms wildly. "No, wait, I surrender! I'm sorry, don't kill me!"
"Why shouldn't I?" Reid growls, taking aim at Rapid's head.
"I'm sorry they just sent me here and there was no one around so I took over the base but then you showed up and I don't wanna fucking die please don't-"
"Wait, shut up," Reid says. "Someone sent you here… are you a rookie?"
Rapid stifles a sob. "Yeah."
"No wonder you're so pathetic." Reid thinks for a moment. "Anyway, I'm the leader of Red Team, so welcome aboard."
"Oh… you're Sergeant Tackle?"
"No, my name is Reid. Tackle is an incompetent idiot, which makes him and his sidekick Brenda a perfect match. He doesn't fucking listen to me whenever she's around, even though I'm supposed to be his advisor! He ignores me, listens to her repeat what I say, and praises her genius intellect! If I wasn't around to tell Tackle how terrible his ideas are - oh, I'm sorry - if Brenda didn't take the fucking words out of my mouth and feed them to Tackle, everyone here would be dead. He didn't even tell me we were getting a goddamn rookie! To answer your question, no, I'm not the sergeant, but I am the leader of Red Team."
Reid takes a breath and falls silent.
"…Where's the sergeant?" Rapid asks.
Reid takes a few seconds to compose himself. "You know what… I'm glad I was able to get all that off my chest, so I'll forgive you for that question. You don't need to see Tackle. I'm the leader of Red Team, remember?"
"But he's still the sergeant… won't he get mad at you for shooting me?"
Reid does a double take. "Oh, right. I shot you. I'll go get the med-kit."
Rapid groans as Reid enters the base. "I hate meeting new people."
Tackle watches Brenda as she quietly makes her way down the hill toward the Blue base. It occurs to him that he should have taken Reid's sniper rifle; he won't be able to help Brenda much without it. Her pink armor does make her stand out against the grass on the hill, though, so Tackle should still be able keep her in his sights.
Brenda crouches behind a rock and peeks over the top. "No Blues here," she murmurs. Brenda sneaks closer, rushing from cover to cover. Outside the Blue base, she hides behind a tree. The violet soldier stands guard by the entrance.
"If I climbed this tree, I would have a great view," Brenda thinks. "Maybe I could even get the drop on someone, snap their neck in a midair attack!"
Once the thought is in her mind, she can't be stopped. Brenda wraps her arms around the tree and starts shimmying up. She reaches a branch and is able to perch near the top with an overhead view of the Blue base. Brenda looks around and notices that something is different…something is missing. A shot rings out and pain flairs in her back. Brenda loses her balance and falls out of the tree, landing hard on her right arm.
"Son of a bitch!" she shrieks.
"Son of a bitch!" Tackle shouts. He had watched helplessly as Wilson crept around the side of Brenda's tree while she was climbing it.
Wilson kicks Brenda's gun away and stands over her with his own at the ready. He gestures for her to get up and go inside the base.
Brenda moans and sits up. "What, aren't you gonna say something? Or are you the strong, silent type?"
Wilson pulls the trigger and a bullet zips by her ear.
"Eep! Fine, I'm going!" She struggles to her feet and shuffles into the Blue base while Wilson holds her at gunpoint. Meanwhile, Tackle rushes back to Red base.
Inside the Blue base, Wilson runs into Carbon while leading Brenda.
"I heard shots," Carbon says. "Is that the girl you mentioned?"
Wilson nods.
"This guy actually talks?" Brenda asks. "I haven't gotten a word out of him."
"Before today, I honestly can't remember the last time he said anything," Carbon replies. "Also, shut up, Red."
"Did somebody say Red?!" Evans charges into the room, sees Brenda and Wilson, and starts shaking.
"Uh, sir, are you alright?" Carbon asks.
"It can't be…" Evans takes a step back. "Wilson has recruited a secret agent to eliminate me in yet another premeditated attempt on my life!" He takes another step back. "Not only that, but a Red secret agent!"
"No, sir, Wilson took her prisoner," Carbon explains.
"It doesn't make a difference," Evans says angrily. "She could very well be a sleeper agent planted at Red base with the express goal of finding me and killing me for good."
"That kind of is what I try do, but I'm no agent," Brenda says. "I'm a ninja."
"No, shh!" Carbon shushes her, but it's too late.
"I knew it!" Evans tosses his hands into the air and starts stomping around the room. "Everyone calls me crazy, but I've known the truth all along - I can't trust anyone! They promise peace, but greet you with guns! They'll stab you in the back if you give them an inch! But this one," he points at Brenda damningly, "she's dropped all pretenses! She isn't playing the fucking game! She outright admitted that she came to kill me like it was nothing! It's over, it's all over, they'll come for me, they'll come for me and I'll die, and there's not a damn thing I can do about it…" Evans trails off, sounding on the verge of tears.
Brenda stares at him. Before she can say anything, Wilson nudges her and subtlety shakes his head. After a moment, Evans sullenly exits the room.
"Yeah, maybe I should've said something," Carbon says to Brenda. "Evans can be a bit…paranoid."
She laughs. "Understatement of the year! No wonder your team sucks so much."
"Whatever. Just get in your cell."
