I don't own Halo or Red vs. Blue. As with Six in chapter 1 I feel compelled to tell you I will be taking liberties with Rookie's (I gave him a name but most people will refer to him as Rookie and if not then Arizona, but at first they will refer to him by name.) past and for those who get prissy with me I remind you: None of Red vs. Blue happened in actual Halo. The closest it got was an Easter egg in Halo 3 I think.
Rookie was suddenly aware of being shaken as he rejoined the waking world. He looked up to see the face of Dutch looking at him, his hand on Rookie's shoulder. When he saw Rookie was awake he turned to give the newest member of the team a view of their commanding officer.
"It's time for your drop Rookie. But when you get back I expect to know what this is about." Buck said looking at the ex-Freelancer. Not that he knew that.
With a nod Rookie sat back in the pod and the hatch closed.
-Meanwhile in Blood Gulch, Blue base-
The ghost of Church, Tucker and Caboose were all standing on the cliffs of to the left of Blue base discussing the two things that would be happening soon. The first was Tex's immanent repairing of the tank or Sheila as Caboose called her. The second was the arrival of the person who owed Tex, even their gender was concealed from the three of them, and speculations are flying around.
Caboose was adamant that it was another scary/mean person.
Tucker... Well for those who know Tucker I'll leave it to your imagination.
And Church was pretty damn sure it was another Freelancer, something he saw that would make getting the A.I. (Omega) out of her head all that much harder.
Church looked at Tucker like he was nuts and exclaimed "Are you insane? You're letting her bring another Freelancer here! If I had a body I'd kick your ass Tucker!"
"What's the big deal? She didn't even say they were a Freelancer, just someone who owed her something." Tucker was quick to defend his (rather disturbing) fantasies about who Tex called in.
"That's just it. The only people who would owe her anything are Freelancers!" Church almost shouted back.
"I just hope their nice, there are enough mean people here." Caboose said looking at the two of them as they both gave him 'Are you retarded?' looks, which he didn't notice being the dumb-as-a-sack-of-bricks individual he was.
"Anyway, even if it is a Freelancer won't that make our jobs easier?" Tucker asked only to hear a screech of something approach at high speeds and being in a 'war zone' the two with above five year old cognitive function dove for the ground expecting it to be some form of red attack.
When they heard the impact but no detonation they stood and walked to the edge of the cliff they were standing on and looked to see some kind of pod sitting, while slightly smoking, in a crater about fifty feet to the right of the base.
They looked down to see Tex look up from the tank she was fixing to the pod. Then she put down her tools and stood to walk to it, then she paused turning to them she asked over the com-system "You guys coming?" before she set off to the pod.
"Let's go. If that's Tex's 'friend' let's hope they died on impact." After that the three trekked off toward the pod and its crater.
As the Blue team walked over to the pod it was then that Church recognized its make. "Aw Tex, you didn't call in one of those ODST psychos did you?" praying that she'd say no... No such luck had he.
"He owed me and was, apparently, close." She said with a dismissive shrug. "Hey, you still alive in there?" she shouted at the pod. Then they all heard a series of beeps in their speakers.* Then she asked jokingly "Still haven't fixed that voice-box yet?" Then she heard two tones one mid octave the other slightly lower**. After which Tex laughed and said "You wish Don."
"Don? Oh no, not him." Church said actually backing away from the pod.
"Why? What's the problem?" Tucker said not realizing where he was standing was a bad idea. Given that he was standing ten feet directly in front of the pod.
"Remember when I told you Tex beat Jimmy to death with his own skull?"
"Yeah" Tucker answered with a nod wondering where this was going.
"Well Don is the guy who taught her how to do that. He has also been known to strangle people with their own spine, luckily he hasn't taught Tex this yet." Church cast a wary glance at the now hissing pod.
"He can wha- sonofab*tch!" Tucker began saying, and finishing as the hatch blasted off the pod and sent him flying.
Stepping from the pod, shotgun on his back SMG in his hand, Don looked at the assembled blues and Tex, then cast a glance only she could read at her and beeped in what appeared to be a curious manner.
"What can I say, I'm stuck with them." She answered with a shrug.
"Why do you beep instead of talk?" Caboose asked confusedly.
Rookie blinked under his helmet walked back to his pod reached inside and removed a small bright yellow A.I. containment unit and inserted it into his helmet.
"Hello Don, it is good to see you again." The blue team was surprised to hear a feminine voice from his helmet as he turned toward them and then the A.I. said "Don has asked that I serve as his voice until I can devise a program to do this for me. Anyway hello, I am Nu, the artificial intelligence unit."
"Hi, nice computer lady." Caboose said looking at the yellow armored feminine form that actually appeared to be sitting on the shoulder of the recently arrived ODST trooper.
"Hello Michael." She said with audible smile. "Agent Texas" She said in greeting, surprisingly, a slight edge to her voice since she seemed so chipper.
"Still haven't forgiven me huh?" Tex said though mentally not caring what the A.I. thought.
"You left Don to die, and he did for four minutes. You tell me, and yes Don, I remember you told her to think finish the mission but I don't care, she shouldn't have left you." Nu crossed her arms and turned her head away from them like a petulant child.
"Anyway," Church said trying not to think about what the A.I. might mean by that "How do you know his name?"
"I've read all your files: Pvt. Michael J. Caboose, on his first deployment, not much else in here.
Pvt. Lavernius Tucker on his fifth new squad after being transferred four times due to the sheer number of sexual harassment charges also demoted from corporal for hitting on the colonels daughter.
And Pvt. Leonard Church, your file was next to blank, I thought it was strange."
Don looked at the base and started heading towards it. "If you need us I'll be unpacking, and Caboose." They were again surprised at the suddenly masculine voice, "Stay away from my pod. I have to pay for it if something happens that wasn't caused by the drop." There was a feminine giggling and Nu asked "What do you think? I think I have his voice down pretty well."
And with that they entered the base.
And So I present you Ch.7
*Yeah I'm still kicking. Release bolts can't say as much though
**Screw you
Just so you know:
Zeta: Alpha's strategist side.
Nu: Alpha's compassion
