Welcome to Chapter Six, guys! Our favorite British Freelancer has to take a detour on Battle Creek while Tex and the ladies arrive at Blood Gulch.
Also, a quick note for the zealots.
zealot = the respawning simulation troopers of Battle Creek.
Zealot = the Zealot class Elites.
I crossposted this story, along with Origin Story, to AO3, and PLEASE ENJOY MY BRIGHT BLUE BALLS!
[Sorry, the Unggoy edited this message after its author read high-caliber shitposting from the author named Mallobaude.]
Battle Creek Cliffs, Twenty Miles Away From Blood Gulch
Nondescript Planet
October 24, 2552
Agent Wyoming
1352 Hours
Wyoming looked at his crashed ship with a scowl on his face. After managing to unfreeze the engine of his Pelican after an extended time on Sidewinder, the bloody thing malfunctioned and crash-landed on a Freelancer training facility on one of the backwater planets of the galaxy.
At least this was the planet Blood Gulch was stationed on.
Pulling his Sniper Rifle and an M6C SOCOM from the wreckage, he set out for the canyon he would soon be plucking nosy sim troopers out of with well-placed rounds.
After about an hour of walking, he found a set of bases in a valley, but it wasn't Blood Gulch. However, the Pelican flying in to unload supplies for the sim troopers in the bases caught his eye. If he got to one and said he was lost, then the pilot could take him to Blood Gulch.
Finding a slope to slide down, Wyoming descended to a cliff behind Blue Base, and his eyes widened in surprise at what he was bearing witness to.
"Die, heretic!"
"You camping little bitch!"
"He's going for the flag! Our dignity will be lost if he succeeds!"
"Rocket whore!"
"The infidel must not reach the flag!"
The simulation troops were under the belief that the flags were divine and that the fake war was a holy crusade waged to conquer the enemy flag.
Wyoming had fought the Covenant before, and only they had acted this zealous. Seriously, they had five or six entire races dedicated to humanity's doom! But this was plain stupid, and the soldiers must have gone mental from the heat the planet had.
"Oh, bloody hell." he muttered as he brandished his Sniper Rifle and started shooting.
Agent Texas
Blood Gulch, Nondescript Planet
1452 Hours
The flight didn't last long, and the only interesting thing Tex noticed was the crashed Pelican near a neighboring simulation base called Battle Creek.
The black-armored woman put her helmet on and pulled a BR55 from a weapon locker, picking out an M6C for Kaikaina. She felt that Jade didn't need a weapon since a childhood full of war and violence may have given her an aversion to things related to that, like guns.
"Jade, we're here." Tex said to the sleeping blonde, shaking her gently.
"Wha-what?" she muttered, sitting up.
The door to the cargo bay opened and Kaikaina stepped in, wearing a UNSC uniform with armor used by the Marine Corps and yellow highlights. When Tex stared at her, she held her hands up in surrender.
"What, it was there, and it's better than a tank top!" she defended herself.
"It's fine. Let's just get inside."
Tex handed Kaikaina her pistol and opened the door to the outside world, where a bloodstained roof met them. Two Red simulation troopers were outside, checking their weapons and less-than-effective armor before they set out on a mission.
The orange one looked up and groaned, with his maroon teammate looking at the ship as well.
"Great, here's our Freelancer." the orange one muttered.
"Dex!" Kaikaina yelled, jumping out of the ship and onto the soldier, who was taken aback.
"Whoa, what the-- Kai?!" he yelled in inquiry.
"Happy to see me?!" the brunette asked, squeezing the soldier tighter.
"Yeah, but-- this is Red Base!"
Kaikaina stopped hugging the soldier, facepalming.
"Stupid fucking colorblindness!"
"What's with the bloodstain?" Tex asked.
"Some cobalt armored bastard shot our rookie, and our commanding officer had to go with him to Command."
"Cobalt?"
"Yep. Had a Sniper Rifle. He thinks that the one Blue who knows the truth is on drugs."
He's here. I'm coming, Alpha.
"He's an A.I. construct built by Project Freelancer, the ones who got you put here."
"I know that Project Freelancer did this, but the cobalt guy's an A.I.?!" the orange soldier yelled in surprise.
"Yup. What are you planning?"
"I was gonna put a bullet in the cobalt guy, but turns out, he's a fucking A.I.!"
"An A.I. the Director programmed to believe that the war's real." Tex said. "That's why he can't see the truth without special help."
"Special help?" Kaikaina asked in a sultry tone.
"Not that kind, Kaikaina!" Tex yelled. "Get your mind out of the gutter!"
"Okay." she whined.
"I'm sorry you had to deal with that on your trip here."
"Yeah... you're Grif, right?"
"Nah, he's Grif." the man said, jerking a thumb at his maroon teammate.
"Am not! Your sister didn't give me a bone-crushing hug!" he said.
"Boys!" Tex yelled, stopping the bickering. "I need to go to Blue Base and drop the girls off and then talk to Church."
"Right. Good luck with that." Grif said.
Tex returned to the ship, Kaikaina and Jade in tow, and started it up, flying to Blue Base.
"Well, Simmons, I hope the Blues are ready for some new troops."
"Um, they're all chicks. I think they'll be delighted to have them."
"Was it me, or was there a blonde girl in the back of that Pelican that looked like Tucker?"
Agent Wyoming
Battle Creek, Nondescript Planet
1506 Hours
Wyoming fired a round into a Red zealot's head, killing the seemingly respawning soldier for the time being. It really didn't help that he was wearing white armor, since the zealots kept thinking that he was trying to steal their flags.
He was currently holed up on a cliff between the bases, dodging the surprisingly skilled zealots' rounds and returning his own.
After "Revellie" played again and the troopers respawned, Wyoming came to a realization. If the UNSC told these zealots that the Covenant stole their flags, then they would have an immortal squad of soldiers to sic on the alien bastards.
However, as Wyoming pulled a crystalline needle out of his back armor plate, he swore and settled for killing the absolutely mental soldiers.
"Kill the heretic before his white gloved hands sully our flag's divine fabric and steel!" a red one yelled as he fired a rocket at him.
"Oh, sod off!" Wyoming returned as he killed the soldier.
"Agent Wyoming, we've got a transport on the way." the blessed voice of the Blue Command said. "It'll be there in t-minus twenty minutes."
Oh, bollocks. Twenty minutes of surviving these maniacs. Wonderful.
The white Freelancer reloaded, ducking back further than normal as the supercombine of a Needler's projectiles triggered in the arch that connected the cliffs. This was gonna be a long day.
Lavernius Tucker
Blue Base, Blood Gulch
1506 Hours
Tucker stood on Blue Base's roof, watching the door to the Pelican in front of him open, with two people stepping out. The first one wore black Mark V. armor, with long blonde hair and pale blue eyes. This woman reminded Tucker of his long-lost mother. The second one made his breath hitch in his throat.
She had long wavy brown hair with tanned, mildly freckled skin, hazel eyes, and a very pretty face with a very nice figure that was hidden under the Marine Corps' BDU and armor. Unfortunately, he had taken his helmet off, and when the brunette beauty winked at him and swayed her full hips, he felt blood erupt from his nose and he became a little lightheaded. Everyone saw the nosebleed.
"Kaikaina, you're making him malfunction." the blonde told her companion, who had assumed a more civil pose. "I'm Agent Texas." she said to Tucker, who regained his composure. "Call me Tex."
"Private Lavernius Tucker. Pleasure to have you here." Tucker said.
A moment later, Texas smirked at him.
"What, no nosebleed for me?" she cheekily asked.
"With all-due respect, you remind me of my mother." Tucker explained.
"Oh. This is Kaikaina Grif, an exceptional pilot and an honorary ditz." Tex said with a glare at the brunette.
Said ditzy brunette looked at Tucker and smiled as she waved at him.
"Hey there, Angel. How did it feel when you fell from the sky?" Tucker said, his bad "ladies' man" behavior kicking in.
Tex simply facepalmed.
A head of elbow-length blonde hair stuck out of the Pelican, and Tucker's eyes widened as he saw his sister.
"Jade?"
"Brother?"
Tucker slowly walked closer and closer to his sister and extended his arms for her.
In a very uncharacteristic move, Jade jumped out of the Pelican and tackled the blonde soldier, knocking the air out of him.
"Damn! Not even the Elites' kicks are as hard as your tackles!" he exclaimed.
Jade could only giggle at that comparison.
"And you were all quiet and stuff back on the Pelican." Tex remarked.
"I haven't seen him since he joined the Army, Allison!" the young girl said.
"Allison? I thought the Freelancers weren't allowed to share their names." Tucker said.
"Well, good thing I've gone rogue, then." Tex said. "Where's Church?"
"Church? You know him?"
"Yep. You can come with me if you want, but I need to find him."
"He's in the war room, I think. I'd come with, but I need to catch up with Jade."
And that sexy-- wait, that's Grif's sister!
Tucker couldn't believe it. While Grif himself was a bit heavyset with a full beard and unkempt hair, Kaikaina was basically perfect, in the physical sense. The double-edged sword was that her party girl personality (as far as he could tell) would let him get along with her fairly well, but what if Grif saw her flirting with him or something?
The blonde shook the image of the ex-ODST running him over with a Warthog out of his head.
"Alright." Tex said, dropping into Blue Base through the roof.
"Um, so how have you been?" Tucker asked awkwardly.
Agent Texas
1511 Hours
Tex dropped down into Blue Base, her eyes watching for a cobalt armored individual. As she took in the room, which was pretty empty for a war room, she saw the cobalt armored soldier standing in the door, a glass of whiskey, if she were to guess, in his hand. He looked up at Tex and groaned.
"Well, shit." he swore.
"Long time, no see, Church." Tex said. " What're you drinking?"
"Whiskey. Tucker got it for me, said I'd need it."
"I met Tucker on the roof just now."
"Did you kill him?" Church asked.
"He said I looked like his mother." Tex replied. "Funnily enough, his little sister hitched a ride on my Pelican."
Church spat his drink back into his cup in surprise.
"He has a sister?!" he yelled. "He never told me!"
"He's also an orphan, thanks to the Covenant. Anyways, I need to talk to you."
"About why you left?"
"No. It's about the truth. Seriously, where's that whiskey bottle? I'd like some."
????? ???????
Project Freelancer Red Command, Nondescript Planet
1511 Hours
She wasn't supposed to be here. She really wasn't. But she needed to find the truth. A truth that only Project Freelancer had.
She looked around the corner to see two men in a white variant of the Marine Corps BDU talking to each other, a blue triplicate on their shoulders. These soldiers were the Project's grunts, just normal soldiers assigned to a sinful post.
She tucked her helmeted head back behind the wall as the PF troopers walked past her, taking their conversation with them. Seeing nothing else in the hallway, she left her hiding place and crept through the hall, finding the room where facility's data archives were stored at the end of the hall, an electronic keypad to its right.
Using the access code she saw a guard enter into the keypad, she entered the room, closing the door behind her. Going through the rows of servers, she found what she was looking for at the end of the hall: a computer with a PF soldier using it.
A pistol whip to the head took the guard down, and the pistol's owner took its place.
"Come on, come on...!" she muttered as she searched through the files.
Multiple files caught her eye, like Project Allison, but the one she stopped on was Project META.
"What's this?"
She opened the file, and her eyes widened in horror and her skin paled to a deathly white.
"Oh, my God."