The mission.
The director is standing in front of a screen, waiting for everything to be ready. This mission was important, if it failed, things would get annoying. The Counselor walked up to him, with his Data-Pad in hands.
"Our operatives are in position Director" He said.
The Director nods "Good. Send them in".
The Counselor activates a holographic map "If I may say, sir. My testing indicates that this might not be the best team for the job. Not to mention I am still not convinced of Agent Greece being ready for this".
"The system will determine what's best Counselor. This system will determine the order. And the system will determine who is ready. Send them in" The Director ordered.
Meanwhile, Pyrrha was ready to head out. She looked at her large combat knife for a moment before letting out a sigh and put it in it's holder.
"Nervous?" Pyrrha looked behind her and saw Carolina.
"A little, I guess" Pyrrha said.
"Try to be calm, Pyrrha. If the others do their part, we might not need to be sent in at all" Carolina said.
"Do you really think it will be that easy?" Pyrrha asked.
Carolina was silent for a moment "No... no I don't. But you need to keep your head in the game. The Director will not go easy on you if anything goes wrong".
"I know sis... I know" Pyrrha said, doing her best to hold back the bite in her tone. Let's just say her relationship with her father was not what it used to be.
Elsewhere, two soldiers, Scully and Murphy, were patrolling.
"Christ is it cold or what?" Scully asked
"Uh huh" Murphy agreed.
"How cold do you think it is? It has to be at least below freezing, right?" Scully asked.
"Well, there's ice. So, yeah. Freezing" Murphy said.
"Patrolling in the ice. Give me a fucking break. You know who doesn't have to patrol in the middle of the night, in the ice?" Scully asked.
"I'm sure you'll tell me" Murphy said, making no effort to hide that he was not interested.
"Jenkins. I bet Jenkins is sleeping right now. Back in his rack, with his big fucking melonhead on a soft pillow" Scully said, annoyed.
Murphy nods "Yeah, that's Jenkins".
"You know I had terminal duty 8 weeks straight? 8 weeks man!" Scully said.
"Well lucky you" Murphy said sarcastically, clearly not caring about the story.
"And then I make one fucking comment about the CO to Jenkins" Scully said.
"Uh huh that's great" Murphy said, still not paying attention.
"And the next thing you know I'm out on patrol" Scully said.
Murphy is suddenly pulled up from his neck is by a rope.
"And then Jenkins gets my next terminal duty. And I get to freeze my ass off out here with... Murphy? Come on Murphy. Hey where are ya? Murph. Stop messing around Murph. Murph" Scully pulls out his pistol and looks for Murphy.
"Yeah, in here. Thought I heard something" Came the voice of Murphy.
Scully holsters his pistol "Oh yeah? Whatcha hear, a ghost?".
Scully chuckles to himself and walks in the room. He looks down and sees a pool of blood. He looks up and sees Murphy hanging from above, dead.
"Yeah, I guess you could say something like that" South Dakota, one of the freelancers said before she hits Scully in the neck and knocks him over the platform, causing him to fall to his death "Hey we clear?".
Her twin brother, North Dakota is camping on top of a smokestack "Yes South you're clear but watch your corners. This smoke is good for cover but it's playing hell with my thermals. And the cold isn't helping".
"What's the time?" South asked.
"Don't worry about the time. Worry about the objective. Next patrol is in twenty seconds" North said.
"Huh, I'll be gone before that" South said with confidence.
"Ok, slow it down South. Set your motion trackers" North said.
South hops down onto a soldier's back and kills him; taking his weapon in the process "Nah, takes too long".
"So does getting caught. Set your trackers" North ordered as South enters a building containing many guards "South! I do not have visual in there. I can't be your eyes if I can't see".
"Just trust me North, I got this" South said as she stealthy sneaks past the guards.
"South, talk to me" North said.
"Not right now North. I see the objective, going to initiate transfer" South whispers as she slides a data key into a machine.
"While it's loading set your goddamn tracker" North ordered, almost sounding annoyed "There's bound to be some... South I've got something odd on thermal. Two small dots".
"Come on, come on" South said.
"South! Check your six! I think something's in there" North said.
South turns around and points her pistol at a soldier carrying two cups of coffee. The soldier notices an alarm lever next to him "Don't even think about it".
After swerving his head at South and the alarm, the soldier runs to the alarm. South quickly shoots him, causing the soldier's body to fall towards the alarm.
"Aww shit. It's about to get loud" South said as she quickly grabbed the data key. The body hits the alarm and it begins to blare.
"On my way!" North jumps off the smokestack and smashes two soldier's heads together "Well, so much for keeping quiet. South! meet me at the helipad for extraction".
"Roger. Might need a minute" South said.
South runs past three guards and quickly executes them with some fast hand to hand moves. She jumps off a platform and is soon cornered by three more soldiers. She fires at them & runs forward, kicking two backward and shooting one in the head. She punches one of the remaining soldiers and breaks his leg. She tosses him towards the other remaining soldier and kicks the soldier in face, smashing in a locker. South, then again, becomes surrounded, until North appears, firing sniper. North fires his SMG right into a soldier's stomach.
"Shotgun!" South shouts.
North cocks the shotgun, then tosses it to South "Catch!".
South catches the shotgun and decapitates a soldier with it "Thanks!".
North and South take cover as a sniper starts shooting at them.
"Sniper! Top of that building!" South shouts.
North got ready "Switch on my mark. Sync?".
"Sync!" South confirms
"Mark!" North said as the two switch positions.
South grabs a soldier's body "Moving!".
"Go go go!" North urged. South runs to the building where the sniper is, using the body as a shield "Watch your left!".
North and South shoots down the sniper along with many other soldiers.
"Get the door, I'll hold them off" North ordered.
South quickly opens the door "We're good, let's move".
The two pass through the door and run to the landing pad, executing every soldier in their way.
"Switch!" North said as they perform a team maneuver that successfully creates some breathing room from all the soldiers "Move!".
They reach the landing pad, and then notice the soldiers surrounding them. Much to South's annoyance "Oh come on".
Back on the ship, the Operator reported on what was happening "Situation is critical sir. Should we do something?".
"Yes. Send them in" The Director said.
"Roger that. Come in Number One you and your back up are both green" The Operator said.
"Activate fail-safe" The Director ordered.
"Copy sir. Initiating beta protocol" The Operator said.
Back on the platforms, North and South had no way to go. There were a lot more soldiers than even they could handle.
"Well, out of the frying pan and into the fire" North commented.
"Eh, think I could take about 50 of 'em. How 'bout you?" South asked.
"How about you save your jokes until we get out of this?" North suggested
"Where the hell is extraction?!" South demanded.
The leading soldier finally spoke "Attention assholes, stand down! You're surrounded! Give us the data file now! You will be taken into custody! We can do this the easy way or the hard way! There is no escape, so give us the damn data file!".
But as he was speaking he didn't notice Carolina was sneaking behind the soldiers, camouflaged in the background. She then attacks the soldiers, using quick kicks and punches to overwhelm them, including the commanding soldier. She then grabs the turret and shoots a support beam, causing the platform, and the soldiers standing on it, to fall.
"Get down!" North grabs South and shields her with his body. The two then get up and look at Carolina attacking the soldiers.
On the other side, Pyrrha quickly jumped on to a soldier's shoulders, before using her legs to throw him in to another one. She moved between their bullets and struck one in the chest with her palm, sending him flying in to his comrades behind him. She then delivered a quick kick to an soldier behind her, making him fly back too.
"Son of a bitch" North said.
"Whats going on?" South asked.
"It's them" North answered.
"What? What's she doing here?" South demanded more than asked, since this was meant to be her and her brother's mission.
Carolina back-flips down to North and South, her colors changing from black to a light blue color, leaving a spinning turret to kill soldiers "Okay, our turn. Greece!".
Pyrrha broke of from the enemies and jumped at Carolina. They grabbed each other's hands and Carolina began spinning Pyrrha around as Pyrrha kicked several soldiers with both her feet. Carolina then threw her in to the air, causing several of the soldiers to look up, and the distraction allowed Caroline and the twins to attack them before they could react.
A soldier looking for a gun while the chaos ensues behind him "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. Oh, yes! A rifle! I'm saved!".
He began firing randomly as another solider runs up to him "Uh, hey man. Uh, I hate to bother you but I think that's my rifle you're holding".
"What the hell are you talking about? Just grab any rifle! Like look at that, there is seriously a pile of rifles..." The first soldier said.
"No, that's my good luck rifle. That's the one I sleep with every night" The second one said.
"Are you kidding me, man?!" The first one said before South kicks the two off the platform.
As the Freelancers fight, the commander gets back on his turret and aims it at South. Seeing this, North quickly moves to help his sister.
"South, look out!" North pushes her out of the way and gets shot several times in the chest and visor.
"North! No!" South shouts.
Carolina fires a grapling hook at the turret. She pulls it and the turret smacks the soldier in the face and fires beneath him, collapsing the catwalk beneath them. Most of the soldiers fall, but the Demo Man falls on a ledge jutting out under the catwalk, and attempts to get up. South is helping North walk towards the edge.
"I got you. Move" She tosses North against the railing. The twins then both fire their weapons at the remaining soldiers "Come in, command! We have wounded, you need to get us out of here right now!".
"I think it's time to leave, Carolina" Pyrrha said, earning a nod from her sister.
"Come on you two. We're leaving" Carolina said as she tosses herself, North, and South over the edge, with Pyrrha quickly jumped after them and they land on the roof of a pelican "Sorry about the mess, fellas. Package is secure. Everybody on board".
Carolina climbs down a ladder leading into the Pelican's troop bay. She enters the cockpit and climbs into the co-pilot's seat "Somebody call for a ride?".
"You're late" Carolina said.
"Ah well, you can take it out of my tip" The Pilot said.
"Really? Because you already owe me a lot" Pyrrha reminded.
"Yeah yeah, shut up and sit down" The Pilot said. They fly off in the pelican and the base explodes behind them.
"Incoming transmission" Came a female voice.
"I got it, this is vehicle Four Seven Niner, go for secure" Carolina said.
"Secure, hello Agent Carolina" F.I.L.S.S said.
"Good morning, F.I.L.S.S. Nice to hear your voice" Carolina said.
"Is this a bad time? You sound, occupied" F.I.L.S.S said.
"The LZ got a little... hot. We may be late for the rendezvous, but we'll get there. Don't leave without us" Carolina said.
"Understood, it sounds like the Director was right to send you and your sister along to assist the teams" F.I.L.S.S said.
Carolina nods at that "Seems that way, can't say everyone on board feels the same".
"All Agents accounted for, excellent work" F.I.L.S.S praised.
"F.I.L.S.S, I see a blank spot in the head count. Please verify" Carolina said.
"We will see you at the rendezvous, Agent Carolina. Fly safe, and have a nice day" F.I.L.S.S said.
"Wait, F.I.L.S.S. Who won the match last night?" Pyrrha asked.
"Sorry, Agent Greece. Team JNPR lost pretty badly" F.I.L.S.S answered.
Pyrrha growled under her helmet "Oh for fu-".
Carolina cut her of "Roger that, Carolina out. South, check our six".
South looked outside "Heads up, we've got company back here".
Two Longswords fly behind the Pelican and the Pilot asked "Who are your friends?".
"Just some people we met at the party" Carolina answered.
"They seem nice" The Pilot said as the Longswords open fire on the Pelican, while she maneuvers around them.
"Nice moves, firing missiles" Carolina fires some missiles, but the Longswords evade them with ease.
"Can't you get us out of here?!" South demanded.
"I'm working on it" The Pilot said before the lock on light begins beeping.
"What's that noise?" South asked.
"They have missile lock" The Pilot said.
"That's bad" South said.
"Yeah, that's bad" The Pilot said, starting to get annoyed.
"Take evasive maneuvers!" South ordered.
The Pilot was losing patience "I'm trying".
"Well, try harder!" South demanded.
"Hey South? Do me a favor, would ya?" The Pilot said
South looked at her "What?".
The Pilot seals the door to the loading dock "Thanks".
"You stupid bitch!" South shouted.
"South, losing your temper will not help us. Calm down" Pyrrha said.
"I am perfectly calm!" South snapped. The Longswords fire their missiles at the Pelican and The Pilot fires off flares to deter the missiles, but still ends up getting hit "I hate flying!".
The Pelican was shaking a lot and Pyrrha quickly caught South before she could hit her head "You OK?".
"I'm fine" South said before noticing North was beginning to regain consciousness.
"Check on your brother, I think I can deal with the missiles" Pyrrha said said as she began making her way out.
"What are you doing?! Pyrrha get back inside!" South shouted after her.
Pyrrha climbed on to the roof of the Pelican and as several more missiles heading towards her. Time to give her armor ability a test run. She waited until the missiles were close enough before unleashing a magnetic wave, which messed up their targeting and causing them to fall down.
"Holly crap it worked" Pyrrha said to herself.
"There's the rendezvous point, if we're gonna make it, you better punch it" Carolina told the pilot before contacting Pyrrha with a sharp tone "And you little sister, get your ass inside right now!".
Pyrrha gulped, she was so getting lectured for this. But then a yellow beam is shot in the distance, destroying one of the Longswords. The clouds begin to clear, revealing the UNSC Frigate Mother of Invention, which fires off another beam from where the MAC would be, destroying the other fleeing Longsword.
Pyrrha was relieved that they made it in time... now she just had to deal with the aftermath. Later everyone gathered inside the control room as the Mother of Invention flew in to space. And the Director was debriefing everyone on the mission. North was recovering well after some medical attention.
"The data you recovered has pinpointed the location of a very important target for Project Freelancer. Excellent work" The Director said, sounding pleased.
"Thank you, sir!" The freelancers said.
"Counselor, please update the board" The director ordered and the Counselor uses his handheld pad to move North up to 4 on the board and South down to 5 "That is all. Dismissed".
South, in shock, rips off her helmet "I thought you said the mission was a success, Sir?".
"One of the mission objectives was stealth. Your carelessness revealed our intention and made our next mission more difficult. They'll be ready for us. Dismissed" The Director ordered.
South angrily walks to the door. Pyrrha gave her a worried look.
"Think I should talk to her?" Carolina asked.
South punches the door control panel, causing it to break and fall off the wall after walking out of the room. Pyrrha gulped "Yeah, maybe you should hold of on that idea, sis".
"Agreed, we should give her a minute" North agreed.
As the rest got ready to leave, the Director spoke "Hold on, Agent Greece. I'd like a word with you, in privet".
Pyrrha and Carolina shared a look before the older sister spoke "Sir, you sure I shouldn't stay and-".
"You are dismissed, Agent Carolina. This only concerns your sister" The Director said, his tone leaving no room for arguments.
Carolina sighed, knowing there was nothing she could do after that. She put a hand on Pyrrha's shoulder before leaving the room. Pyrrha had a feeling what this was about, but she wanted to make sure.
"Sir, if this about me using my armor ability without permission, I-" She began but was interrupted.
"No, this is not about that. If anything I should praise you for a successful field test" The Director said before walking up to her "This is about something a lot more serious. Take of your helmet, Agent" Pyrrha did as ordered and her father continued "You didn't use any lethal force against the enemy".
Pyrrha did her best to keep her calm, but the intense look from her father made it hard "Sir I-".
"This is not a lecture I should have to give you, Agent Greece. Your fighting skills almost matches Carolina. But your soft heart is the reason you are not in the top 5 yet. There is no room for mercy on a battlefield" The Director said.
"But... without mercy, what will I become?" Pyrrha asked.
"A good soldier. You need to learn this, or there is no place for you here. Is that clear?" The Director said harshly.
"Yes... sir..." Pyrrha said, struggling with keeping her anger in check.
"Good. You are dismissed" The Director said before going back to look at the leader-board.
Pyrrha left the room and walked down the hallway for a bit... before stopping and with a frustrated shout she punched the wall hard enough to dent it. Ever since her mom died, her father had changed to a man she could no longer recognize... and she hated it.
.
Tell me what you think.
