A/N: Whoo-hoo! It's time for a new chapter of Agent Reach! I wasn't too sure about how good the response would be from putting Reach and Maine as roommates, but I was pleasantly surprised and even got some good suggestions. Thanks for making this fun to write!

*Chapter 4*

UNSC Mother of Invention

Date Unknown

Reach blinked his eyes open, and he saw the fiery red figure of Sigma, the AI's arms behind his back. "Good morning Agent Reach. I hope you rested well?"

Reach nodded as he got out, Maine also awake. "Yes, I did Sigma. Ah, morning Maine." The massive yet silent Freelancer gave a small hiss of greeting.

Reach put on his armor, and the two Freelancers left to go do what Freelancers loved most: actual jobs.

The walk to the boardroom was quiet, and Reach saw that quite a few Freelancers were present: Carolina, York, and Washington. "Morning. Anyone know what this is about?"

York and Wash exchanged a glance, not too sure, while Carolina scoffed. "We're here to get a cake for our fighting abilities. We're here to be briefed for something important, obviously." Maine let out a small hiss of annoyance at the blue Freelancer's sarcastic tone.

Reach didn't flinch. "Well, I must say, I am slightly impressed with your sarcasm and extremely stunning intellect." Wash and Maine let out amused grumbles, with Carolina narrowing her eyes at the new Freelancer. "You think it's funny, don't you?"

Reach decided to play with her a little more, wondering how long it would be before she eventually threatened to beat the living shit out of him. "Possibly. Is that a problem?" 'Wait for it…'

Carolina opened her mouth to snarl out a reply, but the door hissed open to reveal the Director and a black man in the same kind of suit. She gave Reach a glare as if to say 'You're lucky'. Reach's lips twitched in slight amusement as he took his seat beside Maine. 'That was a fun way to rile her up. But now, let's see what the Director wants.'

The Director looked over the five agents, his arms folded neatly behind his back. "Agents. It has come to my attention that the Insurrectionists are planning to again develop powered armor suits, much like our own. This is something we must prevent at all costs, and I am sending out two teams to deal with this. The Counselor will give you more details."

He stepped back, and the Counselor took his place, small beads of sweat forming on his brow. Reach was sitting up, listening attentively. 'Hm, so they think they are going to steal UNSC technology and use it against us? They have another thing coming.'

The Counselor wiped his forehead. "Team 1 will be responsible for infiltrating the Insurrectionist facility and will consist of Agents New York, Carolina, and Reach. Team 2 will be responsible to take out several turrets stationed around the perimeter and will consist of Agents Washington and Maine. Stealth is a major priority for this mission, and do not, under any circumstances, let yourself get caught. Are there any questions?"

All of the Freelancers stood quietly, and the Counselor nodded with slightly narrowed eyes. "Good. Echo 479er will be dropping you off as close to the facility as possible, and I expect this will go along smoothly without unrest amongst our ranks, Agent Carolina."

The redheaded Freelancer clenched her jaw slightly at the jibe. "Yes sir." She looked back at York and Reach. "Both of you, get ready ASAP. I expect you to be prepared to go in twenty minutes."

York nodded quickly and scampered off, while Reach met Carolina's cold gaze evenly. "I'm afraid that I may have to discuss something with the Director, so if you'll excuse me." The red headed Freelancer stepped to the side, her eyes narrowed into slits. Reach could feel her eyes burning holes in his back, but he brushed it off. 'What does she think, that I'm a threat to her position on the leaderboard? That's what I wanted to ask the Director about.'

Reach stopped in front of the man in charge of this project, and he saluted. "Sir, I wanted to ask a question about that leaderboard showing all of the agents' names. What is it used for?"

The Director pushed his glasses up. "That, Agent Reach, is used to determine the ranking of our agents. For instance, Agent Texas is our best agent, and Agent Carolina is our second best. Although she has been trying to take back that number 1 position for quite a long time now…"

Reach looked at the leaderboard, and he saw that he was currently near the bottom, but that was expected. 'I may have beaten South, but I have yet to accomplish something really spectacular. Once I do though, I'll climb up.' He was right above South Dakota, Washington, and Connecticut, the last one he had yet to meet or even see.

He looked up at the number one position, and he quickly set a goal for himself. 'I want to be able to say that I am one of the best that Project Freelancer has to offer.'

Reach stepped back, giving a quick salute to the Director again. "Thank you sir. I'll be heading out now." He turned to leave when the Director put his hand up. "Reach; do be sure that you don't get Agent Carolina too riled up. She can be quite nasty when it happens."

Reach's lip twitched slightly. 'So, it turns out that she can lose her temper easily. That's nice to keep in mind.' "Yes sir."

He walked out to meet with York and Carolina, reaching them in the armory. Carolina was preparing a pair of Magnums, and York was holding a Shotgun in his hands. The tan Freelancer looked up. "Oh, hello Reach. You here for some weapons?"

Reach nodded, eyeing a Battle Rifle. "Yes." He hefted the precision weapon, looking through the scope. 'Hm, I do prefer this to the DMR, and it has more rounds. But it is a three-round burst with each shot...' "I think I'll take this."

York tossed him a small box, and the former Spartan plucked it out of the air. Reach eyed the package slowly. "What is this?"

York loaded a few more rounds into his Shotgun. "Those are some new explosive rounds that we've been developing for awhile. I think they'll come in handy."

Reach nodded quietly, putting the rounds in a small pouch on his armor. 'Nice to see that York is trying to welcome me at least. Carolina on the other hand, well…is a bit more difficult to say the least.'

The blue Freelancer put on her helmet. "We're going now." She turned around and led the two down to the launch bay, where a Pelican was awaiting them. Maine and Washington were already strapped in, and a small green figure appeared on York's shoulder. "Agent York, we should be arriving at out LZ in approximately twenty minutes."

"Thanks Delta," York replied, and the green figure disappeared. Reach looked up from his seat. "Is that your AI?" The tan Freelancer nodded and rubbed a scar over his eye. "Yeah. His name's Delta. He really comes in handy during missions."

The Pelican rocketed out of the launch bay of the Mother of Invention, and the pilot of the transport looked back. "Do me a favor and try to not to get yourselves too bloody? I just cleaned this bird about an hour ago."

Reach's lip twitched. "I'll keep that in mind." Washington and York exchanged glances, muttering amongst themselves. "We still haven't gotten our peanuts…"

The black and gold Freelancer let out a sigh. "I know. She is the biggest procrastinator ever…of all time." Maine let out a small hiss at the addition to the end of his comment, and York glanced between the two. "Um, was that you saying 'I agree' or you telling Wash to shut up?" Maine let out a small growl, and York chuckled. "Well, I can't say I'm too surprised Maine. You have never liked Wash's catchphrase."

Reach sat silently as Echo 479er flew them to the facility, and Reach didn't look up until they arrived. The pilot looked back at the five Freelancers. "You are all free to go."

Reach, Carolina, York, Maine, and Washington all exited, the Pelican rocketing off. Washington held a Battle Rifle in his hands and jerked his head to the side, signaling for Maine to follow him. "Come on Maine. We have to make sure none of those turrets are operational." The silent freelancer let out a grumble as he hefted his Brute Shot, running a hand carefully over the blade.

As the two groups began to split, Reach and Maine gave each other subtle nods, wishing the other good luck. 'Hopefully this all goes smoothly, without any of us getting wounded too badly.'

Carolina quietly stalked the perimeter of the facility, York and Reach right behind her. She looked over the small wall they were using as cover. "We're clear. Reach and York, move up."

York made to stand up and go when Reach put a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. "Wait. There's someone there." 'I'll show Carolina just what I can do.' The blue Freelancer stared at Reach, and even though her face was hidden by the helmet, Reach could tell she was not happy. "Reach, move up, now!"

Reach pointed towards the door to the facility, and Carolina saw what he was seeing. A lone Insurrectionist soldier was standing guard, a DMR in hand. Reach smirked as he jumped up on the small landing above him. "I got this."

He activated his motion trackers, and he saw that the guard was the only person within a good fifty meters. 'Perfect. The bastard won't know what hit him.'

Reach stalked along the walkway until he was right above the guard. He jumped onto the man's back, grabbing his head with both hands and snapping his neck for an assassination. 'Got you.' "Surprise."

Reach beckoned with his hand for York and Carolina to move up. "We're clear." He heard their footsteps behind him as the trio stealthily made their way into the complex. 'I don't think even Carolina could have expected me to do that one.' The only one who could have seen that coming was Texas.

'What's up with her? Something about Texas intrigues me quite a bit, but I can't place my finger on it yet,' the former Spartan mused, drawing a knife from his sheath and getting ready. The interior of the complex was fairly simple, and they had no problem navigating their way through the corridors.

Carolina was about to enter another hallway when Reach put his arm out, a blip appearing on his motion trackers. The blue Freelancer glared into his helmet, and Reach shook his head, putting a finger on his lips. "Both of you, get against the wall."

He drew his knife, and as soon as the rebel passed the doorway, Reach spun him around and stabbed his knife into the man's chest. Reach quietly withdrew his knife and dragged the body off into a corner. 'Another execution. But pretty soon, the buggers are going to notice that several of their men are missing, and they'll be on alert.'

York looked at the body, impressed. "Wow Reach, you are one sneaky one." Reach shrugged and got ready to take out the next rebel, who was about ten feet away with no one around him. "Stealth was a priority, was it not?" 'I'm only following the Director's orders.'

Carolina placed a hand on her helmet. "Team 2, are you in position?" Washington's reply crackled out a few seconds later. "Team 2 is in position, Carolina. Whenever you give us the green light, we'll set off the detonators to take out the turrets."

Reach pointed to the next rebel, who was searching for his missing partner. "York, you and Carolina go and make sure you locate and destroy any data on those new suits. I'm covering you. Got it?"

York nodded and set out, while Carolina lingered behind for a moment, almost like she wanted to argue. Reach didn't flinch as he twirled his knife, stepping behind the rebel and stabbing him in the back, tossing his body away. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Carolina sucked her teeth and made a 'hmph' of annoyance as she followed York, both of them heading even deeper into the complex. Reach watched her go with a twitching eyebrow. 'She really cannot stand taking orders from anyone, can she?'

He made sure to cover the two, glancing back and forth and taking out any hostiles he saw, whether they were a threat or not. To him, every single rebel soldier was a threat to the UNSC. 'It's best to kick them while they're down. That way, they really can't get back up.' That was the way that Emile and Reach thought when it came to the Covenant, and the new Freelancer had no problem in using that same matter of thinking with the Insurrectionists.

Reach broke into a run, and he quickly caught up with York and Carolina thanks to his augmented speed. They were waiting right outside a heavy metal door, and Carolina had her back pressed against it. "That place is guarded by two machine gun turrets. There must be a way past them."

Reach scoffed as he joined them. "Please. The only way that would be possible is if we take out the lights. York, can you and Delta cut the power? That way, they will have to use their backup generators, and the turrets will be offline." 'It's the best I could come up with, but I think it's the only way without dying.'

Carolina eyed the new Freelancer icily as York and Delta worked to take out the power. Reach met her stare evenly, only breaking when York looked up."Lights should be out in three, two, one..."

The lights flickered out, and Reach could hear the turrets on the other side of the metal door deactivate. 'Perfect again.' York glanced over at Carolina. "Power's out. Let's move." Carolina keyed the COM again, giving Team 2 a heads-up. "Team 2, this is Carolina. Power is out, and you two can get rid of those turrets now."

"Roger that," Washington replied, and Reach could hear several loud explosions in the distance. "Turrets 1 and 2 are down. Taking out numbers 3 and 4."

Reach pried open the metal door, and his motion trackers alerted him to someone on the other side of the door. 'You have got to be kidding me. This is like taking candy from a baby.' He shoved the muzzle of his Battle Rifle in the crack and fired a three round burst, rewarded with a gurgle and splash of crimson.

Reach forced the door open completely, and he fired over York's head three times, taking out all three of the remaining rebels. Save for one in massive armor and holding a large weapon that slowly began to glow orange.

York exchanged a glance with Reach. "What the fuck is with this guy?" The former Spartan shoved York out of the way as a burst of flame fired from the weapon, making all three Freelancers take cover. Reach looked over, pulled a pin from a grenade, and threw it, the small explosive landing neatly between the rebel's feet.

The detonation made the man stumble, and he didn't recover in time before Reach's knife stuck itself to his helmet, killing him instantly. Reach pulled the blade out, jerking his head over to the computers. "Destroy those immediately. They contain the data on those powered armor suits."

Reach held his ground at the entrance, more explosions going off as Washington and Maine destroyed the turrets surrounding the facility. Washington's voice crackled over the COM again. "Team 1, all turrets have been destroyed. How is that data destruction going?"

Reach paused briefly to answer. "We're deleting the data now. It might take us a few minutes to get back to the extraction point though, so be patient."

"Roger. Team 2 over and out," Washington replied, ending the channel. Reach looked through the scope of his Battle Rifle, and he didn't relax when he saw the coast was clear. For now.

York joined him. "All the data has been destroyed, Reach." The former Spartan nodded, his voice slightly cold. "Good. This will make our lives a bit easier in the future." Carolina didn't glance at him as they ran out of the building, Reach making sure to eliminate even more rebels. 'Better safe than sorry. I may kill the enemy, but I do not hate them. Best saying you ever had, Jun.'

Once they were outside, the trio met up with Maine and Washington, both Freelancers looking for any enemies. Maine let out a growl, and he forced Washington down before firing his Brute Shot at a rebel with a Rocket Launcher, sending the man off the edge to his death.

Reach put his hand on the side of his helmet, calling for Echo 479er to pick them up. "Echo 479er, this is Agent Reach. Requesting pick-up now, over."

"I read you loud and clear Reach. Expect pick-up within 60 seconds, over," she replied. Reach ended the channel and he grabbed a few extra detonators from Washington. The black and gold Freelancer gave him a confused look. "What are you planning to do with those?"

Maine let out a sharp hiss, and Reach nodded slowly. "That's right Maine. This is to make sure that they don't try to develop them again." The silent Freelancer backed away slowly as the former Spartan armed the explosives, setting a timer for about 90 seconds. 'This should be a major blow to their powered armor suits project.'

The roar of a Pelican's engines made him look up, and their ticket out of here had arrived. 'About time.' "Let's go! We have thirty seconds before the facility is dust!"

The five Freelancers ran into the Pelican, and they quickly strapped themselves in. 479er looked back at them. "You might want to hang on tight. It's about to get a little…"

"Bumpy?" Washington asked. 479er shrugged. "Yeah, that. I was going to say 'crashy', but that works too." The Pelican rocketed away just as the Insurrectionist facility exploded, the entire base obliterated.

Reach was confused as to why 479er said the flight was about to be crashy when he looked back, mentally swearing. 'Fuck.' "We have two Longsword Interceptors, coming in hot! Take evasive action!"

The Pelican jerked to the right as a pair of missiles soared past, exploding on the rocks. 479er seemed to be searching for something as she accelerated the Pelican to its maximum speed. "Come on…where is she?"

Reach joined her, and his enhanced eyesight spotted something in the clouds. He pointed to it. "There. There's something large in those clouds. It looks to be the outline of a ship." Sure enough, the Mother of Invention broke the clouds, and a single flash shot overhead, taking out one of the Longswords. The other turned around in an attempt to avoid meeting the same fate, but it too was destroyed by the Mother of Invention's MAC gun. "This is UNSC Mother of Invention. Echo 479er, you are clear to land."

"Roger that. Echo 479er now docking. All agents are accounted for, with no casualties. Over and out," the pilot returned, navigating her ship into the docking bay.

Reach stepped out of the Pelican when it landed, and he followed the other four agents to the briefing room, where the Director and Counselor were waiting.

The Director had his hands behind his back, and the agents snapped to attention as he spoke. "Agents, the mission was a success. No casualties, all agents accounted for, and all priorities met. This has been a very good outcome for us and gives us an advantage again." He glanced at the Counselor. "Counselor, update the leaderboard please."

The black man typed a few letters into his datapad, and the leaderboard rearranged itself, showing the top six agents as Texas, Carolina, Wyoming, New York, Reach, and Maine. Reach eyed his position with a raised eyebrow. 'Well, I certainly climbed up a lot.' Even Washington moved up a bit, right behind Maine.

Carolina narrowed her eyes slightly. "Director, why am I still at my position?" The redhead seemed very displeased, and Reach remembered from earlier that the Director said she hated to lose. 'So, this is her showing displeasure at number 2. Well then…'

The Director's lips tightened slightly. "Agent Carolina, there are many reasons, including your resentment and bitterness which prevent you from regaining that position. And I have noticed during the mission that you nearly failed to listen to Agent Reach, only going when you saw you had no other choice. He remembered that stealth was a priority while giving them hell. Which, it seems, you forgot."

Reach noticed that Carolina's face was getting as red as her hair, which, by the way the other Freelancers were slowly backing away, must be a dangerous sign. 'If worst comes to worst, then I'll have to make sure she doesn't try anything stupid.'

But Carolina must have calmed down, because she spun on her heel and left, slamming the door with a frustrated growl. Maine and Reach exchanged glances, both of them shrugging. York looked after her. "Do you think we should talk to her?"

The sound of something breaking sounded off, and Washington shook his head. "I don't think so." Maine hissed in agreement. Washington winced as he heard a very pissed off scream come from within, and he and York shared another glance. "I think we might want to stay as far away from her as possible. Otherwise, she's gonna kick our asses. Again."

Maine grumbled something, and York raised an eyebrow. "Um, are you sure that's a wise idea? Remember the last time we tried that?" The massive Freelancer hissed, and York put his arms up. "Alright, alright. I'll try it." He ran out after Carolina, and Reach sent out a mental prayer that the tan Freelancer would be returning in one piece. 'I'd really hate to see York get messed up too badly. He was vital in this mission, and the Director knows it.'

Reach let out a sigh, for he still missed his old teammates. 'I never thought I'd ever say that being a lone wolf is something I don't want anymore.' He left the briefing room and headed to the shooting range. Perhaps all he needed was a little time to think.

A/N: Whew, this was a long one…still, I hope it was an enjoyable read. Thanks for making this my most favorite and followed fic so far! Leave any comments or other feedback, as it is greatly appreciated. See you!