A/N: Ah, my break is done…pity. I could have used a longer one. But, I'm back with another chapter of Agent Reach. I still can't believe this is my most favorited and followed fanfic…

*Chapter 5*

UNSC Mother of Invention

Date Unknown

Reach entered the shooting range, a Sniper Rifle across his back. 'I'm nowhere near as good as Jun with this, but I still think I can set a good record.'

F.I.L.S.S activated the targets, some moving at a rather quick pace. "The current record is held by Agent Wyoming, using only four complete clips for 25 targets."

Reach's eyebrows rose. "Really?" He pulled the bolt back on the weapon, sliding in a fresh clip. "Well then, it looks like I have a target to beat." He fired, and two targets were downed. 'Wyoming might be able to give Jun a run for his money if he's that good.' He fired three more times, and five targets fell.

Reach slapped in a fresh clip, and he heard the door open behind him, along with Wyoming's voice. "So chap, you decided to have a little target practice too?" The British Freelancer set up his own mock targets before mowing them down.

Reach pulled the bolt back on his Sniper Rifle. "Yeah. This helps me think sometimes." He fired again, with two more targets falling. "By the way, I've heard that you hold the current record for using only 4 clips on 25 targets."

Wyoming chuckled, stroking his mustache before firing and taking out three more targets. "Well chap, you heard right." Reach aimed and squeezed the trigger, a perfect headshot showing up. "You know, you remind me of a friend I used to have."

The British Freelancer looked over with a raised eyebrow. "Really? How's that?" Reach fired again, ejecting the spent clip and loading in a new one. "You're both good marksmen, and are good for keeping heavy situations light." Reach fired four times, taking out a good portion of the targets. 'Six left…heh, the irony.'

Wyoming chuckled and fired. "Did he tell knock-knock jokes?" Reach shook his head as he aimed in, fiddling with the sights. "No. He was a kill-stealing asshole though. I lost count of the times he killed a target I was about to assassinate." 'Let's see…Jun stole the two Grunts during our Nightfall Op; a Brute during the defense of Halsey's lab; a Banshee I was about to hijack…'

Wyoming chuckled and fired, a headshot showing up for him. "Sounds nice. What was his name?" Reach froze briefly, his finger barely on the trigger. "Jun." He sighted in, and he held his aim until three targets lined up and he mowed them down with one shot. He fired three more times at the remaining three, and his score flashed up. He had tied Wyoming's record.

Wyoming looked over, giving him a nod of approval. "Nice job, chap. You certainly know how to use a rifle." He finished with his targets, giving a huge stretch. "Also, it's been awhile since I've had a good competition with someone. If only CT were here…"

Reach stopped. "CT? You mean Connecticut?" 'No wonder I haven't seen that one. They're not even here.' Wyoming nodded, slinging the rifle over his shoulder. "Yeah. She's been missing for awhile, and it turns out she's betrayed us. She's with those bastard Innies now."

Reach narrowed his eyes. "Does the Director know this?" The British Freelancer nodded. "Yeah. He has a plan to retrieve her armor, as we can't let that fall into enemy hands. They could make new powered suits, even after we destroyed the data they had."

Reach stroked his chin, his helmet now off and his icy glare shards of ice. "Then that's what we do. It doesn't matter if she was a teammate; she betrayed Project Freelancer, and it's our duty to stop her at all costs." He marched out, and he stumbled across Maine, a new bandage across his throat wound. "Maine."

The massive Freelancer hissed, and Reach figured that meant he wanted to know where he was going. "I want to speak with the Director." Maine grumbled, and Sigma appeared, the fiery red AI speaking for him. "He's interested in this too, Agent Reach."

Reach nodded curtly. "That's fine with me. In fact, I was hoping to run into you." Maine followed Reach as they walked into the briefing room, where the Director and Counselor were talking quietly.

Both men looked up, a bit surprised to see the agents so soon. "Reach and Maine? Why are you here?" Reach stood at attention. "Sir, this is permission to go and retrieve Agent Connecticut's armor. I've heard that she has committed treason against the UNSC and Project Freelancer by joining up with Insurrectionist forces, and that she plans on turning her armor over to their leader. This is something that cannot happen."

The Director and the Counselor exchanged glances before encouraging him to continue. "Proceed." Reach paused to catch his breath. "May I suggest a team of agents, with two for stealth infiltration, four for engaging the main forces, and three for armor retrieval?"

The Director stroked his chin, thinking carefully. "What you say is true, Agent Reach, but I'm not too sure if we can afford to deploy that many agents at once…" The Counselor coughed, and Maine, Reach, and the Director turned to him. "If I may, Director, Agents North Dakota and South Dakota are more than good enough to use as our ship's protection, in case of a boarding party. I find myself agreeing with Agent Reach."

Maine grumbled, and he cracked his knuckles, hissing. The Director sighed. "I know, Agent Maine. That very soldier probably is right there, in that specific outpost where CT's transmitter is located, but we don't know for sure. Besides, you are still recovering from that wound, and throat injuries aren't a joke, son."

Sigma folded his arms behind his back. "Director, Agent Maine believes he is strong enough for battle again, and agrees with the Counselor and Agent Reach." The Director narrowed his eyes. "I will think about this carefully son, for you couldn't be more correct. I shall get back to you within the week."

Reach saluted. "Sir." He spun on his heel and left, Maine behind him. "What do you think of this?" Sigma paused as Maine let out a small snarl. "He says that since CT is a traitor, then we should immediately take her out before she causes a crippling loss on our side of the fleet." Maine growled, continuing to crack his knuckles. Suddenly, he turned to the combat room to train a bit more, and Reach let him go. 'Wyoming and Maine agree with me; I can't imagine anyone else would disagree with me.'

Reach walked into the barracks, knocking lightly on York and Washington's door. "York; Washington? It's me, Reach. Are you in there?" The door opened to reveal York, the tan Freelancer a bit surprised to see him. "Reach? What's up? I didn't think you were one for Grifball, because that's what we're trying to get Carolina to do. Again." Sure enough, the redheaded Freelancer was there, sending glares at the former Spartan. 'Figures. Although now that I think of it, I do remember Maine suggesting something that York was unsure about…so this was it.'

He glanced left and right, making sure the coast was clear. "Can I talk to you for a brief moment in private? There are a few things I want to ask." York nodded; closing his door and following Reach to his quarters, locking the door. The tan Freelancer took a seat. "So, what's this about?"

'I'm not too sure if he had a close bond with Connecticut, but he has to know this, as it is very important,' Reach mused. "CT is with the enemy. It has been confirmed by the Director and the Counselor that she went with them willingly, and she plans to turn her armor over to them."

He paused, and York let his head sink into his hands. "Dammit CT, why? Why would you do such a thing?" He traced the scar over his left eye, shaking his head. "I just can't believe it. I really can't. All this time, she was just feeding them intel on us, so she could stab us in the back."

Reach put an arm on his shoulder. "York, I'm not sure if you had a close bond with her, but do you mind me asking if you did?" York sat up, shaking his head. "CT was the one who always doubted we were doing the right thing. She hated the ranking system and saw it as a way of separating us from the successful to the failures of this Project. She always said she was clear which side she was on."

Reach was listening intently, his ears perked. "Anything else she said?" 'I doubt that could be all. There has to be something more.' York took a deep breath, leaning in. "Promise me you will not mention this to Carolina at all."

Reach nodded, clasping his hand. "You have my word. If I break it, I can be your target practice." York gave a small chuckle before leaning in. "When we were recovering an object known as the Sarcophagus, CT slipped off and began talking with the resistance leader. Wash told me about it, and when he tried to report it CT claimed he didn't have enough proof. It was quite the controversy, but the Director had to agree with CT."

He sighed and let his head fall into his hands. "Only now he knows that it was true, and Wash is a bit miffed about it. Carolina doesn't really know that part, and I prefer it that way." Reach nodded. "I understand. I told the Director that we should go after her and retrieve her armor before it falls into the enemy's hands. What do you think?"

York stroked his chin. "We should go after her, but I don't think we need to go in guns blazing, determined to show who's boss. That's only going to cause a massive firefight, and CT will slip away. We'll need to hit them hard, fast, and quietly. If possible, I would like to take CT back alive and at least give her a fair trial, but I doubt that's gonna happen."

Reach pondered on that idea. 'As much as I hate seeing people who commit treason not receive punishment, York makes sense. We should at least give her the chance to come quietly without being forced to kill her.'

"I'm not sure she will come quietly," Reach began slowly. "If she believed strongly enough to leave Project Freelancer, then there's no guarantee of that. But, I agree. We should at least offer her that chance."

York let out a sigh, straightening up a bit, hope in his good eye. "Hopefully it doesn't have to come to full on bloodfest. Thanks, Reach. And remember; don't tell what Wash told me to Carolina."

Reach nodded, and the tan Freelancer left his room to rejoin Carolina and Washington. 'This is getting a lot deeper than I thought. When we catch Connecticut, I want to know what excuse she comes up with for committing treason.'

York poked his head into Reach's dorm again. "You want to join us in watching Grifball? Wash needs another Team Rampant fan to root with. He's the only poor bastard who is one." Reach's lips curved in amusement as they heard a groan of frustration, most likely from the black and gold Freelancer. "That's a bullshit penalty!"

Reach chuckled and got up. "Why not? Thanks for the invite, York." He followed the tan Freelancer into his dorm, where quite a few of the other Freelancers were watching the game as well. 'Let's see; there's Maine; Wyoming; Carolina, who is still pissed at me; York; Washington; and Texas. Huh, that's a surprise…'

Tex was without her helmet for once, and Reach was a bit surprised at her appearance. (See A/N at bottom for more details)

She was blonde, with her hair tied up and she had crystal clear blue eyes. It was both a warrior's face and a beautiful woman's face at the same time. She eyed him, and one of her eyebrows rose. "Reach? Stay focused."

Reach shook his head quickly, mentally scolding himself. 'Really now? Just because you saw that Tex is a looker, you have to decide that you are liking her? Get a damn grip. You're a former Spartan III, for fuck's sake.'

He took a seat (not that it was easy to do so in such a crowded dorm) and began watching the game of Grifball. 'All this does is remind me of how Emile used to be…that cocky son of a bitch. I really miss that bastard. He really would enjoy this sport.' He winced as he saw the ball carrier go flying into a wall. 'And for the most obvious reasons. He would love someone forever if they told him Grifball was his anger management.'

Reach sat there, with most of Project Freelancer, watching the Grifball game and trying to ignore the burning feeling of Tex's eyes in his back.

A/N: *Sigh* I know, this might seem a little half-assed…but I was having some trouble with this one, and I wasn't too pleased. Now, one of the changes I mentioned earlier in the fic regarding the RvB story is that Tex is going to actually be a human, not an AI like she is in canon. Also, her appearance is based off of what I saw from Season 10 when the Director is watching footage of Allison. This A/N is getting long, so I'll leave it at that.

Ja'ne