A/N: Hey guys, I'm here with Chapter 43 of Agent Reach, and it is important to know that only 7 chapters remain for the Recollection after this one. As I said, this chapter focuses on Jun and Carolina. We'll get back to Reach and co. soon, I promise.

P.S. No goddamn Jun/Carolina ship please…Carolina's going to be feeling bad enough about York and Wash.

*Chapter 43*

Hypionia

Jun flew his Pelican over the crash site of the Mother of Invention, looking down at the carnage. "Damn…looks like Adam moved on. I wonder where the hell he could've gone this time." 'Dammit Adam…you pain in the ass. How did I know that I was going to end up chasing you halfway around the galaxy and back?'

He landed the ship and walked out to investigate the scene, only to be greeted rather rudely by a loud crash of thunder. A brilliant flash of lightning caused his visor to tint for a few seconds, and the Spartan IV trainer jumped back as a large tree crashed down, narrowly missing him. "Too close." The bark was blackened from being struck, and was thankful he didn't end up crushed.

He crouched down to look at the footprints scattered in the mud, and it wasn't hard for him to imagine his old teammate hating the forest planet. Over ninety percent of the land in Hypionia was jungle, with only a few ONI bases scattered around its surface. The nearest sign of civilization was nearly a hundred miles away, in the northwestern section of the continent Terca. 'Can't say I blame him for wanting to leave this place. It's humid, rainy, and unpopulated. Hell, I've been on the surface not even twenty minutes and I already want out.'

Jun heard a type of bird caw loudly, and he shouldered his Sniper Rifle before making his way over to the wreckage of the destroyed frigate. There were many sets of footprints going to and from the ship, suggesting that it wasn't just Adam and a couple of missing Freelancers. 'There are more than ten pairs. Thirteen, to be exact. Same age, various sizes. Looks like Adam and company have picked up a few friends.'

The interior of the frigate was a mess, with a series of muddy prints all over the floor. Jun looked up at a security camera, and he shook his head before making his way towards a room on his left. 'That kind of damage looks like it was caused by a DMR. But Adam didn't have a DMR while he was here, by the footage Osman sent me. And the files on the other Freelancers suggested they used other weapons as well.'

He tried to access the footage from the camera, but whoever destroyed it clearly didn't want to be tracked. "Damn." Jun spotted a small puddle of water on the floor, and he looked closer to see a small spear of ice on the camera's damaged form. 'Ice? But this planet doesn't ever get cold. How can there be ice on it?'

He crouched down, turning his night vision on, and spotted a bullet casing with a small chunk of ice on it. "Freezer rounds." 'There's only person in the UNSC who knows how to make these damn things, according to ONI. And that would be Agent Massachusetts of Project Freelancer, who has since gone missing in action. Something's not right here.' The Spartan stood up, and he entered the room to find it was nearly stripped of all equipment. The only thing remaining was a single computer, and he took a seat at it, flexing his fingers. "Alright then…let's see if I can hack into Project Freelancer's databases."

He began to access some files, and he was surprised to see that the medical files on every member of the project were purged. "Shit on me. Someone's trying pretty damn hard to keep their tracks clean." He pushed them away, and stumbled upon something much more interesting to him. 'What the hell? Project: META? What is that?'

He gained access after typing a series of code-breakers, and he let out a whistle. "My God…so, that's what the Director was doing." 'He took Agent Missouri of the project, genetically altered him with serious experimental biochemicals, and gave him an AI that had reached metastability. This is why Adam went rogue; he's not a war criminal at all. He's trying to bring a corrupt man to justice.'

In the same folder as Project: META, there was another top-secret genetic experiment. Jun started to read through the newest file, and he placed his hands down as he absorbed the data. "Un-fucking-believable. You get more than a slap on the wrist for this one." 'Cloning experiments. More than the Spartan II project ever had, and Doctor Halsey was executed for it. If the Director is ever caught, then he'll face the firing squad as well.'

He stood up as he heard something spark, and he watched a cable sparking on the ground. 'I need to get this to ONI. They'll be pleased to know that some data was able to be recovered; how the hell anything is left is beyond me. Unless Adam was planning on me following him here and left these files on purpose.' Jun was about to shut the computer down when his eye caught something else, and he quickly swiped his hand over to it. "AI experiments?"

He was aware that the secret military project was granted the use of one 'smart' AI, code-named Alpha. It was a perfect copy of the Director, but had gone missing since the project went sour. 'The Director tortured Alpha, forcing it to break, and he harvested the fragments to create the other AIs used by the highest ranking members of Project: Freelancer. Agents Texas, Maine, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Carolina, Wyoming, North Dakota, Washington, and Reach were granted usage of one fragment apiece. Looks like half of the Freelancers' equipment wouldn't function properly without an AI unit. These suits are a level above ODST armor and have the same equipment as a Spartan II or III suit. Impressive for a military project outside of the Spartan programs.'

There was another file, named The Sarcophagus, and there was far less data in it than the others he had scrolled through. 'The data acquired from the Bjorndal Cryogenics Research Facility in the Arctic Ocean revealed a primary target for Project Freelancer. The target was code-named the Sarcophagus, and its contents are unknown.' "Real helpful…"

Currently, the ship's records showed a security breach on Level 0, where the ship's high security vault was located. And judging by his inability to access the camera footage, Jun was fairly certain that the package was missing, possibly snagged by Adam and his team before they left. 'You utter pain in the ass. I'm not going to arrest you and drag you to Sydney, for hell's sake. Osman's trying her damned best to get you cleared.' "Fucking figures. Ah well. Nothing left here but a pile of wreckage."

He left the ship behind. It had begun to rain, and he placed a hand on the side of his helmet to contact the good Admiral in Sydney. "Admiral Osman, come in. This is Jun, reporting in from Hypionia. I have some information in regards to Project Freelancer and the Director, and I think you would like to see it."

"I read you, Jun. What information do you have? I was under the impression that all data onboard the Mother of Invention was lost due to termination."

"Well, I have plenty. The Director violated the Mortal Dictata Act in about a hundred different ways," the Spartan started. "He genetically enhanced Agent Missouri using illegal experimental chemicals. The same sort of genetic enhancements that were administered during the Spartan II project. He also cloned several hundred copies of someone named 'Allison' during that time, and tortured the Alpha AI. Unfortunately, there are no clues as to where the Director or the Alpha are hiding."

"That is a bit annoying. What about Sierra Beta-312?"

"Gone. He must have known we were trying to follow him and left. By the looks of it, he and the remaining rogue Freelancers have picked up a small group of soldiers. Can you get me any satellite footage from the orbital research station?"

"Anyma can get it. Hopefully Adam is heading somewhere within the UNSC's jurisdiction and you can catch up to him. Osman out." The Admiral ended the call, and Jun walked onto his Pelican, closing the rear bay and leaning back in his seat. He took his helmet off to scratch his bald head, and he watched as the footage from the orbital research station played on the screen before him. "Hmm…he's heading to Haven? Why the hell would he go to one of the UNSC's biggest military outposts?" 'Something must have forced him to go. I don't think he'd go to hide there. Maybe he found a trail that leads to the Director?'

"You goddamn pain…" he muttered, and he checked his ship's engines. 'And this thing needs a break. The engines aren't used to this kind of humidity and are expanding too much. Looks like I have to let them cool down for a few hours. And this rain isn't going to let up for awhile, either.'

'Fuck me…why can't this shit ever be easy?'

-0-

Sidewinder

Carolina started to blink her eyes open slowly, and she could hear a pair of voices. They were low, unclear, and sounded like they were talking underwater. "W-what? Who…?" Her vision was hazy, and she tried to move her arms in an attempt to shield them from the bright light. They wouldn't respond, and she felt a very unfamiliar emotion start to grow within her.

It was fear, and the redhead started to panic for the first time. As she struggled to move, her hearing became clearer, and she heard an annoyed female voice. "Dammit, she's coming around already? I told you that dose wasn't enough!"

"Who's the doctor here again?" the second voice, also female, returned irritably. "Oh, that's right, it's me. Any more of it, and we would've killed her. Your job is to lead the excavation team and make sure the damn Insurrection doesn't get their hands on the artifact below the ice. My job is to make sure none of you die from some stupid disease or illness. Now get my damn scanner. I want to be certain that all of that crap is out of her system before I give her more."

Carolina's vision returned, and she found herself in some sort of lab. She was only wearing some sort of gown, and her hands were tied to the sides of an incredibly uncomfortable bed. She pulled against the straps, her breathing rapid, and the redhead felt them snap under the tremendous stress. The woman who just spoke had short black hair and wore a white lab coat, and she held a large syringe in her hands.

"Ah shit. Forget the scanner. It's time for Plan B," the doctor muttered. Carolina stood up, wobbling horribly and furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? Who are you!?" 'Where the hell am I!? Am I about to face lethal injection!?' The redhead started to buckle, and the doctor was a woman with short black hair and an exasperated look on her face. "Captain, we'll need a little help with this one. Bring out the heavy sedatives; she's gonna need 'em."

"Already prepared for that," a blonde woman replied, aiming her pistol at the furious Freelancer. She fired, and Carolina felt a sharp sting in her side. Her hands grabbed onto a narq-dart, and she pulled it out of her, throwing it aside and letting out a frenzied scream as she leapt at her.

"Fuck this. Doc, we're chaining her ass down next time," the blonde muttered as she dodged the sluggish and predictable attempt at an attack. "These meds aren't exactly cheap, you know." Carolina crashed into a steel desk, her head throbbing painfully, and she felt another series of sharp stings in her back. Two hit her thighs, and one hit her just below her shoulder blades. The redhead stumbled to her feet, hovered for a few seconds, and soon the room started to spin again. 'This is it…this is how I die…'

She fell backwards, and the doctor caught her, keeping her from possibly pushing the darts in deeper and causing further damage. "Sorry kid…but this is for your own good. We're going to keep you safe, I promise." Carolina tried to reply, but she couldn't; her mouth opened and closed silently, the words unable to leave her tongue. 'What's happening to me…? Where the hell am I?'

'Wash…' She felt a surprising wetness trickle down her cheek, and she shakily raised a hand to see that the thought of the sometimes gullible goof of a Freelancer had made her shed her first tears in a long time. It had been nearly ten years, when she was still a teenager, when she last cried. And that was after finding out her mother had died in battle against the Covenant. But now, with her body turning numb from the anesthetics, she felt a sudden wave of emotion escape her.

'Please be okay…I'd give anything to actually see you one last time.' She guiltily looked down, her gaze clouding up as she realized what the hell was going through her head. 'Am I…starting to fall in love with David? But that can't be right! I'm…that would be unfaithful to York. Especially since we already did things…'

"I seriously wonder what the hell Jun was thinking, bringing the second-best Freelancer here instead of putting a bullet through her head," the blonde Captain muttered as she lowered her tranquilizer gun. "I was under the impression that ONI wants them either captured or dead. I'm not particularly picky about which one."

"And now you know why you're stuck on some shitty ice planet on the edge of the UNSC's jurisdiction…" the doctor grumbled as she placed Carolina back on the table, securing her wrists and slowly pushing some sort of liquid into her exposed veins. The redhead's eyes began to droop again, but she was still able to hear the two women bickering. 'It's almost as bad as us, Wash…'

"Oh shut up. Also, Sergeant Free is going to be in here in a few minutes with my foot in his ass," the blonde shot over her shoulder as she went to leave. "I'm fuckin' tired of hearing him blow up random barrels of kerosene outside; he already caused one goddamn cave-in when we were digging, and we don't need another."

"Have you actually ever put your foot in someone's ass?"

"Twice. Though the first time was more of the girl's vagina than her ass."

"Oooh…cunt punt?"

"Yeah. But don't laugh Arryn; it hurts like a bitch."

"Whatever, Kara. I'd rather see Gav blowing up stuff than listen to another one of Barbara's shitty puns," Arryn returned. "I swear to God, if I hear another one of those stupid 'Bowl Appetite' ones, I will seriously use her as the test dummy in one of my experiments." She looked back down, and she gently brushed some strands of Carolina's hair away from her face. "Take it easy. You've been through six circles of hell."

"Where…am I?" Carolina whispered, trying to get a look at her surroundings more closely. Unfortunately, her vision was starting to swim again, and she could barely hear Arryn's reply. "We'll tell you when you wake up next. But don't worry…you're safe here."

The Freelancer tried to open her mouth, and her head hit the pillow as she slipped into the inky void. 'Wash…'

A/N: Sorry mateys, but I is losing it and feel the need to end it before something REALLY awful (like Tex and Reach making an…*ahem* adult film) happened. Check out my other stories, including my new RWBY fanfiction called, 'Bad Luck Rose'. It's a little different from most stories, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless. See you later!