AN: A big thanks to my beta reader AuroraBlix, you are awesome! Also, go read her stories; they totally rock!
Disclaimer: Red vs. Blue belongs to Rooster Teeth, not me. I make no profit from this, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Four
Grif hit the ground, hard, and spat blood out of his mouth as he rolled to regain his feet. Striking a superior officer (after losing an illegal drag race) was sure to get him kicked out. The corporal had taken a while to come back for their rematch, and Grif had made sure to trash talk for all he was worth, and then lose the race. He had gone ahead and taken it over the top, being a sore loser for effect, and when the corporal had told him to get in line, Grif had punched him. The corporal had punched right back.
"That's enough recruit. We're done here. Everyone, clear off!" He said loudly and began to walk away. What, was that it? He wasn't going to haul Grif's ass up to his C.O. and have him kicked out on the spot? What was with this guy? That was when Grif spit out the sentence he would later regret more than any in his life.
"I let you win!" he called out. The corporal stopped in his tracks, and there were some gasps and whispers all around.
"What did you say to me?"
"I said I let you win, douchebag."
"Is that so? Well, if you'd care to humiliate yourself again, then by all means – " the corporal motioned toward the warthogs with a sneer. Grif's gaze kept going and rested on something else entirely. He grinned. Now this he would get kicked out for.
"Not the jeeps," he said. "Those." he pointed to two AV-14 Hornets. The corporal laughed.
"You haven't even learned to fly yet."
"Have you?" Grif asked.
"Fine. You'll regret this, recruit." Grif just grinned. He wouldn't regret it, but that asshole would. He was so pumped with adrenaline he'd begun to forget why he was doing this in the first place. The two men jogged over to the hornets.
"Dex. Dex!" Volleyball whispered frantically at him. "You can't fly this thing – you're going to get yourself killed!"
"Relax, I'm a quick learner. I'll be fine." Volleyball gave him a look he couldn't really read and suddenly pressed her lips to his. She'd pulled away again and begun backing away from the hornet before Grif really registered it.
"Be safe Dexter." He nodded.
"All right recruit, I assume you're familiar with the hornet's practice gauntlet if you suggested this. First one back wins. Try not to die." Grif just nodded again and started his vehicle.
%
Meanwhile, the recruits' drill sergeant and the captain in charge of the base were enjoying a nightcap in the control tower, watching the second of the two suns of the planet set in a blaze of purples and golds.
"I got a message from the front. They need a new co-pilot for one of the ODST dropships. Do you have any you'd recommend for the program?" the captain asked.
"There's a couple I might like to send. It's a bit early though. Give it a month," the sergeant replied.
"We don't have a month. They want someone sent straight through, quick as we can."
"Well, that's impossible! They're not even through basic yet; can't someone else transfer out there?" At that moment one of the sergeant's newest charges rushed in.
"Sergeant! Oh, Captain! Sirs!"
"What's wrong, recruit?"
"It's Corporal Cox and Private Grif sir. They're – they're – " The recruits eyes were wide with fear.
"Well, out with it boy!" The captain said.
"Look Sir!" the recruit pointed out the tower window and both captain and sergeant turned in time to see two hornets flash by, maneuvering through the course normally used to train beginner pilots.
"What the hell are they doing?"
"Racing, Sir. They have some sort of bet going, but I don't think either of them know how to fly!"
The sergeant turned to exit the room, intending to put a stop to the madness at once, but the captain grabbed his arm.
"Which one is which?" he asked. The sergeant looked to the recruit.
"Uh, I believe Cox is in the blue one and Grif is in the red one, sir."
"Sergeant."
"Captain?"
"Are you watching this?"
"Yes, sir," He growled angrily.
"No, I mean, are you really watching it?" the sergeant stared out at the two hornets, noticing the blue one falling further behind. Suddenly, an explosion ripped across the obstacles in front of the red hornet.
"That fool Cox is using the grenade launcher!" They watched as the towers designed to train the pilots to maneuver in cities toppled toward Grif's hornet. The ship wound dexterously through the chaos, inches from being crashed, Cox's hornet gaining all the time.
As they came to the end of the course and Cox was about to catch up, he fired another grenade. Those watching gasped as Grif's hornet seemed to drop out of the sky. Cox kept flying toward were he had shot.
"Fool!" the captain said, and sure enough, Cox flew right past as his grenade struck true, and the falling tower struck his tail, sending him into a spin. That was when Grif's hornet popped back up form the smoke, in front of Cox's.
"Great, Scott!" the sergeant cried, "The boy can fly!"
They watched as Grif set down the hornet gently, and then looked back to see Corporal Cox clamber out of his own hornet that he'd just managed to land.
"And here I thought the boy was useless," said the sergeant. "I do believe we've found that pilot you needed captain."
"Indeed," said the captain. "Indeed … "
%
Grif stepped out of the hornet on shaking legs. Apparently he had inherited his father's gift for stunt flying. That had definitely been the scariest, stupidest thing he had ever done.
"That was awesome!"
"You almost died!"
"Oh man, you really showed him!" The other recruits gathered around him, but he pushed through until he could see her –
"Volleyball," he called to her, and she looked as if she was about to answer when her face changed from pleasant surprise to tension and – fear?
"ATTEN-TION!"
The recruits gasped aloud and jumped to attention. All except for Grif. He grinned and sauntered toward his C.O. This was it – he was going home.
"Soldier, head to my office, now," the captain said. Grif gave a mock salute and continued his saunter past the older man, chuckling as he did at the sight of his sergeant nearby screaming the corporal's ears off. He let himself into the captain's office and plopped himself down in a chair. The captain came in a few minutes later.
"Well, private Grif, I guess you should be pretty proud of yourself."
"I think so sir; I've made it my personal duty to put douchebags like Cox in their place," he said cheerfully.
"That was some impressive flying young man. In fact, so impressive that we have a job for you."
"A – a job, sir?" Grif's cheeky grin faltered.
"Indeed. A squad of ODSTs need a new pilot. We're sending you to be properly trained immediately. You're needed on the front lines, soldier."
"The – the front?" Grif's eyes widened. "But, but I'm crap at everything, and I'm insubordinate, and I punched a corporal, and caused damage to property, and – "
"And this is war son. And you're a damn good pilot somehow. Your teammates like you, and it's pretty obvious you only do badly because of laziness. You leave for ODST training at oh-six-hundred. Dismissed."
"Oh – six – hundred? But I haven't even finished basic!"
"Dismissed," said the captain again, and his voice brooked no argument.
Grif staggered out of the office, completely nonplussed. He somehow made it back to the bunk house. Volleyball was waiting for him.
"Did you get kicked out?" she asked softly.
"They're making me a pilot for an ODST squad," Grif said faintly. "I leave in the morning." They stared at each other for a moment.
"Then let's not waste tonight," she said and pulled him towards her.
%
Sister stared at the outgoing flights of the moon port. None of them were going to the planet Grif was supposedly on. She had originally planned on sneaking into the actual military base and stowing away. She figured she could seduce one of the young rookies easily enough and slip past him onto a ship, but then decided she wasn't sure what sort of conditions she'd be stowed away in, and changed her mind. Besides, if she got caught they'd probably think she was and Inny and shoot her.
She thought for a while, watching the ships go back and forth across the star littered sky. She and Caboose often watched the ships together these past weeks, dreaming. She had taken Caboose down to the cargo ship docking area last week because he had completely fallen in love with fixing things after she'd helped him with his robot dog. There she'd found an ancient mechanic and asked if he'd like an assistant.
"Well, I can't pay ye," he grumbled.
"Oh that's all right. Caboose just wants to learn."
"He could go to school for that."
"Schools don't really adjust for Caboose's learning style," Sister had explained. "He'll need someone who's very patient, who can explain things in unusual ways."
"And you think I can do that?" the old man picked at his teeth and looked skeptical.
"Well, I'm going on the stereotype that old people are wise, of course."
This had given Sister an idea. She headed down to the cargo area now – rehashing her plan in her head as she went. Introducing Caboose to the old mechanic would hopefully keep him busy enough to prevent him from pining when she left. She had already talked to Leah to make sure she would help Caboose get his homework turned in on time. Sister's backpack was packed with her warm clothes. Now all she needed was a ride. She had never hitch-hiked before, if that's what you could call it. There weren't many places to go in Hawaii, so she wasn't really sure how to go about it. She walked up and down the cargo bay, looking at the ships and destinations. No luck. None of them were going to her destination.
Sister sighed, almost ready to give up, when she was startled by a clatter of parts and a string of curses behind her. She turned to see a man, probably in his thirties, fuming with anger in front of a rather ramshackle looking vessel. Sister looked closer. There was no destination listed for the ship, and there were a lot of tools lying around underneath it. Sister approached the man cautiously and tried not to wrinkle her nose at the smell of liquor.
"Is that a D96-TCE?" she asked, allowing a little wonder into her voice. People at school had always made fun of her for it, but she thought these ships were beautiful. The man looked up at her, surprised.
"Yeah, my little Albatross."
Sister snickered. The Albatross was anything but little. "I thought those were UNSC ships."
"Yeah, but they get decommissioned once they're too old or busted up. This baby's vintage. She flies true though, just needs a lot of love to keep her running. She's a bit temperamental."
Sister smiled. "We've got a great mechanic."
"Can't afford it. I lost my last job due to Covies. Gotta fix her myself and then find another paying gig around here."
"I could help," Sister offered.
"You? Surely you've got no know how on something like this, Little Bit."
"Well, I've never worked on an Albatross before, but I'm good at fixing things. It kinda runs in the family."
"Well … " the man scratched his head, pondering. "It sure wouldn't hurt to see if those little bitty hands of yours could fit in those hard to reach places."
"Great! Let me take a look." In minutes Sister was elbow deep in the works of the ship, calling out for tools and parts.
"How old are you, Little Bit?"
Sister paused before answering. "I'll be sixteen in a few weeks," she lied. She could get away with that lie – and therefore sleeping with most of the boys she had – because she had developed early.
"You live here with family?" the man asked.
"Sort of. My brother's in the military, so I'm staying with a foster family right now. They're pretty cool."
"I got a little sister in the military as well. She's in some special ops things – she's the overachiever of the family." Sister poked her head out to see him smiling fondly at the thought of his sister.
"Okay, so he may or may not be a drunk. He has his own cargo ship though, so he can't be too useless. He seems friendly, a family guy. This may work," Sister thought.
"Say, what's your name, mister?"
"It's Brennan. And yours?"
"I'm called Sister."
"Sister, eh?"
"Yep. So, where are you headed once you're fixed up?"
"Don't know yet. I usually hang around the outer colonies, don't get this far in. The work out there pays a bit higher on account of the Covies being around more, you know? Most people won't brave it."
"I was actually thinking of heading out there myself," Sister tried to sound casual. "To be near my brother."
"You don't think it's too dangerous?" Brennan asked as Sister emerged from where she'd been working.
"You don't. The people who live there don't. Why should I?"
"I guess I can't argue with that logic or I'd argue myself out of going back," he chuckled. "Well, Little Bit, I wish I could pay you for those little hands helping me out," he said slowly.
"You could give me a ride," Sister suggested.
"Well now, I guess I could. Give your coordinates and an hour to find some cargo to take out that way."
"Great!" She handed him a slip of paper that she had written her destination on. "I'll just get my bags. I'll be back in a flash," Sister grinned. She then hurried back to the apartment, slipped in silently, and grabbed her things. She turned around and squeaked in surprise at Caboose looming over her.
"You're leaving aren't you?"
"Caboose, I have to find my brother."
"I'm your brother," Caboose insisted.
"You know Caboose, you really are. But I know that you're safe here, and I don't know that Grif is. I have to do this."
Caboose looked at the floor, pouting. Sister was grasping at straws, trying to find the right words to get Caboose to let her go.
"I'll see you again Michael J. Caboose. This isn't goodbye."
"It isn't?"
Sister seized the thought. "No, it isn't, because we aren't going to say goodbye. Because I won't be gone – just, not here right now, ya know?"
Caboose stepped aside and Sister stepped past him and turned, stood on tiptoes and kissed Caboose on the cheek. "Aloha, brother."
"Aloha, Kaikaina."
Then Sister was gone from him, leaving Caboose standing alone in the dark apartment hallway.