Disclaimer: Red vs. Blue belongs to Rooster Teeth, not me. I make no profit from this, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter Eleven
"Staff of Charon? Sounds threatening," Kaikaina mumbled and buried her head back in the lumpy sweater she was wearing. Sven smiled a little. He was getting used to Sister not being an easy waker.
"That's the idea," he said as he shut the albatross down. Sven then scooped Sister up in his arms and carried her out into the larger ship. Sister yawned.
"Again, it was my arm that was shot, not my leg. I can, in fact, walk."
"Really? I was under the impression walking was not in your repertoire before coffee. Then again, I doubt you'll be able to stay asleep long once Doctor Arts starts poking at that wound," Sven teased. Sister frowned and made a sound that could only be described as a very cute growl. She attempted to bury her head back in his shoulder.
Sven brought her into the ship's medical bay and sat her gently down on an exam table. She blinked at the brightness of the overhead lights as Sven stuck his head through another doorway and called out.
"Doc, I have a patient for you."
"Sven! Good to see you, my boy!" A large, round man came into the room. "Rumor had it you were dead. I never doubted you." The doctor smiled warmly and pulled a pair of round glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. "And what is your name miss?" He smiled genially again. Sister blinked, still getting used to the bright light, and stared at his exceptionally large beard. She decided he looked exactly like how she had pictured Santa Claus when she was little.
"My name is Kaikaina Grif. People call me Sister."
"Well, I'm Doctor Vedran Arts, at your service and very pleased to meet you. We don't get new faces very often. "Now, what have we here?"
"One bullet to the right upper arm, Doc." Sven helped Sister strip down to her tank top, and the doctor began removing the bandages from her arm. "Through the meat of the upper arm. We are lucky it did not hit any bone or arteries. I still have the bullet, actually." Sven looked surly and tapped the chest plate of his armor and Sister's eyes widened. She hadn't realized. The bullet that struck her had indeed embedded itself in Sven's armor.
"Indeed! I'm curious to know exactly how this happened." Doc Arts looked at Sven expectantly.
"As am I," came a voice from the doorway. Sister looked up at the man who stood in the doorway. He had tan skin, a hard face, distrust in his eyes, and and a trim, militant mohawk. "Why are you on my ship, Kaikaina Grif?" He was intimidating, despite being shorter than Sven and having a less deep voice, but Sven just chuckled and slapped Rick on the back in greeting.
"She helped me escape Rick. I might very well have been dead without her."
"Hmph. How did she get shot?" Rick was not set at ease by Sven's demeanor.
"There was more security than there should have been. … Freelancers, in particular."
"Freelancers – was Connie … " Rick shifted nervously and looked at the ground.
"Connie took the shot." Sven said, still relaxed.
"What?!" Rick immediately looked close to panic.
"Relax. I would be dead if she had hesitated."
"Jesus, Sven. Are you sure we're not compromised?"
"I am sure. I would think you of all people would have more faith in her." Sven frowned at the other man in concern.
"I knew it!" Sister burst out, startling the two men. The doctor paid her no mind, just kept quietly working. "I knew I saw you nod. You were like, signaling her it was okay or something?"
"Yes Kaikaina, I am sorry, but – "
"That's so cool!" Sister interrupted. "She's a double agent, like a super-spy or something?"
"Basically, yeah. Sven, where did you pick this kid up again?" Rick looked like he wanted to back away from Sister's exuberance. Sven sighed.
"After I arrived in the city, I scouted it out, learning my way around like usual," Sven started. He glanced at Sister; she didn't meet his eyes. "The mission went off without a hitch, or so I thought. The last set of guards I needed to pass were on a circuit around the building, and they were running behind for some reason. I got to the exit and they were not past it yet. They saw me, set off the alarm, and pursued. I had an entire squad on me in minutes."
"You've gotten out of that before without trouble," Rick said, still looking skeptical.
"I took a wrong turn and ended up in an alleyway with a dead end. I could not have scaled the walls in the amount of time I had."
"And?" Rick was getting impatient.
"And – " Sister cut in, "I happened to be standing nearby. I told them I'd tell them where he went for twenty bucks," she said smugly.
"They actually fell for that?" Rick asked incredulously.
"Idiots." Sister said simply.
"They were highly inexperienced," Sven shrugged. "She easily pointed them in the other direction. After that we headed for the shipyard. That is when things got hectic. The Freelancers arrived, and I acted as if Kaikaina was my hostage, a human shield. Connie knows I would never endanger a civilian, so she assumed correctly that Kaikaina was with me. Connie took the shot, missing me and hitting her on purpose. Kaikaina screamed, the civilians in the street all panicked, and the Freelancers were all too dumbfounded that Connie had "missed" to do anything for a moment. It was the perfect distraction. We stole a ship shortly afterward and took off."
"Okay, but we were following the news Sven. The military ordered the shipyard locked down, no flights in or out without the correct authorization. And that ship was flagged as stolen yesterday, not three days ago." Rick looked at him questioningly.
"I had all the correct authorization for the ship already," Sister supplied.
"How did you have that information for a stolen ship? They were triple checking credentials. Professionals can't even always successfully pull that off, let alone a kid."
"He's exaggerating the 'stolen' part." Sister gave a one shouldered shrug. "It's more like borrowed … from an acquaintance … without permission."
"They could be tracking it!" Rick said angrily.
"You did not scan for that before you let us in?" Sven asked, surprised.
"Well, yeah, I did, but … she could still be a spy!" Rick fumed.
"Connie would have let us know. Also, she is about 14."
"Sixteen!" Sister complained.
"You are still lying." Sven smirked at her, and Sister pouted. "Rick, come on, she is not a spy. Spartans are the only ones who start so young."
"Maybe, but that still doesn't explain why you brought her back with you. They'll be checking the hospitals, and they'll wonder how she just disappeared, and if she was really a civilian."
"She helped me, and in return Kaikaina has asked for help doing what we do best," Sven said. "Uncovering the USNC's dirty secrets. I brought her back because our interests are aligned. She is not a civilian; she is a recruit." Sven looked at Sister and nodded for her to go ahead and explain.
"The UNSC drafted my brother into the marines." Sister said, looking Rick right in the eyes.
"Wait, what?"
"Drafted. Forced into military service," Sister enunciated her syllables slowly.
"The, uh – the USNC doesn't have a draft, kid." Rick looked at her like she was crazy.
"And yet – he was drafted." Sister seemed to dare him to contradict her. "I have his notice and everything." Sister pulled the postcard that she'd been carrying for months out of her back pocket. "If you can make that thing play, you'll see."
Rick whirled on Sven, face contorting with anger. "You see? It's a virus to corrupt our system! She is a spy."
"No, she isn't," Sven straightened up and loomed over his friend. "I found her in an alley cornered by a slaver trying to take advantage of her a week before I pulled the job. The man who owned the ship we took let slavers take her to pay his gambling debts."
Rick's expression changed to surprise and he just stared for a moment.
"He saved my life," Sister said.
"I guess that explains why you were willing to stick your neck out for him to begin with," Rick said. " … There was an article in the news about a slaver ring slaughtered in a warehouse last week." Sven just shrugged. Sister's eyes widened.
"You killed all of them? Damn!"
Sven was still looking at Rick. "You know how I feel about the issue."
Rick sighed, "Yeah, and I also know that if you hadn't been playing hero you would have mapped your escape better and the kid wouldn't have needed to save your ass in the first place." He looked as though he was debating something with himself for a moment. "Fine. We'll check it out. Give me the data you recovered, Sven. We've got work to do."
Sven pulled a small chip out from his pocket and handed it over. Rick took the holo-postcard from Sister as well and walked out.
"Kaikaina, I will be back later. Doc will take of you," Sven said.
"Okay, I guess." Sister gave him a one shouldered shrug. "Thanks for sticking up for me." She smiled at him. Sven nodded and turned to follow Rick down the hall.
"He's a pretty stoic guy, huh?" Sister asked as Doc Arts finished bandaging her arm.
"Indeed he is. He seems to like you though. He doesn't often get so protective of someone. You must have made quite an impression. Come lay down dear. I'm going to put you on an antibiotic drip for a while. The arm's not infected badly, but it could get there."
"Better safe than sorry, right?"
"Precisely."
%
Elsewhere on the ship, Sven and Rick walked into a dark room, lit only by computer screens, speaking softly. Rick hooked up the holo-postcard Sister had given him to the equipment and uploaded the information. They listened to the message play.
"I don't get it," Rick said. "He was told he was drafted but there isn't any sort of draft. How could they get away with that? It's ridiculous." He typed for a while, referenced a few things, typed some more. "I'm hacking into USNC personnel files …. Here he is, Dexter Grif …. Looks like he was given a special assignment. He didn't even finish basic training before they sent him to flight school, and then straight on to a front lines ODST squad. He's some kind of prodigy pilot."
"But look at this," Sven pointed to the corner of the original file for the draftee. "The original order came from Special Projects – ONI."
"Why would ODST and Special Projects be fighting over him? There's nothing else listed here that makes him stand out. He wasn't even doing well on any other skills or tests. Whatever is special about him is apparently a secret … do you think the girl is the same?"
"Well, with piloting ships I guess, but she seems very normal, aside from a knack for getting into trouble," Sven admitted.
"Maybe Connie knew something. Maybe she shot her for a reason."
"She is not a part of Freelancer, Rick. They do not recruit so young. Connie would have let us know immediately. You know that hits too close to home to ignore."
"Yeah … if Connie knew about it … but what if they've figured out she's a mole? What if they're trying to catch her in the act and this was a set up?"
"You cannot be serious Rick. There is no way they could have pulled such an elaborate plot."
"If she's here to infiltrate us she's doing a good job. She's already got you wrapped around her finger." Anger was building in Rick's voice. "They could be on us in moments, Sven! This thing could be a tracking device. Connie hasn't made contact – she could be dead!"
"Don't you dare act like you are the only one who cares about her." It was the closest Sven had come to sounding downright angry. "She and Demo are the only family I have left."
Rick sighed, "I know Sven, I just, it's not like you to just – "
"I told you, I trust her."
"But why, Sven? You don't trust anybody. We don't trust anybody."
"I just do."
"Foolish."
"You're the one who actually trusts that sociopath you call a brother."
"Don't bring Nate into this, and don't call him that," Rick said bitterly.
"All right, enough, you drama queens!" Rick and Sven jumped in surprise at the sound of the annoyed voice in the doorway.
"I told you not to fuck with my equipment! That means you too, boss! And I hope you were just mentioning Nate in passing, because it really is bad enough with you two lurking about. I don't need him in here messing with my stuff as well. I've told you before, this is delicate machinery. I'm perfectly content with him being on the other side of the ship doing his science experiments, thanks very much."
The tiny woman in the doorway glared at him, "Now, what did you do? I heard you saying something about a tracking device. If you've compromised our position simply because you didn't wait for me to decode something properly …"
"I didn't touch anything Tomoko; sorry but I couldn't find you."
"Lies! You didn't even look for me before you started messing, did you?" She glared at Rick through her black bangs with eyes that were a rather alarming shade of purple, and he raised his hands in surrender.
"Sven got the data; we need it decrypted. Plus he brought – "
"A new recruit that you're suspicious of being a spy. I heard," she cut him off and grabbed the data chip Sven had brought back out of his hand. "Now, move out of the way, amateur. I'll find what you need on the new girl."
Rick moved aside and the girl stepped between the two men and sat down, brushing her blue streaked hair behind her ear as she leaned forward to squint at what Rick had been doing. For several minutes there was only the sound of Tomoko's fingers tapping her keyboard and muttering under her breath.
"Well, I'm sure we're all relieved to know that our Glorious Leader did not, in fact, infect us with any sort of virus or tracking device in his impatience," she grumbled, and began arranging documents on her screen.
"Okay, so the draftee notice that came for the kid's brother, Dexter Grif, was totally legit, except for it being literally the only one. Since it was issued by Special Projects though, there isn't much more I can tell you on the 'why and wherefore', since not even I have been able to hack in there. His non-military records don't indicate anything to make this guy special. Literally nothing but average, or even below average grades, behavior, health, everything. He's not Special Ops material.
"He's got no family in the military – no connections at all. His CO at basic ordered the transfer to ODST after seeing him fly, but the Special Projects people didn't try to correct it or get him back. I figure that's because it would direct too much attention at whatever it is they're doing. It all makes zero sense … unless you assume that they're up to no good, as we usually do, in which case we can simply add it to the list of things we're trying to use against them."
Rick scratched his chin, ran his fingers over his mohawk, pondered.
"Tag his files in case something else pops up relating to them, Tomoko. I don't see how we can get anything useful out of this, but we can keep an eye out. What about the girl?"
Tomoko pulled up another smaller set of files. "Okay, Kaikaina Grif, Born April 1st 2536, Native of Honolulu, Hawaii, Earth. There's a missing person report on her – presumed runaway since late February. Let's see … medical history … school records … pretty much the same as her brother. This is a typical kid guys. All these records are real. According to this she's average and unremarkable, although she was motivated enough skip a grade in school because she wanted to graduate early. She's somewhat aggressive – she gets in fights and gets caught sleeping with boys at school. She was sent to a foster home on the Moon when her brother was shipped out, which, might I add, is just as illegal as a draft. You can't deprive a kid of their sole caregiver like that."
"Where are their parents?" Rick asked.
"It's unknown."
"You see Rick, she is legitimately trying to reunite with her family."
"All right, I'll concede that, but I'm not sure we can help her. It's not like we can just drop her off at his base, or just rescue him. I mean, what if the guy staged this to get out of taking care of his little sister?"
"Unlikely, from what Kaikaina said they had a very good relationship. But yes, let us consider, what then?"
"Damn it, Sven, we can't just keep her."
"Why not? That is how half this crew ended up together – runaways, war orphans, idealists … "
Rick crossed his arms and grumbled angrily, "You bring home a pet, it's your responsibility." He stalked out the door.
"Did he just – "
"He is referring to an experience in our childhood. Connie and I found a dog."
"Oh. And how did that go?"
"Badly. It was mean-natured; Connie just kept trying to love it more. She's still got the scar where it tore into her arm. My father made me put it down."
"So … Rick is saying if she betrays us it's on you."
"Yes."
"Well, I guess it's good that dogs are statistically very nice," Tomoko said. Sven raised an eyebrow in question.
"And 14 year old girls are not statistically deadly spies, duh." Tomoko rolled her eyes; Sven just nodded and turned on his heel, leaving her in the dark with her computers.