Chapter 6 - Communication Error
Tackle and Brenda talk while walking back to the Red base.
"What the hell did they do to you?" Tackle asks, looking at her right arm which hangs limply by her side.
"I broke my arm when I got shot and fell out of the tree," Brenda explains. "That purple guy, Wilson? He was such a dick, he never even said anything to me."
"You know the names of the Blue soldiers? Excellent reconnaissance work, Brenda! Your mission was a success," the sergeant praises her.
"Thanks, sir!"
"Did you gather any other information?"
Brenda thinks for a moment, then snaps her fingers. "Oh, yeah, their CO is totally insane. He was all like 'she's a secret agent who's come to kill me,' and I was all like 'I'm a ninja, not a secret agent,' and he had a major freak-out. It was a little scary, actually."
"I don't think he was super crazy," Tackle says. "He let you go when I asked, and no one disobeys an order from me."
Brenda clutches her broken arm and looks at him. "About that, sir… I'm really grateful you came to rescue me."
"Huh? Oh, it was nothing," he waves his hand dismissively. "Anything for my favorite pink ninja!"
She giggles, but pauses as something occurs to her. "…Hey, Tackle, where's Reid? I didn't see him anywhere."
"Oh, he's just… shit."
Shane goes back outside and approaches the rest of Blue Team. "Hey, guys," he addresses Carbon and Wilson, "I've got something to show you. Follow me."
"Weren't you just freaking out?" the aqua soldier asks. "You're not gonna like, kill me or something, are you?"
"No, of course not!" Shane snaps. "You sound like Evans."
The Blue leader immediately turns towards them. "I heard my name!"
"Crap…" Shane mutters under his breath before continuing. "Anyway, yeah, there's something you guys should see."
"Yeah?" Evans asks. "Let's check it out, then."
The rookie groans. "Are you sure you want to come, Evans? Don't you want to, I don't know, keep watch to make sure the Reds don't attack us again?"
"But the Red guy said he wouldn't come back," Evans says confusedly. "That was the deal."
"He could totally come back. There's nothing stopping him from coming back." Shane can't comprehend this logic. "I thought you didn't trust anyone?!"
"As part of my reformation, I will allow myself to put just one ounce of trust into others," the leader explains.
"But he's the enemy!"
"To be fair, I trust him only slightly more than I trust you."
"You know what, whatever," Shane says, resigned. "Everyone, just follow me."
Carbon walks next to him and whispers, "Dude, for the future: don't argue with Evans."
"Yeah, I got that."
Inside the base, Shane leads his teammates to the newly occupied cell where Rapid sits with his back to a wall.
Evans gasps. "Who is that?!"
Before Shane can reply, the prisoner stands up and clears his throat. "Hi, my name is Rapid, and I'm the Blue Team's new recruit."
The Blues look at him in confusion.
"You fucking - what?!" the blue rookie splutters.
"What are you doing in there?" Evans asks.
"No, no, Evans," Shane speaks quickly, "I captured him, he-"
Rapid keeps talking. "This guy, the rookie, he didn't even hear me out! He just disarmed me and threw me in this cell! The nerve!"
Evans turns to Shane. "Why would you do that?"
"That's what I asked him!" the red soldier adds.
"Are you - he's fucking Red!" Shane shouts. "How the hell do you believe him?!"
"We went over this, Shane," the Blue leader scolds. "Remember what I said about trust? I probably trust him more than I trust you right now."
"Wouldn't Command tell you if we were getting another recruit?!"
Evans pauses. "…You're right." He sizes up the red soldier. "He tried to fool me, but you all know by now how good I am at identifying deceit."
"W-What? No, I'm telling the truth!" Rapid assures him quickly.
"No, he's not," Shane declares, regaining his composure after winning Evans over. "I'm telling the truth: I captured him as he tried to sneak into the base, and he tried to trick you into thinking he was a new rookie."
"Nice work, Shane!" Evans approves. "You may gain my trust yet."
"No, wait!" Rapid grabs the iron bars of his cell. "Please, I won't lie to you anymore! Just let me out! I'm claustrophobic!"
"Shut it, Red!" Carbon says, slapping the prisoner's hands away. "As entertaining as that situation would be, we can't let you out."
"That's right," Evans affirms. "Impersonating a Blue is an offense punishable by eternal imprisonment, which is the punishment you are enduring right now."
Rapid sinks to his knees, sobbing.
"Man, this guy's kind of pathetic," the aqua soldier remarks.
Shane turns to the rest of the Blues. "So, how about that? Did I do pretty good, or what?"
Wilson cocks his head at him.
"What, are you fishing for compliments?" Carbon asks. "Evans already said 'nice work, Shane.' What else do you want? A parade?"
The blue rookie hesitates, taken aback by this unexpected response. "No, I just… never mind. It's nothing." He heads back down the hallway and out of the base. This is strange. The others were surely impressed by his capture of the red soldier, right? Their reaction had been underwhelming, though. Shane had expected more… praise, or something. It seems that becoming the Blue leader will take longer than he had intended.
Reid eventually makes it back to Red base. Out front, he finds Tackle and Brenda waiting for him. The leader starts shifting uncomfortably as he comes closer.
"Hello, Reid," Tackle greets him awkwardly. "What is up?"
"I think you know what's up, Tackle," the crimson soldier spits. "Your damsel-in-distress is standing right next to you, after all."
"Damsel in distress?" Brenda interrupts. "I was totally gonna snap some necks, but sadly, I didn't have to."
"About that, the Blues gave her to me when I ordered them to," Tackle explains.
"So, I heard," Reid grumbles. "Damn it, couldn't you have at least told me that the mission was off?"
The sergeant rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. "Sorry, I guess I was distracted."
"You're a terrible leader, you know that?"
"Hey! Leave him alone!" Brenda says defensively. She opens her mouth to continue, but gets cut off.
"No, he needs to hear this." Reid takes a deep breath. "Tackle, you are a terrible leader. You have never listened to a single thing I have ever said in my entire time here. Wait, let me rephrase that - you actually listen to me all the time, just through Brenda, but never me directly. Good communication skills are important in a team, especially in the leader. So there's one trait you don't have. Another thing: you're too reckless. You always want to storm the Blue base, guns blazing. But that's stupid! That's how you die a wasteful death. The ability to strategize is another important part of leadership that you're missing. Finally, you're a fucking idiot. I have no idea how you got the position of Commanding Officer, but clearly someone up above is also a fucking idiot. The lack of any common sense whatsoever is what you suffer from the most. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know the reason why Rapid is dead: you are a terrible leader."
Silence.
After several tense seconds, Tackle speaks. "Wait… Rabid is dead?"
"Who's that?" Brenda asks.
"That's right," Reid responds to Tackle, "It was your ridiculous plan that got him killed. When you mindlessly attacked the Blues, he tried to come around and join the battle, but was shot by their new rookie."
"Damn. That's a fuckin' shame," the sergeant says. "…The Blues have a rookie?"
Reid doesn't mind that Tackle is oblivious to the utter deconstruction he had just been hit with; he hadn't expected anything to come of it and was just venting. Reid also doesn't mind dropping the subject of Rapid so quickly. "Yup. He's nuts, too. Definitely someone to watch out for."
"Seriously, who the hell is Rabbit?" Brenda asks. "What did I miss?"
"We got a rookie after you were captured, but now he's dead, so it doesn't really matter," Reid explains dismissively.
"Well, damn," she replies before looking up at the sky. "Rest in piece, Rabbit! I never knew you, but you had the most adorable name! May you frolic in the fields of heaven!"
