Chapter 2

It had been a while since the cryogenics mission, and Colorado was glad to see North fully recovered and ready to dive back in. All four Freelancers who had participated—North, South, Carolina, and Colorado—were standing at attention on one side of the bridge's projection table. The Director paced on the opposite, hands clasped behind his back.

"The data you recovered has pinpointed the location of a very important target for Project Freelancer. Excellent work."

"Thank you, sir!" the soldiers shouted in unison.

The Director looked towards the man behind him. The dark-skinned man was never seen without his datapad resting on his arm, and everyone on board knew him simply as the... "Counselor, please update the board."

With a few movements of the finger and a confirming sound, the holographic leader-board hanging in front of the Freelancer moved the appropriate names. Carolina was at the top as number one, with Agent York below her in second. Colorado and Wyoming were tied for third, but the former's name was moved up anyways. The Dakota twins had also been switched up; North was now in fifth and South was dropped to sixth.

"That is all. Dismissed."

At the Director's words, the four went at ease. Carolina and Colorado turned to leave, but stopped when South pulled her helmet off with a click, showing her short, blonde hair and gray eyes. "I thought you said the mission was a success, sir?" she complained angrily.

The Director stayed completely calm as he politely answered South's question. "One of the mission objectives was stealth. Your carelessness revealed our intention and made our next mission more difficult. They'll be ready for us. Dismissed."

The orchid agent said nothing more and left, almost pushing Colorado out of the way when he didn't move back fast enough.

"Think I should talk to her?" Carolina asked North.

South punched the control panel hard enough to make it spark. It swung for a second, then fell to the floor as the door opened.

"Maybe we give her a minute," North answered.

Colorado kept his helmet on as he walked to the Mother of Invention's mess hall. His head constantly bobbed in tune with the song he was currently playing inside his helmet. When no one was around or looking, he would break into a few dance moves, either spinning or waving his arms.

"Oh, Lillie Bell!" "Oh, Lillie Bell!"

"Though I may have done some foolin', this is why I never fell." He opened the door to the mess and took in today's aroma. Smells like ravioli today. Hope they didn't sneak ricotta in, that crap's gross. He filled up his tray and looked for a seat. Thankfully, there was an open one saved right beside his team, the Four Corners. "Hey, everyone."

"Glad you could make it, 'Rado," Utah said joyfully. Colorado set his tray down and brought his palm to Utah's open one with a smack before sitting down. The platinum-colored Freelancer had his brown hair combed back towards his neck and sported the same eye color.

New Mexico had her sandy brown Rogue helmet on, hiding her Spanish heritage. Her armor had cactus green trims over the chest and head, the latter also sporting the drawing of a saguaro cactus on the right side of the visor. "You owe me ten bucks, Utah," she said with an undeniable accent. "Colorado never misses pasta."

"Except for the lasagna; Colton hasn't gone near it since he got sick." The female Freelancer sitting next to Colorado smiled at him. Her suit's colors—blue with gold accents—matched her code-name. Her helmet rested on the table in front of her. She had blonde hair to match her armor's gold, and the same blue in her eyes.

"It was the ricotta cheese. My stomach-"

"Couldn't stomach it? Eh? Eh?" Utah finished, chuckling.

"I don't remember handing the job of wise-cracker over to you, Ute," Colorado shot back, pointing his fork at his comrade. He cut open the pasta and observed each piece before putting it into his mouth. "And yes, I found out it was the ricotta."

"Yup, definitely staying on the list."

"Uh, what list, Mex?"

Before said agent could explain, 'Zona beat her to it. "Mexico has, for whatever reason, a list-"

"Two, actually."

"Two lists of cheeses that Colton here hates and loves. Surprisingly, the hate list is really short."

"Ricotta and cottage on the top of that list," Colorado added before eating another bite. He swallowed it within seconds. "Favorites are cheddar, Havarti, mozzarella..."

"Cream?" Utah asked not-so-innocently.

Colorado choked and coughed repeatedly, his eyes shut in response. "Not- Not in the mess. Please. Aaach! I'm good now." Several Freelancers outside of the Corners knew about Arizona's and Colorado's relationship, but always threw in a few rumors just for entertainment's sake. "Can we avoid talk about sex whenever we are in the mess together?"

"Alright."

"Thank you. So... anyone got an update on anything?" Colorado pushed his tray aside, his appetite clearly ruined by Utah's comment.

"Nothing on my end," Mex answered, shaking her head.

"Well, I do have equipment training later with the bubble shield."

"Really? Do you need... him," Colorado whispered the word, "to help you?" He gave a wink to Utah and Arizona, who understood the signal and put their helmets on.

Once they locked in on a secure and private channel, Talon appeared on all four visors in an array of all the colors the team sported on their armor, not just crimson. "I'm always free to help whenever you need it," he started, his voice now a cacophony of the Freelancers' own. His avatar's helmet constantly switched back and forth between the standard and Rogue helmet before stopping on a combination of both. "That is why you made me, after all."

"Speaking of AI," 'Zona interrupted, "I've been hearing rumors about possible implantation in the future."

"You mean putting an AI... in our brains?"

"What are you worried about, Utah? You've had Tal plugged in with you before."

"I know. It's just... I can't help but feel like I'm letting a complete stranger come in and live with me."

Colorado nodded in thought. "Good point."

"I'm sure it'll be fine," Mexico said, trying to bring the team's spirits back up.

The four stayed quiet long enough for Arizona to stand up. "Well, I guess if that's everything we needed to cover. We'll swing by and watch your session tomorrow, Utah, then we can train together after that's done. Sound good?" The others gave their approval. "Right. See you all later."

The Four Corners removed their helmets and dispersed. Colorado followed Arizona out. She looked behind to see him and smiled. "How are your knuckles holding out? They doing fine?"

He walked beside and held a fist up to his chest. "Still good. He's been teaching me how to control the power output with my head so I don't need him as much. During battle, I must add."

"Practice is practice."

"Ain't that the truth. I keep getting pummeled by Carolina, but I think I am getting better at defending myself from her."

She chuckled. "Well, whatever happens, don't make her see you as York."

"Wouldn't dream of it."